Welcome to new New York.
The Queens waterfront is set to get a vertical makeover by 2020, with dilapidated factories and vacant lots transformed into a Manhattan-like skyline of high-rises sprinkled amid sprawling parks, leafy esplanades and a “greenway” that will let joggers and bikers follow the East River all the way through Queens and Brooklyn.
“I believe the future of New York City design is in Queens,” said architect Jay Valgora, whose Studio V has designed many of the projects. “The waterfront of Queens will be the new Central Park for this city. That’s where the future of New York lies.”
The latest blueprints outline Hallett’s Point in Astoria, a seven-building complex by developers Lincoln Equities and Grosvenor Investment Management that will offer 2,400 apartments, a waterfront promenade and park, and 60,000 square feet of retail.
The centerpiece structure will be 40 stories tall, with the six other buildings rising from 19 to 32 stories.
The initiative, which would replace a series of vacant, crumbling factories, is in its early stages, but has letters of support from numerous community groups. If all goes according to plan, it would be finished by 2016.
“This area of waterfront has not just been underutilized, but it has been absolutely unused for as long as I can remember,” said Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens), who is reserving judgment on the project until he hears from the public.
Also in the pipeline on the Long Island City waterfront is the multibillion-dollar Hunters Point South project, which will bring 5,000 units of housing, a school and a public park by 2020.
Thousands of other units are slated at Silvercup West, the partially built Queens West and the six-building River East, which will boast a waterfront playground and rock garden.
Also on the drawing board is the massive residential project Anable Basin in Long Island City, where moored barges will house such surprising perks as a swimming pool, a garden and a community theater.
“Growing up in Queens, the waterfront was completely cut off,” said Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens), who has helped secure funding for the greenway. “The waterfront today gives New York an opportunity to get it right.”