The lot
April 21, 2017 By Hannah Wulkan
A local development company filed plans to build a new 18-story residential and commercial tower in Long Island City yesterday, but a community group is looking to fight the project.
Rockrose Development, a company with several projects in Long Island City, filed plans yesterday to build an 18-story, 123-unit residential tower, with retail space on the first floor at 43-12 Hunter Street. The site is known by residents as ‘The Lot.’
According to the plans filed with the Department of Buildings, the project would have an outdoor terrace and amenity room for residents on the tenth floor, and another terrace and lounge on the 18th floor, as well as an exercise room. There would also be a lobby, laundry room, and mailroom on the bottom floors.
The new building would be 228 feet tall and would have 4,054 square feet of retail space. It would also have 86,562 square feet of residential space, meaning each apartment would average just over 700 square feet.
The Court Square Civic Association is attempting to fight back against the development, as the site has long been used as a public gathering space, despite the fact that it is privately owned.
The group has launched an online petition today calling for elected officials to work with Rockrose to save the property as open space and to generally create more open space and public parks in the area.
“We are calling upon our elected officials to help rectify a problem that is spiraling out of control. With all attention placed on the waterfront, communities east of 11th Street have gotten worse with almost no public open space and less and less light and fresh air as every square foot is going vertical,” the petition reads.
“In Court Square, it’s alarming to learn that one of the neighborhood’s most central, albeit private, open spaces, The Lot (located at 43-12 Hunter St), has been formally slated for development by its owner Rockrose Development,” it says.
Over the last several years, Rockrose has allowed The Lot, as the petition calls it, to be used for a variety of community purposes. It has been used by various to screen movies, host food events and markets, and as the home of a makeshift library book cart, among other things.
“We ask our electeds to work with Rockrose to actualize its potential in partnership with community groups for their tenants, our families, and neighbors,” the petition states about the property. “Given their vision to develop it, we cannot afford to wait and see. We’re simply asking for a collaborative effort to be made to earn more time for the neighborhood to understand and appreciate everything that it can be: a critical touchstone of our growing community.”
Rockrose has several other residential developments in the area, including The Hayden, a 51-story rental tower across the street from The Lot at 43-25 Hunter Street, and 42-story LINC LIC at 43-10 Crescent Street. The group also owns various retail sites throughout the area.
To view the petition, click here
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42 Comments
They really don’t need to develop this land at all. It’s going to then block views from their own building across the street and cause even more of a headache for through traffic.
They have thousands of apartments slated to hit the market over the next couple years on top of LINC and Hayden, and 4705 Center Blvd.
This tiny building shouldn’t even have been a consideration.
If anything, build condos, and don’t sell to investors. Sell to people who live here and actually want to stay.
Not saying they’ll be affordable to everyone, but with investors buying everything with cash and paying over asking prices on some properties, the local residents don’t even have a chance.
Look at pricing for the Harrison, on 44th Drive. An intersection you can get mowed down on when trying to cross the street
84 active sales ($1,251 per ft² avg, $988,404 avg price)
76 in contract sales ($1,242 per ft² avg, $976,723 avg price)
Anonymous, I am not the only one who complains about what’s going on in LIC. I wouldn’t pay these Inflated prices. I have heard of people in Arris Lofts who could not even get their full prices hey paid for condos. One woman lost $400,000. Someone a few years ago placed a notice in my buildings mailbox that stated Arris Lofts (Thompson Ave) had paper thin walls that you could hear someone’s microwave go off in the apt.next to them and wanted to sell theirs. Many of the new ones are constructed poorly also as I have been reading on this site. Cheap non-union labor and developers cutting corners is part of the problem.
still with the agenda…. I’ve had expensive union labor be just as bad and cut corners too so stop it with your agenda.
It’s private land and I’m all for private ownership rights. However, the city may have some leverage to negotiate some kind of public space. That’s something that’s been done before and the citizens have a right to see what they can negotiate. If the developer says no, then that may be it. However, it is in best interest of developer to maintain good relations with the city as I’m sure they want to keep buying and developing land.
The FAKE MRLIC wrote the April 25, 11:14 a.m. post about “Those People”. I am not mean spirited as he/she obviously is.
The real MRLIC would not say that. Rockrose, if you are reading, it sounds like you HAVE tried to listen & help the community in some ways. Don’t stop now- this is a historic opportunity to literally add some breathing room to this NYC neighborhood; you can find a way. You’ll come out smelling rock a rose lol..
The only good thing about all this development is that it keeps out some of “those people” if you know what I mean.
Listen to all of you developer favoring people on this site. Do you all work for Rockrose & other developers. Listen to what the community wants for once in your lives. Some ask why no one wants to stay in LIC, and why it is a transient neighborhood that people stay a year or two and leave. Maybe it’s because they want their commute not to be like CATTLE or wait for 3 trains to get on. Maybe they don’t want the sun blocked by other too tall buildings and want GREEN SPACE. Think instead of BUILD for once you might like it.
Buy instead of bitch, you might like it.
you’ll still end up waiting to sell for a profit and leave like everyone else.
Renting or buying, the area is going up at an unmanageable pace.
So Rockrose wants to build another shitty glass tower on what has served as parkland for years now – and make the city replace it (on taxpayer dime) with a few seats over on Jackson ave off the curb in trafficland. Sounds legit.
It is private property. What part of that do you not understand?
NYC’s most desirable hoods are they way they are because of a balanced approach to building. Want to live where developers build restricted only by market forces? Try the any number of sprawl-ey, lifeless cities across the us; they aren’t so enjoyable. Glad to see so many Rockrose employees on the forum…
Anonymous, Van Bramer should be doing all he can to save the lot, not give in to Big Developers. Big Developers are the problem in Court Square and around LIC. Developing without planning will congest LIC and NYC probably beyond fixing. Leave LIC alone, ENOUGH ALREADY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One Idea would be to transfer the air right to an adjacent property. The way the dog park on Vernon was done. It’s way too late for this particular lot but why don’t you do something constructive folks. Organize and to go the community board, or Van Bramer and get guidance on how to get what you want? If the community board would be behind a variance and transfer of air rights you might be able to get a big developer with multiple properties to work with you. I would drop the whole misguided petition on this lot since it won’t go anywhere and see if you can get RockRose to work with you and the community board to accomplish this. It can be done but, this is clearly not the right way to accomplish this goal.
Thank you MRLIC& other like-minded people. It’ll be an uphill battle,but I’m hoping/ believe the CourtSquare Civic Association’s efforts may have a shot. I wish someone or some group DOES miraculously buy the land,if only to use it for the community.Or Rockrose , you can find a way to use the land for much good in the community(& still make some money)..Enough buildings ,esp in that area…
You do know what developers do for a living, don’t you? They buy land to develop it. This is a business and we are in America and this land is vary valuable. Buy your own land and sit on it.
Develop, Develop, Develop, when will the GREED STOP Mr. Van Bramer and DumBlasio?????? Let’s focus on transit, fixing and paving streets and some open spaces/public spaces that many developers are not providing according to Scott Stringer. Stop already with the development and let LIC breathe.
JVB and Big Bird love all the money in their pockets –
I am grateful that rents have plateaued. I want to live ina clean comfortable apartment that I can afford that is not too far from work.
rents have not plateaued. where do you see this?
Disgusting please enough already! The community needs some space to hold creative fairs, movie nights, and what about a farmers market. This neighborhood blows!
I agree, but you don’t turn an act of goodwill into a lawsuit. Some of you have crossed from liberal to downright nuts.
If you don’t like the neighborhood, you are fully welcome to leave it.
Isn’t there a big park in front of the courthouse? Why not try to work with the State to get that space fixed up or converted and made available for public uses? Or, you know, some other public (i.e., not privately owned) space?
If the Court Square Civic Association so wants to leave this property undeveloped, maybe they should put their money where their mouth is and buy it from Rockrose. Otherwise, tough luck…I am sure that land is worth several million dollars, and Rockrose deserves to get value out of it.
Aprox $250 BSF X roughly 90,000 is about 22.5 million. Why would anyone choose not to build? and I don’t see any organization ponying up that type of money nor do I think RockRose would sell it anyway. They had carrying costs all these years and environmental testing, architects fee’s DOB fees etc. There is just no way this is staying a vacant lot and now I am sure they won’t let any other properties be used by the community after this nonsense.
$250 is ridiculously low also.
I hope RockRose develops it into a Condo with a starbucks on the ground floor.
These are the same busy bodies who wanted to keep the ELK’s Lodge for some reason.
Wrong, they want to keep the building that the old Elks Lodge was in. Big difference. That developer was a disgrace.
I agree. This is not a great way to encourage community-minded uses of privately owned spaces.
Why would anyone want to live in a neighborhood surrounded by glass and steel? There is no real quality of life in Court Square, which I guess doesn’t matte for those people who never want to leave their buildings and its amenities.
Uh, we live in NYC.
Regardless. You cannot truly say this is responsible development? Actually, you can if you work in real estate. Some people can’t see beyond the greed.
Define responsible, Anona.
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Get it through your head – the LIC of 15+ years ago is dead, buried, and not even rising for the zombie apocalypse. LIC is now part of Manhattan with all that comes with that.
At least Manhattan has beautiful architecture and a place you can buy a fucking pair of socks or shoes!
I work in real estate, and i see a clear pattern of allowing developers to overbuild with no consideration by local government towards infrastructure and quality of life for residents.
There are still two towers along 23rd Street which haven’t broken ground and one of them is going to be…..72 stories i think? The other 64 stories.
It’s too much. Imagine all the trash piling up from the residents in 20,000 new apartments on top of what already exists? it’s insane to think about.
Try picturing another 3000 people getting on the trains in Court Square or Queensboro Plaza.
Not to mention, Durst Organization has a 1MM sq foot tower going up. Tishman Speyer is building two new office complexes with over 500k sq feet of office space. The area will be too densely populated.
Agreed. Way to punish the developer for being generous with the use of its private land. Creating a world where it’s better for developers to keep their lots fenced in and chained. Just means less developers will be willing to do what Rockrose did in the future, just like less landlords will let artists put their work up on their buildings in the future because of what the 5Pointz artists are asking for. The misguided artists are helping to create a situation where there’s LESS art displayed on NYC walls, not more
This is why you should never let any group utilize private property. The get it free for years and start to think they own it. Just like 5 pointz.
and JVB is all for it trust everyone that says it –
That was my exact thought. No good deed goes unpunished
You took the words right out of my mouth. Disgrace. That is private, valuable property that was on loan. This will only work against the community in the long run. If they want to raise some money and buy the land, go for it, otherwise allow a private business, in a free society, to develop the land that they own, and say thank you for letting us use it.
Capitalism really does a number on some people.