Statement of Mayor Bloomberg on City Council Approval of Historic Willets Point Redevelopment Plan

October 9, 2013

"Today's City Council vote is a critical milestone in the history of Willets Point, which for generations has been known as a contaminated ‘valley of ashes.’ Now, thanks to the collective efforts of our Administration and local leaders, we can begin cleaning up and transforming Willets Point into a new neighborhood that, when fully realized, will be anchored by nearly 6,000 new housing units, including more than 2,000 that will be reserved for low- and middle-income New Yorkers. In the process, this historic redevelopment will remediate 100 years of environmental degradation, link this district to modern infrastructure, establish a new commercial destination, create 7,100 permanent jobs and 12,000 construction jobs, and generate billions in economic activity. We look forward to the next steps of this landmark project, which will produce $3 billion of private investment that will almost immediately begin to impact the local economy.  I want to thank and congratulate Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, without whose tireless leadership and advocacy this project would not have succeeded."