Rego Park Development Proposal Goes Before Borough President

REGO PARK, QUEENS — A proposal for a seven-story apartment building in Rego Park will go before Queens Borough President Donovan Richards this week, as it makes its way through the city's multi-step review process.

The development plan for 68-19 Woodhaven Boulevard, which would require two rezonings before it could be built, will be discussed at a public hearing Thursday morning hosted by the Queens Borough President's Office, according to the meeting agenda.

Richards will then issue an advisory opinion on whether or not the City Council and City Planning Commission should approve the rezoning applications.

The proposal calls for demolishing the wedding center, florist and auto repair buildings now occupying the property and replacing them with a 92-unit apartment building. Of the apartments, 28 would be permanently affordable.

The building would also include retail space, a community facility — likely a medical office or daycare — and a parking garage with 81 spots priced at a "competitive" rate, a representative of the developer said earlier this month.

Queens Community Board 6 voted this month to recommend approving the rezoning measures, but only if the developer agreed to lower the building's height from eight to seven stories, pay for periodic inspections of neighboring buildings during construction and provide a plan to mitigate construction damage to those properties.

The developer agreed to all the community board's conditions, according to Frank St. Jacques of the real estate law firm Akerman LLP, who spoke on the developer's behalf at the community board meeting.

In public records, the developer is known only as 68-19 Rego Park LLC, but the realty group Cushman & Wakefield has identified the person who bought the property as Giuseppe Zuccarella. Zuccarella paid $5.35 million for the site in 2019, records show.

Those who wish to testify Thursday about the proposal may register for speaking time by clicking here or calling (718) 286-3000. Anyone who wants to submit written testimony must email remarks to planning@queensbp.org by 5 p.m. Thursday.

The hearing will be livestreamed on the Queens borough president's website.