Dutch Kills = Hotel Land
Looks like the hot new thing in Dutch Kills - the part of LIC north of the Queensboro Bridge - is hotels. Developers want to build them wherever they can before the zoning changes. Now, I’ve seen a handful of new tall buildings going up in this area - they do just kind of jutt up, and look pretty out of character with the rest of the area. What’s odd is that they developers don’t anticipate the hotels to stay as hotels, and expect that they will convert to condos, which I guess will be more lucrative in the long run.
While a lot of the surrounding area is looking to downzone, this part of town wants to upzone and get things changed so that lots of development can happen. Dutch Kills to many (non-residents) is kind of a no-man’s zone because it lacks a wide variety of amenities, though I expect those that live there would disagree to some extent.
The zoning changes would make the 70 acres that is Dutch Kills a light industrial and commercial area. According to the Daily News, “It would be rezoned and permit a variety of mixed-use buildings, including three- to four-story commercial and residential buildings and six- to seven-story apartment buildings.” Some in Dutch Kills believe that if development doesn’t come to their neighborhood it will “atrophy and die.”
There was a meeting at the Evangel Church on Crescent Monday night regarding the environmental review, a necessary step before anything moves forward with the zoning changes. Will be interesting to see what the consensus is.
Related:
Neighborhood says Long Island City builders try to beat zoning rules [NY Daily News]
Dutch Kills in the News
[Joey in Astoria]
Dutch Kills LIC Rezoning Planned
[previously on OuterB]
April 14th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
I have lived in Dutch Kills (by 27th St and 39th ave) for 8 years and there are no amenities. I’m in complete agreement! There is one all-night bodega by the train that overcharges for everything and 3 other bodegas nearby that all close around 8-9pm (depending on when they feel like it, really). There is the Zante diner at the end of the street. End of story! No coffee shop, no supermarket, no cafe, no wine shop, no bar. All of these things are not far away (equivalent of 3-4 city blocks), but the 39th avenue stop arond which they are building all the hotels is a dead zone. I am hoping the hotels bring in tourists and bars and some nightlife (not too much, but some), but I don’t think it’s going to happen. The strong Euro/Dollar parity that was driving the 2004-2008 tourism glut has reverted a bit with the dollar’s rise. The dollar will fall against the Euro to some extend over the following year as we inflate our currency supply but the Eurozone will try to keep the Euro weak against the dollar to encourage exports. Even so, europeans are in bad shape and probably won’t be vacationing at all, regardless of whether they can get a slightly better deal in the U.S. The result is that Manhattan hotels will drop in price and the market will stabilize. The LIC hotels will be converted to cheap condos and maybe that will help the neighborhood (such as it is) but maybe it won’t.