Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. stated the following in response to new developments threatening the potential development of New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s $8 billion Metropolitan Park proposal for the Citi Field parking lot.
“There is very little generational wealth in Northwest Queens, where survival work is prevalent, public services are lacking and hard-working immigrant street vendors are displaced and demonized. That’s why the families of this community so badly deserve the 25,000 good-paying union jobs, the $163 million community investment fund, the Taste of Queens food hall designed for borough-based vendors, critical support for community-based organizations, rising property values and more that the Metropolitan Park proposal puts forth,” said Richards. “We are in a state of emergency in Northwest Queens, which was hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and which continues to struggle as the cost of living rises. The Metropolitan Park proposal will create countless avenues for generational wealth building right here in Corona, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and other communities surrounding the proposed site, which is currently a parking lot that sits empty for more than 200 days per year. By no means should acres of asphalt block the ascending of financial and societal ladders to the middle class by families deserving of upward mobility.
“Queens is growing like never before, and we must never turn our back on unprecedented economic development opportunities for communities that have historically been left behind. No one single elected official should be the sole arbiter of this $8 billion investment in our borough, so I strongly urge Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Senate to explore other avenues in order to bring the Metropolitan Park proposal to life and ensure that Queens continues to get the money we are owed and deserve.”
