DISEÑADO POR: ANGEL LARA
DISEÑADO POR: ANGEL LARA
URBAN DESIGN STUDIO SPRING 2018
DISEÑADO POR: ANGEL LARA
DISEÑADO POR: ANGEL LARA
DISEÑADO POR: ANGEL LARA
REWORKING INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS
IN LONG ISLAND CITY
EQ DISEÑADO POR: ANGEL LARA
AL
UI MANHA PMEN TT T RENT AN
DUSP/MIT
Gonzalo Ortega
Daphne Xu
URBAN DESIGN STUDIO SPRING 2018
Zoe Mueller
Marissa Reilly
Chelsea Bruck
Graham Lazar
Annie Hudson
Charlotte Ong
REWORKING INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS
IN LONG ISLAND CITY
Sara Li
Azka Mohyuddin
Johanna GreenspanJohnston
DUSP/MIT
Jialu Tan
Evan Spetrini
AC K N OW L E D G M E N TS Instructor Marie Law Adams Co-Instructor Xi Qiu (Colleen) Teaching Assistant Pitchapa Jular (Pim) Client Alexis Wheeler, NYC Department of City Planning Publication Team Marissa Reilly Sara Li Zoe Mueller
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The authors thank Alexis Wheeler for introducing us to the people, places, and businesses of Long Island City, and for providing insightful feedback throughout the semester. Elizabeth Lusskin and the Long Island City Partnership for hosting us early on, reviewing the work in progress, and providing essential connections to the LIC business community. Purnima Kapur, Michael Marrella, Sulin Carling, David Vega-Barachowitz, and Dylan Sandler for sharing the work of NYC Department of City Planning. Cali Williams and Annemarie Gray for sharing the work of NYC Economic Development Corporation. Bin Jung for sharing the work of NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Paula Kirby, Adam Lubinsky, and the team at Plaxall for presenting Plaxall’s future plans. Mana Products, Boyce Technologies, Sims Metal Management, and Fifth Hammer Brewing for facility tours. Mitch Waxman and Willis Elkins of the Newtown Creek Alliance for touring Newtown Creek. Thank you to the management and staff of Green Asphalt, Depp Glass, Ranieri Sculpture Casting, Rapid Steel Supply Corp, Materials for the Arts, LeNoble Lumber, Hunters Point Recycling, Shapeways 3D Printing Factory, Nouveau Elevator, Navillus Contracting, Green Insulation, Edison Price Lighting, and Ifresh Market for interviews and tours. Thank you to the Brownfields Mini-Symposium speakers Kim Rose (Ariel Foundation Park), Mark Wallace (Detroit Riverfront Conservancy), Mark Sloan (GM Real Estate), Jim Hartnett (GM Remediation), Jay Gardner (Surplus Property Roundtable). Thank you to Mike Goldstein (Ingersoll Rand) for organizing the speakers. Eran Ben-Joseph, Mary Anne Ocampo, Anthony Vanky, and Nadya Nilina for their feedback on our mid-review. Alexis Wheeler, Jana Cephas, Tim Love, Dan Adams for their feedback on our final review. Ceasar McDowell for facilitating constructive reflection sessions at critical moments during the semester. This work was generously supported by the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning.
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TA BL E OF CO NTE N TS INTRODUCTION
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Marie Law Adams
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BUSINESS BIOGRAPHIES ++ Depp Glass
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++ Ranieri Sculpture Casting
32
++ Rapid Steel
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++ Materials for the Arts
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++ LeNoble Lumber
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++ Hunters Point Recycling
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++ Shapeways Factory
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++ Nouveau Elevator
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++ General Insulation
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++ Sims Metal Management
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++ Edison Lighting
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++ IFresh, Inc.
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++ Navillus Contracting
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PROPOSALS
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++ Elevating Rail Remnants Sara Li Zoe Mueller Marissa Reilly
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++ A New Learning Curve Azka Mohyuddin Evan Spetrini Daphne Xu
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++ Reimagining the 10% Chelsea Bruck Charlotte Ong Jialu Tan
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++ Four Long Island Cities Graham Lazar
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++ A 22nd Century Logistics Hub Annie Hudson
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++ Beyond the Waterfront Johanna Greenspan-Johnston Gonzalo Ortega
156
REFERENCES
7
INTRODUCTION
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
Reworking Industrial Districts in Long Island City Marie Law Adams
This document presents the work of a spring 2018 MIT urban design studio and practicum that explored design strategies to strengthen Long Island City’s (LIC’s) core industrial areas. It includes field work with LIC industrial businesses, urban analysis, and proposals produced by city planning students with input from individuals in the NYC Department of City Planning (DCP). This work is intended to offer concrete visions for LIC that complement current city-wide industrial economic development initiatives (New York Works, NYC Industrial Action Plan), and contribute to an emerging area of study on urban design and physical planning for contemporary urban industrial districts. In a 2016 New York Times article, Alicia Glen, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, remarked, “The city is growing and getting bigger … so we have to think about new ways we can make all the messy pieces of the city fit together.” [1]
Opposite : View of LIC across Newtown Creek with industrial foreground and LIC’s bui lt-up core in the skyline
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
Congestion and bui lding in LIC It’s no secret that New York is a real estate hotspot. The ‘messy’ part, though, calls for some explanation. Messy points to the problem with traditional approaches to land use compatibility that neatly separate residential from industrial districts with a commercial buffer in-between – a zoning strategy that has become impractical with the city’s diminished supply of developable land. As New York continues to face an affordable housing crisis and soaring land values, the city and developers have been eyeing every scrap of under-utilized land to add housing units, often at the cost of other less profitable and less visible uses like industrial. In the Times article above, Glen was referring to the city’s quest for solutions through new types of industrial mixed-use development by leveraging the market to increase the supply of industrial space and good-wage industrial sector jobs. This concept is being taken to the test with a set of two major projects currently seeking rezoning approval on Long Island City’s East River waterfront, where light industrial bases would be crosssubsidized by residential towers above. [2] 12
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
M districts in LIC, red area indicates MX mixed-use The ‘messy’ problem represents a change in the issues that shape industrial development, which has, arguably, always been the most problematic land use type. Early versions of modern zoning, going back to New York’s 1916 Resolution when industrial activities comprised a much bigger share of New York’s land use, were developed in part to isolate the industrial problem by putting “Unrestricted” industrial uses and their noxious impacts away from wealthier residential neighborhoods. The geography of industry in the US has altogether shifted since that peak period of production, however, owing to a mix of economic, social, political, and technological changes across scales. Decentralization through industrial suburbanization and globalization led to the so-called post-industrial city in its different forms – the shrinking city, the elite service and leisure-oriented city, etc; and helped along by zoning changes that have encouraged the non-industrial redevelopment of industrial districts in New York and elsewhere. [3] 13
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
Messy street in a LIC IBZ Recently, however, there have been signs that the industrial sector in New York is stabilizing, and the current problem facing expensive cities like New York, San Francisco, and Chicago is how to preserve what’s left. The types of industries thriving in these cities today are different, favoring small-batch custom manufacturing that benefits from proximity to the city’s population of designers and end-users, industries with time-sensitive delivery, like concrete and asphalt batching, and essential industrial services that support public works, like waste and water management. Recent studies in New York have shown that industrial jobs could play an important role in creating a more economically equitable city, on average paying almost twice as much as service sector jobs that have tended to replace them and providing pathways to a middle-income level for individuals who haven’t had the opportunity to attend college. [4] The question of what urban industry is today, and what it contributes to quality of life and the city as a whole, is evolving. 14
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
Open-yard industry Today, more than half of New York’s remaining industrial M-districts receive some level of protection from rezoning under the Industrial Business Zone initiative, though the program faces criticism because it’s not codified in zoning and it’s unclear how effective it’s been at strengthening industrial areas. [5] The zoning code still allows for a number of non-industrial uses (commercial, hotel, and previously, selfstorage) as of right, all of which are more profitable and will therefore contribute to the continued gradual de-industrialization of industrial districts. Starting in 2014, political leaders in New York outlined new strategies for strengthening the industrial sector as part of a broader agenda to create a more equitable city. In 2017 the city released New York Works, a job creation plan for 100,000 new good-paying jobs over the next 10 years, targeting 20,000 new jobs in the industrial and manufacturing sector. This complemented a $115 million 10-point Industrial Action Plan in 2015 to strengthen core industrial areas through capital investments, updated 15
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
zoning, and workforce development; and followed on a 2014 Engines of Opportunity brief that provided land use policy recommendations to support industrial areas. These new approaches to job and land use policy will be limited, however, if not supported by creative thinking on the physical, spatial, and social dimensions of new industrial districts. Changes in the makeup of industrial districts that are more mixed by design, shifts in goods distribution due to e-commerce, advancements in freight technology, and questions of climate change and how that will affect New York’s many floodplain industries, are some of the pressing issues in the design and planning of industrial districts. [6] In today’s ‘messy’ context, where past approaches of segregating industry have proven to no longer suffice, our urban design studio looked to build on the work the city is doing and develop design frameworks to see how different pieces might ‘fit together’ as productive districts that offer quality jobs, resilient and forward looking industries, and a more plural and inclusive urban public realm. The studio work focused on the Long Island City (LIC) neighborhood of Queens, where the city is already testing ideas for new industrial mixed-use development and placemaking around industrial activities. LIC has been called a city within the city because of its history as an independent municipality, but it also seems fitting to think of it as two cities – it is still today one of New York’s highest performing industrial areas, while at the same time, LIC has recently experienced lightning growth, turning over many of its formerly industrial areas to residential towers as an outcome of Bloomberg-era rezoning. The struggle over land use in LIC is plain to see, where issues of gentrification, overburdened infrastructure systems, and increasing truck-bike-ped conflicts (industry to non-industry conflicts) have tangible impacts on the daily lives and long-term plans of LIC residents and businesses alike. Add in the ongoing 180-acre Sunnyside Yards master plan for residentialcommercial redevelopment in the heart of LIC, and it’s clear that this neighborhood is facing major change. What is the role that industry will play in the future of LIC, and what should that look like?
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
APPROACH The studio began with a site visit to LIC, where we were first introduced to the area through city planning and stakeholder meetings, site walks, and facility tours. The tours offered an overview of the wide range of businesses that fall under New York’s M-zoning – from facilities that have already largely converted to post-industrial arts uses, more traditional examples of vertically integrated manufacturing, advanced manufacturing and development, artisanal production, to heavy open-air industrial facilities. We visited: MANA Products, one of the world’s largest cosmetic manufacturers operating out of a former Packard plant that employs nine-hundred workers (and sometimes more) in LIC that test, mix, mold, package and ship makeup products, with four in-house laboratories of chemists that perfect the color, odor, texture, and appearance of the MANA products. Sims Metal Management on Newtown Creek, where excavators work on giant piles of crushed cars, scrap metal, and fluttering paper and plastics before sending them on barges down the East River for recycling. Plaxall, a historic LIC plastics packaging manufacturer that has diversified into property management of a thriving art and maker district. More recently, Plaxall is spearheading the development vision for one of LIC’s two major industrial-mixed use projects that would bring over 300,000 square feet of new light industrial space and over 2,000 housing units to Anable Basin on the East River. Boyce Technologies, an advanced technology development and fabrication facility that specializes in custom integrated security and communications devices for transit authorities. Fifth Hammer Brewing Company, a craft brewery and taproom opened two years ago by a former Manhattan lawyer and his saxophone-playing business partner. After the initial site visit, the studio semester was divided into phases of research, analysis, and design. 18
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
The research part was based on a premise that the physical, operational, and scalar logics of industry are different and less understood by urban designers than other urban typologies (many active industries tend to be more peripheral, fenced off, and less public-facing), and that new design and planning tools should draw from a better understanding of industrial business practices and concerns. We started by doing field work with
LIC area agriculture and wetlands, mid 19th c.
1873, the urban vi llages that comprised LIC
1916, industrial development
Development patterns today 19
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
current LIC businesses through interviews, facility tours, parcel data comparisons, and analytical drawings of their operations. We chose 14 businesses that exemplified a range of current industrial activities seen in LIC, and asked about their physical facilities, operations, business networks, distribution networks, and plans for the future. We compiled the field work and distilled six common themes that offer some insights into policy, physical planning, and public realm issues for current LIC businesses: Tenure and Transience: Unsurprisingly, property ownership status heavily influenced a businesses’ future plans in relation to LIC. Renters faced uncertainty and disinvestment, as landlords speculated on future development opportunities of their industrial properties. Risk: Although many of LIC’s industrial areas lie within the floodplain and some of the businesses had fairly major property damage from Hurricane Sandy, very few had concrete plans for how to survive the next storm. Incremental Growth: Many facilities that we visited were overflowing with materials and equipment, turning sidewalks as and streets into improvised loading zones, stockpile areas, and employee parking lots. At the same time, increasing congestion on the streets was causing delivery delays and raises questions about the area’s infrastructural capacity to grow. Businesses that had the capital to expand were constrained by low FAR allowances in the M-zoning. Across the board, many were beginning to look to New Jersey to grow, with its business tax incentives and cheaper space, or Long Island. Many businesses had moved from neighborhood to neighborhood through the city already, chasing lower rents as property values climbed. Public Facing: Some of the businesses relied on frequent in-person collaboration with designers and clients, and accordingly were interested in making the industrial neighborhood inviting, safe, and accessible to outsiders. Other businesses generated a significant volume of trucking, loading and unloading activities, which was not well reconciled with pedestrian and bike movements.
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
M-1 allowable uses
M-2
M-3
MX New York-Centric: LIC’s position in the geographic center of New York City is ideal for connecting businesses to consumers all over the city. Some of the businesses required short distances to deliver perishable goods to end-users, and others benefited from supporting the ‘front of house’ industries that New York is known for, like theater and fashion. Compatibility of Uses: Industries in LIC today range in compatibility to non-industrial uses – depending on trucking volumes, noise, and visual appearance. While this is reflected in the 1961 M-1 (lighter industries), M-2 (medium), and M-3 (heavy) categories, the specific use types from that era no longer reflect contemporary industry, and overlook a more refined approach to mixing uses without compromising productivity or quality of life.
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
In parallel, we examined the physical and regulatory frameworks that have shaped LIC through maps and analytical drawings. Drawing on observations from our initial site visit, the studio identified six themes for investigation: The Anatomy of LIC: The urban fabric of LIC can feel fragmented and at times disorienting. The order underlying the disparate patterns can be traced through LIC’s development history, as it grew from an agglomeration of eight independent urban villages, resulting in a patchwork of different urban grids. Adding to this, LIC holds several large-scale developments of different kinds (large cemeteries like First Cavalry Cemetery, infrastructural areas like Sunnyside rail yards, and public housing complexes like Queensbridge – the largest in the country - and Ravenswood), that create their sub-districts within the surrounding fabric. Should our proposals seek to better connect between LIC’s urban fragments, or does this pattern of discrete parts offer unique opportunity to cultivate different productive districts with distinct identities? LIC Waters: Water flows around and through LIC. The East River and Newtown Creek waterfronts exemplify contrasting visions for what LIC could be, with the green waterfront parks that foreground residential towers on the East River, and the battered bulkheads that line the Newtown Creek Superfund waterway. With little green space overall and rapid development, LIC’s combined sewer infrastructure is overwhelmed and overflowing with every major rainfall. Following on decades of industrial pollution, LIC’s skyrocketing residential population offers one of Newtown Creek’s most serious water quality problems today. Compounding all of this is the need for better floodplain resiliency measures against the threat of increased storms and rising seas. How can LIC grow in ways that address vulnerability, water quality, and better access to resources? Flows of Goods and People: LIC’s mobility systems cast an actual shadow on the neighborhood. The area is known for its overhead infrastructure – subways, bridges to Manhattan, bridges to Brooklyn, and overhead highways, that create three-dimensional
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
entanglements over the local streets. Areas under bridges are often used for construction laydown and parking, or nothing at all, creating more breaks in a fragmented urban fabric. What unique opportunities do these covered and elevated spaces offer? Can we imagine new modes of connectivity or new ways of activating these residual spaces? Cataloging Industries: New York’s zoning term for industrial uses since the 1961 zoning overhaul has been ‘Manufacturing,’ which covers a range of activities that include manufacturing as well as warehousing and distribution, waste management, and public utilities. Additionally, most M-districts allow most commercial uses and hotels, which out-compete industrial uses in today’s market. In the late 1990’s, a large swathe of LIC was zoned MX for mixeduse residential/industrial/commercial, to encourage and bring into conformance mixed use live-work zones that had naturally developed in LIC. However, because there is no requirement for industrial in the zoning, residential and commercial uses gradually push out the industrial in these zones. What would a forward-looking industrial zoning policy look like? How can policy support LIC’s existing industrial community while offering actionable pathways for growth and change? Physical Fabric of Industry: Different eras of industry and transportation have produced different patterns of buildings and infrastructural spaces in LIC, ranging from the robust reinforced concrete multi-story factories of the early 20th century, one-story nearly window-free steel or block warehouse buildings, open-air yards with trailer-offices, and a whole family of oddly shaped buildings borne out of LIC’s historic freight rail networks. How will this palette of industrial artifacts and patterns shape LIC’s future productive and public spaces? The Public Realm (of Industry): As LIC’s residential, commercial, and industrial communities grow closer together, the streets and sidewalks have become a contested zone, where semi-trailers, fork lifts, cyclists, parked cars, and pedestrians jockey for space. The streets and sidewalks are where LIC’s frictions become most immediate and physical. Are there benefits to this flexible and dynamic public realm, or should future visions seek to ease conflicts by delineating zones for different mobility systems? 23
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
The field work and urban analysis served as a basis for urban design framework proposals in the last phase, to support the development of productive, resilient, and inclusive industrial districts in LIC. The proposals draw from existing and proposed policy tools and physical design. Elevating Rail Remnants is a project that uncovers new pedestrian infrastructure to connect workers and residents to LIC’s major IBZ near Newtown Creek. A New Learning Curve combines new mixed-use commercial and industrial zoning with an institutional strategy for a new workforce development ecosystem. Reimagining the 10% re-appropriates a tax incentive for industrial facility improvements to enhance quality of life in IBZ’s. Four Long Island Cities is a tactical urban design intervention that brings together entrepreneurial energy from Cornell Tech and the Queensbridge Houses community. A 22nd Century Logistics Hub envisions the adaptation of LIC’s IBZ’s for new forms of freight technology, urban mobility, and public spaces; and Beyond the Waterfront tests scenarios for a new resilient infrastructure along the north shore of Newtown Creek.
Notes 1. New York Times article, “Experiment on Queens Waterfront Would Mix Manufacturers and Dwellers.” April 18, 2016 by Matt A.V. Chaban. 2. The Plaxall redevelopment on Anable Basin, and the city-owned 11-12 44th Drive redevelopment under the NYCEDC. 3. See pages 9-10 of Engines of Opportunity brief, outlining Giuliani’s efforts to allow big box retail in M-zones, creation of Mixed Use districts, and early Bloomberg Administration rezoning. 4. Engines of Opportunity, p. 2. 5. Between 2006 and 2013, the Bloomberg Administration designated 21 citywide Industrial Business Zones within M-districts in an effort to protect existing industrial assets from real estate speculation. The IBZ program has included some tax benefits and business support services, and a mayoral commitment not to support rezoning. The de Blasio Administration has maintained the IBZ program to date, though language on the NYC Planning website about the IBZ’s hasn’t been updated to change from Bloomberg to de Blasio’s commitment. 6. Plans for the Bronx’s Hunt’s Point food distribution center and DCP’s Resilient Industry report are both solid steps in this direction.
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
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BUSINESS BIOGRAPHIES
MATERIALS FOR THE ARTS
EDISON PRICE LIGHTING
DEPP GLASS
NAVILLUS CONTRACTING
NOUVEAU ELEVATOR RANIERI SCULPTURE CASTING SHAPEWAYS FACTORY HUNTERS POINT RECYCLING
LENOBLE LUMBER
IFRESH, INC.
RAPID STEEL SUPPLY CORP.
SIMS METAL MANAGEMENT
LENOBLE LUMBER
GREEN ASPHALT
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GENERAL INSULATION
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Business Biographies The Business Biographies field research is based on a premise that the physical, operational, and scalar logics of industry are different and less understood than other urban typologies (many active industries tend to be more peripheral, fenced off, and less public-facing), and that new design and planning tools should draw from a better understanding of industrial business practices. We started by doing field work with current LIC businesses through interviews, facility tours, parcel data comparisons, and analytical drawings of their operations. We chose 14 businesses that exemplified a range of current industrial activities seen in LIC, and asked about their physical facilities, operations, business networks, distribution networks, and their plans for the future. Opposite : Locations of all featured LIC businesses
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Loading for outgoing material
Proposed bike lanes in front of loading dock
Unloading for incoming raw material Client showroom on upper level
DEPP GLASS ADDRESS .................... 41-50 / 41-40 38 STREET
Founded in Brooklyn in 1860, Depp Glass has expanded into both Manhattan and Queens. Depp Glass bought the two buildings that comprised their LIC location in the early 1980s. While the owner wishes to stay in Long Island City, they have considered moving the manufacturing side of their business elsewhere and using the LIC location for a showroom.
ZONING ................................................. M1-4 BUILT FAR ......................................... 1.38 / 1.13 BUILDING HEIGHT .......................... 20 ft / 25 ft AREA (IND:STOR:OFF) ................ 82% : 0% : 18% BUILDING AREA USED ..................... 14,850 sqft FLOODED BY SANDY? ................................ No GROUND ELEVATION ............................... 65 ft
Depp Glass caters to mostly high-end clientele for custom glass installations. Their work can be found in the private homes of celebrities and display windows of stores like Barney’s. They worked with Apple and provided all the glass for their iconic storefronts and hold the patent for the glass stairs found in Apple stores.
RAIL CONNECTION? .................................. No YEAR BUILT .................................... 1925 / 1931 MAJOR RENOVATIONS ............................ 2001 (TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT ........................... $11 LEASE or OWN? ..................................... OWN
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Crowded street parking used by surrounding businesses
Examples of sculpture products on building facade
Defensive bars on windows Infrequent use of loading docks due to decreased business
RANIERI SCULPTURE CASTING ADDRESS ..................................... 27-01 47th Ave
As the 3rd generation in his family to work with sculpture, Dominic Ranieri moved from Italy to New York and opened Ranieri Sculpture Casting in SoHo in 1961. Ranieri opened in LIC in 2001 with more than double the space for mold-making, sculpture casting, patina application, and storage.
ZONING .................................................... M1-4 BUILT FAR ........................................... 1.59 / 2.00 BUILDING HEIGHT ....................................... 18 ft AREA (IND:STOR:OFF) ..................... 92% : 0% : 8% BUILDING AREA USED ........................ 19,600 sqft FLOODED BY SANDY? .................................... No GROUND ELEVATION ................................... 13 ft RAIL CONNECTION? ......................... Yes, Inactive YEAR BUILT ................................................ 1933 MAJOR RENOVATIONS ....................... 1987, 2000 (TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT ............................... $8 LEASE or OWN? ......................................... OWN
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Incoming raw material
Trucks pass through building to pick up materials
Outgoing fabricated products Building is full depth of the block, allowing for efficient production line Proximity to Queens Midtown Expressway
RAPID STEEL SUPPLY CORPORATION ADDRESS ....................................... 49-49 30th St
Rapid Steel is a steel supplier focused on steel fabrication. Within their Long Island City space they have a series of machines that cut, roll and form steel. They also store a limited amount of product.
ZONING .................................................... M2-1 BUILT FAR ........................................... 1.10 / 2.00 BUILDING HEIGHT ....................................... 18 ft
Rapid Steel’s competitive advantage is their highquality customization and speedy delivery: they offer free (and rapid) delivery anywhere in New York City and its surrounding environs. Their trucks (at the ready outside of the space at all times) drop raw steel off on one side of the building and pick up the customized product on the other side.
AREA (IND:STOR:OFF) ................... 50% : 50% : 0% BUILDING AREA USED ........................ 38,380 sqft FLOODED BY SANDY? .................................... No GROUND ELEVATION ................................... 13 ft RAIL CONNECTION? ......................... Yes, Inactive YEAR BUILT ............................................... 1948 MAJOR RENOVATIONS ............................... none (TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT ............................... $8 LEASE or OWN? ....................................... LEASE
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Adjacent to Sunnyside Yards
No nearby parking Loading dock is insufficient
MATERIALS FOR THE ARTS Materials for the Arts is New York City’s premier donation center supporting the arts and education. MFTA collects surplus items from businesses and individuals, and make these donations available for free to its recipients: nonprofit organizations with arts programming, government agencies, and public schools. Their warehouse is operated by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs with additional support from the City’s Departments of Sanitation and of Education.
ADDRESS ............................ 33-00 Northern Blvd ZONING .................................................... M1-5 BUILT FAR ............................................... ....6.96 BUILDING HEIGHT ..................................... 108 ft AREA (IND:STOR:OFF) .................... 1% : 37% : 61% BUILDING AREA USED ....................... 35,000 sqft FLOODED BY SANDY? .................................... No GROUND ELEVATION ................................... 22 ft RAIL CONNECTION? ..................................... Yes
MFTA has a small art gallery where they showcase art made out of recycled materials. They also host public programs in their space once a month, ranging from artist-led workshops, lectures, yoga sessions, and more.
YEAR BUILT ................................................ 1915 MAJOR RENOVATIONS ....................... 2001, 2007 (TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT ............................. $23 LEASE or OWN? ....................................... LEASE
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Planned expansion into current FreshDirect facility
Original loading dock connected to rail spur
Sales staff, dispatchers and accounting staff are split between two offices
365-acre Cavalry Cemetery across street creates buffer to industrial uses
LENOBLE LUMBER ADDRESS ................................. 38-20 Review Ave
Founded in 1965 to serve the movie industry, the family business moved to LIC in 2007 upon outgrowing its Hells Kitchen facilities. Their fulfillment and distribution center, pictured here, is served by 3 warehouses and includes a small shop for custom milling. A future expansion will double their space.
ZONING .................................................... M3-1 BUILT FAR ........................................... 1.81 / 2.00 BUILDING HEIGHT ...................................... 41 ft AREA (IND:STOR:OFF) .................... 15% : 82% : 3% BUILDING AREA USED ....................... 80,000 sqft FLOODED BY SANDY? .................................... No
Review Ave is overburdened by heavy trucking industries and by improvised, congested loading areas. The expected departure of neighbor Fresh Direct may provide brief but probably insufficient relief. Their tenure is threatened by a spread of LIC’s displaced high-rent commercial tenants.
GROUND ELEVATION .................................. 20 ft RAIL CONNECTION? ......................... Yes, Inactive YEAR BUILT ................................................ 1972 MAJOR RENOVATIONS ............................... none (TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT ............................... $9 LEASE or OWN? ...................................... LEASE
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Need to manage dust from aggregates Tall wind screens buffer views from encroaching residential
Stacked shipping containers = office and break room
DISEÑADO POR: ANGEL LARA
Complex truck queuing
Main sorting pile Building owned by parent construction company
HUNTERS POINT RECYCLING Hunters Point Recycling recycles dirt, concrete and rock from road construction/repair projects primarily in Manhattan and Queens. HPR converts these materials into recycled aggregate of differing grades, which is then used as backfill.
ADDRESS ........................ 29-55 Hunters Point Ave ZONING .................................................... M3-2 BUILT FAR ......................................... 0.00 / 2.00 BUILDING HEIGHT ........................................ NA AREA (IND:STOR:OFF) ...................... NA : NA : NA
HPR has erected a high fence around their yard to minimize the yard’s visibility. They also pride themselves on maintaining a clean yard, with attention paid to the cleanliness of the entrance and exit. HPR tries to manage truck traffic by having a yard personnel manage the truck queues and actively turn away trucks if the queues get too long. With an influx of commercial and residential uses in the surrounding areas, HPR perceives that there is an incompatibility with these new incoming uses.
BUILDING AREA USED ...................................NA FLOODED BY SANDY? ................................... Yes GROUND ELEVATION .....................................NA RAIL CONNECTION? ...................................... No YEAR BUILT ............................................... 201? MAJOR RENOVATIONS ................................ 2016 (TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT ............................. $27 LEASE or OWN? ........................................ OWN
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Widened sidewalks at loading side of building
acrylate ceramic nylon
SHAPEWAYS FACTORY ADDRESS .................................... 30-02 48th Ave
Shapeways is a custom order 3D printing service, founded in 2007 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Their headquarters are in Manhattan and they have manufacturing facilities in Long Island City and Eindhoven as well as additional offices in Seattle.
ZONING .................................................... M2-1 BUILT FAR .......................................... 2.85 / 2.00 BUILDING HEIGHT ....................................... 51 ft AREA (IND:VAC) .................... 20,000 : 121,800 sqft
Shapeways opened their Long Island City facility in 2012 and currently has five years left on their lease. They are the only remaining tenant in the building as the owner is renovating the remaining spaces. They expect the landlord to fill the vacant spaces with office tenants and a cafe to create a complex much like the Factory and Falchi buildings close by. If the owner increases their rent once the lease has expired they will move from higher-skilled to lower-skilled labor, diminishing their need to be in such a central location.
BUILDING AREA USED ....................... 20,000 sqft FLOODED BY SANDY? .................................... No GROUND ELEVATION ................................... 13 ft RAIL CONNECTION? ...................................... No YEAR BUILT ............................................... 1926 MAJOR RENOVATIONS .................. 2013, Ongoing (TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT ............................... $9 LEASE or OWN? ....................................... LEASE
42
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
2014 renovations increased building’s structural capacity to anticipate zoning changes
Showcase elevator shaft
Four residential apartments sandwiched between Nouveau properties Employee parking
NOUVEAU ELEVATOR ADDRESS .................................. 47-55 37 STREET
Nouveau Elevator, the largest vertical transportation company in America, builds, installs and maintains thousands of elevators, escalators and moving sidewalks both in the tri-state area, and nationally.
ZONING .................................................... M1-4 BUILT FAR ........................................... 1.99 / 2.00 BUILDING HEIGHT ...................................... 36 ft
The company was founded in 1984 by four brothers and their father and is still family-owned and operated. They currently have 550 employees and plan to grow 10% in the next 6 months. During a 2014 renovation, Nouveau reinforced the building’s structural capacity to enable additional stories (up to 15) in case the zoning changes in the future. Prior to moving to LIC, Nouveau was located in Greenpoint -- their Greenpoint location was severely affected by Superstorm Sandy. In reaction to the flooding, Nouveau sought a new facility further inland prompting a move to their current location.
AREA (IND:STOR:OFF) ..................... 96% : 0%: 4% BUILDING AREA USED ........................ 36,100 sqft FLOODED BY SANDY? .................................... No GROUND ELEVATION ................................... 77 ft RAIL CONNECTION? ...................................... No YEAR BUILT ................................................ 1956 MAJOR RENOVATIONS ........................2007, 2014 (TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT .............................. $21 LEASE or OWN? ......................................... OWN
44
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Storage warehouse Truck queuing Flooding vulnerability from Newtown Creek
Office area
Inland flooding and pooling
GENERAL INSULATION ADDRESS ................................ 38-42 Review Ave
General Insulation Company, Inc. is a national distributor of insulation, weatherization, and fireproofing products for the construction market. The company is based in Massachusetts, with this LIC branch ideally located to provide timely service the greater New York City metropolitan region. Green Insulation is a mid-sized company with about 15-20 employees at the LIC location working in sales, logistics, warehouse, and trucking. The primary concerns regarding their location is a conscious tenant-landlord relationship, coastal flooding and rent increases.
ZONING .................................................... M3-1 BUILT FAR ................................................... 0.98 BUILDING HEIGHT ...................................... 30 ft AREA (IND:STOR:OFF) .................. 25% : 65% : 10% BUILDING AREA USED ....................... 45,000 sqft FLOODED BY SANDY? ................................... Yes GROUND ELEVATION .................................... 8 ft RAIL CONNECTION? ........................ Yes, Inactive YEAR BUILT ................................................ 1931 MAJOR RENOVATIONS ............................... none (TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT ............................... $5 LEASE or OWN? ....................................... LEASE
46
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Truck scales
Office
Generator elevated after Sandy
Paper and plastics with wind fence Barge loading Light metals
Heavy metals
Scrapped vehicles
SIMS METAL MANAGEMENT SIMS is a recycling company in a privileged location on the creek mainly focused in metal management with other locations in the Bronx, Brooklyn and NJ, where they deliver the recycling materials via barge transport for operations that cannot be handled in the current location.
ADDRESS ............................30-27 Greenpoint Ave ZONING .................................................... M3-1 BUILT FAR .......................................... 0.08 / 2.00 BUILDING HEIGHT ...................................... 20 ft AREA (IND:STOR:OFF) ..................... 94% : 5% : 1% BUILDING AREA USED ........................ 10,333 sqft
SIMS is the main industry using maritime traffic in the area. Along with the benefits of being close to the water, there are some risks as well. SIMS was heavily impacted by Hurricane Sandy but the only measure taken after the storm was elevating their generators.
FLOODED BY SANDY? ................................... Yes GROUND ELEVATION ................................... 10 ft RAIL CONNECTION? ......................... Yes, Inactive YEAR BUILT ................................................ 1974 MAJOR RENOVATIONS ................................2013
They generate intense inbound traffic and despite adjusting to regulations still generate environmental concerns as perceived by the Newtown Creek Alliance, since their activities occur in the open air.
(TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT ............................... $9 LEASE or OWN? ....................................... LEASE
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Queensbridge Housing
Production area on ground level
Outgoing fabricated lighting products Incoming raw material Product display space on second floor
EDISON PRICE LIGHTING ADDRESS .......................................... .41-01 21 St
Edison Price Lighting designs, fabricates, and installs custom art and design fixtures for institutional clients across the United States and internationally. Their projects to date include 450 museums and galleries, as well as a range of hotels, universities, and municipalities. The company has operated in LIC since 2001, having previously located in Manhattan on East 60th Street. They have 5 years left on their current lease in LIC.
ZONING .................................................... M1-5 BUILT FAR ........................................... 1.22 / 6.50 BUILDING HEIGHT ...................................... 33 ft AREA (IND:STOR:OFF) ................... 77% : 0% : 23% BUILDING AREA USED ........................ 53,225 sqft FLOODED BY SANDY? .................................... No GROUND ELEVATION ................................... 16 ft RAIL CONNECTION? ...................................... No
Edison Price expressed interest in staying in their current location but have acknowledged the possibility that they will have to move at the expiration of their lease in 5 years. They did not specify a location but presumably the Bronx, New Jersey, or further into Queens.
YEAR BUILT ............................................... 1950 MAJOR RENOVATIONS ................................ 2001 (TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT .............................. $16 LEASE or OWN? ....................................... LEASE
50
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Upper level office/ admin area Dry goods storage warehouse
Employee parking Loading docks
Fresh produce and live seafood
IFRESH Mr. Deng founded Long Sheng Hang in 1995. Long Sheng Hang is an import wholesaler specializing in Asian dry food products from China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Mr. Deng purchased the building at 2-39 54th Avenue in 2003, which he currently uses for office space and warehouse storage for dry goods. Later he leased the building across the street for fresh produce, meat and seafood warehousing.
ADDRESS ........................................ 2-39 54th Av ZONING .................................................... M1-4 BUILT FAR .......................................... 0.96 / 2.00 BUILDING HEIGHT ................................. 25-30 ft AREA (IND:STOR:OFF) .................... 85% : 0% : 15% BUILDING AREA USED ........................ 59,022 sqft FLOODED BY SANDY? ................................... Yes GROUND ELEVATION ................................. 6-8 ft RAIL CONNECTION? ......................... Yes, Inactive
With green space and residential development planned on the waterfront directly West of IFresh, Mr. Deng anticipates traffic congestion challenges. Truck shipments and deliveries will come in conflict with the future increase of pedestrians in the area.
YEAR BUILT ............................................... 1962 MAJOR RENOVATIONS .................................1981 (TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT ............................... $7 LEASE or OWN? ......................................... OWN
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Construction equipment and supplies in fenced open lot
EQ
UI MANH PME
NT AT TAN REN TAL
Travel to Manhattan takes 15 minutes to 1 hour depending on traffic
Main street entrance shared with Manhattan Equipment Rental
Queensboro Bridge Qu ee nsb
oro
NAVILLUS CONTRACTING ADDRESS ..................... 22-09 Queens Plaza North
Navillus is one of the largest construction companies in NYC. This yard stores equipment: a fleet of trucks and flatbeds and building materials for immediate use. While their HQ will remain in Manhattan, they expect to move the yard to NJ when their lease expires in two years. The business is surrounded by Queensbridge on the west and hotels on the east- they expect the current parcel will turn into residential development in a few years.
ZONING .................................................... M1-5 BUILT FAR ............................................ 0.83 / 5.0 BUILDING HEIGHT ...................................... 28 ft AREA (IND:STOR:OFF) ................. 20% : 50% : 10% BUILDING AREA USED ........................ 67,600 sqft FLOODED BY SANDY? .................................... No GROUND ELEVATION ................................... 17 ft RAIL CONNECTION? ...................................... No
The benefit to being in the NYC metro area is enormous- they have projects all over the city and their trucks are able to access the sites relatively easily. However, it is difficult for trucks to navigate the blocks around the building- trucks must drive four blocks loop north and west in order to circle back to get onto the Queensboro Bridge.
Year Built .................................................... 1949 MAJOR RENOVATIONS ................................ none (TAX) LAND VALUE / SQFT ...................... $12 - $14 LEASE or OWN? ....................................... LEASE
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business bios
THE NEXT INDUSTRIAL FRONTIER When insufficient money, lack of space or leadership change comes, these are the LIC businesses’ next moves.
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
TENURE + TRANSIENCE Almost every business we spoke with was considering their next move, but they had different motives and concerns. How can policy respond to these appropriately?
• Edison Price Lighting • iFresh • Navillus Construction
RISK Will this accelerate the departure of industry? Given low public ownership, how can the city help grow the systemic scattered site stormwater infrastructure needed to protect industrial operations?
• General Insulation • SIMs Metal Management
I N C R E M E N TA L G R O W T H How can the city help industrial businesses grow in place as space becomes more scarce? Is LIC “at capacity” given current levels of congestion?
• LeNoble Lumber • Nouveau Elevator •
C O M PAT I B I L I T Y O F U S E S How can policy better describe and adapt to the rapid evolution of industrial land uses? How can zoning reinforce where mixing uses enhances quality of life and where it detracts from quality of life?
• Hunters Point Recycling • Shapeways
NYC-CENTRIC What the next industrial frontier means for NYC-centric industry? How can adjustments to Manhattan freight ease LIC congestion?
• Green Asphalt • Ranieri Sculpturing • Rapid Steel
P U B L I C FA C I N G How can the public realm better facilitate a positive industrial customer experience while promoting efficient freight circulation?
• Depp Glass • Materials for the Arts 57
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Inside the Depp Glass showroom 58
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Inside Ranieri Sculpture Casting 59
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Sorting material, inside Hunter’s Point Recycling 60
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Inside Shapeways Factory 61
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Inside Nouveau’s elevator testing area 62
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Plastics pi le at Sims Metal Management 63
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Inside Edison Price Lighting fabrication area 64
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | business biographies
Dry goods storage at IFresh 65
PROPOSALS
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
68 68
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Elevating Rail Remnants Sara Li | Zoe Mueller | Marissa Reilly
Long Island City’s industrial system developed around the complex freight rail network of Sunnyside Yards. Both present and historical traces of rail have resulted in an interrupted urban fabric of parcels, buildings, and infrastructure. We propose to create a connection across Sunnyside Yards using existing rail structures to improve transit connections and worker commutes. We then employ the fragmented, residual parcels and stitch them together into a cohesive network around the new connection. We imagine new uses on these parcels to support industrial operations and workers while also providing ecological and social benefits to the IBZs. Opposite photo: Multi-level chaotic infrastructure of the 7 Train
69
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
VOIDS The central rail infrastructure of Sunnyside Yards and the waterfront act as the largest voids of LIC’s urban fabric.
INFRASTRUCTURE Sunnyside Yards has a historical rail network that shapes the development of the parcels and buildings.
INTERRUPTIONS Irregular parcels emerge from the central rail infrastructure. They also becomes sites of convergence for issues in the IBZs.
70
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | introduction
1000sf
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 sf size
132 134 172
57
128
191
54 110
87 177
50
95
180
167
160
91
206
112
93
159
7
211
29
23
17
201
152
156
62
121 105
205
126
110
30 163
169 79 20
104
175-
100
118
70
179
159
161 76 40
41
105
36 72
158
83 103
119
65 4
58
92
104 106
105 11
212
28 45 84
142
95 150 104 108 101
110
198
shape
86 123
97
A comparison of remnant parcel shape irregularity and size The proposal was born out of an intensive research that explored the existing urban fabric of Long Island City. We found that the voids (Sunnyside Yards, East River and Newtown Creek) forced the grid to incorporate irregularities and subsequent remnant parcels. Following this discovery we conducted a taxonomy to understand the variation within remnant parcels. 71
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
72
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Imagining New Uses What if the irregular parcel shapes could What if the irregular shapes could be used for an parcel ecological network? be used for an ecological network?
Gravel Garden
Existing Business
Permeable Surfaces
Imagining New Uses Haphazard What if the odd buildings were used for Parking combined operations services? What if the odd buildings were and used for
Wayfinding Stop
combined operations EXISTING and services?
PROPOSED
Advertising Signage Existing Industrial Business
Service Hub
Following the discovery of remnant parcels we developed a series of questions that proposed further exploration . W hat if the irregular Existing parcel shapes could be Business used for an ecological network? W hat is the odd-shaped bui ldings were used for Industrial combined operations Education Signage and services. W hat if the roofs industrial bui ldings could be multi-functional? Logistics HQ
deli mail drop jobs center
LI N C
O
Imagining New Uses Fenced Off What if the roofs of industrial buildings could be multi-functional? What if the roofs of industrial buildings EXISTING could be multi-functional?
Stormwater Retention + Seating
PROPOSED Seedum Green Roof
Low, Sturdy Industrial Structure
Existing Industrial Buildings
EXISTING
Elevated Loading Dock
PROPOSED
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
A CONNECTED NETWORK The remnant parcels form an aggregated network, relating to each other both on the ground level and in elevation from rail connections and rooftops. The reactivation of the rail parcels catalyzes the network of residual parcels to relieve industrial pressures such as parking, loading, and worker services.
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
I N T E R V E N T I O N M AT R I X Combining industrial, social, and ecological interventions as a mixed approach to parcel usage. The suggested uses of the parcels build off existing conditions to provide a light-touch intervention that can serve as a catalyst for more informed organization of the future. Each intervention’s impact builds on each other, creating a network that specifically supports the needs of an industrial zone.
UNDERPASS RIPRAP LARGE DRAINAGE BELOW-INFRASTRUCTURE WALKING PATHS
TRIANGLE PARK PERMEABLE PAVING WAYFINDING PLANTINGS
ROOFTOP MIXED USE RAMPED PARKING GREEN ROOF FLEET STORAGE
76
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
DRAINAGE GARDEN
GROVE PARKING
OPEN SPACE LOW MAINTENANCE PLANTINGS
GREEN DIVIDERS PARKING REST AREA
ROOFTOP SHOWROOM
ROOFTOP LOADING
PUBLIC FACING EDUCATIONAL GREEN ROOF
RAMPED DOCK GREEN ROOF TREE BUFFER
SERVICES HUB
MATERIAL STORAGE
FOOD + SERVICES UNION SPACE OFFICE
MATERIAL OVERFLOW PUBLIC FACING VEHICLE PARKING
77
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
The elevated rail acknowledges and celebrates industrial nature while helping it to operate effectively by relieving transit pressures.
The re-appropriated industrial, social and ecological parcels all integrate with the elevated connection.
Industrial businesses can use the new connections social gathering space and a place to showcase their products and innovations.
78
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
The connections offers a pleasant, safe and comfortable pedestrian option in a street network dominated by trucks.
This intervention inserts permeable surfaces back into the urban landscape, reducing runoff and mitigating the affects of heavy rains.
The connection utilizes historic infrastructure to reduce disrupting the industrial patterns of Long Island City.
79
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
ADA accessible suspended bridge
7
SECTION B
Existing rail structure used to support new park
viewing platform
7
80 SECTION SECTION A A new connection existing existing rail rail EXISTING ELEVATED RAIL
SECTION B
NEW CONNECTION existing rail
S ex
SECTION B xisting rail
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
E L E VAT E D C O N N E C T I O N S It is a central objective of this proposal to stitch the urban fabric back together. Sunnyside Yards poses as a passive fissure in Long Island City’s connectivity, and we knew that by proposing an intervention that connected the east and west portions, the neighbors, visitors, workers, and residents alike would benefit. Long Island City is rich with rail lines, may of which are decommissioned. The Montauk Spur that feeds directly into the yards is reminiscent of Manhattan’s West Side High Line before its iconic transformation. We decided to activate the Montauk Spur as a connection that would provide a pedestrian and cycling connection across Sunnyside Yards.
furniture mounted on existing rail funky seating
shade -structure
SECTION SECTION C C MONTAWK RAILrail SPUR existing existing and rail and berm berm
81 AT GRADE RAIL SPUR
SECTION SECTION D D existing existing rail rail
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
COURT STREET SUBWAY ENTRANCE
This new connection cuts my commute in half!
Thank goodness for the handicap accessibility
Bridge connects the handicap accessible subway station to the Elevated Connector
Love the industrial chic vibe of this place!
Can’t wait to check out the showcases today.
Our son loves to watch the trains go by.
Entrance from 7 Train bridge Off to get one of those famed LIC deli sandos!
Remind me, what’s your astrological sign?
Wow, look at this view!
Finally, wayfinding! I wonder what LeNoble is showcasing today. Dang, these these trees are niiiiiice
Gathering spaces on connector
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Let’s check out the new workers hub tomorrow. More food options!
100% agree.
So glad I didn’t have to park illegally today. So stressful
Montauk is way more interesting than the High Line.
Who knew this art was manufactured here in LIC !
I didn’t know Lenoble had a showroom up here!
I love it up here Mommy! I want to make stuff when I grow up.
The air has gotten better lately.
I love watching the trucks go by.
Walking around the IBZs is really interesting!
Elevated Montauk to rooftops
A C T I VAT I O N The activation of the elevated connection is central to the intervention. The programming of the space includes social gathering nooks, observation decks, public art installations, landscaping and a series of showcase rooms intended to be used by LIC industrial businesses. These showcase rooms offer a outward facing retail space that can be used to communicate about what is made in LIC and the important of industrial uses in the context of NYC.
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
A New Learning Curve Azka Mohyuddin | Evan Spetrini| Daphne Xu
Industry has been an integral part of Long Island City from the beginning, however, with technological advances, that industry is starting to change shape. The New Learning Curve embraces this inevitable change to be the center of technological innovation while also preparing the existing workforce for this changing landscape, ensuring cross-learning opportunities, and promoting economic democracy. We believe that effective learning does not happen in a top-to-bottom hierarchy but is rather a curve where you can learn from each other through sharing, observing, interacting, socializing and mixing of age and experiences. Our proposal leverages the demand for commercial space in LIC to create a district that allows density but carves out space for co-learning and coworking. We propose a new commercial building typology in order to encourage and facilitate this cross-learning which along with traditional office space also offers space for a learning center, communal gathering, and co-working labs and offices. This physical intervention will be supplemented by a worker-owned workforce development cooperative which will activate these learning centers across the district based on workers’ needs. Opposite photo: High-rise development
85
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals Elevated subway line (7 train)
Sunnyside Yards
Possible open space opportunities
Targeted interventions to act as catalysts for development
86
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
FUTURE GROWTH We identified six lots where these new building typologies can be introduced to act as a catalyst for future development. Rather than simply repeat this new typology for every building, our goal is to locate them in a way that creates a new ecology on a planar level within the district and a vertical level across the buildings. Active ground floor uses to support pedestrian spines
Upzoning to leverage development and support civic infrastructure or workforce development
87
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Residential Development Commercial Development
Agents of change : commercial migration
88
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
THE TOOLS
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT FOR C R O S S - S U B S I D I Z AT I O N Upzoning in LIC from 2 to 15 FAR to attract commercial development can help support the preservation of good-paying industrial jobs.
ZONING 60% Commercial, 30% Industry, 10% Social/Community/Learning Linkage fee of $7/square foot for developers to put into Workforce Development Trust Fund to kickstart local LIC worker-owned learning center organization.
TA X P O L I C Y Capture tax revenue for 30 year period after development begins to support Workforce Development Trust Fund.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TRUST FUND Allocated to starting the worker-owned cooperative learning center platform. Support partnerships between existing local educational, social, and community institutions to promote innovative initiatives in workforce development.
89
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Inspired by the mixing of professions and age groups observed at Griddle Deli in Long Island City on a typical weekday lunch hour, we asked:
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
How might we design a social space that encourages interactions between workers and students, and creates opportune learning moments? What are ideal conditions for workforce development utilizing existing social spaces?
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Industry as Linear
INDUSTRY AS A LINE
Employer
Employee Professional development Skills development
Business needs
Industry trends
Assembly Line
Supply Chain
Work
Life
Traditionally we think of industry in a very linear way – our mind drawing up images of assembly lines, supply chains, and organizational hierarchies. All these things imply that an individual’s role at work is limited to the position he/she plays in this linear model with a clear separation of work and life. The employee and employer simply fulfill each other’s professional needs and there is no further exchange between the two.
92
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
INDUSTRY AS 3D
Industry as 3D
Personal growth opportunities
Businesses generate wealth
Overall Livelihood
Schools generate knowledge
Skills empowerment opportunities
Our proposal challenges this way of thinking and introduces industry as a three dimensional model with interaction, partnerships, and exchange of ideas at its core. We believe that by facilitating an environment where both employees and employers feel invested in their growth, we can not only be more productive but also improve the overall livelihood of the people that work there. Sharing
Learning
93
Observing
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
In order to prevent the creation of individual silos within buildings, the activation of the ground level learning centers and open space will encourage communication across the district and the levels of different uses within the buildings will create layers of communities vertically.
94
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Our goal was to bring learning to the people instead of the other way around so the design guidelines for these “working lobby� learning centers drew inspiration from the delis in LIC which already play the role of bringing different people together and are a source of learning.
95
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Building Ecologies
BUILDING ECOLOGIES
Penth
1
Highest Comme square f infrastru
Comm
2
Provide different learning
Share
3
Share
4
Innovatio
Indus
5 6
1
PENTHOUSE Highest return in rent; views of Manhattan. Commercial rents from the increased square footage subsidizes proposed civic infrastructure
2
C O M M O N S PA C E S
3
Shared Office Space
Precise space for gathering of people from different professions to facilitate learning
4
Shared Production Space
5
Industrial Space
6
Working Lobbies
96
“Work Learn
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Reimagining the 10% Chelsea Bruck | Charlotte Ong | Jialu Tan
Reimagining the 10%: Designing a Public Realm Network for LIC’s Workers and Industries offers ideas for the improvement of the public realm in Long Island City’s Industrial Business Zones, with an emphasis on the everyday experience of local workers. Though many aspects of the IBZs’ public realm could benefit from improvements, our design proposal focuses on two main issues: the lack of food and beverage establishments, and the absence of nearby public spaces. This proposal takes the existing ICAP policy as a starting point to imagine how additional food retail and accompanying public spaces might be financed and built in LIC’s IBZs. ICAP, known as the Industrial and Commercial Abatement Program, provides tax abatement benefits to industrial businesses that improve and/or expand their existing building, as long as they use less than 10% of their space for retail purposes. Instead of viewing the retail limit as an obstacle, we propose to view it as an opportunity to encourage industries who are already going to undergo a renovation to build in a small retail space for a food establishment. We have also proposed an addendum to the existing ICAP policy that would incentivize businesses to build new public spaces by offering similar types of financial benefits. Building on this policy framework, our design proposal imagines a pilot network of new food retail and nearby public space in the IBZs, augmented by creative ideas for collaborations across local businesses that could take full advantage of the additional flexible space.
Opposite photo: Food options on the IBZ streets
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
IBZ WORKER PROFILES LATCHMAN | SIMS TERMINAL MANAGER BAYSIDE, QUEENS DRIVES TO WORK EARNS $100K+
AMY | MANA COSMETICS FACTORY LINE WORKER JACKSON HEIGHTS, QUEENS SUBWAY TO WORK EARNS $33K+
RHONDA | BOYCE TECH COMPANY CHEF LIVES IN ASTORIA, QUEENS SSUBWAY TO WORK EARNS $66K+
AIDAN | SHAPEWAYS MANAGER LIVES IN NEW JERSEY COMMUTER TRAIN TO WORK EARNS $100K+
JOSE | RAPID STEEL TRUCK DRIVER LIVES IN QUEENS SUBWAY TO WORK EARNS $35K+
DAN | IFRESH FORKLIFT OPERATOR LIVES IN BAY TERRACE, QUEENS SUBWAY TO WORK EARNS $50K
AM
6:00
Latchman Terminal Manager SIMS
Jimmy Manager MANA Cosmetics
Amy Factory Worker MANA Cosmetics
Charles Owner Boyce
Rhonda Chef Boyce
David Owner Fifth Hammer
Mitch Journalist/Historian Self Employed
Ralph Owner Ranieri Sculpture
Harriet Director Materials for the Arts
Kwame Assistant Materials for the Arts
Nima Manager Green Asphalt
Lisa Education Coordinator Newtown Creek Alliance
Mike Manager General Insulation
Johnny Truck Driver General Insulation
Victor
1 2 3 4 5
DRIVE TO WORK
6 7
SLEEP
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
PM
8:00 9:00
12:00 1:00
4:00
6:00
8:00
DRIVE HOME
LUNCH
AM
10:00
12:00
5:00
SLEEP
BREAKFAST
DINNER AND LEISURE TIME
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DRIVE HOME
BREAK
DINNER AND LEISURE TIME SLEEP
DINNER AND LEISURE TIME GROCERY SHOPPING
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
DRINKS AND DINNER
LUNCH
DRIVE HOME
SLEEP
LEISURE TIME
TRAIN TO WORK
BOWLING WALK HAPPY HOUR AND DINNER
LUNCH
BREAKFAST
BRUNCH DRIVE TO WORK
BUS/TRAIN TO WORK
BREAKFAST
SLEEP
TRAIN HOME
LUNCH
TRAIN TO WORK BREAKFAST
LEISURE TIME
DRIVE HOME DINNER AND DRINKS LEISURE TIME
SNACK
DINNER
LUNCH
SLEEP
WALK HOME
BUS HOME
SLEEP
SLEEP
DINNER AND LEISURE TIME
GYM
DINNER AND LEISURE TIME DRIVE HOME
LUNCH
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
DRIVE HOME
DINNER WITH DONORS
LUNCH
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
SLEEP
GALLERY OPENING
SLEEP
LEISURE TIME
DINNER AND CONCERT GYM
TRAIN TO WORK BREAKFAST
LUNCH
LEISURE TIME
DRIVE HOME LEISURE TIME GYM
LUNCH
BREAKFAST WALK TO WORK
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
SLEEP
TRAIN HOME
COFFEE BREAK
SMOKE BREAK
WALK TO LCC
SMOKE BREAK
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
LEISURE TIME
WORK EVENT AT LCC
LUNCH
LUNCH
SLEEP
DINNER
DINNER
TRAIN HOME DRINKS LEISURE TIME
SLEEP
DRIVE HOME LEISURE TIME
DINNER AND DRINKS DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
LUNCH
LUNCH
SLEEP
DRIVE HOME
100
LEISURE TIME
DRIVE HOME LEISURE TIME
LEISURE TIME
SLEEP
SLEEP
Amy Factory Worker MANA Cosmetics
Charles Owner Boyce
Rhonda Chef Boyce
David Owner Fifth Hammer
3 4 5
GROCERY SHOPPING
BREAKFAST
DRINKS AND DINNER
LUNCH
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
BOWLING WALK HAPPY HOUR AND DINNER
LUNCH
BREAKFAST
6 7
SLEEP
LEISURE TIME
TRAIN TO WORK
BRUNCH DRIVE TO WORK
SLEEP
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
DRIVE HOME
SLEEP
WALK HOME
LEISURE TIME
DRIVE HOME DINNER AND DRINKS LEISURE TIME
SNACK
SLEEP
Over the course of early 2018, we visited a range of businesses, and met a variety of business owners and workers to learn about their work life, and the challenges and opportunities in the IBZs as they see them. After speaking with over 30 people working in the IBZs, we developed these profiles to give you a taste of the different types of workers who spend most of their time in LIC’s IBZs. The corresponding timeline expands on our research to imagine what a typical day in each worker’s life might entail.
Mitch Journalist/Historian Self Employed
Ralph Owner Ranieri Sculpture
Harriet Director Materials for the Arts
Kwame Assistant Materials for the Arts
Nima Manager Green Asphalt
Lisa Education Coordinator Newtown Creek Alliance
Mike Manager General Insulation
Johnny Truck Driver General Insulation
Victor Manager Navillus
Krystal Office worker Nouveau Elevator
Kenny Greenberg Artist Krypton Neon
Mr. Deng Owner iFRESH
Dan Forklift Operator, iFRESH
Joe Manager Hunters Point
Aidan Manager Shapeway
Jose Truck Driver Rapid Steel
Alex Manager Edison Price
Wesley Owner Depp Glass,
BUS/TRAIN TO WORK
BREAKFAST
DINNER
LUNCH
BUS HOME
SLEEP
DINNER AND LEISURE TIME
GYM
DINNER AND LEISURE TIME
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
DRIVE HOME
LUNCH
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
DRIVE HOME
DINNER WITH DONORS
LUNCH
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
SLEEP
GALLERY OPENING
SLEEP
LEISURE TIME
DINNER AND CONCERT
GYM
TRAIN TO WORK BREAKFAST
LUNCH
LEISURE TIME
DRIVE HOME LEISURE TIME GYM
LUNCH
BREAKFAST WALK TO WORK
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
SLEEP
TRAIN HOME
COFFEE BREAK
SMOKE BREAK
SLEEP
DINNER
WORK EVENT AT LCC
LUNCH
WALK TO LCC
SMOKE BREAK
LUNCH
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
LEISURE TIME
SLEEP
TRAIN HOME DRINKS LEISURE TIME
DINNER
SLEEP
DRIVE HOME LEISURE TIME
DINNER AND DRINKS SLEEP
DRIVE HOME
LUNCH
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
LEISURE TIME
LEISURE TIME
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
DRIVE HOME
LUNCH
SLEEP
LEISURE TIME
DRIVE HOME
LUNCH
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
SLEEP
LEISURE TIME DINNER, MUSEUM OPENING, DRINKS SUBWAY WALK HOME
LUNCH
WALK TO WORK BREAKFAST
SLEEP
LEISURE TIME
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
SLEEP
DRIVE HOME
LUNCH
LEISURE TIME
DINNER AND DRINKS TRAIN TO WORK
SMOKE BREAK
SMOKE BREAK
LUNCH
SLEEP
TRAIN HOME
BREAKFAST
LEISURE TIME
SLEEP
TRAIN HOME
LUNCH BREAKFAST
TRAIN TO WORK
LEISURE TIME
TRAIN TO WORK BREAKFAST
SLEEP TRAIN HOME DINNER AND DRINKS LEISURE TIME
LUNCH
DRIVE HOME
LUNCH
BREAKFAST DRIVE TO WORK
SLEEP
LEISURE TIME
GYM
AM
6:00
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DRIVE TO WORK BREAKFAST
LUNCH
8:00 9:00
DRIVE HOME
SLEEP
LEISURE TIME
DRIVE HOME
SLEEP
LEISURE TIME
PM
12:00 1:00
4:00
101
6:00
8:00
10:00
AM
12:00
5:00
41
ALL
35
38
32
36
29
44 ALLEY D GRAN
29
32
29
ALLEY
ALLEY
WEST
ALLEY
ALLEY
50
ALLEY
ALLEY 48 ALLEY
ESPLANADE
Rhonda Boyce Astoria, Queens
ALLEY
31
COSTCO
ALLEY
43
MITCH, from Astoria 30 min train+walk
31
45
ALLEY
GRACIE
GRACIE
ALLEY
ALLEY
30
ALLEY
83
82
ALLEY
ALLEY
41 30
31
84
ALLEY
ALLEY
30
ESPLANADE HALLETS COVE
recreatio options
85
ALLEY
G
STEINWAY
HENDERSON
food options
86
ALLEY
46
ALLEY
28 ALLEY
27
29
FERRY
MARTHA'S VYD HIGHLANDS
87
BROADWAY STATION 33 ALLEY
NE W TO W N
50
ALLEY
49
47
34
PEDESTRIAN
PEDESTRIAN
TRIAN
CHEROKEE
78 STREET PEDES
PEDESTRIAN
33
14
13
RAINEY PARK
33
ALLEY
12
77
BROADWAY
33
DRIVEWAY 78
PEDESTRIAN
ALLEY
33 EAST
E
PEDESTRIAN
79
BIK
NO
F ROOSEVELT
80
NA ME
ALLEY
81
ALLEY
24
76
ALLEY
39
33
49
68
ETT RN BA
IAN STR PEDE
39
NO NAME
37
37
NO NAME
47
69
ROOSEVELT IS GREENWAY
DRIVE SB EN
NAME
E 73 ST ROOSEVELT
NO
NO NAME
14
70
Hunters Point Recycling Long Island
36 IS
RD
22
29
30
27
QUEENS PLAZA
CONNECTOR
HU NTE R
12
CK SO N
SK IL LM A N
23
22
24
JA
TENTH
BIKE
WESLEY, from long island 1h
ALLEY
RO AD W AY
33
35
Y ALLE
AP PR
34
PU RV ES
36
UP PER
ALLEY
BR
M
COURT SQUARE
QU EE NS O RO
DA VAN
ALLEY
11
54
QU EE NSB
38
13
ALLEY
RD
41
NINTH
12
LOOP
43
OR CH A
Y ALLE
56
55
BIKE
42
CRESCENT
RAMP
42
SUTTON
BR UPPER RY ET
ALLEY
43
Jin Mana Cosmetics Flushing, Queens ALLEY
33 ST RAWSON ST
Y ALLE
QUE ENS
MAYOR E KOCH
57
DEPP GLASS
BRIDGE
RAM P
Y ALLE
RIVERVIEW
ROADWAY EN
BRIDGE PLAZA SOUTH
43
KOCH BR UPPER
RA M P
MA
NORTHER N BL
IN ST
60 ST F ROOSEVELT
YORK
iFRESH Queens (far)
39
58
W ELL
41
NAVILLUS
MAYOR EDWARD I KOCH ED KOCH QUEENSBORO BR PED MAYOR EDWARD I KOCH MAYOR EDWARD I KOCH
59 ST
QUEENSBORO
PEDESTRIAN QUEENS
41
KOCH BR PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE PATH
59 ST
40
44
EDISON PRICE LIGHTING
MAIN
HO NEY
CRESCENT
FDR DRI
HELIP ORT
PEDESTRIAN
40
41 PEDESTRIAN
45
QNSBORO BR EXIT RAMP
QUEENSBRIDG E PARK GREEN WAY
41
60
59
ALLEY
39
TENTH
WEST
ALLEY
VE GRE ENWAY
65
59 ST QUEENSBORO BR APPROACH
Y ALLE
13
11
NINTH
28
NO NAME
61
48
46
DA
ALLEY
Y ALLE
66
62
Y ALLE
Y ALLE
N STRIA PEDE
STAN
38
67
64
50
ROOSEVELT
42
BIKE
71
NW TRAIN
E
32
BIK
NO NAME
ALLEY ALLEY
RIDGE
ROOSEVELT IS GREENWAY
F ROOSEVELT
VERNON
73
72
RIVER
74
38
EAST
ALLEY
75
3
E
28
ALLEY
LI N WEL
Q
HOBART
PEDESTRIAN
public transportation station
88
B
25
28
IN MA
ASTORIA
E
50
EIGHTH
END
B B Q
ALLEY
RI A TO
ALLEY
ALLEY 29
89
CE S
ALLEY
ALLEY
EN ST EB
GCP PK WY RAL CENT
49
24
23
18
Y ALLE
14
BLACKWELLS
FIRST
NEWT OW N
27
28
28
E EN TR AN
42
T 3 WB
ASTORIA
90
BQ E
ALLEY
NINTH
AS
BL
Q
32
EB 33
27
RIA ASTO
BL 48
33
26
28
IT 3
EXI GCP
25
22
ALEX, from Long Island 1h
BLVD
27
14
G REE NW AY AS TO RIA
RIA ASTO
24
26
FOURTH
THIRD
N IA TR
EN
SECOND
NB
G RE EN W AY
DORO THY
HOYT
B
E
RV TD VEL SE O RO
E
A ORI AST
Q
FD
DES PE
DR IV
GCP
BQE EXIT 44 WB
23
GCP EB EXIT 4
HOYT
26
FD R
ALLEY
K
26
26
home
91
24 RF
GCP EX
E AV
N TRIA DES PE
RK YO
92
ALLEY
E PA TH
25
26
work place
93
BI K
B
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
94
NS PE D AN K D
ALLEY
SHO
F
EN
STREE T NB E 96
ASTORIA 96
95
RF
BOYCE, ASTOR from Westchester IA 1h
UND
97
48
44
44
N THOMSO 30
34 15
W-E
EN BORD
34
ST
34
GR EE NP T
35
MANAGER, Long Island
35
SIMS METAL MANAGEMENT GR EE NP T JJ
BY
E RN
SC
AN M EE
CH ER RY
FR
G AR DN ER
ST VO O PR
R TO EC NN CO
AN
BRIDGEWATR
RIC VA
GLE
CA LY
GRE
N
STE W AR T
S A M O TH
Q
Mike General Insulation Company
B
ER
N EE GR
M DA
AN M EE
N VA
FR
E
K
EA
O TT
SE N
GLE
Y
B W
3 ET
4
SK IU SC KO
O
AN TH O NY
ND KLA OA E BIK R
102
TT HA AN M
NT PO DU
EA
HI LL
TH D O M A S KOSC IUSKO KOSCI USK O KOSC IUSKO
NT PO DU
56 EL UR LA
Navillus, Queens (near)
IB
CIA L
ED M NA UN
Y CLA
BIKE
CO MM ER
GR EE NP OIN T
HENRY
KINGLAND
PAIDGE
ASH
iFRESH, Long Island
REVI EW
RA ILR OA D
TO W N
53
N TNL TOW TOWN TNL QN MID QN MID
GR EE NP OIN T
51
37
I4
95
EB
11
LATCHMAN, Jamaica
MITCH’S BLOG OFFICE
VERNON BLVD JACKSON AVE
IFRESH
FRY
BR AD LE Y
31
51
NB
WN E -MI DTO
AR R
29
EN
TRUCK DRIVER, Bayside
EE KE R
FDR FOUR FREE DOMS
F ROOSEVELT
DRIVEWAY
EX IT
T 17
Rapid Steel Supply
LI
EN
B W
SK LA PU
E 34 ST ENTRAN CE FDR DRIVE
27
PARK
5
BIKE
34
35
EAST
NO NAM E
F ROOSEVE LT F ROOSEVELT FDR DRIVE NB E 48 ST EN
BEEKMAN
NB DRIVE EXIT 9
49
I PULASK E 11
F D ROOSEVELT
ATE
E BIK I BRIDG
IS CITY
QNS MIDTOWN
PULASK
QNS MIDTOW N
11
RST TE
X BO 35
WB
EB EXI
GA LE
21
TUDOR CITY
KI
I-
54
LONG
LI
23
PULAS
FIRST
11 IN
TNL WN TO MID QN EB 14 EX IT 495
N VERNO
OW N
LI
Y ALLE
11
QNS MI DT
N VERNO
102
D SECON
36 ST
ALLEY
25
FIFTH
49 50
H AC O PR AP
I 495
ST
48
Y EENWA LIC GR
37 ST
Y ALLE
MANA PRODUCTS
R ST CTO 21 NNE CO
EB IN 495 EXIT 17 EAST
LI
49
50
Nima Long Island City, Queens
W Jersey
W Jersey
39
HUNTERS POINT
I 278 EXIT 35 EAST WB
HUNTER'S POINT
GA LE
I 495
DA VIS
47
41
40
47
ALLEY
32
AR CH
51
SHAPEWAYS
PE AR SO N
BOYCE TECHNOLOGIES
46
FIFTHHAMMER
EL L
Y ALLE
31
AU ST
CR AN E CENTER
46
Y ALLE
37
DA VIS
Y ALLE 50
HUNTERS POINT RECYCLING
45
30
S UNITED NATION
47
ON
31
48
45
47
29
49
PE ARS
NOUVEAU ELEVATOR
28
MITCHELL
44 FIFTH
50
CO UR T
45
51 STREET PEDESTRIAN
21
51
29
COURT SQUARE
52
STE W A RT
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
A D AY I N T H E L I F E : B Y T H E N U M B E R S 48%
Long Island City
52%
Other parts of QNS + BK
48%
50%
Brought Lunch
Take-out
Manhattan
Spending $$$ After Work
Commuting From Half of workers’ waking hours are spent in the IBZ
30%
9%
61%
LIC Area Far QNS
BK
LI
Westchester
Mode of Commute
Y
B
DESIGN PRINCIPLES 1. Keep the ‘real’ industrial side of Long Island City
3. Leverage existing assets and policies
2. Prioritize LIC workers’ needs across the spectrum of workers
4. Utilize public private partnerships to expand the public realm
The decision to design for these problems resulted from over 30 interviews that we conducted with workers and business owners in LIC’s IBZs. We repeatedly heard complaints about the surrounding food desert and the impact that it has on quality of life. The public space issue is inextricably linked to the food desert problem, especially when we consider workers who may not be able to afford to purchase food – even if people are bringing their lunch from home, where do they eat it? Where do they spend their breaks? When we consider the density of employees and business owners who commute to the IBZs each day and how much time they are spending in these neighborhoods, it becomes clear that they deserve basic amenities such as delis, cafes, bars, and public spaces. 103
NJ
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
g
Le
ra ve
he
t ing
ICAP
Industrial & Commercial Abatement Program
Do you own an industrial or commerical building in Long Island City? Nope
Yeah!
Cool, are you interested in improving and/or expanding?
Sure!
Nevermind.
I don’t think so
Great! We think that’s an awesome idea.
Well, listen to this before you decide.
All you have to do is • Keep less than 10% of the total floor area for retail uses • Spend at least 30% of the property’s taxable assesed value and then you get
25 YEARS OF TAX ABATEMENT BENEFITS Into it?
To Improve the Food Desert in Long Island City’s IBZs
Take advantage of that 10% of retail that’s allowed, and give LIC workers some food options!
Collaborate with other businesses in LIC’s IBZ to leverage that space for new revenue streams
These charts explain the policy side of this proposal. The left outlines the nuances of the existing ICAP policy, while the right illustrates our proposed addendum to the policy and how it could be used.
104
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Proposed Addendum to ICAP Have you, or are you planning to participate in the ICAP program? Nope
Yeah!
Great! Extra great if you have or are planning to use the 10% retail allowance to provide some affordable food options for LIC’s workers. That’s ok, you can still participate in this addendum
But LIC’s IBZs also need more public space, and we think this addendum to the policy can help. Are you interested in reaping some extra benefits to help with this issue and improve the public realm?
Read the 2nd paragraph right here for more info.
Sure!
No thanks, I’ve done my part. Ok, thanks,no prob!
Amazing! Whether you’ve renovated yet or not, you can recieve additional benefits if you create a new public space that is: • Within or on top of your building • On your plot of land • On city-owned vacant land in the IBZ (and conforms to NYC standards for public spaces) But what’s in it for you?
Remind me again, are you doing the first part of ICAP?
Yep
•Additional 10 years of tax abatement •5% density bonus •Expedited review and permitting process •Waiver of development fees •Reimbursement for park furniture and amenities
105
No
•25-year tax abatement •Expedited review and permitting process •Waiver of development fees •Reimbursement for park furniture and amenities
TYPOLOGY 1: FOOD AND PUBLIC SPACE IN ONE BUILDING l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
TYPOLOGY 1 Food and Public Space in One Building
TYPOLOGY 2 Food Court and Adopted Vacant Land
+ ‘ADOPTED VACANT LAND’
TYPOLOGY 3 Food and “Friend Building”
TYPOLOGY 3: FOOD + ‘FRIEND BUILDING’
106
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
TYPOLOGY 1 The first typology is a ‘Self-sufficient’ model, with food retail and public space placed in the same building. The main criteria for this typology is a building with enough square footage to allow for both of these amenities to fit within the 10% allowance. Depending on size, some of these buildings can accommodate larger food-oriented spaces (such as restaurants or a food court with a shared seating area) as well as larger public spaces like rooftop gardens or urban farms. This typology of buildings would significantly contribute to Long Island City’s public realm network by providing a community hub that workers from surrounding factories and businesses could enjoy. Plus, this model provides many options for food production businesses seeking to become customer-facing.
TYPOLOGY 2 The typology is geared towards buildings with limited space. This typology envisions companies that would use ICAP to integrate a food business into their building, while taking further advantage of the incentive program to develop a nearby piece of city-owned vacant land into public open space. Though the nearby open space could be used by anyone, it would be beneficial for the business to have the seating area nearby for people to enjoy with their recently purchased refreshments.
TYPOLOGY 3 The third typology is the ‘Food and Friend Building’ model, which caters to two separate buildings that each have limited space, both of which would be good candidates for the expanded ICAP program. Through collaboration, this typology achieves the goals of increased food access alongside an expanded public space network, but splits these amenities up across two adjacent buildings. For example, while one building may only have enough space to support a new deli counter, a nearby building could develop an indoor seating garden to support the deli’s customers. This model would also allow companies that don’t have the resources to provide both food and public space to focus on one or the other, and could result in some unexpectedly charming results – such as a seating area for lunch in Ranieri Sculpture’s building. 107
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
The amended ICAP policy would result in an accessible network of new food and beverage establishments near both indoor and outdoor public spaces. Highlighted in orange are proposed spaces for food and beverage retail, while the shaded areas with trees represent new public spaces. The proposal prioritizes new spaces near public transportation and larger factories to ensure that they are easily reachable by Long Island City’s workers. Though we envision the pilot program targeting food retail and seating areas, we have also looked beyond this beginning to imagine other creative uses for the 10% of flexible space allotted by the ICAP program. Below are some ideas that illustrate what could be created, and how the local workers might use these places.
GROCERY
CATERING
T N
E
R LUNCH B
EAK
ZO
RK O W
IC L B PU
IN A R T T
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
IC L B PU DE
LI
K
RE
ST AU
RA
NT
B H C N LU
R
NE O Z EAK
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
OTHER P OTENTIAL USES. . .
The Nap Room Aidan knew it was a bad idea to go for Happy Hour drinks with his soccer buddies on a work night, but he never seems able to say no to them. This explains why he is in the ever-popular Nap Room in the building next door during his lunch break. Looking across the room through the glass panes that look out onto the factory floor, he becomes hypnotized by the whirring machinery and as his eyes close, he realizes that he’s starting to become a regular here. 110
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
The Factory Cafe Dan likes coming to the Factory CafĂŠ for a quick coffee for two reasons: 1. The coffee is super cheap if he uses his Long Island City Employee card for a discount, and 2. He gets to see the TruLaser 2030 Laser Cutting Machine at work.
111
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Childcare The only problem with having Joey’s childcare right next to--no, almost integrated with the diner in the building across the street is that Amy can no longer indulge in a milkshake without Joey spotting her and demanding one too. The last time this happened, he raised such a ruckus in the childcare center that she knows she must bid NYC’s best milkshakes farewell.
112
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Gym Ever since the outdoor gym in the empty lot next door opened, Rhonda has been a regular there, fitting her daily workouts in in the mornings before work. She wonders when this little gym will be discovered by some Instagram Influencer and become overrun with those kids posing for the ‘gram, and hopes that day will never come.
113
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Rooftop On days when his deliveries don’t go so well, or when every stop light seems to conspire against him, Jose retreats to the rooftop garden on the building around the block from his company for some quiet time. All of that greenery surrounding him with the Manhattan skyline in the background has a really calming effect on him.
114
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Arcade Dan cannot believe his eyes that “MADMAX” from Boyce Technologies has beaten his top score at Pac-Man. He devours the rest of his sandwich, takes a swig of his beer, and cracks his knuckles as his co-workers from iFresh gather around to watch him reclaim his throne, and the company’s honor. Game-on.
115
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Mini-Library After stopping by to blow kisses at Joey and leaving him happily in the care of his childcare teachers, Amy decides to walk over to the mini-library down the street. She hopes that she can find some children’s books there because she really needs to wean Joey off Goodnight Moon for the sake of her sanity.
116
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Happy Hour Aidan isn’t quite sure how he found himself back at Happy Hour for the second night in a row, but since his boss is buying drinks for everyone tonight he’s not complaining. Plus, it is pretty nice to see some familiar faces from the neighborhood and meet other LIC locals as they all sip local craft beers and unwind after a work day.
117
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
118
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Four Long Island Cities Graham Lazar
Four Long Island Cities considers the place of Queensbridge in the development of Long Island City. The project offers an urban design framework for four blocks to the east of the Queensbridge Houses that encompass a broad range of the land use challenges and opportunities facing Long Island City: rising costs of land and rent; underused and vacant parcels; historic, productive, yet under-serviced industrial buildings; and a proliferation of unrestricted uses, namely hotels and self storage facilities. These systemic dynamics are considered in the context of their critical adjacency to the Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing project in North America.
Opposite photo: Texti les bui ldings courtyard near Queensbridge
119
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
IBZ
Introverted Industry
BID
Extroverted Industry
NYC Owned Recreation
Nodes of Human Capital
NYC Office
Human Capital Corridor
NYC DOE/CUNY/Cornell
Big Projects
NYC Residential
This project takes advantage of the neighborhood’s unique built fabric to conduct a thought experiment on how to design for this evolution of freight. It proposes a division of modes through a new street hierarchy in order to ease movement for all, while simultaneously allowing for changes to those spaces over time.
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Four Long Island Cities anticipates significant changes on the horizon for LIC, including the arrival of new industries, land uses, and economic activities. In particular, the project considers Cornell Tech’s future in relation to LIC. With its mission to advance economic and social impact through the integration of technology, business, law, and design, Cornell Tech is a natural institutional partner in the development of LIC. Four Long Island Cities envisions a broader corridor of community and capital exchange between Manhattan and Queens, with vital nodes at Cornell Tech’s Roosevelt Island campus, in Queensbridge, and at Laguardia Community College. The long term vitality of LIC, the project argues, hinges on greater physical connectivity and exchange between these vital centers of human and industrial capital.
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Jacob Riis Settlement House
Queensbridge Library Tech Lab
The Floating Hospital
40th Ave. Commercial District
Fine Fare Supermarket
Queensbridge Park
Interior Recreation
Western Queens Nursery School
Urban Upbound Queensbridge Anchor
Existing conditions within the Queensbridge Houses
122
Informal Markets Surrounding F Subway
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Historic Warehouses
Underbuilt Parcels
Hotel Dispersion
Edison Price LIghting
Vacant Land
UOVO Art Storage
Existing conditions in the four blocks east adjacent to the Queensbridge Houses
123
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals Renovated Queensbridge Core
Renovated 41st Ave. Corridor
Removed fences allowing for more flexible open space usage Cornell Tech and Industrial Jobs Pavilion
Food truck stop
Queensbridge Baby Park and bike lane to Queensbridge Park
Queensbridge Park renovated Comfort Station
Cornell Tech Urban Agriculture Lab
124
O Ro
One stop from oosevelt Island
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Subtracted parcels converted to Queens Public Library and Cornell Tech Cornell Tech Lab and adjacent Industrial open space Capital Lab
Four Long Island Cities is, specifically, a proposal to position Queensbridge as a natural point of exchange between Cornell Tech as an aspiring academic institution and the wealth of human and industrial capital in Long Island City. Each of the four blocks suggests a different physical approach to building this kind of connection.
Upzoned residential
Given the range and complexity of these dynamics, the proposal suggests varied strategies in each of the four blocks: preservation (of historic, product industrial facilities;), addition (to productive industrial facilities), subtraction (of underutilized buildings), and redevelopment of vacant land. These various strategies will necessitate careful orchestration of land use instruments of up zoning and swapping of development rights in exchange for the funding of community and public realm benefits.
Anchor industrial tenant, Edison Price, below expanded commercial and Cornell Tech Classrooms
Anchor tenant, Boyce Technologies below universal pre-K facility
An urban design proposal for the four blocks east of the Queensbridge Houses along with district improvements and a revisioning of the 41st ave. connection to Queensbridge Park. 125
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
126
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
A 22nd Century Logistics Hub Annie Hudson
Lying at the crux of technological developments in transportation and the connected city, the freight industry is primed for disruption. The advent of autonomous vehicles promises a new form of the truck itself, while the growing demand for speedy last-mile delivery begs a diversity of delivery forms ranging from drones to bikes to even pedestrians. Yet we are not there yet; indeed, how can cities prepare for that future while still satisfying the needs of today’s freight movement system?
Opposite photo: LIC f latbed waiting to be loaded
127
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
This project explores exactly that question in the context of Long Island City. The neighborhood is uniquely located within the region to experiment along the above lines as a result of both its proximity to Manhattan and its easy accessibility to major transportation routes. Yet its current transportation hierarchy makes movement for today’s freight difficult and is hardly prepared to take on the challenges of tomorrow.
D
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
DRONE The logistics of tomorrow will be taking place on many levels within the urban environment. Drones promise to revolutionize package delivery, introducing a new role for roofs and requiring new delivery stations.
BIKE/HUMAN As speedy, personalized deliveries grow in importance, last-mile delivery promises to grow in creativity. Streets will be navigated by pedestrians, bikes, scooters and more in order to ensure the speedy and personalized arrival of packages.
TRUCK Yet distribution of goods more generally will still require a larger-scale form of transportation. Roads will still need to be prepared to handle large vehicles, but lanes and design can be much narrower with the increased accuracy that autonomous technology offers. 130
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
C U R R E N T
FUTURE
xx 120,000 60,000
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131
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Pedest Corrido
Storefro
Loading docks Storefronts Multi-tenant buildings (existing + potential) Pedestrian corridors
This project takes advantage of the neighborhood’s unique built fabric to conduct a thought experiment on how to design for this evolution of freight. It proposes a division of modes through a new street hierarchy in order to ease movement for all, while simultaneously allowing for changes to those spaces over time.
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l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Excess of truck traff ic combined with limited parking result in clogged streets for trucks and cars and pedestrians ali ke.
Indiscriminate parking on sidewalks creates a nonwelcoming environment for pedestrians.
Absence of clear markings on streets for alternative vehicles means that the largest vehicles—trucks—wi ll invariably win out.
Nonetheless, these vehicles are essential for the operation of industry in the area . 133
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
One block buildings
One block buildings
Logistics hub districts
134
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
D D
D D
Phase 4 D
D
D D
D D
Phase 3
D D
D D
D D
Phase 2 D
D D
Phase 1
Proposed Buildings
Proposed buildings to enclose freight courtyards
Proposed Public Space Proposed Courtyard
0
Proposed public space
0.05
0.1
Miles 0.2
Proposed courtyard
The proposal re-organizes street hiearchy to create a new sequence of delivery courtyards to allow for easy truck freight movements and thus a more vibrant public space on the external streets for the movement of alternative delivery modes such as bikes and drones.
135
Total capacity: 24,210,000 l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
CURRENT Uninviting building face
Underutilized loading docks
MEGA
FUTURE
Public freight pick-up window
136
A
Total capacity: 23,730,000 l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Car-centric streetscape
Elevator Parts & Supplies
Storefront for personalized good inspection
Inviting building face Safe multi-modal movement
Yet the creation of a logistics hub (and better future coordination for freight more generally) offers the possibility of a more limited need for truck freight in the future; the proposal thus offers a path for an evolution in the purpose of the courtyards as well. Looking to the future, the most successful logistics hubs will be the ones that can support a diversity of modes and uses. This plan not only offers a new strategy for compatibility, but also a design that offers greater longterm stability in its flexibility. When combined with the iconic nature of the courtyard structures, the plan serves as a platform from which to take advantage of the great potential of the neighborhood, while highlighting its existing unique and lively personality.
137
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
D E V E L O P M E N T D E TA I L
2025
Proposed buildings to enclose freight courtyards Proposed public space Proposed courtyard
By creating the courtyard and allowing for the movement of trucks within the semi-enclosed space, the roads surrounding the buildings are freed up for human-scale use. Trucks are able to circulate freely within the courtyard, parking and delivering their goods without complications from parked cars or pedestrians. Meanwhile, the external faces of the buildings can be evolved for pedestrian-scale use, with warm storefronts and safe, clear sidewalks.
138
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Hourly Capacity of a Truck-Oriented Street
CURRENT STREET PLAN
4,500/h
x2
1,350,000 apples/h
900/h
x3
4,860,000 apples/h
Hourly Capacity of a Truck-Oriented Street apples/h 100/h x3 18,000,000 4,500/h 0/h
x2
1,350,000 0 apples/happles/h
900/h
x3
4,860,000 apples/h
100/h
x3
18,000,000 apples/h
0/h
x2
0 apples/h
Total capacity: 24,210,000
Hourly Capacit
Hourly Capacity of a Truck-Oriented Street Total capacity: 24,210,000
8,000
4,500/h
x2
1,350,000 apples/h
900/h
x3
4,860,000 apples/h
7,000
x3
18,000,000 apples/h
200/
x2
0 apples/h
PROPOSED STREET PLAN 100/h
rly Capacity of a Truck-Oriented Street rly Capacity of a Truck-Oriented Street 0/h 4,500/h x2 1,350,000 apples/h 4,500/h x2 1,350,000 apples/h 900/h x3 4,860,000 apples/h 900/h x3 4,860,000 apples/h 100/h x3 18,000,000 apples/h 100/h x3 18,000,000 apples/h 0/h x2 0 apples/h 0/h x2 0 apples/h
Total capacity: 24,210,000
Hourly Capacity of a Multimodal Street
tal capacity: 24,210,000 tal capacity: 24,210,000Proposed buildings 8,000/h
Hourly Capacity of a Multimodal Street 200/ Hourly Capacity of a Multimodal Street 8,000/h x2 2,400,000 apples/h 8,000/h x2 2,400,000 apples/h 900/ 7,000/h x2 5,040,000 apples/h 7,000/h x2 5,040,000 apples/h 100/ 200/h x1 900,000 apples/h 200/h x1 900,000 apples/h 0/h 200/h x1 12,000,000 apples/h 200/h x1 12,000,000 apples/h 900/h x2 3,240,000 apples/h 900/h x2 3,240,000 apples/h 100/h x? 150,000 apples/h 100/h x? 150,000 apples/h Total capacity 0/h x1 0 apples/h 0/h x1 0 apples/h Total capacity: 23,730,000 Total capacity: 23,730,000
x2
2,400,000 apples/h
7,000/h
x2
5,040,000 apples/h
200/h
x1
900,000 apples/h
200/h
x1
12,000,000 apples/h
900/h
x2
139 apples/h 3,240,000
100/h
x?
150,000 apples/h
Proposed public space Proposed courtyard
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
140
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Beyond the Waterfront Johanna Greenspan-Johnston | Gonzalo Ortega
The Newtown Creek waterfront along the southern border of Long Island City is currently dominated by heavy industrial uses, but this land is vulnerable to flooding risks, posing significant environmental, economic, and safety risks. This has led to a community-driven call for flood-resilient interventions as well as increased public waterfront access. While many plans have already been created to address these issues, the strategies currently proposed or underway are largely insufficient or infeasible in the long term. This project presents a framework for supporting the retention of sustainable industrial uses, creation of public space, and overall resilience of the area through a long-term coordinated re-development strategy along Newtown Creek that leverages public land ownership, private capital investments, and natural building cycles. Opposite photo: Working waterfront edge of Long Island City
141
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
The proposal primari ly makes use of the highly underuti lized publicly-owned rai l corridor which currently disrupts continuity and connectivity in the area , as well as the large water-adjacent parcels adjacent land parcels which are largely underdeveloped, low-valued, aging, and overall incompati ble with a future of increased f lood risks.
142
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Key steps to this proposed strategy include: • Improving accessibility through the construction of primary and secondary roads • Leveraging publicly owned rail land and informal driveways • Adjusting zoning to encourage relocation of higher-impact industry farther inland, and • Redevelopment of higher-density lower-impact industry and mixed use spaces • Creating pathways of resilient infrastructure and public space, using opportunities made available through redevelopment to form contiguous lines of elevation and connection; and supporting expanded maritime use through the introduction of shared-dock infrastructure to enhance industrial operations and logistic. To facilitate the integration a contiguous line of resilient infrastructure into new developments, the project also presents a number of redevelopment typologies with flexible and responsive urban design strategies that can accommodate a range of development interests, industrial needs, and varying types of land ownership.
143
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
These maps show an assessment of industrial vulnerability based on value, sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and exposure to coastal flooding risks. This methodology takes into account specific risks posed both to industrial businesses (in terms of asset damages and business interruptions) and by industrial businesses (in terms of potential to cause environmental and safety hazards), and envisioned how the risk landscape would change over time with increasing exposure due to sea level rise.
ÂŻ
2020 vulnerabi lity
ÂŻ
2050 vulnerabi lity
ÂŻ
2100 vulnerabi lity 144
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Estimated industrial vulnerabi lity of the 600+ analyzed businesses
This proposal began with an investigation of natural and built systems related to the water—identifying tensions in the intersection of industrial, commercial, recreational, and environmental needs, which result in inefficiencies and overburdened systems, which will be exacerbated with future growth and climate change.
145
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
R E S I L I E N T L A N D S WA P The project proposes to leverage an under-utilized rail easement, offering a contiguous line of property ownership parallel to Newtown Creek, to create a more resilient and publicly accessible water’s edge to protect current and future development in LIC.
Most eff icient: Flood infrastructure along public rai l line easement
Most effective : Flood infrastructure along water’s edge
Most responsive : Flexi ble and adaptive f lood infrastructure
146
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Line of resiliency Shared lines between parcels
New road Existing parcels Protected surface
Land swap New parcels
147
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Newtown Creek working waterfront
M3-2
Dutch Kills
M3-1
light industrial / mixed use
M2-1
M1-4
Sunnyside Yards
LIC HUB M1-3 R6A
mixed use
R1-3 R7X
M3-2
M3-1
heavy industrial
Hunters Point
Industrial
M1-3 R7-3
Current
R1-3 R10
M1-4
light industrial
M1-3
R1-3
commercial mixed use
IBZ
R6A
R7X
medium density residential
R7-3
R10
high density residential
Residential
+
+
Creek Park high density residential
M2-1
Future
The project leverages development pressure to create a more resi lient industrial mixed-use zone along the edge of Newtown Creek
Dutch Kills light industrial / mixed use
Newtown Creek working waterfront
LIC HUB
mixed use
Typologies high density residential
medium density residential
commercial mixed use
Creek Park high density residential
New zoning gradient of uses and bui lding typologies to support new development whi le preserving industrial activities 148
light industrial
heavy industrial
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Dutch Kills
light industrial / mixed use N E W T Y P O L O G I E S
Key steps to this proposed strategy include improving accessibility through Newtown Cree the construction of primary and secondary roads, leveraging publicly owned working waterfront rail land and informal driveways; adjusting zoning to encourage relocation of higher-impact industry farther inland, and redevelopment of higher-density lower-impact industry and mixed use spaces; creating pathways of resilient infrastructure and public space, using opportunities made available through redevelopment to form contiguous lines of elevation and connection; and supporting expanded maritime use through the introduction of shared-dock Typologies Newtown infrastructure to enhance industrial operations and logistics. Creek working waterfront high density medium density commercial light residential residential mixed use industr
ek Park
density ential
Newtown Creek
Typologies high density residential
working waterfront
medium density residential
High-density residential
commercial mixed use
light industrial
Medium-density residential
medium density residential
commercial mixed use
commercial mixed use
light industrial
light industrial
heavy industrial
Commercial mixed-use
heavy industrial
Light industrial
149
heavy industrial
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
150
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
INLAND INDEPENDENT -Private development farther inland at same height. -Flood proofing required, standards variable depending on area timeline and associated risk. -Waterfront land handed over to public ownership, sometimes traded for more rail-adjacent land. Upgraded storm water system
-Prepared for future elevated waterfront pathways, with option to plug-in if desired.
Temporary flood wall Public pathway
F U L L C O O R D I N AT I O N Upgraded storm water system
-Privately developed whole site with greater flexibility. -Landscaped or hard engineered strategies to achieve designated resilient elevation across whole site. -Ready and able to intentionally plug into future waterfront pathway and resilience strategies.
Landscaped flood wall Dual fronting buildings Integrated public spaces
WAT E R F R O N T R E S I L I E N T Buried flood wall
-Development along waterfront and reserved for active waterfront use. -Strictest standards for flood proofing, environmental hazard mitigation, and continuity of operations planning.
Elevated building Ramped access road and pathways Upgraded storm water system
-Leave space along rail and sides for public continuation of resilient and accessibility pathways. -When raised path is constructed, ramping over for vehicle accessibility, yielding to pedestrian right of way. 151
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
Dutch Kills
light industrial / mixed use
Montauk Rail elevated
LIC HUB
mixed use
Creek Park
high density residential
Newtown Waterfront green infrastriucture
152
l o n g i s l a n d c i t y | proposals
The key component of this project is the “phase construction� part where we propose a piecewise development process that leverages natural building cycles, adapting in vision to account for future transportation needs, technologies, capital availability, development concerns, and flooding projections.
resilience line of elevation
Newtown Creek working waterfront
153
REFE R E N C ES 1916 Zoning Resolution. City of New York, 1916. Retrieved from www1.nyc. gov Designing for Truck Movements and Other Large Vehicles in Portland. City of Portland Office of Transportation, 2008. Retrieved from www. portlandoregon.gov Engines of Opportunity: Reinvigorating New York City’s Manufacturing Zones for the 21st Century. New York City Council, 2014. Retrieved from www. council.nyc.gov Forman, Richard. Urban Ecology: Science of Cities. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. p. 336 – 342, “Industrial areas.” Freight NYC: Goods for the Good of the City. New York City Economic Development Corporation, 2018. Retrieved from www.nycedc.com Hatuka, Tali. 2017. Industrial Urbanism: Exploring the City-Production Dynamic. Built Environment, 43 (1). Hatuka, Tali, Eran Ben-Joseph, and Minjee Kim. 2017. “Industrial Urbanism: Typologies, Concepts, and Propsects. Built Environment, 43 (1). Leigh, Nancey, Nathanael Hoelzel, Benjamin Kraft, Christopher Dempwolf. Sustainable Urban Industrial Development. APA Planning Advisory Service, 2014. Long Island City Business Improvement District Annual Report. Long Island City Partnership, 2017. Retrieved from www.longislandcityqueens.com Long Island City Comprehensive Plan Phase 1. Long Island City Partnership, 2016. Retrieved from www.longislandcityqueens.com
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Long Island City: Connecting the Arts. Design Trust for Public Space, 2006. Long Island City Waterfront Mixed Use Redevelopment (RFP). New York City Economic Development Committee, 2016. Retrieved from www.nycedc. com Love, Timothy. 2017. A New Model of Hybrid Building as a Catalyst for the Redevelopment of Urban Industrial Districts. Built Environment, 43 (1). Newtown Creek Brownfield Opportunity Area Report. Riverkeeper, Newtown Creek Alliance, Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center, 2012. Retrieved from www.newtowncreekalliance.org Newtown Creek Vision Plan. Riverkeeper and Newtown Creek Alliance, 2018. Retrieved from www.riverkeeper.org New York City Industrial Action Plan. New York City Office of the Mayor, 2015. Retrieved from www1.nyc.gov New York Works: Creating Good Jobs. New York City Office of the Mayor, 2017. Retrieved from www.newyorkworks.cityofnewyork.us Rappaport, Nina. Vertical Urban Factory. Actar Publishers, 2015. “Factory City” p. 62-113, “Industrial Urbanism” p. 238-329. Resilient Industry: Mitigation and Preparedness in the City’s Industrial Floodplain. New York City Department of City Planning, 2018. Retrieved from www1. nyc.gov Reynolds, Elisabeth B. 2017. Innovation and Production: Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, Trends and Implications for US Cities and Regions. Built Environment, 43 (1). Sunnyside Yard Feasibility Study. New York City Economic Development Corporation, 2017. Retrieved from www.nycedc.com Urban Freight Initiatives. NYC Department of Transportation, 2015. Retrieved from www.nyc.gov Urban Waterfront Adaptive Strategies. New York City Department of City Planning, 2013. Retrieved from www1.nyc.gov 159
Vision 2020: New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, chapter 3, “Support the Working Waterfront,” “Reach 13: Newtown Creek,” Appendix B “Significant Maritime Industrial Areas”. New York City Department of City Planning, 2011. Retrieved from www1.nyc.gov Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines. Waterfront Alliance, 2018. Retrieved from www.waterfrontalliance.org Why Goods Movement Matters: Strategies for Moving Goods in Metropolitan Areas. Regional Plan Association and Volvo Research and Educational Foundation. Retrieved from www.goodsmovementmatters.org
The authors have attempted to acknowledge credit for all images, and apologize for any errors or ommissions.
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URBAN DESIGN STUDIO SPRING 2018
REWORKING INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS
IN LONG ISLAND CITY
DUSP/MIT