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Plaxall Joins Group of Property Owners Seeking Public Feedback on How to Develop the Waterfront

An aerial view of Anable basin, where Amazon had planned on building its new headquarters. (Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)

Dec. 8, 2019 By Allie Griffin

Plaxall, the large family-owned plastics company that owns nearly 13 acres of property by Anable Basin, is joining forces with three other developers to work on a community framework to map out how a large section of underutilized waterfront property should be developed.

The manufacturer, which has been in Long Island City for decades, will join TF Cornerstone, L&L MAG and Simon Baron Development in a group that aims to guide the development of 28 acres of public and privately-owned land by Anable Basin and north of 44th Drive.

The group, called “YourLIC,” was launched in October and has been reaching out to the public to help them shape the plan. The group held its first of four workshops last month, with the second one planned for Dec.16.

Plaxall owns the largest stake of all the developers in the Anable Basin area. Most of its Anable Basin property was going to be the home of Amazon’s H2Q, a scuttled plan that would have brought 25,000 jobs to Long Island City.

Prior to Amazon, Plaxall was close to filing plans to rezone those parcels that would have potentially brought 5,000 residential units, 335,000 square feet of industrial space, and nearly 330,000 square feet of commercial space over a 15-year-period.

Plaxall did not initially join the “YourLIC” group when it was formed but has now signed on. Plaxall had been working with the community for years on plans before the Your LIC group suddenly emerged as newer developers entered the fold.

“We have been paying close attention to the YourLIC process and want to support this community engagement and participation,” said Plaxall Managing Director Paula Kirby. “Having been a part of Long Island City for more than 70 years, we are dedicated to the future of the waterfront and look forward to working with our neighbors to create a plan that works for the entire community.”

The land to be developed with community input from the YourLIC process (Your LIC)

Plaxall joins “YourLIC” in time for the initiative’s second workshop in its public engagement process later.

The workshop will focus on open space and waterfront resiliency. The organizers are looking for the public to put forward their ideas either at the meeting or via the YourLIC website.

The meeting will be held on Dec. 16 at 6 p.m. at Hunters Point Middle School, located at 1-50 51st Ave.

The workshop will feature presentations by subject experts from SHoP Architects, SCAPE Landscape Architecture and Sherwood Design Engineers. The meeting will be run by Dr. Gail Mellow and Bishop Mitchell Taylor, who also lead the first meeting in November on “Economic Empowerment and Career Development.”

The collaborative process was first started over the summer when the City Council met with the stakeholders and called for them to formulate a unified plan for the development of the waterfront. The City wants to ensure that the community’s needs are met through one comprehensive plan, rather than each developer acting separately.

TF Cornerstone is looking to develop two city-owned sites where 44th Drive meets the East River; L&L owns a five-acre waterfront plot at 44-02 Vernon Blvd. known as Lake Vernon; and Simon Baron owns the Paragon Paint building site at 45-40 Vernon Blvd., which backs onto Anable Basin.

For more information on YourLIC, click here

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