Flushing West Neighborhood Planning Study - Updates

On September 8, 2017, the final draft report of the Flushing Waterfront Revitalization BOA Nomination report was completed and submitted to the NYS Department of State (DOS) by the Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corporation (FWCLDC) along with a request for official designation as a NYS Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA). 

The final version of the report can be found here: https://www.queensalive.org/flushing-waterfront-boa/.  A hard copy of the report can also be found in the Flushing Main St. Library.

Under the New York State Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Program, the Department of City Planning (DCP) has completed the final draft of the Flushing Waterfront Revitalization BOA Nomination report, which fulfills Step 2 of the BOA Program. Through the BOA Program, brownfields -- vacant or underutilized properties -- are transformed from liabilities to community assets that generate businesses and jobs, as well as provide new housing and public amenities.  The report provides detailed descriptions of existing conditions, opportunities, reuse potential and community vision, while concluding with key findings and recommendations to advance redevelopment of strategic sites and revitalization of the area. A final version of the report is expected to be completed very soon. DCP's Queens Office presented information from the final draft report to Community Board 7 on May 2, 2017. View the May 2, 2017 presentation.

A community meeting was held on Thursday, February 11, 2015 at the Flushing YMCA. The event provided an opportunity for attendees to discuss and share feedback on preliminary strategies for the Plan by topic: affordable housing, economic and workforce development, the waterfront and Flushing Creek, transportation, parks and open space, and community health.  These topics were staffed by respective agency representatives to discuss outlined ideas for strategies, answer questions, and solicit feedback.

Participating City agencies included the Departments of Housing Preservation and Development, Small Business Services, Environmental Protection, Transportation, Parks and Recreation, and Health and Mental Hygiene.

View the February 11, 2016: Public Meeting at Flushing YMCA presentation.

A Committee meeting was held at Flushing Town Hall, where DCP, Department of Small Business Services (SBS), and Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), presented preliminary draft strategies for three major components to the Flushing West Neighborhood Plan: affordable housing, economic development, and investment in infrastructure and services.

View the February 3, 2016: Stakeholder Advisory Committee Meeting at Flushing Town Hall presentation.

A Small Business Assistance event was held in partnership with the Department of Small Business Services (SBS), on Monday, November 23, 2015, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Flushing.  With approximately 26 business owners, representatives from SBS, DCP, and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DO

HMH) held small group discussions to hear about the needs and challenges from Flushing’s small business community, with a focus on issues related to navigating government services; specific business assistance needs; and commercial corridor improvements.

A public scoping meeting was held on the Flushing West Rezoning Proposal on Tuesday, November 17th, 2015, at Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Boulevard, Queens, New York 11354. The meeting began at 4:00PM. Written comments will be accepted by the lead agency through December 2nd, 2015.

Copies of the Draft Scope of Work and the Environmental Assessment Statement may be obtained from the Environmental Assessment and Review Division, New York City Department of City Planning, 120 Broadway, 31st Floor, New York, New York 10271-3100, Robert Dobruskin, Director (212) 720-3423; or from the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, 253 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, New York 10007, Nilda Mesa, Director (212) 676-3290.

See the Scoping Notice, Draft Scope of Work and Environmental Assessment Statement.

View the Draft Scope of Work [17.2 mb]
View the Environmental Assessment Statement [6.85 mb]
View the Scoping Notice.

View the Scoping Meeting Presentation.

DCP hosted a public event on Thursday, October 7, 2015 at the Flushing Library (41-17 Main Street) to present a summary of community feedback from previous months of outreach events, and zoning recommendations based on the study’s analysis thus. Following a PowerPoint presentation, the participants had the opportunity to attend two breakout sessions; one focused on affordable housing, and another focused on proposed zoning recommendations.

View the October 7, 2015: Public Meeting at Flushing Library presentation.

A third Committee meeting was held at Saint George’s Church, where DCP presented preliminary draft zoning recommendations.

DCP hosted a follow-up public event on Saturday, September 12 2015, at P.S. 20 (142-30 Barclay Ave.), from 12:00 – 3:00 PM. While continuing discussions about affordable housing and zoning/land use, the goal of this event was to hold focused discussions about the area’s service needs related to youth, seniors, health, jobs and businesses.

Following a brief PowerPoint presentation summarizing community feedback to date and affordable housing (co-presented by HPD), DCP continued to listen and learn from the community through smaller table discussions with the approximately 30 event attendees. With a focus on the area’s service needs, discussion topics included affordable housing; zoning/land use; immigrant services; youth services; senior services; and jobs and businesses.

Participating City agencies included the Departments of Housing Preservation and Development, Youth and Community Development, Health and Mental Hygiene, Small Business Services, the Department for the Aging, and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. The event offered materials and interpretation in Chinese, Korean, Spanish and English.

View the September 12, 2015: Community Discussions at P.S. 20 presentation.

View comments and feedback gathered at the event.

Building off of initial conversations held at the July 29th Open House, DCP hosted its third public event at the Flushing YMCA (138-46 Northern Blvd.) on Thursday, August 20 2015, from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. The goal of this event was to continue to listen and learn from the community about Flushing’s priority issues to inform the study’s goals.

With close to 50 attendees, the event began with a brief PowerPoint presentation summarizing community feedback received to date; followed by smaller group table discussions on specific topics facilitated by respective City agency representatives. With a focus on Flushing’s needs related to the built environment, topics included affordable housing; transportation; environmental issues and brownfield remediation; waterfront and open space; and land use/the public realm. Participating City agencies included the Departments of Transportation, Housing Preservation and Development, Environmental Protection, Parks and Recreation and the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation.

The event offered materials and interpretation in Chinese, Korean, Spanish, English and sign language to ensure robust public participation.

View the August 20, 2015: Community Discussions at the YMCA presentation.

View comments and feedback gathered at the event.

In order to incorporate community input into the process for developing an affordable housing strategy as part of this study, HPD identified relevant local housing-focused community groups and convened a larger Housing Stakeholders Committee on August 12, 2015 at the office of the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce, a member of the broader Flushing West Stakeholder Advisory Committee.

At this meeting, HPD and DCP discussed the study’s process and timeline, facilitated a conversation about Flushing’s affordable housing needs, and the Committee discussed stakeholders’ roles in the outreach process. Members of the Housing Stakeholder Advisory Committee have been incorporated into the Flushing West Stakeholder Advisory Committee.

DCP hosted an open house at the Flushing YMCA (138-46 Northern Blvd.) on Wednesday, July 29 2015 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM, which was attended by 80-100 of the area’s local residents, business owners, property owners, and local community groups and advocates.

The event provided an opportunity for attendees to go at their own pace and learn and share information with City agency representatives and the community about Flushing. Various stations throughout the room covered topics such as: transportation; affordable housing; Flushing Creek + water quality; brownfields; parks and open space; schools; transportation; health; senior services and immigrant services. Stations were staffed by respective agency representatives to discuss agency services and programs, answer questions, and record public comments and suggestions.

Participating City agencies included the Departments of Transportation, Environmental Protection, Parks and Recreation, Housing Preservation and Development, Small Business Services, Health and Mental Hygiene, the School Construction Authority, Department for the Aging, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, and the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation.

All of the agency boards from July 29th that were on display can be accessed and downloaded. View the boards in English, Korean, Chinese or Spanish.

View the comments and feedback gathered at the event.

The first public event was held at Flushing Town Hall (137-35 Northern Blvd.) on May 21 2015, from 6:30 – 8:30 PM, where approximately 145 attendees gathered to learn about the study and share feedback about the area’s needs and goals.

Council Member Koo presented opening remarks in support of the study and its unique opportunity to address the area’s affordable housing needs, clean up the Flushing Creek, and address congestion issues in downtown Flushing.

The team introduced the study as a PowerPoint presentation, followed by a Q&A, and closing with more discussions around open-house style displays of informational maps showing the area’s existing infrastructure and critical topics that the study will address, such as the existing transportation network, parks and open space, schools and senior centers.

View the May 21, 2015: Public Meeting Kick-Off! At Flushing Town Hall presentation.

A second Committee meeting was held at Flushing Town Hall, where the group took a closer look at issues under existing zoning; development constraints identified by DCP through initial analysis; and representatives from HPD gave a presentation on opportunities to create affordable housing. During the Q & A portion of the meeting, stakeholders raised questions about how affordable housing will be subsidized, stressed the need for deep levels of affordability, more open space, entrepreneurial opportunities, the need to improve bus circulation and traffic congestion in downtown Flushing, and asked for details about the clean-up process of the Flushing Creek.

View the April 30, 2015: Stakeholder Advisory Committee Meeting at Flushing Town Hall presentation.

Queens Borough Historian (and Committee member) hosted a walking tour of the study area for local community groups and residents.

For our work on this study, we organized a Stakeholder Advisory Committee, comprised of local community advocacy groups, local elected officials, property owners, business groups, members from Community Board 7, as well as relevant City agency representatives. The Committee will help identify and discuss issues and challenges related to the study and the planning process, and support outreach and help shape community engagement strategies with the broader community.

Approximately 50 attendees gathered to review the study objectives and boundaries, and discuss key topics that should be addressed.

View the March 25, 2015: Stakeholder Advisory Committee Kick-off Meeting at Flushing Town Hall presentation.