New York

BQ Green

Councilman Advocates Building of Two-Block Park Over Brooklyn-Queens Expressway In Williamsburg

After former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in 2010, rejected plans to build a public park over a two-block span of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway between South 3rd and 5th streets in Williamsburg, Councilman Antonio Reynoso is re-proposing the project. Dubbed BQ Green, the $200 million project could potentially be incorporated into the city’s $2.265 billion budget for park capital spending, according to Gothamist. As currently envisioned, a concrete platform would completely cover two blocks of the BQE, while partially covering the below-grade expressway one block in either direction. The part of South 4th Street that currently spans over the BQE would be reconstructed as parkland, and the existing green space lining the expressway will be revitalized. The proposal also includes a baseball diamond, a waterpark, and wooded and landscaped areas. DLANDstudio is behind the design of the 2010 proposal. The project is expected to be discussed before the city’s budget is adopted.


360 Van Duzer Street

Three-Story, Eight-Unit Mixed-Use Building Planned at 360 Van Duzer Street, Stapleton

Staten Island-based Vanduzer Development has filed applications for a three-story, eight-unit mixed-use building at 360 Van Duzer Street, in Stapleton, located three blocks from the neighborhood’s Staten Island Railway station. The structure will measure 14,784 square feet. The project will include 3,123 square feet of commercial-retail space on the ground and cellar levels. There will be eight residential units above, averaging 956 square feet apiece, which means family-sized rental apartments or possibly condominiums are in the works. Igor Zaslavskiy’s Brooklyn-based Zproekt Architecture is the architect of record. The 65-foot-wide, 13,000-square-foot lot was occupied by a burnt-out house until is was demolished earlier this spring.


42-83 Hunter Street

Foundation Work Underway for Eight-Story, 15-Unit Residential Building at 42-83 Hunter Street, Long Island City

Back in June of 2015, renderings were revealed of the eight-story, 15-unit residential building planned at 42-83 Hunter Street, in the Court Square/Queens Plaza section of Long Island City. Now, foundation work is underway on the project, The Court Square Blog reports. The structure will measure 15,948 square feet, and its residential units should average 822 square feet apiece. Amenities listed in the Schedule A include private residential space, bike storage space, a laundry room, and a fitness center. Lions Group NYC is the developer, while Jon K. Yung’s Flushing-based MY Architect is serving as the architect. Completion is expected in the spring of 2017.


69-01 34th Avenue

Five-Story, 65,000-Square-Foot Public School, P.S. 398-Q, Filed at 69-01 34th Avenue, Jackson Heights

Back in late 2014, Woodside-based developer Nakorn Realty acquired, for roughly $5 million, the single-story office property at 69-01 34th Avenue, in western Jackson Heights, located four blocks from the 65th Street stop on the M/R trains. The developer planned to build a residential building with ground-floor commercial space, but now the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) has filed for a five-story, 65,585-square-foot public school at the site. The school, which will be called P.S. 398-Q, will have a cafeteria on the ground floor, a gymnasium on the fourth floor, and a rooftop playground on the fifth floor. Classrooms and administrative offices will fill the remainder of the building. Robert Purcell’s Midtown South-based Purcell Architects is the architect of record. Demolition permits were filed in January to raze the site’s old office building, which most recently served as a regional office for White Castle.


515 6th Street

Brownstone Demolition Begins To Make Way For Six-Story Methodist Hospital Expansion At 515 6th Street, Park Slope

In June of 2014, the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) approved a variance for New York Methodist Hospital’s new eight-story, 500,000-square-foot Center for Community Health expansion at 515 6th Street, in Park Slope. A settlement between the hospital and Preserve Park Slope has since scaled the project down from seven to six stories, eliminating 28,000 square feet of medical space. Last month, the city approved plans for the scaled down version, and now the hospital has begun demolishing 16 brownstones to make way for the building, Crain’s reports. The latest filings detail a 485,978-square-foot building with 253,993 square feet of medical space. The facility’s operations will include outpatient surgery, imaging, cancer treatment and specialty care in orthopedics, and cardiology. The Schedule A indicates a 300-car parking garage in the sub-cellar and retail space on the basement level. Perkins Eastman is designing. The state Department of Health’s approval of a Certificate of Need is the last step needed before construction can begin. Once construction begins, completion is expected three years later.


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