The Related Companies and Sterling Equities’ plan to overhaul Willets Point with a mega-mall next to Citi Field comes up for a first hearing before the City Council Monday.
The session is to be chaired by Queens City Council member Mark Weprin, who has publicly supported the project and comes one month after the City Planning Commission greenlit the plan.
Economic development experts and many elected officials contend that the project would breathe fresh life into a run-down area, but the $3 billion undertaking faces opposition from the neighborhood businesses it will displace. There is also criticism because the 2,500 units of slated housing won’t be constructed until several years after the mall opens.
A session before the land use subcommittee will follow Monday’s meeting. And while the outcomes could delay the project, a City Council spokesperson told Crain’s that a verdict is expected in coming days.
The council is expected to cast a final vote on the Willets Point project in October. [Crain’s] — Julie Strickland