Rendering for Flushing Commons, from inhabitat.com

The beauty of development in New York is that there is always another layer. Today, it’s the argument about plans for Flushing Commons, the 5.5-acre mixed-use development slated for Flushing, Queens.

As we reported a few weeks ago, Streetsblog.com has voiced its opposition to the plan, citing it as an example of the Bloomberg administration not following through on its PlaNYC commitment to transit-oriented development. The plan will add 500,000 square feet of vehicle storage, which the transportation-advocacy blog says will encourage more driving rather than green transit. But yesterday an article on the Queens Neighborhood Retail Alliance blog added several more shades of nuance to the argument.

About 80 small businesses showed up to the City Planning Commission meeting last week to protest the project. They argued the project could seriously harm their businesses, the increased housing and retail could choke traffic and that the city had not offered the proper contingency plans should the plan stall or fail.

“Something doesn’t add up,” said Flushing BID Chairman James Gerson, “and I guess the biggest issue that concerns us is that these negotiations and this change to the plan took place without any community input whatsoever.”

Here are a few of the issues of concern to those following the project:

*Streetsblog says adding parking will worsen congestion, and ignores the PlaNYC goal to reduce transportation emissions by 44 percent by 2030.

*The Neighborhood Retail Alliance reports that in fact, locals are calling for more parking in the crowded neighborhood.

*According to the Alliance, nearly everyone agrees that parking or no, the development will exacerbate congestion.

*BID Chairman James Gerson also wonders about the plans to distribute $2 million in assistance to local businesses, saying there is no real plan for allocation and that the money may fall short.

*Then there is the contingency plan, or lack thereof, in the case that the project should fail. It’s not unreasonable to expect that the city provide some contingency plan so that we don’t get stuck with a hole in the ground,” said Gerson, “and so far the issue has not been addressed at all.”

*Ever suggestive, Curbed has noted that someone must “really” want the plan to go through given that opposition from all sides has not stymied the project, which almost died in 2007 but was reborn last January. Know who is pulling strings? We’d love to hear.

And so, other thoughts on Flushing Commons? More questions to add about the plan? Do you think that it will bring something needed to the neighborhood? Let us know….

Click here for slideshow.

We’ve covered the controversial U.S. Concrete plant opening along Red Hook, Brooklyn’s scenic waterfront a couple of times before, but it’s better described with photos.  For some background, click here.  Click the photo to your left or here to see the photo slideshow.

Click to see slideshow

Economists say the recession is over, but with the unemployment near 10 percent, it sure doesn’t feel like it. So some New Yorkers may have to stay local this summer. But for some poorer residents every year, they take a staycation. They take advantage of New York city’s open spaces. And Soundview Park, located in the southeast Bronx, just got rehabilited as part of PlaNYC, check out the photo slideshow here.

U.S. Concrete finally opened its Red Hook plant on March 15. Looming largely next to Ikea, it is operating below capacity due to economic constraints, according to a recent NY Post article.

Residents are worried about the plant’s effects on Added Value (the community farm across the street), nearby sports fields, food vendors, and the scenic waterfront, which draws tourists from across the city. Although the plant is not in full operation yet, people expect its 30 to 40 concrete-mixing trucks and dust to damage the air and be hard on the cobblestone streets.

“The farm (Added Value) is literally across the street from Red Hook Park, and I like to play handball there or run track,” said Narcisco Rosado, a 16-year-old resident who volunteers at Added Value. “How am I going to be able to do that if you know, you need to breathe, and I’m breathing in that dust? It’s not very healthy for me and that’s going to affect my health. And it’s not just my health, it’s everyone’s health, everyone who goes here.”

For now, residents must wait for the plant to be in full operation before they find out how much it will affect their beloved neighborhood.

See our previous post for more detail on the plant.

After years of squabbling, New York City has taken over in the development of the Brooklyn Bridge Park from the state, citing the lack of long-term funding to develop the park. It is expected that control of Governors Island, another property jointly owned by the city and state, will be given solely to the city. This is great news for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who pledged to create more open spaces, as part of one of his PlaNYC 2030 initiatives, so that all New Yorkers could live within a 10 minutes of a park.

Funding for these projects–$55 million for the park and $60 million for the Governors Island–will come from money originally set aside for the expansion of the Javits Center. However, some are worried that the city’s close partnership with real estate developers could lead to over-development of area, which could take away from the surrounding landscape. These concerns are not unwarranted since originally, Bloomberg planned to construct luxury condos to raise money to pay for the parks’ annual maintenance costs, estimated at $16 million. However, this plan would first have to be approved by State Senator Daniel Squadron and State Assemblywoman Joan Millman, who both oppose the idea.

Despite this, there is still fear that over-development and/or the privatization of parks could change how public parks are used and preserved.

Photo from Klaus Debrito's Flickr photostream.

The state budget (now a week late) isn’t the only fiscal mire around here. The city budget is also a bog of cuts, trims and lay-offs. What does that mean for PlaNYC? Probably more of same, according to the January 2010 Financial Plan.

Last week, the Mayor’s right-hand man and the architect of PlaNYC 2030 announced he’d be stepping down for a job in California. Rohit Aggarwala, who also heads the Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, isn’t the only cut (nor are the Section 8 affordable housing vouchers that are said to be canned, more on that later). Here are a few mentions of budget shuffling and hiring freezes (otherwise known as PEGs, Program to Eliminate the Gap):

and…

So what’s out? Along with a “revised” timetable for PlaNYC Regional Parks and Greenstreets, there will be a delay in hiring 88 full-time and 11 seasonal staff. 16 other PlaNYC positions will be switched to the ARRA, otherwise known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (federal funding). And finally, the Brownfields Fund will be cut by 4 percent in 2010 and then 8 percent after that.

The Regional Parks and Greenstreets includes plans to establish eight regional parks in NYC: Calvert Vaux Park (Brooklyn), McCarren Park (Brooklyn), Fort Washington Park (Manhattan), The High Bridge (Bronx and Manhattan), Soundview Park (Bronx), Highland Park (Queens), Rockaway Park (Queens), and Ocean Breeze Park (Staten Island).

Affordable housing also took a blow this week, with reports that up to 10,000 vouchers for Section 8 affordable housing for low-income families could be revoked. The announcement, from the NYC Housing Authority, is another step back for the mayor’s overall vision of creating more affordable housing to accomodate around 700,000 more residents by 2030.

In these tough times, what’s the solution to pushing PlaNYC ahead while dealing with smaller budgets? Readers, what do you think?

Here are just a few items that popped up in yesterday’s news:

The New York City Parks Department is getting in on a growing trend–green roofs.

The city yesterday broke ground on Staten Island’s Brookfield Avenue landfill, a former garbage dump the city plans to transform into a 132-acre public park.

Speaking of public space, the city is also looking to expand it’s public plaza program, though not everyone is so enthused, the Post reports.

Cyclist making his way through west Brooklyn via Sunset Park's busy Third Avenue.

I’ll be covering the tonight’s forum on the new Brooklyn Greenway planned to run from Greenpoint to Sunset Park. It takes place at UPROSE tonight, Wednesday, March 31 at 6:30pm at 166A 22nd Street in Brooklyn. Come out to participate in the forum, or tweet a question to @explaintheplan or marked with the hashtag #spgreenway and I’ll try to pass it along.

Beekeepers can breathe a sigh of relief.

A decision was made this week that released the ban on beekeeping in the city.  This allows beekeepers to start their community and rooftop hives without fear of receiving harsh fines.

But what does this have to do with PlaNYC 2030?

A part of the mayor’s initiative deals with “greening” up the city.  In addition to trying to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent, the plan encourages New Yorkers to eat organic and buy local produce.  Bees contribute by helping to pollinate plants and produce honey.  And with an increase in urban farming, crops will need the pollination to continue to grow.

“Given the troubling trend of pollinator decline, it is important to legalize beekeeping and encourage people to learn about the critical role that bees play in our ecosystem,” said Vivian Wang, a litigation fellow with the Natural Resources Defense Council, told OnEarth.

Check out this PBS video describing just how important these buzzing insects are.

If you are interested in becoming a bee keeper, intensive classes are offered through the New York City Beekeepers Association.

Many New York City Greenmarkets are certified organic. However, all the city’s Greenmarkets are interested in keeping water, soil and air free of pollutants. The city’s water supply is derived from reservoirs northwest of the city, where farms aid in protecting our water. Over a dozen Greenmarket farms are in NYC’s Watershed. It is also more energy efficient to buy from a Greenmarket. According to GrowNYC transporting food long distances uses a great amount of energy. It takes 435 fossil-fuel calories to fly a 5 calorie strawberry from California to New York. Fossil fuels wreak havoc on the environment by contributing to global warming, acid rain and smog. Local foods travel short distances and therefore uses less energy.

Below is a list of Greenmarkets located throughout New York City.

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