Huge Innovation QNS Rezoning Gets Thumbs-Down From Borough President

ASTORIA, QUEENS — The transformative Innovation QNS development was rejected by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards on Thursday, who said it would cause an "influx of new residents" that would change the character of Astoria and threaten to displace existing residents.

The eagerly awaited decision is only a non-binding recommendation, but could still influence the fate of the controversial project, which will now go before the City Planning Commission before a likely final vote by the City Council.

Richards's recommendation is the latest blow for the project, which is facing skepticism from the local Council member and opposition from the neighborhood community board.

Spanning five blocks between 37th Street and Northern Boulevard, bounded by 35th and 36th avenues, Innovation QNS would construct more than a dozen new buildings on what is now a mostly industrial corner of southern Astoria.

Supporters say it would help alleviate the city's housing crisis by adding 2,800 apartments — including around 700 affordable units — and enliven the neighborhood with new shops, green spaces and a replaced movie theater.

But opponents have alleged the $2 billion project would indirectly displace longtime residents, saying most of the development would be unaffordable for the people who already live in Astoria.

Richards echoed those concerns, saying that "serious discussions" with the developers had not persuaded them to increase the number of affordable units or make the existing apartments more affordable. (Developers disagreed, saying they had promised to up the number of affordable apartments.)

"Today, New York City residents continue to experience a multitude of intersecting crises: housing affordability, food insecurity, evictions, and stagnating wages for the lowest earners," Richards wrote. "Blindly building more market-rate housing will not fix these long-standing, systemic issues."

The market-rate apartments included in Innovation QNS would rent from between $2,430 to $5,190 per month — far above the neighborhood's median gross rent of $1,686. (The affordable units would be priced starting at $598.)

"The influx of new residents who can afford to pay these rents, and the sheer density of the proposed 13 buildings, will drastically alter the character, demographics and housing stability of Astoria and [Community District 1]," Richards said. "Again I ask, who will benefit?"

Richards said the city should reject the project unless developers make a slew of changes, including making half the project affordable and working to get subsidies from the city that would deepen the level of affordability.

"Disappointed"

Tracy Capune, a vice president at Kaufman Astoria Studios, said in a statement that developers were "disappointed" by Richards's recommendation, since they had made "significant progress in addressing the Borough President’s concerns."

Capune said developers had in fact agreed to increase the number of affordable homes and deepen their affordability levels, contrary to Richards's claim that they had refused. But developers did not share any details about what changes had been made.

"We’re proud of the plan for Innovation QNS – a $2 billion investment in creating affordable homes; family-sustaining jobs; open space; support for small businesses, working families and immigrant communities; and hundreds of millions of dollars in public revenue all at a time when it is needed most – and look forward to refining the plan further in collaboration with Council Member Won to ensure it addresses her concerns," Capune said.

The 13-member City Planning Commission will now have 60 days to review Innovation QNS, and could kill the entire project if most members vote against it. But a rejection is seen as unlikely, meaning the final say will likely belong to the City Council.

There, local member Julie Won will have an outsized influence, assuming her colleagues defer to her wishes when voting on Innovation QNS — a standard practice in the Council. Won has not taken a formal stance on the project, but has criticized its developers for what she viewed as inadequate outreach to neighbors.

Most recently, Won told City Limits this week that Innovation QNS's developers had failed to meet two of the three criteria that she laid out in a new rubric of "land use principles," focused on affordability, community engagement and infrastructure investment.

"I don’t know if it’s too late," Won told the outlet.

Community Board 1 rejected the rezoning in a similar non-binding vote in June. Their no-vote came despite a number of changes made to the plan by developers — a joint team of Silverstein Properties, Kaufman Astoria Studios and BedRock Real Estate Partners — in response to criticism.

That included replacing a proposed school with a community recreation center, withdrawing plans for big-box retail space, and moving the project's tallest buildings toward Northern Boulevard and away from Astoria's residential core.

Related coverage:

• Huge Innovation QNS Rezoning Rejected By Board, But Battle Continues
• Despite Changes, Innovation QNS Voted Down By Astoria Board Committee
• Astoria's Innovation QNS Opponents, Supporters Clash At Public Hearing
• Astoria's Innovation QNS Developers Face Opponents At Tense Town Hall
• Innovation QNS Rezoning Begins Review, Against Councilmember's Wishes