The industrial neighborhood of Willets Point, Queens will likely be used as long term parking for travelers using LaGuardia Airport, while it undergoes its massive $4B renovation, DNAinfo reports.
The parking space, which will be developed by the Port Authority if it goes ahead, will be linked directly to the proposed AirTrain that will connect the Long Island Rail Road and the 7 Train to the airport. At a projected cost of $450 million, that train is at least five years away from being in service.
The transformation of LaGuardia airport is also expected to take relatively the same amount of time and be complete by 2021. It is during that time that the Port Authority is intending for Willets Point to be used as a parking space.
This new proposal follows a contentious plan to redevelop the neighborhood. There were plans to bring over 2,000 units of housing to the neighborhood along with a mall and a movie theater, but the de Blasio administration has taken away its support from the project because it wants a greater commitment to affordable housing. The movie theater and mall are mired in a legal dispute over the fact that they were being built on parkland.
· Willets Point Could Become Parking Lot for LaGuardia Airport: Sources [DNAinfo]
· Behold, the First Glimpse of a Revamped LaGuardia Airport [Curbed]
· At Long Last, The AirTrain Will Go To LaGuardia Airport [Curbed]
· All the Willets Point Coverage [Curbed]
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