Downtown Flushing -- one of the city's fastest growing retail hubs -- is bursting at its seams. During the 1980's, a million square feet of commercial space and 1.4 million square feet of residential development were constructed in Downtown Flushing, and there appears to be significant demand for more. The population is growing rapidly and retail activity is expanding. However, aside from the site of a municipal parking lot, there is little opportunity for new development in the already built-up commercial core and adjacent residential areas. Channeling Downtown Flushing's growth --and providing the infrastructure and community facilities needed to support this expansion -- are the major challenges facing this bustling, dynamic business center.

The Downtown Flushing plan examines a 55-block area consisting of the central retail district zoned for regional commercial uses; residential areas to the east and south; retail and industrial areas to the north and west; and, farther west along the Flushing River, an underutilized area zoned for heavy manufacturing uses.

The Downtown Flushing plan presents a long-range vision for new retail, commercial and residential development and for supporting transportation, open space and community facility improvements. New development would be shifted to the west of the existing downtown toward the Flushing River. When implemented, the plan would provide for 1.7 million square feet of retail and commercial development and over 1,400 apartments. The first phase would rezone 13 acres of manufacturing-zoned land adjacent to Flushing's central retail area for regional commercial and residential uses, eliminate unrealistic parking requirements that constrain appropriate development in the existing downtown and rezone an area where the zoning is not compatible with current residential use. Eventually, Downtown Flushing would extend to a public promenade or park along a cleaned-up Flushing River and its waterfront could be connected to the nearby 1,250-acre Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Downtown Flushing's development was made possible by investments in its transportation infrastructure. It is a major transit hub: the Main Street terminal of the IRT #7 line has the largest patronage of any station outside of Manhattan. Each day 50,000 people transfer to the subway from 12 bus lines, making this the single largest intermodal location in the system.

Extensive renewal of Downtown Flushing's infrastructure and public facilities is setting the stage for new development: the reconstruction of the Main Street subway station and most of the streets and sewers; the renovation and reuse of the Flushing Town Hall; and the replacement of the Flushing Library. The long-polluted Flushing River will be cleaned up after the $140-million combined sewer overflow tank is completed, creating a wonderful opportunity for waterfront public access and new development.

The Downtown Flushing plan is based on a comprehensive study conducted by the Department of City Planning. The Department's recommendations have been shaped through a series of discussions with a community-based advisory committee and elected officials.

The goals of the plan for Downtown Flushing are to:

• strengthen existing retail and commercial areas;
• identify appropriate locations for new residential and commercial development;
• improve the transportation system to accommodate existing and projected uses;
• provide for the community facilities and public open space to meet existing and projected needs; and
• preserve and highlight landmarks and historic sites.

Phase One Rezonings
Four areas should be rezoned immediately. The Department of City Planning will prepare the Environment Assessment Statements and the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) applications for the following actions:

• The 40-acre central retail area will be rezoned from C4-2 to C4-3 to encourage new private development by lowering parking requirments to a level appropriate for a major business district and mass transit hub. Permitted density would remain unchanged, with a commercial FAR of 3.4 and a residential equivalent of an R6 district (FAR of 2.43, 3.0 for Quality Housing buildings).
• To provide new opportunities for medium-density commercial and residential development, the C4-3 zoning for the central retail area will be extended over the 13 acre M1-1 area immediately to its west. This will increase the permitted commercial FAR from 1.0 to 3.4 and would allow residences at an R6 density.
• A one-and-a-half block area south of the waterfront area will be rezoned from M1-1 to an R6 district with a C2-3 overlay in recognition of the predominance of retail and residential uses there.
• A three-and-a-half block area adjacent to the proposed R6 area will be rezoned from M3-1 to M1-2 with increased performance standards to better reflect existing uses and provide protection to the proposed R6 area.

The phase one rezonings could accommodate 240,000 square feet of retail and commercial development and 200 residential units.

Phase Two Rezoning and Waterfront Access Plan
Because the Flushing River waterfront is underutilized and in close proximity to the center of Downtown Flushing, there is a unique opportunity to provide long-range expansion space for the downtown community while creating a substantial public presence at the water's edge. The Flushing River, now polluted during heavy rains, is slated for improved water quality in the early 2000's upon completion of a combined sewer overflow tank. Once the river is cleaned up, the area will be ideal for mixed commercial and residential development.

• The 44-acre waterfront area bounded by King Street, College Point Boulevard, the Long Island Rail Road and the Flushing River should be rezoned from M3-1 to C4-2 which would permit commercial and residential uses. The waterfront area would be subject to proposed waterfront zoning regulations (now before the City Council) which mandate public access and ensure that the scale of development is appropriate for the waterfront.
• A Waterfront Access Plan (WAP), a feature of the new waterfront zoning controls, is recommended for this waterfront area. This would designate specific locations for view corridors and public open spaces and recognize that much of the area is subject to Department of Environmental Conservation Tidal Wetlands regulations. The plan presents two preliminary WAP options. As an alternative to a WAP, the plan also sets forth a scheme for a public park and street system that could be mapped.

The phase two rezoning would provide sites for an additional 1.5 million square feet of retail and commercial development and approximately 1,200 apartments.

Transportation
It is essential to relieve traffic congestion in the central retail area if the existing business community and new development are to function successfully.

• The Transit Authority should reroute the Q14, Q48, Q58 and Q15 bus lines to relieve congestion at the Main Street/Roosevelt Avenue intersection.

• To improve traffic flow, the Department of Transportation should institute a transportation management plan that adds new traffic signals and modifies timing on existing signals.

• DOT should explore the feasibility of:
  • changing three two-way streets to one-way (Main, Union, and Prince streets) to improve traffic ciculation; and

  • constructing an elevated ramp from Northern Boulevard Bridge to College Point Boulevard to route through traffic from the Main Street/Roosevelt Avenue intersection and to support redevelopment of waterfront property west of College Point Boulevard.

• Parking regulations in Downtown Flushing's four municipal lots should be modified to improve their utilization.

• As redevelopment occurs west of the business center and along the waterfront, DOT should evaluate the need for an additional municipal parking facility west of College Point Boulevard.

• As planning for a light rail connection between LaGuardia and Kennedy airports moves forward, the feasibility of linking the new line to Downtown Flushing should be examined.

Planning and Development Guidelines for Municipal Parking Lot #1
The Department will work with the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to ensure that sound planning and development principles guide any development on this 5.5-acre site located in the center of the retail area. These guidelines recommend that new development should complement the scale and character of the surrounding area and the two-story Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church that will remain on the block. New retail and office uses should reinforce rather than compete with the existing retail base. There should be a strong community facility presence on the site. Approximately 20 percent of the site (slightly more than one acre) should be devoted to public open space. At least as many on-site municipal parking spaces should be provided as are now in the municipal lot. The EDC's recent study findings indicate that current market conditions preclude development and replacement of the public parking. Therefore, EDC will postpone development ofthe Municipal Parking Lot #1 site and will re-examine the site's redevelopment potential in three to five years.

Open Space and Community Facilities

• The Department will coordinate with the Board of Education to identify a site of about two acres for a 1200-seat elementary school to alleviate present crowding and to accommodate future growth.
• When the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) completes its inventory of wetlands and its study of the potential for public access along the river, the Department will work with DEP and the Department of Parks and Recreation to create appropriate public access along the shore and to explore the feasibility of connecting Downtown Flushing to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The possibilities for connecting a shore public walkway from the Downtown Flushing waterfront area to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park should be explored further when the Waterfront Access Plan or new public park/street system is developed.
• To enhance access to the waterfront redevelopment area, 37th Avenue and 39th Avenue, the two streets leading to the waterfront should be improved with street trees, special lighting and other treatments that would encourage pedestrian use.

Landmarks and Historic Sites

• A publicity effort and programs to highlight Downtown Flushing's landmarks and historic sites should be spearheaded by the Queens Historical Society; the Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts; and the Queens Borough President's Office.
• Tour programs and signs, banners and lights, particularly in the L-shaped area around Northern Boulevard and Bowne Street, should connect historic sites and dramatize their importance.
• Additional designations on the State and National Registers of Historic Places should be explored.

Business Improvement District
The retail center could be strengthened by creating a Business Improvement District (BID), a self-taxation program enabling local businesses to supplement city services. A group of merchants, business people and property-owners must form a sponsoring organization and apply for BID approval to the City Planning Commission and City Council.

For the Downtown Flushing plan to be successful, the public must continue to be involved in setting priorities and refining public policies. As elements of the plan move toward implementation, the Department of City Planning will continue to work with the Advisory Committee, the Queens Borough President, local elected officials, Community Board 7, other local groups, and private landowners, as well as appropriate city agencies. During the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure review of the proposed rezonings, Community Board 7 and the Borough President will have the opportunity to hold public hearings and submit recommendations to the City Planning Commission and the City Council.

Downtown Flushing has a long and extraordinary history of responding to change. The actions recommended in this plan will help Downtown Flushing meet its new challenges and enter the next century strengthened and revitalized.

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