Posted June 22, 200816 yr after work in flushing, queens one day i made a plan to check out the willet’s point neighborhood to see shea, citifield construction and mostly to walk around the interesting & endangered 'iron triangle.' sooo...what the heck is the iron triangle? well here is my fav wiki blurb about it: a recent hunter college study found that Willets Point was a "unique regional destination" for auto parts and repairs. :laugh: imo it's pretty much a dead ringer for 'la frontera' aka the usa/mexico borderland, except more dense. you can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willets_Point%2C_Queens and here is some timely blog news about the strongarm gentrification changes in store (the city has been trying to do this for years, but with citifield up it looks like it will happen): Eminent Domain + Relocation Services for Willets Point? Thursday, June 12, 2008, by Robert ________________________________________ Eminent domain may be coming to Willets Point, aka the Iron Triangle or iTri, the little corner of Queens near Citifield that the city wants to turn into a $3 billion mixed used development with hotels, apartments, retail and a convention facility. The Daily News got hold of 790-page "blight study" of the area. This is interesting in that such documents usually precede efforts to condemn and seize property. The study says that Willets Point is a "burden on the health of the city's residents and economy." In the meantime, a look at the New York Economic Development Corp. website reveals the city has issued an RFP for a Willets Point Relocation Services Specialist. It notes that "Approximately 60% of the land is occupied by owner-occupant business, with the remaining 40% occupied by tenant businesses. These businesses would need to be relocated." The deadline for submitting a bid to help relocate businesses is June 23. There is a long road ahead, including a city land use process and what are likely to be numerous and complicated lawsuits, before a single chop shop business moves a hubcap. • Eminent domain bid seen as study slams Willets Pt. [NYDN] • Willets Point Relocation Services RFP [NYEDC] • Willets Point Rendered, Local Love Included [Curbed] http://curbed.com/archives/2008/06/12/eminent_domain_relocation_services_for_willets_point.php the iron triangle overview --- from the #7 train heading west from flushing: well....so there’s your iron! :laugh: citifield from the platform shea on the ground southeast corner looking at the eastside of the new stadium along 126th st, the iron triangle is just across the street yes i peeked in the fencing :wink: Northeast corner ok enough of that, presenting……the iron triangle mascot! :laugh: in we go…..let’s enjoy the colorful grit while we can! unh, no dumping? seriously?.....oh, they must mean bodies. :-o :laugh: heading back to the station a weekday day game getting started A final platform view I had to go to the queens museum a couple days later so here’s a bonus view from the corona park/Arthur ashe stadium side of the platform that we won’t have for much longer: Finally --- How can I resist a few shots from the ride home, right? *** hello citifield, goodbye shea & stay tuned willet’s point condos coming soon :-P ***
June 22, 200816 yr haha jeeze... i'd hate to see that place go actually.. it's like a mecca for low budget auto repair/salvage/customizing etc.. :-P and how long has the nyc cab company been using that new logo? i don't like it that much :wtf:
June 22, 200816 yr OH my God. Thanks for posting this. I think I found a new place to troll for trash. OMG!!! I'm totally stoked!
June 22, 200816 yr Are they getting rid of that massive wooden boardwalk from the LIRR to the stadium?
June 22, 200816 yr no i don't think so, that is on the other side of the subway platform from the stadiums and the iron triangle. the boardwalk takes you south into corona park.
June 22, 200816 yr ^ #7 train to shea -- it's right there. keep in mind it's all about auto-related stuff tho, not just any random junk. *** here's an update from curbed blog, it looks like the iron triangle is starting to get bought up right away: WILLETS POINT—It's hard to say whether it's a sign of confidence or an omen of just how bad things are with the embattled $3 billion plan to remake the Iron Triangle, but the NY Economic Development Corp. sent out a press release this afternoon noting that it had reached an agreement with two landowners in the area, one of which controls 52,000 square feet of land and other which owns 22,000 square feet. The deals, NYEDC's presidents says "provide tangible evidence that we will make good on our promise to achieve fair, negotiated deals with as many businesses and owners as possible in connection with the Willets Point redevelopment." So, that makes 74,000 square feet of land down and 2,583,160 to go. [CurbedWire Inbox] http://curbed.com/archives/2008/06/18/curbedwire_henry_miller_theater_facade_is_back_city_celebrates_first_willets_point_deal.php
June 22, 200816 yr ^ #7 train to shea -- it's right there. keep in mind it's all about auto-related stuff tho, not just any random junk. MTS, if you run into John Rocker on the train, be sure to ask for his autograph!!!!
June 22, 200816 yr Thats cool, I'm thinking I could do some auto inspired outdoor thing or get my nephew to do something crazy like a chair for the backyard. ^ #7 train to shea -- it's right there. keep in mind it's all about auto-related stuff tho, not just any random junk. MTS, if you run into John Rocker on the train, be sure to ask for his autograph!!!! If I saw John Rocker, an autograph wouldn't be what I'd give him. That hasbeen!
June 22, 200816 yr Ah...the joys of the 7 train. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 23, 200816 yr I can't wait for Citi Field. I think Shea Stadium is monstrously disgusting-looking. Not that I'm much of a Mets fan. Or a Yankees fan, for that matter. If y'all know what I'm getting at. I really love how colorful the shots from the "iron triangle" are. Great shots.
June 23, 200816 yr As easily the biggest Mets fan on UrbanOhio, I have to say you captured the dumpy car shops across from Shea well. And it is awesome to see the graffitied building that you see when you take the #7 from Grand Central to Shea. That place is a hot mess. Go Mets!
June 23, 200816 yr what kind of New Yorkers choose the Mets over the Yankees, mrnyc? I've always wondered since they're clearly NY's "second" team... is it old fans of the Dodgers and Giants? Also... are Mets fans usually fans of the Jets and Islanders as opposed to the Giants and Rangers? At least all of NY can unite over the Knickerbockers.
June 23, 200816 yr Let me remind you that the Skankees sucked in the 1980's. I was 10 when the Mets won the World Series in 1986. It shouldn't be hard to comprehend why someone in their late 20's, early 30's is a Mets fan. The Mets were New York's first time in the 1980's. Oh and since you commented on the Isles, yes I am an Islanders fan over the Rangers. Then again I was born and raised in Long Island and my grandparents were both born in Brooklyn so as a family that followed the Brooklyn Dodgers, it was only nature for my family to move to the Mets.
June 23, 200816 yr evergrey i think you called it. the fan breakdown runs generally along the lines you might expect, with brooklyn & queens tilting toward the mets and the other three boroughs more toward the yankees. even the class 'a' farm teams follow that with brooklyn cyclones being with the mets and the staten island yankees being tied to.... :roll: :laugh: its not always true tho, i see plenty of mets caps in the bx and nyy caps in queens. as for the other sports loyalties, it's funny but it seems to me that perhaps because of cultural differences the fans don't follow all local sports as they would in pittsburgh or the cleve. otherwise, i guess it would likely go mets/jets/islanders and yankees/giants/rangers. one more thing -- don't forget that besides the knicks the nets are supposedly headed to downtown brooklyn, so that will fire local nba fans up if and when it happens.
June 23, 200816 yr I could see myself rooting for the Nets if they were in Brooklyn. I would never root for anything in New Jersey hence why I now root for the Bengals over the Giants.
June 28, 200816 yr I just noticed that some of those places were made from shipping containers... Now I would REALLY hate to see this place go haha.
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