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Driving through Willets Point’s Iron Triangle makes you feel like you've taken a wrong turn in a Third World country. The streets are a muddy mess, riddled with huge potholes that are filled with nasty looking water. Rough looking "junkyard" dogs roam around freely and huge piles of auto parts are everywhere. Shop workers, mostly Hispanic, wave you in for repair work as you drive by. Ironically, most cars would probably need some work after cruising through this area!
There is an extremely ambitious plan in motion to demolish this entire section of Flushing, Queens and replace the chop shops and other auto-related businesses with bars, restaurants, parking lots, a hotel and convention center and much more – all designed to accommodate the fans heading to the NY Mets’ new Citi Field ballpark. There is a huge job ahead.
There is no sewer system within the Iron Triangle and the entire area is located below the 100-year floodplain. Insurance regulations dictate that any new construction will have to be built at least five feet higher than the current surface level to raise the entire grade of the district and allow for sewage and rainwater run-off into the nearby Flushing River (and elsewhere).
With all the auto parts strewn about and a major waste removal company located in the district, serious environmental degradation issues will also have to be addressed before new construction can begin- but, there's no stopping progress. Despite some organized opposition to the "eminent domain" being cited, private engineering firms and city-related economic development agencies are moving forward with environmental assessment work and district re-design plans. You can see one of them here:
http://www.nycedc.com/NR/rdonlyres/70351293-2484-411A-B161-1129BA447144/0/WP_0908_07DME014Q_Notice_of_Completion_FGEIS.pdf
Still, for all the negatives associated with this area, any visitor can't help noticing that there are hundreds of jobs within the Iron Triangle, and dozens of shop owners who will be displaced by the planned development. Proponents of revitalization hope that any workers who lose jobs will be employed by the new businesses when construction is complete.
Despite the problems in the Iron Triangle,the new Citi Field looks great from the outside and should be a very cool place to watch a ballgame. Based on what this observer saw earlier this week (February 10), there's still a fair amount of construction work to be done, but all should be ready by Opening Day. Demolition will also be complete on the old ballpark - Shea Stadium is almost completely gone - there's only one section of the old stadium still standing.
- Bill McCue
-The Iron Triangle is set upon ash heaps that F. Scott Fitzgerald mentioned in the Great Gatsby – ed.
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