The vote advanced the second half of the Willets Point plan, which would bring a 25,000-seat soccer arena to the long underdeveloped corner of Queens, plus 1,400 affordable apartments, a 250-room hotel, 80,000 square feet of retail and nearly 3 acres of public open space.

“This is a monumental project and vision because it’s going to take obviously some years to accomplish it,” said Vice Chairman Kenneth Knuckles. “But in so doing it’s my hope that the economic tide that this project represents will take with it certainly as many local businesses, minority-, women-owned businesses as is possible. It has a tremendous job creation potential, but I hope it [is] to the benefit of the local community.”

Willets Point’s transformation has been in the works for years and is spearheaded by NYCFC, the city’s Economic Development Corp. and private real estate giants Related Companies and Sterling Equities. It is projected to generate more than $6 billion in economic impact over the next three decades.

“The club is grateful that the City Planning Commission voted to approve a transformational project for Willets Point, unlocking the largest 100% affordable housing project in over 40 years, thousands of jobs and NYC’s first-ever, union-built soccer stadium,” NYCFC Vice Chairman Marty Edelman said in a statement following the vote.

“NYCFC committed 10 years ago to build our stadium in the five boroughs, and today’s vote gets us one step closer to bringing this promise to life in Queens — the World’s Borough will be our home for the World’s Game.”

Jeff Blau, CEO of Related, issued a statement on behalf of Queens Development Group, the joint venture between Related and Sterling.

“For over a decade, the City Planning Commission has championed the redevelopment of Willets Point and been committed to ensuring it delivers much-needed affordable housing and other critical elements that will make the area a dynamic neighborhood and destination,” Blau said. “We are grateful for their vision, their dedication, and for their approval of this vision that will deliver a vibrant mixed-use community built on the bedrock of thousands of affordable housing units.”

The preliminary stage of the Willets Point revamp is already in motion and will essentially create a new neighborhood a stone’s throw from Citi Field. The city broke ground on 1,100 affordable homes and a 650-seat public school in December, and the first 880 apartments are expected to be complete by the end of 2026.

New renderings shared with the Daily News show what the stadium could look like, including the planned grand entrance dubbed the “Cube” which will feature 11,000 square feet of LEDs.

Phase 2 of the Willets Point plan already got the requisite greenlights from Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and local Community Board 7. Approval from the City Planning Commission was the penultimate hurdle before the final City Council vote.

Council approval is likely given an informal practice known as member deference, under which the Council typically follows the lead of the local member on land use issues.

Councilman Francisco Moya represents the Willets Point area and has been one of the most vocal supporters of the stadium plan. He said the project could be approved “within the next two months.”

Ten Shot In Queens Mass Shooting

“Today’s approval from the City Planning Commission marks another milestone in the process of bringing revitalization, progress and housing to Willets Point,” Moya said in a statement. “It’s another overwhelmingly supportive vote showing the groundswell of support for this once in a lifetime project. When you have the right partners and engage the community early on, you can get projects done.”

If the second phase passes the full review process, construction on the stadium could start as early as this year and finish in 2027, while the hotel and housing would come in 2030, according to the city.

The City Planning Department’s 18-point “City of Yes for Economic Development” proposal could make it easier to fill vacant storefronts and allow for more types of businesses in new places, such as more corner stores in residential neighborhoods and more laboratories near hospitals and universities.

It also includes the largest expansion of available space in decades for “clean manufacturing,” including bakeries, microbreweries and jewelry makers, plus allowances for indoor agriculture in commercial areas.

“To continue driving New York City’s economic recovery forward, we must look to the future and not be bound by the past,” Mayor Adams said in a statement. “So many of our old zoning rules simply made no sense, but ‘City of Yes for Economic Opportunity’ will deliver long-overdue, sensible zoning changes that will unlock family-sustaining jobs for our neighbors, inclusive growth in our communities and a vibrant future for our city.”

City Planning Commission Chairman Dan Garodnick previously pointed to outmoded parts of existing zoning, including references to telegraph offices and relics of so-called “cabaret laws” that mean rules still technically prohibit dancing in many bars, clubs and restaurants.

“This is a truly momentous step forward for the future of small businesses in New York City,” said Garodnick. “For too long, New York City’s entrepreneurs, mom-and-pops and commercial corridors have been held back by outdated zoning rules. … New Yorkers are tired of walking past empty storefronts, and it is a bad look when the city’s own rules are preventing us from filling them.”

The “Economic Opportunity” initiative got a mixed reception from community boards across the five boroughs before reaching the City Planning Commission, with 32 of the city’s 59 boards voting against the measure.

‘s Vacant retails spaces are pictured along 125th St. Wednesday, June14, 2023, in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)Some expressed worry about changes that would allow New Yorkers more flexibility to run a business out of their home. City Planning included a number of modifications in response to that and other concerns, such as reinstating rules capping the amount of space that can be used for home-based businesses.

Several commissioners echoed those worries Wednesday, including Gail Benjamin. She said she was “troubled” by certain aspects of the proposal, particularly what she saw as the “incursion” into residential districts.

“I am going to cast a vote for ‘Yes,’ with the hope that somewhere along the line someone takes a look at how these businesses really operate,” she said.

“Economic Opportunity” is the second of three “City of Yes” initiatives from the Adams administration. The first prong, dubbed “Carbon Neutrality” and aimed at boosting climate-friendly works, was enacted in December; the third and arguably most contentious is “Housing Opportunity,” a sweeping suite of changes intended to create 100,000 new homes across the city that’s currently under public review.

A final vote by the City Council on “Economic Opportunity” is expected this spring.

The Legal Aid Society filed the lawsuit in Bronx Housing Court on Tuesday on behalf of about two dozen tenants of 2201-05 Davidson Ave. in University Heights.

It names Romad Realty, Inc., 2201 Davidson NY Holdings, LLC and landlords Dov Guttman and David Kornitzer, who records show owe the city $24.7 million in unpaid taxes. They could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to the suit, the circa-1929 rent-stabilized property has been “in a state of serious disrepair” for over a decade. At a press conference on Tuesday in the building’s garbage-filled lobby, tenants described living with mold, vermin and an elevator that’s been out of order since August.

“The consistent neglect has continuously made a huge negative impact on this building and my apartment for over 50 years and there needs to be a positive and immediate change,” said Jenel Young, 27, who grew up in the building and whose grandmother lived there decades before shoddy conditions forced her out.

“If the building’s damages continue there will be nothing out of what could be a beautiful opportunity for a historic complex,” Young said.

The building has almost 500 open violations with the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and 83 violations with the Department of Buildings.

“This hit me right here in the heart and in the gut, to see a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old walking by with a wall of black mold, with a hole in their ceiling,” said Councilmember Pierina Sanchez. “That ain’t right. That’s not what the city of New York is supposed to be about.”

Tenants say that besides seeking repairs, they want the city to intervene and place the building under new ownership — ideally with a nonprofit, or with the tenants themselves. It’s a demand they’ve been making for years, but a confluence of factors has kept that from happening.

The city’s Third-Party Transfer program is one avenue that could allow for such a transfer. The program, which allows buildings that owe back taxes or other debt to the city to be transferred to new owners, has been on hold since 2019, when it was found to unfairly take property ownership away from communities of color. Sanchez said the city is “very seriously” looking into reforming the program so it can be used in cases like this one.

“It’s not that the city’s enforcement programs don’t work. They just don’t work for the worst owners,” Sanchez said. “Buildings like this will do absolutely nothing until the property is taken away.”

Bankruptcy proceedings tied up the city’s effort to foreclose on the building in 2015. The city and the tenants moved in 2018 to dismiss the case, in the expectation the dismissal would let the city foreclose on the building to recover millions in unpaid property taxes.

But Kornitzer and the other investors never paid up, Legal Aid says — a claim confirmed by city records.

Meanwhile, the Davidson Avenue complex has been in Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Alternative Enforcement Program, earmarked for the city’s “severely distressed” buildings, for over a decade — with no discernible improvements, residents said.

Young places blame for the situation squarely with the building’s landlords. She said she’s had to spend thousands of dollars of her own money to fix up her apartment, and she and her sister have been forced to rely on a toaster and small electric stove for meals since their stove broke down.

But looking at happy childhood photos she said she is determined to repair her home rather than move away.

“I see those kinds of pictures, I’m like, ‘No, you gotta come back and fix her apartment,’” Young said. “You can’t just take the easy way out and run and go to Brooklyn.”

The exercise equipment maker, known for its ubiquitous commercials, announced it also entered into a purchase agreement to sell itself for $37.5 million to Taiwan-based Johnson Health Tech, but left the door open for higher bids.

In February, the company warned investors there was “substantial doubt” it could stay in business.

BowFlex cited the “post-pandemic environment” for its bankruptcy, but said the sales agreement would ensure its employees keep getting paid as the process plays out. The new buyer will ultimately decide how many workers lose their jobs. The company laid off 15% of its workers last summer.

“For decades, BowFlex has empowered healthier living and enabled consumers to reach their fitness goals with our innovative home fitness products and individualized connected fitness experiences,” CEO Jim Barr said in a statement Tuesday.

“As a result of the post-pandemic environment and persistent macroeconomic headwinds, we conducted a comprehensive strategic review and determined this was the best path forward for our company,” said Barr. “We are fortified by the potential partnership with Johnson Health Tech and encouraged by the multiple parties that have indicated an interest in bidding for our company.”

Last year, the company sold the rights to the name Nautilus. In 2009, it sold the StairMaster brand to Core Health & Fitness, which owns brands like Schwinn and JRNY.

Peloton has similarly seen its sales and subscriptions slow in recent months as exercisers flock back to gyms for their workouts.

No sooner had Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter in 2022 than he canned CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, legal and policy departments chief Vijaya Gadde and general counsel Sean Edgett. The foursome had strongly criticized Musk’s handling of the takeover, suing him when he tried to renege on issues with bots.

Their contracts contained clauses saying that if the company were taken private, they would be entitled to severance. However, Musk triggered their layoff moments before it went private, according to the lawsuit, beating out the moment their stock options would vest and telling biographer Walter Isaacson, “There’s a 200 million differential in the cookie jar between closing tonight and doing it tomorrow morning,” the lawsuit claims.

The same moment the four were let go, their email access was cut off. Agrawal lost his access just as he was trying to hit send on his own resignation letter, preventing him from doing so until after he was fired.

“This is the Musk playbook: to keep the money he owes other people and force them to sue him,” the plaintiffs wrote. “Even in defeat, Musk can impose delay, hassle and expense on others less able to afford it.”

Not only is he trying to avoid spending money, but he also is out for “lifelong revenge,” claims the lawsuit filed in California’s Northern District. The suit claims Musk is holding onto a “special ire” against the four and alleges he told official Isaacson “that he would ‘hunt every single one of’ Twitter’s executives and directors ’till the day they die.'”

Many others fired by Musk have sued. Former managers and engineers sued Twitter seeking $500 million in alleged unpaid severance in a class action filed last July. Settlement talks on that lawsuit broke down Monday, according to CNBC.

The company also reportedly owes at least $14 million to landlords, vendors and outside contractors who are also pursuing redress via lawsuits.

Musk had not commented on the latest suit as of Monday evening.

The city’s only casino, located by the Aqueduct Race Track, hopes its plan to spur 10,000 jobs will sweeten their bid with the state when applications formally open up later this year. A license would allow them to expand their machine-based operations to include lucrative table games such as blackjack and poker.

The team behind the bid presented their vision at the casino with an event featuring Queens-bred rapper Nas, celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson and a long list of local politicians including Borough President Donovan Richards and State Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr.

“The new Resorts World is going to completely change New York City for the better, but nowhere more than the surrounding communities,” said Addabbo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering. “It encompasses job creation, parks and entertainment, all located right here in Queens. This isn’t a pipe dream or some far-off proposal; it’s a tangible development with a positive impact that the city and state should be able to witness as soon as possible.”

Resorts World was opened in 2011 by Malaysian conglomerate Genting and has over 5 million visitors a year.

The vision detailed Thursday includes expanding the casino floor to 350,000 square feet, which would make it one of the largest in the world, according to Resorts World. It would also add 1,600 new hotel rooms to the 400 opened in 2021 at the adjoining Hyatt Regency JFK Airport.

There would be an additional 350,000 square feet of conference and entertainment space that would include a 7,000-seat arena; a sports academy named for two-time NBA Champion Kenny “The Jet” Smith; a health center; and 10 acres of publicly accessible green space including trails and running paths. The expansion could create 5,000 permanent union jobs in gaming and hospitality and 5,000 construction gigs as early as this year — if and when they get a license from the state.

“It’s an honor to be here, to be a part of this with Resort[s] World, realizing the future, seeing what this can be and what it will be,” said Nas, who also referenced his track “Queens Get The Money.”

Resorts World and another existing “racino” — Empire City Casino in Yonkers — are widely expected to get two of the three licenses, though that’s not guaranteed.

Resorts World also launched a separate but intertwined proposal dubbed “Aqueduct Park” that would be contingent on the “future consolidation” of horse racing at Belmont Park on Long Island. That would allow the state to kickstart a process to redevelop the rest of the Aqueduct land in what could be another $5 billion project, according to Robert DeSalvio, President of Genting Americas East.

He said they hope to build “a new 24/7 community to complement the existing neighborhood” if they get access to the land. That would include 3,000 units of “workforce housing,” 50 acres of parkland and unspecified mass transit improvements for connections to JFK and Manhattan.

“We’re proud to have grown with the Queens community for over a decade,” DeSalvio said. “When we stood here more than a dozen years ago to break ground on Resorts World New York City, our vision extended well beyond that already-ambitious original plan – today, that vision can soon become reality.”

But before that can happen they’ll need a license.

Resorts World will face stiff competition from across the five boroughs, including a rival Queens bid from Mets owner Steve Cohen; one apiece in Brooklyn and the Bronx; and five spread across Midtown Manhattan, one of which is backed by Nas’s former rap rival Jay-Z.

The state is expected to open up license applications some time in the near future.

The Brooklyn Democrat first unveiled the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act last June, but the measure wasn’t given a hearing last year in the face of stiff opposition from the powerful real estate lobby.

The bill would not ban or restrict broker fees but would instead ensure that whoever hired the broker is responsible for paying them. As it stands, tenants pay the broker’s fees when moving in even if they were hired by the landlord, or if the tenant did much of the work themselves, a situation all but unique to New York.

Council Member Chi Ossé

“I think it’s a bill that’s common sense to a lot of people that hear about it,” Ossé told the Daily News. “This bill is just replicating how the broker industry and economy works in every other city within this country: whomever hires a broker will pay the broker fee.”

The bill may get a boost this time around due to support from unions including DC 37, the city’s largest public employee union and one of several groups he said are backing the FARE Act.

The use of brokers is common given the city’s historically tight rental market and broader housing crisis. But there are no caps on broker fees, which can run into the thousands of dollars.

The real estate industry has largely balked at Ossé’s proposal, with some critics predicting it could undermine brokers and make rents more expensive in the long run.

Perhaps the strongest opposition has come from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), an influential trade group.

“This bill would make the process of renting an apartment more costly and challenging for New Yorkers, while negatively impacting the livelihood of hardworking agents,” a spokesperson for the board said in a statement. “REBNY is focused on data-driven policy discussions to address New York City’s housing supply crisis.”

Ossé in turn pointed out that about half of New York apartments are rent-stabilized and predicted any rent increases for market-rate apartments would be minimal if they happen at all.

“Rents are set by market forces, not landlords,” he said. “You know, if they could raise it by $1,000 tomorrow or however much they said they would if they were to bake the broker fee in, landlords would do that already.”

The FARE Act previously secured support from a majority of the City Council, which Ossé said it still has despite REBNY campaigning hard against it in 2023. The News reported in August that the group had struck a deal with then-Councilmember Marjorie Velázquez to block the bill from being heard in the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection, which she chaired at the time; Velázquez, at the time, acknowledged she had spoken with REBNY but objected to the characterization of her actions as a deal. She lost her Bronx seat to newcomer Kristy Marmorato in the November election.

Ossé said having union support and more time to push the bill are cause for optimism.

“Last year was the closest we’ve ever gone to reforming the broker fee system within New York City,” he said. “I think this will be the year that we get it past the finish line.”

The “underproductive” stores will be shut down over the next three years, starting with 50 by the end of 2024 and the other 100 in the following years. By 2026, there will only be 350 Macy’s locations, down from a high of 640 stores in 2018.

The company did not announce which locations would be closed, though its flagship store in San Francisco’s Union Square is on the chopping block, said city Mayor London Breed.

There are 15 Macy’s in the New York City area.

The stores set to shutter account for less than 10% of its sales but about 25% of its square-footage, the company said.

The Macy’s locations that remain will be revamped with more salespeople added to fitting areas and shoe departments, along with additional visual displays.

Simultaneously, Macy’s said it would expand its smaller, luxury-focused brands. It plans to open 15 Bloomingdale’s and “at least 30 new Bluemercury stores, along with roughly 30 Bluemercury remodels…in new and existing markets over the next three years.”

There are currently 58 Bloomingdale’s and 158 Bluemercury beauty locations.

The news comes more than a month after the company said it was laying off more than 2,300 workers and closing five stores. At the same time, the company rejected an unsolicited $6 billion bid from hedge fund Arkhouse Management and investment firm Brigade Capital Management to take the company private and spin off its lucrative real estate assets.

Former Bloomingdale’s CEO Tony Spring was promoted to Macy’s CEO earlier this month after the retirement of Jeff Gennette.

“We are making the necessary moves to reinvigorate relationships with our customers through improved shopping experiences, relevant assortments and compelling value,” Spring said in a statement.

“Ghetto 4 Life,” the controversial mural in the South Bronx, was removed by a work crew on Monday afternoon and transported to Bridgeport, Conn., where it will eventually be put on public display, according to a representative for the owner.

The painting depicts a young boy graffitiing the words “Ghetto 4 Life” in bubble letters as a butler offers him a tray of spray cans. The Melrose building it was part of for over a decade, 651 Elton Ave., is currently being demolished to make way for a charter school.

“They’re going to restore it, make sure that they bring it back to its original state,” said Derrick Asante, the project manager. “And then once it’s done, we’re going to enclose it nicely.”

Oleg Kushnirsky of Fine Art Shippers was charged with removing the mural and described it as an “extremely” difficult engineering task that involved cutting the wall around it and making a hole under the ground. His company also moved another Banksy mural from a Midwood, Brooklyn gas station in 2019.

“Ghetto 4 Life” is temporarily relocating to the courtyard of 800 Union Ave. in Bridgeport, two hours away from its original home. The circa-1940 factory complex turned business hub is owned by Kiumarz Geula of Pillar Property Management, who also owns the Elton Ave. property and other parcels in Bridgeport.

Asante said the property is private but houses a tap room and events space that would make the mural publicly accessible, to a degree.

“I guess maybe at some point the owners would consider making a show or something to display it, because he really wants people to come take pictures,” he told the Daily News, adding that “Ghetto 4 Life” would likely be enclosed in non-reflective glass.

The mural was publicly visible for the first time in years earlier this month when workers uncovered it to ready it for transportation after being kept behind scaffolding and a metal gate.

On Monday the roughly 10-ton, 9-by-20-foot slab was loaded vertically onto a truck by a crane with the help of about a dozen workers; the mural itself was secured behind wood and steel.

“Ghetto 4 Life” proved contentious when it was popped up in October 2013 as part of Banksy’s monthlong “Better Out Than In” series around New York City. Then-Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and some locals criticized it at the time, claiming it perpetuated negative stereotypes about the neighborhood.

Steve Jacob has been in the area for decades and runs an electronics shop across the street. He and other locals are sad to see it go.

“We are not happy. [Banksy] did the drawing for the community, and now you’re taking it away from the community,” he said. “This is supposed to stay in the Bronx.”

According to Asante, the owners had tried offering the mural to schools in the Bronx and even MoMA without success.

“What can we say, we can’t make everybody happy,” he said. “The best thing was to safeguard it someplace else, and the only place he could do it was Connecticut.”

In a rare interview with The Guardian in 2015, Banksy said he doesn’t “think much about it” when a work of his is resold or removed.

“But for the art form as a whole it’s unhealthy. When you paint illegally you have so much to contend with – cameras, cops, Neighborhood Watch, drunk people throwing bottles at your head – so adding ‘predatory art speculators’ to the mix just makes things even harder,” he said. “Graffiti is an important and valid art form, it would be a shame if it was killed by venture capitalism.”

With the removal of “Ghetto 4 Life,” the “Zabar’s Banksy” on the Upper West Side is believed to be the last remaining public piece by the anonymous artist within the five boroughs.

Investigations are ongoing into what caused the corner of 1915 Billingsley Terrace in Morris Heights to cave in on Dec. 11, but engineer Richard Koenigsberg was previously called out by the Adams administration for having misidentified a load-bearing column as decorative prior to the collapse.

The Department of Buildings had temporarily suspended Koenigsberg’s ability to inspect facades days after the incident. Under the new deal signed last week “related to his negligence” at 1915 Billingsley, according to the DOB, those inspection privileges will be withheld for two years.

The property had over 100 building violations prior to the partial collapse in December in which there were no deaths or serious injuries.

“Public safety in our city relies heavily on the competence and expertise of state-licensed private engineers, especially their ability to properly diagnose building conditions,” DOB Commissioner James Oddo said in a statement. “Decisive actions, like the one announced today against Mr. Koenigsberg, send a clear message to the industry that we will not tolerate sloppy work that puts our fellow New Yorkers in danger.”

Koenigsberg entered into the legally binding agreement with the city voluntarily in lieu of a formal disciplinary hearing. He declined to comment when reached by The News.

The collapse is still under investigation by the DOB, the Department of Investigation and the Bronx District Attorney, which could result in “further enforcement” against Koenigsberg.

Per the agreement, Koenigsberg will have four months to wind down any jobs he has in progress but can’t start any new ones. All facade inspections he submits will have to be reviewed by a third party and face extra DOB scrutiny. The department said it has already audited over 350 of Koenigsberg’s recent inspections reports “to ensure their accuracy.”

“Public safety is our administration’s top priority, and the signing of today’s agreement should serve as a reminder to all construction professionals about the importance of carrying out their duties professionally, competently, and, most importantly, safely,” said Mayor Adams.

More than 100 residents of the building were displaced after the collapse, some of whom are still unable to move back in. The Legal Aid Society filed a lawsuit on behalf of two dozen tenants against the city and the building’s landlords earlier this month alleging harassment and hazardous conditions. It named agencies including the DOB as well as owners David Kleiner, Yonah Roth, Moishe “Mo” Doe and 1915 Realty LLC.

“The city is fully responsible for this whole situation,” one resident told The News at the time. “It’s about to be two months already [since the collapse] and we’ve got no answers.”