Sky View Parc Facts

Flushing residents held a rally at the planned site – 3903 College Point Blvd. Organizers presented 60,000+ signed petitions advocating for affordable housing, and not a shelter.

There has been no response from AAFE nor the City regarding the $440 million tax payer money being budgeted for the shelter.

Flushing United  – Press Conference
Sunday 2PM, February 20th 2022
3903 College Point Blvd

Latest developments on the community’s demand for affordable housing.

39-03 College Point Blvd’s 90 apartment shelter for a total $440 million dollars of taxpayers’ money comes out to $4.88 million dollars per apartment.

Flushing United “presented a petition of 50,000 signatures voicing concerns about the development” and 10 questions regarding the shelter that “till this day we have not received any response from either party. There is clearly a lack of transparency and accountability”.

https://qns.com/2022/01/flushing-organization-concerned-transitional-housing-project/

https://www.flushingunited.org/10-questions

List of 10 questions from the Flushing United website:

1. 1. AAFE and the city departments entered into an agreement concerning the project. Please advise of the date this agreement was entered and provide a copy of the same to the elected officials representing Flushing and Queens Borough as well as the media outlets. Otherwise, please explain whether the non-disclosure of agreements concerning important public interests with public funding complies with the state and city government protocols.
   2. Upon information and belief, AAFE shall obtain 16.7 million dollars for the construction from the city while it is unknown whether or how much mortgage amount AAFE will obtain for the project. Please also provide the budget under the 30-year service contract for the “transitional housing”. Please provide a feasibility report which was the basis of proposed budget. Please verify whether your budget was the result of counseling and/or bidding with private entities.
   3. Please verify whether the contract prices for 30-year services on job training, counseling and other items are the results of bidding among private service providers. If the answer is positive please provide copies of the bidding statements. Please explain how many employees and professionals AAFE will hire to conduct proposed services and proposed compensations for each position.
   4. Under your business structure, AAFE has formed partnership with URI. Upon information and belief, Housing Department Fund Company (HDFC) is believed to be jointly owned by AAFE and URI. Please advise of the rationality for this business model or pattern. Please explain how AAFE can avoid conflicts of interests in the event that the property ownership conflicts with the use of the premises or else when the interests of the residents have conflict with that of URI. Can AAFE justify the rationality for such business structure? Is this business model reported to the state attorney general’ s office for approval?
   5. The city pays 16.7 million dollars for the construction of this project. Does AAFE obtain mortgage from any private lenders? If yes, what is the bidding process for the mortgage application? Which lender finally obtained the deal?
   6. Please provide a list of subcontractors for the construction project including but not limited to survey, earth drilling examinations, designs, underground digging, steal structure establishments, material suppliers, electrical equipment supplier and installation, insurance policy providers. Does AAFE choose each subcontractor through open bidding? If yes, can you provide relevant bidding statements?
   7. Do directors and employees of AAFE, URI and the above-named city departments as well as their family members and interested parties have any business and financial interests directly or indirectly with any of the subcontractors?
   8. On various occasions, AAFE has stated that the proposed facility will only provide transitional housing services for single mothers with children who are victims of domestic violence in the Flushing community. However, the AAFE’s own website uses the term “Families with Children Center” without the words “woman victims”. How does the AAFE explain the discrepancy in the wording of your propaganda efforts? Since AAFE has declared repeatedly that the proposed facility only provides “transitional housing services” to families with children from the community of Flushing. Does AAFE has any legal documents to bind itself with this declared usage in the following 30 years without the possibility of any change of usage? Does AAFE plan to enter a “covenant” for such a scope of restrictive usage and record the same with the recording office of the city?
   9. AAFE and elected officials representing Flushing all show their concerns over the fact that many residents in Flushing are applying for affordable housings as a result of Ida storm and the Covid-19 pandemic. What is the rationality that affordable housing applicants with children have to first reside at the transitional housing to receive training on how to apply for affordable housing? Is it more cost effective to place them into the affordable housing directly?
   10. While AAFE and the city has kept the public and elected officials under dark for this project, stakeholders and elected officials from congresswoman, Grace Meng, to current and elected city councilman and council woman, all expressed the concerns for the lack of transparency and lack of support from the local community, do AAFE and the city consider the strong public opposition as evidenced by the petitions executed by local residents?