Willets West Shopping Mall, Major League Soccer Stadium, and National Tennis Center expansion all in one area, coincidence? These are three big projects set to take place in the same area, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, over a span of the next twenty years. Imagine walking through Flushing Meadows Corona Park twenty years from now, and it being completely different from the way you once knew it, that’s exactly what is going to happen here. Why Flushing Meadows park of all places? When you look at the numbers, only 28% of the lands 1,255 acres of land is available for public use and to take more of that could prove costly for the people living in the area. And the ones most likely to be affected the most is the residents of Willets Point. The temporary parking needed to replace what Citi Field would be losing with the creation of the Willets West Shopping Mall would cause many of the residents of Willets Point to be displaced many years before the proposed restructuring of Willets Point, which includes new housing and schools, will take place. The biggest tradeoff facing the residents is the prospect of new jobs versus the public space they have grown accustomed too. These issues may not be resolved while Bloomberg is in office, so voters must beware of a mayoral candidate promising to bring new jobs to New York City, because in the end you may just get what you wish for.

The people of this area have legitimate concerns, there is no questioning that. The streets and the 7 line is crowded enough as it is, will even be more so after these projects are introduced. Consequently, this could eventually lead to using more park space or empty land to build more streets or expand subway lines to accomodate the four big attractions that will have now settled in that area. What does the future hold for the park, and the residents of nearby neighborhoods? Will we see a big victory for public opposition, or will we see the biggest land grab ever to occur in Queens?