CB2 Says "Yes with Conditions" to OneLIC

An overview of our working group process, recommendations, and the path forward for Long Island City's neighborhood plan

Last night, Queens Community Board 2 voted to approve the OneLIC plan with a long list of conditions. The final vote was 36 in favor and 7 opposed.

With this vote, we said that we support the core goals of the OneLIC plan, especially the commitment to creating more affordable housing. Our neighborhood is in urgent need of housing options that working families, seniors, and longtime residents can afford. The plan lays out a strong foundation, and we’ve added specific recommendations that push the City to go even further — including stronger affordability requirements, family-sized apartments, and the use of public land to build 100% affordable homes, parks, and schools. With these conditions, the plan can deliver real, lasting benefits to our community. Our “yes with conditions” puts clear expectations on the table and allows us to fight for the infrastructure and public investments our neighborhood has been promised but hasn’t always received. These investments include sewer upgrades, safer streets, new schools, and green spaces. By saying yes with a strong list of conditions, we’re not just approving a plan — we’re shaping it to meet our Long Island City community’s needs.

I’ll share the full list of conditions here once the board officially releases it publicly. In the meantime, here is a summary of our working group process and recommendations.

Working group process

Over seven structured sessions in May, the OneLIC Working Group reviewed the Long Island City Neighborhood Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and formulated community recommendations addressing key thematic areas, including zoning and development, housing affordability, infrastructure, arts and culture, open space, and community oversight. The Working Group brought together a diverse set of stakeholders within the community board and city agency representatives. We received technical briefings from agencies like the Department of City Planning and the Department of Environmental Protection, examined renderings and data, and discussed hundreds of pieces of public testimony, including responses from the May 21 public hearing at LaGuardia Community College. As a result of this process, the Working Group produced a comprehensive set of recommendations aimed at ensuring that public benefits align with the scale of projected growth. These recommendations emphasize urgency in tackling the housing crisis and insist on an equitable, accountable approach to planning.

Initial recommendations

At our June 5 community board meeting, we rolled out our initial draft of recommendations. To summarize some of its contents: We’re calling for deeper housing affordability through Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Options 1 and 3, prioritization of 100% affordable housing and family-sized units on public sites (along with schools and open space), and expanded outreach for low-income and voucher-eligible residents. We want a sequencing plan to align development with the timely delivery of schools, sewers, transit upgrades, and public safety resources. We urge the City to integrate climate resiliency into all waterfront and public space development, and to establish transparent reporting and agency implementation plans tied to the rezoning’s projected growth. We want to expand and improve public open space by formalizing stronger design and accessibility standards in the Waterfront Access Plan, committing to new neighborhood parks, and converting underutilized parcels into public green space. We’re advocating for zoning incentives to support local arts and culture, including floor area bonuses and designated affordable cultural spaces. To ensure public benefits, we propose calibrated zoning to steer developers toward using incentives and replacing unlimited height allowances with defined limits. Lastly, we call for strong oversight, including a community committee, quarterly meetings, and annual progress reports, backed by a post-ULURP Memorandum of Understanding to formalize city accountability and maintain public trust throughout implementation.

Added recommendations

After that meeting, we gave community board members an opportunity to give us feedback and let us know what other recommendations they wanted to see included. These additional recommendations built on the core vision by proposing more strategies to align development with community needs. We urge city and state officials to match housing affordability standards more closely with neighborhood income levels and incentivize projects that exceed minimum affordability thresholds. We suggest tools like density bonuses and transfer of development rights to support deeper affordability and mixed-income stability. We advocate for prioritizing homeownership for first-time buyers and ensuring stalled or speculative projects are reviewed. Recognizing environmental and equity issues, we call for investment in Blissville, inclusion of a large public outdoor pool, and conversion of city-owned parcels under the Queensboro Bridge into climate-resilient parkland. We propose an Art Fund, funded by a surcharge on market-rate housing, to support local artists and cultural nonprofits. Related to the Industrial Business Zone, we emphasize retaining its identity through cautious zoning changes and supportive policies for small businesses. We recommend downzoning certain manufacturing areas while using targeted FAR bonuses to incentivize affordable space for artisans and makers. To address commercial displacement, we urge rent monitoring, targeted grants, and property tax relief for local business owners. We also promote pedestrian-friendly shared streets and incentivized food retail in underserved areas, including prioritizing a green market and increased access to fresh food around NYCHA sites. Lastly, we call for developers to fund the creation of community benefit agreements and direct a portion of gains from new development toward reinvestment in public housing and local infrastructure, particularly in Queensbridge Houses. All of these conditions reinforce the principle that growth needs to deliver lasting community value.

ULURP process

Now that our community board has voted yes with conditions (remember that ours is an advisory opinion), the plan will move to the Queens Borough President for a 30-day review (there’s a public hearing on Thursday June 26), followed by a 60-day review by the City Planning Commission. After that, the City Council will have 50 days to make the final decision.

Disclaimer: I serve as the Vice Chair of Land Use and Housing for Queens CB2 and served as the Chair of the Queens CB2 OneLIC Working Group, but the opinions shared here are mine alone.