You are reading

NYC looking to redevelop LIC land previously set aside for ill-fated Amazon headquarters

Courtesy of the Dept. of City Planning

Feb. 6, 2025 By Ethan Marshall

New York City plans to release a request for expressions of interest this spring for 44-36 Vernon Blvd. in Long Island City, according to Crain’s New York Business. The property was once meant to serve as Amazon’s headquarters before the company abandoned the plans in 2019 following severe opposition from many residents and local leaders.

The city is looking to rezone Long Island City and create 14,000 homes in the neighborhood. In addition to taking a look at this address, which houses a 672,00-square-foot warehouse previously occupied by the Department of Education, the city is also considering two adjacent city-owned parking lots that belong to the Transportation and Small Business Services departments. These lots were also part of the property where Amazon planned to build its new headquarters.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation will release the request sometime during spring 2025. In the area near the waterfront of the Anable Basin inlet, where Amazon had initially planned to build its headquarters, they will ask for uses that serve the community, as well as commercial and light industrial uses.

Responses from the community that could help the city decide what potential projects would be feasible there will be accepted until the summer. This feedback could ultimately lead to the Economic Development Corporation making a more formal request for proposals once the neighborhood’s rezoning is completed by the end of 2025. A seven-month review would take place after the request is released this spring, culminating in a City Council vote.

Long Island City’s rezoning, known as the Long Island City Neighborhood Plan, is expected to span from Dutch Kills to Hunters Point. In June 2024, a draft plan was released calling for high-rise housing along the Hunters Point waterfront and further east near Court Square, as well as high- and medium-density, mixed-use developments on several blocks north of the Queensborough Bridge near Dutch Kills.

In addition to providing plenty of new housing, the Long Island City Neighborhood Plan, spearheaded by Council Member Julie Won, also calls for a continuous public walkway to improve access to the East River waterfront.

In the years following Amazon’s withdrawal from developing its new headquarters in New York City, neighborhood advocates called for approximately two-thirds of the building at 44-36 Vernon Blvd. to be given to the Western Queens Community Land Trust, a non-profit made up of activists, small business owners, professors, artists, students and community members who want more democratic and equitable land in Western Queens.

Under this proposal, the land trust would renovate that portion of the building before renting out space at affordable rates to local businesses, community groups and artists. Such ideas include devoting the ground floor to food justice with the opening of a supermarket, a theater, a daycare, artist workshops, music studios and adult-education centers on the upper floors and a garden on the roof of the building. 

The DOE building at 44-36 Vernon Blvd. Photo via Google Maps.

Dubbed the Queensboro People’s Space, this proposal earned the support of multiple local elected officials, including Council Members Julie Won, Shekar Krishnan, and Tiffany Cabán. This plan stems from the widespread belief that the building is underutilized, even though the Department of Education uses it for offices, storage, and dry food distribution across public schools in the city.

Organizers for the Queensboro People’s Space projected such a transformation would result in 850 jobs within the building, with the businesses there generating approximately $11.5 million annually in rent income. While it remains to be seen whether or not this proposal is taken into consideration during the city’s request for expressions of interest in 44-36 Vernon Blvd., the Department of Education would likely need to be willing to relinquish the space needed.

When Amazon planned to build its New York City headquarters in Long Island City, many New Yorkers were critical of the $3 billion in financial incentives that New York State and New York City gave the company. Many people also had concerns that an influx of new, highly paid workers might push out existing residents and add to congestion on the city’s already-overcrowded subway.

“While polls show that 70% of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City,” Amazon said in a 2019 statement announcing their withdrawal.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Fall fun in western Queens: Your guide to the best seasonal events

Aug. 29, 2025 By Jessica Militello

With beach days and summer BBQs behind us, the start of September rings in the start of magnificent Fall foliage, Halloween and more fun activities that come with the start of Autumn, including a list of Fall events in the area. From apple picking to seasonal ciders and more, there is tons to explore in the community. From Mystic Markets to scary movie meet-ups and more, here is a list of Fall events you do not want to miss.

MTA opens three new modernized elevators at the Queens Plaza subway station in Long Island City

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced the opening of three new modernized elevators at the Queens Plaza E/M/R subway station in Long Island City earlier this month as part of a larger accessibility and safety upgrades throughout the transit system.

The work included a full replacement of the cab and equipment within the cab, shaft and pit, along with two new elevator head houses located at street level. Crews also made modifications to the shaft and pit as needed to allow for new equipment. The elevator machine room and electrical and mechanical equipment received replacements and other modernization efforts for reliability.

Queens Together launches ‘Unofficial US Open Dining Guide’ encouraging fans to sample restaurants along the 7 line

Aug. 20, 2025 By Shane O’Brien

The US Open returns to Flushing Meadows Corona Park this Sunday, with more than 1 million attendees anticipated to take mass transit to the iconic annual tennis event. With hundreds of thousands of fans set to take the 7 out to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, there is a world of delicious local eateries lying beneath the elevated train tracks should any fan wish to stop en-route to the US Open.