Community Corner

$780mil Willets Point Soccer Stadium+ National Grid Addresses Concerns

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Queens.

Emma Radu Fighera's profile picture
Emma Radu Fighera, Patch Contributing WriterVerified Patch Staff BadgeVerified User Badge
|
(Patch Media)

Good morning, Queens! 👑

  • ⚽️ The New York City Football club has reached a $780 million agreement to build a 25,000-seat soccer stadium in Willets Point, Queens.
  • 🌱 National Grid is addressing concerns over their paving over grass strips in Queens.
  • 🏞 Construction is finally underway on a long-promised $16.6 million Maspeth Park located on the Queens side of the new Kosciuszko Bridge.

🍃 Breezy; ☔️ rain this morning. High: 53 Low: 37.

Here are the top stories in Queens today:

1. The city's first professional soccer stadium, a $780 million, 25,000-seat arena for the New York City Football Club, will be built in Willets Point, Queens, and is slated for completion by 2027. The stadium will be the centerpiece of a 23-acre mixed-use development project that will include a 250-room hotel and 2,500 units of housing. The project will transform a long-underutilized, industrial zone of Willets Point, once a thriving conglomeration of auto body shops, into a sports and entertainment destination site.

The New York Times ; ESPN

2. In response to a letter sent by Councilman Robert Holden in October, National Grid President Rudolph Wynter addressed concerns about the utility company paving over grass strips in Queens, which Holden said added to the neighborhood's flooding concerns, and may also not be legal. "City agencies and their contractors must be conscious of the need to maintain grass and soil that can absorb stormwater while doing construction on the city's streets and sidewalks." In response to Holden's concerns, National Grid and the Department of Environmental Protection held a review and inspection of 77th, 78th and 79th streets, and are currently working together with National Grid's contractors, construction crews, pavers and environmental engineers to come up with effective solutions to address the effected area.

Queens Courier

3. Construction is finally underway on a long-promised $16.6 million Maspeth Park located on the Queens side of the new Kosciuszko Bridge. New York officials determined the space for the new park more than a decade ago, but construction only just begun, and will be complete by summer 2023. The new Queens park will include expanded green space and recreational amenities, including a basketball court, game tables, and a skate plaza.

Patch

4. Queens resident Trevor Rheams, 49, a motor vehicle operator at the city's medical examiner's office, was arrested for allegedly stealing a designer purse from the home of a decedent whose body was in the care and custody of the Office of the Medical Examiner (OCME). According to the criminal complaint, Rheams was allegedly assigned to drive an OCME vehicle on Aug. 9 to transport decedents from their homes to the OCME headquarters in Manhattan. At the apartment where the theft occurred, which Rheams entered with another OCME employee and an NYPD officer, the officer's body cam showed Louis Vuitton bag in the kitchen. The next day, that same Louis Vuitton bag — with a tag bearing the same last name as the decedent — was found by another employee in the OCME vehicle Rheams had driven the day prior. Rheams has been employed by the OCME since May 2007, and has been on modified duty since Aug. 10.

AM New York Metro

5. A live bird market in Queens has been depopulated after chickens, ducks and guineas tested positive for avian influenza there, according to USDA, whose lab confirmed the outbreak Nov. 12. About 170 birds were killed, and their carcasses were disposed of in a sanitary manner, according to the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets. As a precaution against spreading the virus, other New York live bird markets have been ordered to clean and disinfect, and all markets will be tested. As of last year, NYC boasted over 80 of New York State's 87 live bird markets. This current outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza is one of the worst in U.S. history, and has killed 50 million birds across 46 states.

Lancaster Farming

🗞 Hungry for more news? 🍴Snack on these headlines:

  • Forest Hills Addabbo Named 'Policymaker Of The Year' By Gambling Group (Patch)
  • Woman Lands At JFK With Cocaine Worth $450K In Wheelchair Wheels (Patch)
  • Queens child, 3, dies at homeless shelter in apparent homicide (AM New York Metro)
  • Astoria resident opens new restaurant serving neo-Neapolitan pizza, homemade pasta (Queens Courier)
  • What Happened to Claire? Irish Family Offers $35,000 Reward in Astoria Death Mystery (NBC New York)

🗓 To Do Today in Queens:

  • Volunteer at 9 Million Reasons / Evangel Food Pantry (8:45 a.m.)
  • Queens County Farm Museum Free Admission Wednesday (9 a.m.)
  • Queens Farm Farmstand (11 a.m.)
  • Compost Bagging Community Volunteer Days (1 p.m.)
  • Community Vinyasa Yoga Classes! (2:30 p.m.)
  • Family Craft Night (6 p.m.)
  • Children's Book Club (6 p.m.)
  • Improv Tonight at QED (8:30 p.m.)

🗣 Queens Chatter:

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Wednesday! See you soon for another update.

— Emma Radu Fighera

About me: Emma Radu Fighera is a reporter born and raised in Queens, New York. She studied Literature and Studio Art at Hamilton College, where she helped run the only daily publication on campus, The Daily Bull newsletter. This past spring she earned her M.S. from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Queens Daily? Contact me at queens@patch.com

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Queens