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City Trying to Pay Off Businesses to Vacate Willets Point

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The city is champing at the bit to get going on its $3 billion Willets Point redevelopment project, which would bring 2,500 residential units, commercial and retail space, and a Citi Field parking lot to the area that currently most resembles an automobile graveyard emerging out of a swamp. But in order to do that, they first need to get rid of those pesky automobile graveyards auto body shops that occupy the Iron Triangle, many of which are actually tenants of the city. The Economic Development Corp. is now offering the owners of the auto body shops a payout of one year's rent if they vacate before the end of November, or half a year's rent if they vacate by the end of January. The owners, though, are holding out, saying that the amount the city is offering won't be enough to allow them to relocate with the new, higher rents they'll be paying elsewhere.
· City offers payouts to entice businesses to leave Iron Triangle quickly [NYDN]
· Willets Point coverage [Curbed]