Is Queens the New Brooklyn?

Show me the development! This corner was supposed to be developed into a new condo/shopping center. What happened?

I read the AM New York article from yesterday “Is Queens going Brooklyn?” There were many interesting points raised by it and I hope to come back to it in later posts. But one comment in there really had me baffled:

From the Q&A portion with Queens borough historian Jack Eichenbaum:

What neighborhoods are prime for development?

[It’s] already happened in Astoria and Forest Hills, and it could happen more in Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Flushing.

Huh? Just what development is Mr. Eichenbaum referring to? The Windsor? From what I can see, Forest Hills hasn’t had any new significant “development” aside from the Windsor building in a loooong time. Am I missing something?

This especially irks me because that is exactly what our neighborhood could use — new development! How about starting with the dilapidated storefronts along Queens Blvd. heading towards Kew Gardens?

As discussed yesterday on this blog, the hotel planned for Austin St. never materialized – and that sounded like a very exciting project for our shopping district, just the type of new development we need here. And I am intrigued by the Marriott proposal in the Daily News yesterday – as long as it incorporates the historic stadium and allows public use in some way.

But Mr. Eichenbaum, if you are out there reading this, I’d love to know what development you are referring to here in Forest Hills. This is vitally important. Aside from a few creative retailers, in case you haven’t noticed, Austin Street doesn’t have much spark these days. A lot of bland or tired looking businesses, some of which seem stuck in a time warp (I can think of one or two diners in particular, and the food they serve seems to have been sitting around for ages as well).

Just walk through some of the fantastic neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Manhattan and you will see what I mean. There’s so much room to do soooo much better here.

Marriott Eyeing Tennis Stadium

Image via Wikipedia

According to today’s Daily News:

Marriott eyes old Forest Hills tennis stadium for possible new hotel

After reading the article, my initial thoughts are we need a lot more information about this proposal. Would it incorporate the stadium without destroying it? Would it allow outside access for the entire community to the stadium for some interesting uses, such as concerts, a museum, tennis tournaments? If so, this sounds like a potentially interesting compromise.

One aspect I don’t like is the “extended stay” concept mentioned as part of the previous proposal. That is not the type of hotel which could benefit Forest Hills. A regular, short-stay hotel with a steady supply of tourists would be the only benefit to our community, I feel. We need to put Forest Hills on the map and create some more creative energy in our neighborhood. Energy that would distinguish us from suburbia, and also, the rest of NYC.

At the same time, this Marriott proposal would have to be something with class and style that is worthy of a New York City development.