Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez visited Community Board 7 Queens for its May 18 meeting, where she updated the community on federal stimulus payments and voiced her opinion on the Special Flushing Waterfront District, which has been kept on hold along with all Uniform Land Use Review Procedure applications.

“It’s really in my colleague Congresswoman Grace Meng’s district, but I don’t support anything that displaces residents from neighborhoods their families have built for years and years,” Ocasio-Cortez said in response to a question from board member John Choe on her thoughts about the highly debated development project.

Back in February, Community Board 7 had approved the project that would rezone and redevelop the 29-acre stretch of waterfront industrial property and surrounding land in Downtown Flushing into a residential and commercial district, but acting Borough President Sharon Lee voted to disapprove the plans later that month over various concerns, including the displacement of lower-income Flushing residents. The pandemic halted the application from moving to the City Planning Commission until further notice.

“We need housing that is affordable and accessible,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

To read more, visit the Queens Chronicle.