CM Won’s Heart of the District report shows residents prioritize affordable housing and street safety along Northern Blvd. and Roosevelt Ave.

Northern Boulevard reimagined with suggestions from local residents.

Photo from CM Won

Oct. 23, 2024 By Shane O’Brien

The majority of residents along Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue favor affordable housing developments and street safety initiatives, according to a Heart of the District report released last week by Council Member Julie Won.

The report, which is based on a yearlong community planning effort between the Council Member and urban planning non-profit Hester Street, aims to build a comprehensive community vision for Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue that will inform future investment and development.

The planning process focuses on the two thoroughfares as far as the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to the east and as far as Queens Boulevard to the west. Won said she chose the two corridors because they are vital thoroughfares through District 26 that require careful planning and investment in order to better serve the community’s needs.

Won and Hester Street engaged more than 1,500 residents and stakeholders between October 2023 and June 2024 through public town halls, focus groups, outreach, canvassing and an online survey that ran between March 8 and April 30, 2024.

Throughout the engagement process, communities were asked to rank their improvement priorities on Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue, including sidewalks and street design changes, flooding infrastructure, opportunities for new housing, commercial spaces, and open spaces.

Study area. Photo from CM Won

Respondents favored more housing for the district, especially deeply affordable housing units at local income levels, in addition to more protections for rent stabilization and tenants rights to protect against rising rents and displacement.

Residents also called for expanding housing development in existing empty lots or allowing mixed-use development in industrial areas, while many respondents favored the creation of new 2-3 bedroom units over 1-bedroom units or studio apartments in large-scale developments.

Respondents also called for a number of street safety initiatives, including traffic calming measures, improved street lighting and more protected bike lanes. They also called for improved transit accessibility, the rehabilitation of train stations, an improved pedestrian experience and more designated bus routes and bus lanes along Northern Boulevard.

The report also revealed a number of neighborhood priorities, including calls to preserve and create space for arts and culture as well as calls to create publicly accessible green space on underutilized lots along Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue.

Respondents also called for investment in libraries, affordable grocery stores, and other community developments along the two corridors and for an assurance that new developments would benefit residents of NYCHA Woodside Houses, located just north of the planned study.

Northern Boulevard is home to big box stores, fast food restaurants and automobile-centric businesses such as car dealerships and repair garages. A majority of respondents said adding more auto services to the empty lots along the corridor was not a priority.

Won welcomed the report’s findings and said they provide a community-driven vision for the neighborhood’s future.

“Through our survey and yearlong community engagement through a comprehensive planning effort with Hester Street, residents have made it clear that housing, neighborhood investments, and street safety — not new car dealerships — are top priorities for future community plans,” Won said in a statement.

“The Heart of the District planning process has given us a community-driven vision for what our neighborhoods should look like and provided us with evidence to support future land use negotiations.”

Vanessa Monique Smith, Director of Community Strategy at Hester Street, said the Heart of the District report is a step toward more comprehensive neighborhood planning.

“The recommendations and community input shared by residents will help Council Member Julie Won advance plans, policies, and projects that improve the area’s streetscape and services,” Smith said.

The Heart of the District report is not a rezoning proposal and only seeks to identify community priorities for the two corridors. If the community priorities that emerge through the engagement process identify rezoning as a tool to address their needs, then Won may explore rezoning as an option.

Heart of the District is separate from One LIC, a planning process that will likely result in rezoning proposals for Long Island City and aims to bring 16,000 new housing units to the neighborhood.