Innovation QNS

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The Vision  Today, the southern end of Steinway Street is dominated by parking lots, underutilized industrial and commercial buildings, and vacant spaces.  Nearly five years of dialogue with neighborhood civic leaders, cultural institutions, small businesses, non-profits and residents has resulted in a vision for an inclusive, neighborhood-focused, mixed-use creative district that builds on Astoria's rich cultural fabric and will deliver meaningful economic opportunity at a critical time.

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Innovation QNS will soon reactivate this corner of Astoria as a bustling hub of activity by expanding the neighboring Kaufman Arts District and building on existing cultural assets like the Museum of the Moving Image and the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts with:  Two acres of open space – more than 25% of the project site – with lawns, performance space, a playground and a dog park, as well as enhanced streetscapes and hundreds of new trees;  A community hub that will provide a new home for long-time community-serving nonprofit organizations;  200,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving shops, restaurants and entertainment that complement existing small businesses, including a new state-of-the-art cinema; and  3,190 mixed-income homes, including 1,436 permanently affordable homes – more than 500 of which will be available at the most deeply affordable "extremely low-income" band (30% AMI).

Additionally, the Innovation QNS team has committed to:  Contribute $2 million to a community fund to support tenants rights, anti-displacement, and other services for nearby residents;  Offer discounted rents to small businesses and non-profit organizations;  Provide relocation assistance to existing residential and commercial tenants;  Conduct a multi-lingual campaign to advertise affordable homes and provide application assistance to the local immigrant community;  Target 30% local hiring and MWBE participation;  Agreements with 32BJ SEIU, Laborers' Local 79 and District Council 9 (DC 9) of Painters and Finishers; and  Study and, if feasible, implement the use of on-site geothermal energy.

The Opportunity Through partnerships with Astoria-based civic organizations and extensive participation in the project’s planning, construction and implementation by neighborhood residents, small businesses and cultural institutions, the Innovation QNS project will be a major driver of opportunity in the community.

About the Team  Development Team  Rebuilding Astoria's economy will take the kind of grit and determination Queens is known for. This partnership has gotten it done in some of New York's most challenging moments, and we'll get it done together now.

New York City's oldest operating film and television studio has been part of the fabric of Astoria for a century. In the wake of the fiscal crisis of the 70s and 80s, Kaufman Astoria Studios partnered with neighboring small businesses, cultural institutions, civic leaders and non-profit organizations to lead an economic and cultural revitalization in Western Queens. Today, it's ready to roll up its sleeves again.

More than 60 years after it was founded, Silverstein Properties is synonymous with revitalization. Now, the leadership, tenacity and vision that Larry Silverstein demonstrated in rebuilding Lower Manhattan in the dark days that followed 9/11 are precisely what is needed as we embark on this next recovery.

BedRock Real Estate Partners' principals have a decades-long record of sustainable community investment. Working with residents, small businesses and community-based organizations to create real opportunity that strengthens neighborhoods over the long term is what drives BedRock and will be the foundation for Astoria's next chapter.

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Masterplan Architect  ODA  is  an architecture firm seeking a better urban future. With this project in Astoria, ODA challenges conventional perspectives of urban living that will, over time, influence life throughout the city. This master plan in Western Queens balances the need for shelter, security and privacy with the need for community, a connection to nature and access to resources that offer an overall improvement of life through good design.

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Press Information  Click here to download Innovation QNS project images    For interview requests and other media inquiries, please contact press@innovationqns.com.  All renderings on the site by ODA Architecture  

Additional Resources  Click here to view or download the 4/13/22 public presentation to Community Board 1 on the requested land use actions and preliminary environmental findings.  Click here to view or download the 4/20/22 public presentation to attendees of the Innovation QNS Town Hall.  Click here to view or download the 5/25/22 public presentation  to Community Board 1 as part of its public hearing on Innovation QNS.  Click here to view or download the 6/17/22 Racial Equity Report on Housing & Opportunity.

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