Mar 4 2008

CUNY dorm proposal in LIC rejected due to lack of community value

Corner site of the controversial CUNY dorm building, 46th Rd & 5th St, LIC

Hunters Point new development fanatics: remember our mystery development at 46th Rd & 5th St? Well we did solve the mystery a while ago, that the site is (was?) to be a CUNY dorm.

According to an article released today in the Daily News:

“The initial proposal, which called for a 13-story residential building on Fifth St. with 169 apartments, ground-floor retail and 220 grad-student dormitory units, was unanimously rejected by Community Board 2′s land use committee in November.”

The main reason for rejection was the lack of community use, and a concern on the part of local residents that in the face of so much high-rise condo development, such a large scale dorm will add little value to the hood.

“Now the owner, OCA LIC, plans to reintroduce the plan this spring, and has offered space to the Queens Council on the Arts to sweeten the deal…”

L.I.C. strife over CUNY dorm plans [Daily News]
liQcity flickr set of the development site

New Development

62 Comments

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As a current CUNY Graduate Center Graduate Student, I fully recognize the potential that a dorm for our grad students offers. As CUNY is facing budget cuts currently, we students are desperate for financial relief. You may not know, but our fine institution does not offer us health insurance (which our SUNY counterparts do receive). Despite being my main employer as I teach at one of the CUNY senior colleges, my salary and lack of benefits are fairly despicable. The dorm offered a unique way for us to reduce the rising costs that we face trying to live and go to graduate school in New York City, but also could increase the status of our institution. While the Graduate Center will never be Columbia or NYU, the faculty that we have is really quite astonishing and our prestigious alumni demonstrate the excellent education we are receiving. I desperately hope that the developer can help convince LIC that this dorm would benefit the community, not only by providing a home for emerging scholars, but by also encouraging the development of an important public institution such as The Graduate Center.

#1 Emily N. / 3 years, 11 months ago

I’d rather have students than a bunch more yuppies anyday. Maybe we’d get some late-night cafes with wireless, record stores, and more good bars. Hell of a lot more benefit than “luxury” condos.

Grr.

#2 Brandon / 3 years, 11 months ago

Reading that Daily News article…

“the neighborhood shouldn’t become a ‘bedroom community’ for transient residents. ”

All I can sense is discrimination against overworked underpaid graduate students. These developers have been building a pile of new luxe buildings, including rental ones. This neighborhood needs a diverse group of people to move in, not the homogeneous middle aged dog-spa crowd everyone seems so hell-bent on filling up every square inch of this neighborhood with. Thank god for Hunters Point South coming along soon…

#3 Brandon / 3 years, 11 months ago

“coming along soon…”

we’ll all be well past retirement age when HPS gets built.

#4 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

at the slow pace of things around here, i concur #4

#5 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

yeah but the 421a exclusion thing will help the neighborhood also. After this summer, whatever’s built will have to provide ‘affordable’ housing if they want the tax breaks. I know it’s funny. LIC moves at such a slower pace than the hype does. I think all the activity is more that there’s such so much going on all at once.

#6 liQcity / 3 years, 11 months ago

Having students around is not so bad – they do help to foster amenities, but CUNY is sure to build another butt-ugly boring building high-rise thing.

#7 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

I always find it funny that people urge their kids to do well in school and go to college because having an education would increase their options and earnings in the work force. However, once they accomplish this they are labeled as “Yuppies” and viewed as an unwanted neighbor much like an unemployeed person would be looked at.

#8 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

Its truly ridiculous that a few nay-sayers continue to get their petty, narrow-minded opinions voiced and heard at this Community Board and in the press to the detriment of the community as a whole. These are the same people that prevented a business getting a license necessary for its profitable operation – and as a result is empty more often that not. How ridiculous to claim that a development for the educated and educators is bad for a growing neighborhood. These may-sayers need to be stopped.

#9 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

Hey yuppies, what the hell is wrong with students? Or those of us who do have jobs and went to grad school but aren’t “upscale”?

#10 Brandon / 3 years, 11 months ago

People studying to obtain a doctorate are serious scholars. Some young – some “not so young’ – some with families – some single. Whatever their situation in life, they are a far cry from under grad” party kids”. I would welcome their presence in the community.

#11 anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

BTW, Brandon – It’s not “yuppies” who are trying to squash this project.

#12 anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

Think of how much good having 200+ PhD students living in the neighborhood will bring in terms of culture. These are intelliegent, educated people who have an active interest in the world… I’d love to meet them at the bars and shows and cafes. The “community leaders” who are speaking for the neighborhood in this case are way off-base. And any comments about the size and scale being a concern is laughable given the context of the site and all the luxury towers going up nearby.

#13 Brandon / 3 years, 11 months ago

I didn’t say “yuppies” are trying to squash the project… I said that it’s ridiculous that developments marketed toward “yuppies” seem to be welcomed with open arms yet grad students are somehow a plague and less-desirable.

#14 Brandon / 3 years, 11 months ago

what’s worse: yuppies or hipsters? and now we’re hating on STUDENTS too? So who should live in this neighborhood then? iguanas? donkeys? Seriously guys, the ideal scenario is really (sit down now) d.i.v.e.r.s.i.t.y. Throw in some yuppies who buy apartments and have a stake in the neighborhood. Throw in some hipsters who bring some edginess and keep LIC from becoming Hoboken. Then we’ve got the artists, and the inevitable ‘lifers’ who’ve been here since the dumpy days. Oh you want some poor people too? how about Junkies and hookers too? gays? Whitey you’re not welcome anymore because we’ve reached quota, but we’ve still got room left for rocker musicians. Oh sorry… are they cross-classified under hipsters? It’s all a bunch of BS. It’s just people. Whoever wants to come here should be able to.

#15 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

Jeez, and bring on the undergrads for that matter too… they’d add a lot to the nightlife and arts/music/culture scene I think. I’d love to have a dorm or few around here to liven things up.

#16 Brandon / 3 years, 11 months ago

At least they seem to be getting it by adding the QCA. Who’s on the community board for LIC? how does one get to have say in the neighborhood development. Anyone know?

#17 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

I tried to find a listing of the Community Board members but it doesn’t seem to exist, that I’ve found… I’d be interested in voicing support at the meeting the next time this comes up.

#18 Brandon / 3 years, 11 months ago

Here here #16. I agree. Diversity is the key to any good neighborhood. Manhattan is losing its edge because it’s becoming corporate and whitewashed. I am sad to walk around the East Village and see a bunch of banks on every other corner. There must be more to CUNY story than just the community board doesn’t want students. I think it is right for them to demand that buildings contribute to the community, but why isn’t that applied to Queenswest? What are THEY doing for the community?

#19 DannyB / 3 years, 11 months ago

I’d have to look up the exact zoning and approvals history, but I think Gantry and Hunters Point parks, plus the coming library, were the “community contribution” from Queens West.

#20 Brandon / 3 years, 11 months ago

That Daily News article made no sense to me. When has a graduate dorm in Queens been an issue? It’s not like they are forcing any community out like NYU or Columbia. It’s all empty warehouses and lot space.

BTW, Do people think maybe the fact that the dorm was to be built on water front property the real issue? Build on Vernon or 11th Street. Better yet, why not on 21st St closer to the E/V trains. What will the students care? The lack of a river view?

#21 Jac / 3 years, 11 months ago

It’s not waterfront property, it’s one block in from the water.

#22 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/81-graduate-school/

#23 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

#8, why dont YOU get an neighborhood that actually wants the infestation known as yuppie
# 10, its called the Constitution. Oh yes, your a liberal scumbag who wouldnt know anything about that.

#24 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

“# 10, its called the Constitution. Oh yes, your a liberal scumbag who wouldnt know anything about that. ”

Uh, dude, Community Boards have nothing to do with the US Constitution. Trust me on this one. Most cities don’t even have them.

#25 Brandon / 3 years, 11 months ago

It’s interesting to read the comments on this topic on here vs. the ones on QueensWest, Queens Crap, and Curbed. Different strokes. I think Queens Crap readers run the community board (and yes, I’m as tired of luxury towers as they are)

#26 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

#23 – Yeah you’re right, but I still think that the location of the dorm is the issue. I bet if it was a few blocks in, there wouldn’t be as much of an issue. I bet if another condo gets built in the same location, no one would finch. I don’t know why there isn’t as much of an issue of hotels getting built just 4 blocks inland on Jackson let alone a dorm.

#27 Jac / 3 years, 11 months ago

When is the next community board meeting discussing this. I want to go so that our opinions are heard. These people do not speak for me. We need to get organized so that those in power are not only hearing the narrow-minded view. LIQ can you post the meeting dates?

#28 Yuppie / 3 years, 11 months ago

I’m in. I wish they had a website… with an agenda. How does one actually find out about what is going on?

http://www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/cb/cb_queens.shtml

#29 Non-Yuppie / 3 years, 11 months ago

CB2
43-22 50th St.
Woodside, NY 11377
718-533-8773
Chairperson – Joseph Conley
District Mgr. – Debra Merkell
Meetings: First Thursday of every month
Call and find out when this issue will be open for discussion again. Attend and make yourself heard!

#30 anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

We should decend on the next meeting en mass. It would really silence the complainers probably (1 or 2). the Queens Crap crowd does not run the cummunity board, they are just a lot more vocal. This is our community too. We should be heard.

#31 Yuppie / 3 years, 11 months ago

Uh, so the next meeting = tonight?

#32 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

Dorm or another high-rise. What really is the difference? I think it’s great that a community board would require a contribution to the community. Why should they just build and use up more resources and not give anything back?

#33 Puppie / 3 years, 11 months ago

I say build more buildings with pools so there will be more places for me to swim around in.

#34 Guppy / 3 years, 11 months ago

pools are cool. a free community gym with a pool and place for kids would be great.

#35 Anonymous / 3 years, 11 months ago

Those objecting do not want a community facility. They do not want the building there period. They rather it stay a polluted vacant lot instead of contibuting something to the surrounding area.

The developer is the one who is coming back to the table and offering the community space as a concession. If our voices are not heard, no doubt they will find some other issue and reject it on that basis.

#36 Buppie / 3 years, 11 months ago

I hope know that the developer offered a community facility CB2 will let the project go ahead. We should ask for a small theater next time when another developer wants a concession, a place that could feature independent films and/ or small plays.

#37 Luppie / 3 years, 11 months ago

YESS!!!! A theatre/cinema especially of the indie flavor would be amazing.

#38 Stuppie / 3 years, 11 months ago

We hardly need more small plays in this neighborhood… but the only movie theaters are up in Dutch Killsish so that could be nice.

#39 Brandon / 3 years, 11 months ago

Sorry couldn’t resist the “_uppie” trend. :)

#40 Snuppie / 3 years, 11 months ago

The Community Board will be hearing public comments concerning The Graduate Center CUNY apartments on April 3rd.

7PM
Sunnyside Community Center
43-31 39th Street – 2nd floor

#41 mybackyard / 3 years, 10 months ago

omg.. good work, dude

#42 Tonyez / 3 years, 10 months ago

The bottom line here folks is that once again a developer who new he was buying a toxic sight, now claims that it is a “special metals toxic sight” so there fore they should be allowed to build twice as big, because of a clean up would be a finical hardship. ship. Since when does a toxic sight respect a lot line? And again….it a sales pitch of what they can due for the community in order to build twice as much. Pleas keep this in perspective. Teachers and grad students are great! But I’m not keen on letting them in on behalf of the developer. The community board might not be perfect…..but it does work if you have the patience to use it.

#43 Anonymous / 3 years, 10 months ago

Queens Crap has nothing to do with the community board. You can call info to get CB2′s # and they will inform you of their next meeting. They are entirely separate entities.

There is failure to understand the issue at stake here. It is not about denying Cuny here. It is about allowing a developer to use CUNY as eye candy to be granted the right to flout zoning.

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