Wednesday, June 15th, 2005

“Trendy” Willets Point?

You know the city’s Olympic bid chances are rapidly diminishing when people are talking about gentrifying Willets Point. Say it ain’t so! So:

A new Shea Stadium may be part of a larger transformation in Queens that would turn one of the city’s perennial eyesores into a trendy mix of retail, entertainment and housing.

The city Economic Development Corp. is sitting on 14 different development concepts for Willets Point, a 48-acre outback of junkyards and auto-body shops.

“Many of the ideas for the area are spectacular,” Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing) said.

“Many of them include retail and entertainment-related complexes,” added Liu, a member of the city’s Willets Point Advisory Committee. “Housing is a component in some of the plans. Some of the plans envision a new commercial district. Some of them call for an entirely new community - residential and commercial mixes.”