Thousands of new homes and dozens of acres of public parkland will be coming to a section of Queens that once was home to a busy airport, but has sat abandoned for decades.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a plan on Monday to add 3,000 homes and 60 acres of public space where Flushing Airport used to stand. The airfield on city-owned land was at one point the busiest airport in NYC until it was abandoned in 1984 and fell into disrepair, the mayor’s office said.
Adams made the announcement as part of the kickoff to “Housing Week,” saying the project is slated to create more than 1,300 union jobs and lead to 530 permanent careers. It is also projected to generate $3.2 billion in economic activity over a 30-year span.
S9 Architecture
S9 Architecture
Rendering of ~60 acres of public parkland. Credit: S9 Architecture
“For too many decades, this valuable land has sat vacant, but our administration said it was time to change that,” said Adams. “Whether it’s building record amounts of affordable housing two years in a row, passing the first citywide zoning reform in six decades, or transforming old offices, garages, and airfields into new homes, we are proud to be the most pro-housing administration in city history.”
The homes built by the project will be a mix of affordable housing and market-rate. As for the public space, those 60 acres will be added in the middle of the Flushing River Wetlands.
Aerial rendering of the proposed project. Credit: S9 Architecture
The proposed development, which would be led by New York City-based firms Cirrus Workforce Housing and LCOR Incorporated, also includes sustainable design elements and park-like landscaping to integrate the buildings into the surrounding wetlands environment. Cirrus and LCOR have committed to build and operate the development with 100 percent union labor.
“This transformative project to build working class housing will be built by the members of Building Trades unions such as Steamfitters Local 638. As a union, we have the simple belief that if you build something, then you should be able to afford to live in it,” said Robert Bartels Jr., business manager of the Enterprise Association of UA Steamfitters Local 638.
Construction is expected to begin in 2028.