Old Astoria Neighborhood Association Says Future Roosevelt Island Planning Must Include Western Queens

The Old Astoria Neighborhood Association (OANA) is:

… a 501c3 non-profit focusing on the part of Astoria from Steinway Street/East River to the North, 21st St to the East, Queensborough Plaza to the South, and the East River to the West. We promote economic growth, quality of life, and cultural health in the neighborhood.

Note: Old Astoria is traditionally bordered on the north by Astoria Park South, and on the south by Broadway. We have extended our area to include Astoria Park and south to the bridge to Roosevelt Island because these areas are closely integrated both culturally and economically to Old Astoria….

Among the topics to be discussed at the OANA December 18 virtual meeting is the future of Roosevelt Island development.

According to OANA:

OANA has released a new op-ed responding to the announcement extending the Roosevelt Island master lease to 2078 and launching a long-term planning process for housing, redevelopment, and infrastructure.

One main theme of the op-ed is that while Roosevelt Island is politically tied to Manhattan, every emergency response, sanitation route, service vehicle, and roadway access point runs through Astoria and Long Island City. Western Queens carries the operational burden but has no representation in decisions that directly affect our streets and services.

The op-ed calls for Queens to be formally included in all planning, a transparent analysis of service impacts on Astoria and LIC, and a review of Roosevelt Island’s community-district and political alignment. It also urges public meetings to be held in Queens, where the real-world effects are felt….

Here’s the full OANA op-ed.

Click here to join the December 18 OANA virtual meeting Roosevelt Island discussion.

Here’s more on the Roosevelt Island 10 year Master Lease extension between New York City and New York State announced last November 14.

In 2023 Roosevelt Island activists and elected officials stopped legislative efforts to redistrict Roosevelt Island NY State Assembly representation from Manhattan to Queens.