Queens Plaza condo article
Up to Neighborhood Discussion
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Queens Plaza: Where Luxury Overlooks Vice by Gerard Flynn
05/18/2006
An open house last Sunday at Queens Plaza, a 66 unit condominium one block north of Queensboro Plaza in Long Island City, lured prospective buyers with the promise of luxury and convenience—“just one minute from Manhattan.”
“Catch it … as it is changing and expanding into a cultural center,” another ad on the Web site of the Developers Group, announced. “Benefit from location perfection …”
On a billboard on the side of the red brick building at 41 26 27th St., a slogan declared that “It’s About Time,” and an image of an attractive woman lying down on the floor—presumably in one of the condos—added an alluring embellishment.
However, what the Developers Group didn’t disclose is the reputation of Queens Plaza and surrounding streets, which has made the neighborhood synonymous with vice and crime. Local officials don’t expect that to go away anytime soon.
According to news reports, residents and city authorities, drug abuse, robbery, assault and prostitution will remain a problem for some time to come, even with gentrification.
“The obvious answer is that prostitution won’t be eliminated soon,” said Kevin Ryan, spokesman for the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Ryan said that although law enforcement has “reduced the problem by 50 percent” over the past five years, “only time will tell” if the problem will ever be flushed out for good. “We are doing everything we can with the resources we have,” he added.
However, Joe Conley, chairman of Community Board 2, believes that persistent prostitution isn’t the only problem around Queens Plaza.
There are other businesses that the city is having difficulty driving off, as it tries to change the neighborhood’s naughty and nasty image into something more palatable to the merchants and affluent tenants it hopes to lure in.
Within a block or so of Queens Plaza, there are a number of “gentlemen’s clubs,” exiled under Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s smut cleanup of Times Square in the late 1990s. And Conley hopes that they will continue moving.
“Hopefully, redevelopment will put pressure on them to disappear from the landscape; land worth is going up so landlords may think again about renewing their leases,” Conley said.
However, Victor, a spokesman for Scandals, a “gentlemen’s club” a block from Queens Plaza, denied claims that such clubs go hand in hand with prostitution, as Conley has reportedly said in the past.
“We bring a lot of business from the city,” he said, when asked to identify the club’s merits and added that Scandals has “never had a problem with prostitution.” He added that his club would do all within its “legal means” to fight being excluded.
Conley admitted that while prostitution has been dwindling, it remains a problem as “they have moved further inward,” he said, referring to the doorways of small manufacturing businesses and dark streets where prostitutes ply their trade.
At Queens Plaza, things are a little more upscale with apartments ranging from $465,000 for a one bedroom to $1.25 million for a penthouse with a balcony.
Attempts to reach representatives of the Developers Group to discuss concerns about crime in the midst of the development were unsuccessful.
Following several attempts, Anna La Porte, of Rubenstein Associates, who handles the company’s public relations, said that “unfortunately, the Developers Group has not gotten back” to her on the issue.
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Queens Plaza: Where Luxury Overlooks Vice by Gerard Flynn
05/18/2006
An open house last Sunday at Queens Plaza, a 66 unit condominium one block north of Queensboro Plaza in Long Island City, lured prospective buyers with the promise of luxury and convenience—“just one minute from Manhattan.”
“Catch it … as it is changing and expanding into a cultural center,” another ad on the Web site of the Developers Group, announced. “Benefit from location perfection …”
On a billboard on the side of the red brick building at 41 26 27th St., a slogan declared that “It’s About Time,” and an image of an attractive woman lying down on the floor—presumably in one of the condos—added an alluring embellishment.
However, what the Developers Group didn’t disclose is the reputation of Queens Plaza and surrounding streets, which has made the neighborhood synonymous with vice and crime. Local officials don’t expect that to go away anytime soon.
According to news reports, residents and city authorities, drug abuse, robbery, assault and prostitution will remain a problem for some time to come, even with gentrification.
“The obvious answer is that prostitution won’t be eliminated soon,” said Kevin Ryan, spokesman for the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Ryan said that although law enforcement has “reduced the problem by 50 percent” over the past five years, “only time will tell” if the problem will ever be flushed out for good. “We are doing everything we can with the resources we have,” he added.
However, Joe Conley, chairman of Community Board 2, believes that persistent prostitution isn’t the only problem around Queens Plaza.
There are other businesses that the city is having difficulty driving off, as it tries to change the neighborhood’s naughty and nasty image into something more palatable to the merchants and affluent tenants it hopes to lure in.
Within a block or so of Queens Plaza, there are a number of “gentlemen’s clubs,” exiled under Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s smut cleanup of Times Square in the late 1990s. And Conley hopes that they will continue moving.
“Hopefully, redevelopment will put pressure on them to disappear from the landscape; land worth is going up so landlords may think again about renewing their leases,” Conley said.
However, Victor, a spokesman for Scandals, a “gentlemen’s club” a block from Queens Plaza, denied claims that such clubs go hand in hand with prostitution, as Conley has reportedly said in the past.
“We bring a lot of business from the city,” he said, when asked to identify the club’s merits and added that Scandals has “never had a problem with prostitution.” He added that his club would do all within its “legal means” to fight being excluded.
Conley admitted that while prostitution has been dwindling, it remains a problem as “they have moved further inward,” he said, referring to the doorways of small manufacturing businesses and dark streets where prostitutes ply their trade.
At Queens Plaza, things are a little more upscale with apartments ranging from $465,000 for a one bedroom to $1.25 million for a penthouse with a balcony.
Attempts to reach representatives of the Developers Group to discuss concerns about crime in the midst of the development were unsuccessful.
Following several attempts, Anna La Porte, of Rubenstein Associates, who handles the company’s public relations, said that “unfortunately, the Developers Group has not gotten back” to her on the issue.
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And Conley hopes that they will continue moving.
“Hopefully, redevelopment will put pressure on them to disappear from the landscape; land worth is going up so landlords may think again about renewing their leases,” Conley said.
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thats what almost sold me on the apt! The area is a little shady.. but wasnt the area around citylights similar back when CL opened.
And Conley hopes that they will continue moving.
“Hopefully, redevelopment will put pressure on them to disappear from the landscape; land worth is going up so landlords may think again about renewing their leases,” Conley said.
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thats what almost sold me on the apt! The area is a little shady.. but wasnt the area around citylights similar back when CL opened.
[quote]Originally posted by jrojas on May 18, 2006 3:31 pm GMT-5:
Oooh. You are going to make the natives mad.[/quote]
Aren't you a native?
Jake
Oooh. You are going to make the natives mad.[/quote]
Aren't you a native?
Jake