On June 11, over 425 religious leaders and community members from Queens Congregations United for Action (QCUA) gathered at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church to ask members of the New York City Council to support their plan for redeveloping Willets Point. Located on 61 acres of land adjacent to Shea Stadium, Willets Point is home to 250 businesses with over 1,300 workers. The city is proposing to move out the businesses and develop housing, office space, retail and entertainment space, and a hotel/convention center. However, the plan does not include viable alternative work options or compensation for the displaced workers nor real affordable housing that area residents could afford.

After months of conversations with hundreds of community members and workers, QCUA, together with the Willets Point Coalition, developed a comprehensive platform for the project, which includes 1/3 of the housing for families earning below $25,000, 1/3 for low, moderate, and middle-income families, relocation of existing businesses, and viable work options for displaced workers. At the meeting, Councilmembers Hiram Monserrate and Eric Gioia signed the platform and pledged their support throughout the process.  Councilmember Helen Sears, the chief of staff for Councilmember John Liu, and Borough President Helen Marshall's housing representative all verbally expressed their support, but declined to sign the pledge.

Queens has the highest rate of severe overcrowding in the city and 28 percent of all renters pay more than half of their income on rent.  "My wife and I work 50 to 54 hours a week for minimum wage in a factory in order to pay our bills and support our families," said Florencio Almazo, a long-time resident of the Corona neighborhood in Queens. "We pay $700 for one room in a basement apartment that we share with two other families.  It is unjust that we and families like ours won't qualify for the housing to be built in Willets Point!"

For more information on Queens Congregations United for Action, visit www.qcuapico.org

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