Queens Borough President Helen Marshall Puts Nail in 5Pointz Coffin
In a all-too-common display of short sightedness, the Honorable Queens Borough President Helen Marshall has voted to tear down international graffiti mecca 5Pointz in Long Island City Queens to ... wait for it... make way for luxury condos. Luxury condos that will be built, by the way, alongside elevated subway tracks and railyards. But hold on --- there are some affordable apartments promised too! In fact 7.5% of all of the apartments will be "Affordable" (meaning that 92.5% is luxury) So that makes it all okay.
According to the Daily News:
An iconic Long Island City building that has served as a legal canvas for graffiti artists for more than a decade is now one step closer to the wrecking ball. Queens Borough President Helen Marshall announced Wednesday that she supports the plan to tear down the former water meter factory, which houses the 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center, to create room for a pair of luxury residential towers.
Her recommendation came after the owners of the site, Jerry and David Wolkoff, agreed to create 75 units of affordable housing for seniors, veterans and residents of northwestern Queens. There will be about 1,000 apartments total. The Wolkoffs also promised to create 20 artist studios, up from five.
“I had some concerns about this application,” Marshall said in a statement. “But I believe those concerns have been adequately addressed.”
The Wolkoffs, who own the site and have allowed aerosol artists to paint the building, are seeking approval to build a pair of towers larger than current zoning allows.
Community Board 2 unanimously voted against the project, citing a lack
of below-market-rate housing and substantial artist studios, said CB 2
Chairman Joseph Conley.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/queens-borough-president-backs-luxury-towers-5pointz-article-1.1401185#ixzz2ZnSYeH6h
But it is not okay. We are losing a unique one-of-a-kind art center that attracts visitors from around the world. Doesn't Queens and NYC in general want that??
It is bad enough when mayoral hopeful Christine Quinn casts her vote to destroy St Vincents Hospital so a super-luxury development and private park can be created for the 1%'ers. (And she also voted AGAINST the community and FOR NYU in their millions of square feet expansion into the core of Greenwich Village that will change the neighborhood forever or until a nuclear attack.) To have this political venality spread to other boroughs is simply disgraceful.
Awake Citizens! Awake show your muscle at the voting booth!
Sign the petition to save 5 Pointz now.
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