a plan to build housing in the neighborhood from Adrienne Adams<\/a>, the former speaker of the City Council whom Governor Kathy Hochul tapped to serve as her running mate earlier this year. <\/p>\nIt\u2019s likely that whatever plan takes shape will include housing, according to the governor, who passed an executive order in 2023 directing agencies to find underutilized state-owned sites that could be used for new homes. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs we work to address New York\u2019s housing crisis and create more vibrant, inclusive communities, it is critical that we fully utilize state-owned land to meet local needs,\u201d Hochul said in a statement. \u201cThe Aqueduct site represents a significant opportunity, and through this community-driven process, we will ensure its future reflects the priorities of Queens residents while expanding housing, economic opportunity, and public amenities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first workshop on May 12 will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at John Adams High School on Rockaway Boulevard. The second workshop, which will be held on May 14 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., will be virtual.<\/p>\n
The sessions will include an opening presentation about the site and an interactive open house where residents can use mapping tools to give their input about what they\u2019d like to see built at Aqueduct, including housing, open space, retail, schools, community facilities, or arts and culture facilities, according to ESD. <\/p>\n
More workshops will be held in the coming year. The state says it plans to unveil a master plan for the site in early 2027. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Aqueduct Racetrack site represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine 100 acres of state-owned land in Queens,\u201d said Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight, who previously led an economic development organization in Southeast Queens. \u201cESD is committed to working with the community through a robust and inclusive engagement process to develop a vision for this site that reflects their input and guides future development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aqueduct has been used to host horse races in one capacity or another for the past 132 years, making it one of the oldest horse racing venues in the country. <\/p>\n
But dwindling attendance and a crumbling facility led the state to announce in 2022 that it planned to close the longtime track and consolidate it with the tracks at Belmont Park just over the Queens border in Elmont, Long Island. Belmont\u2019s redevelopment is expected to be completed in September. <\/p>\n
The track\u2019s impending closure sparked new proposals for the site. <\/p>\n
In 2024, Adams, who represented the racetrack in the Council, said during her State of the City speech that the state should turn the plot into a new neighborhood with ample housing at its core. The former speaker has since been chosen by Hochul to run as her lieutenant governor. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis presents a generational opportunity to transform this site into housing and homeownership, open space, and new community amenities,\u201d the speaker said during her speech. <\/p>\n
The site was also eyed by Resorts World, which told the Gaming Commission when it was vying for one of the state\u2019s three downstate casino licenses that Aqueduct could be used to build employee housing<\/a>. Resorts World went on to win one of the licenses and opened the first phase of its new casino in April. <\/p>\nEven before Aqueduct\u2019s closure was solidified, the site sparked the imaginations of state leaders. <\/p>\n
Former Governor Eliot Spitzer considered selling the site off in 2007 but didn\u2019t after local officials pushed back on the plan \u2013 the New York Racing Association, which leases the land, ended up agreeing to allow the state to auction off around 7 acres of vacant land near the track to raise money for the struggling venue. <\/p>\n
Several years later, former Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed building the country\u2019s largest convention center at Aqueduct. But he later scrapped the plan in favor of a deal to bring Resorts World\u2019s electronic casino to the area. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Jacob Kaye The state this month will begin planning its redevelopment of Queens\u2019 Aqueduct Racetrack, which is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220687,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-220686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}