Tom Angotti, Hunter College
Sarah Crean, New York Industrial Retention Network
Neil Kittredge, Beyer Blinder Belle
Thomas McKnight, New York City Economic Development Corporation
Moderated by Richard Plunz, GSAPP
Organized by the Architecture and Urban Design Program and moderated by Richard Plunz, this is the second installment of the monthly series “Where is New York?*”
Located near the periphery of Queens, Willets Point is the epicenter of an increasingly important debate about the future of New York City’s production and economy — the business of recycling. Home to this well-established enterprise, it is also the site of a number of recent proposals for redevelopment, and subsequent counter-proposals related to business retention. Which of these activities comprise the highest possible use for Willets Point? Should the recycling industry be reinforced or replaced? If discarded, how exactly would the New York region address these needs in the future? This conversation poses spatial and economic question to Willets Point during a time of increasing uncertainty for New York City-based enterprise.
* Each month, one program at GSAPP will identify a site within the five boroughs that has been important to their discipline within the past year and bring designers, policymakers, developers, community activists, and other New Yorkers together to discuss the site and question where we are.
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