Some Thoughts on Restaurant Row

A Special Call for Thoughtful Development

I thought I'd throw my two cents in about the possible development planned for Restaurant Row (70th Road) here in Forest Hills.

For a very long time, Forest Hills has suffered from what seems to be a total lack of any organized planning when it comes to development. This is a terrible shame. You can see the results of this in the haphazard architectural designs of the buildings that have gone up around the neighborhood over the last few decades. While a few areas like The Gardens, Station Square, and some of the other quaint residential areas, have successfully managed to preserve their aesthetics, personality and character, that has not been the case for much of the Austin Street section of Forest Hills. This shopping area has become a mishmash over the years of all different kinds of designs, not many of them very pleasing to the eye.

Restaurant Row has been one of the few bright spots, however. This stretch of restaurants with outdoor seating has become almost synonymous to many visitors—and even residents—with our neighborhood. It is a stretch of dining that few other neighborhoods in New York City have. As you can see from the photo below, it's a bustling, fun part of Forest Hills that draws thousands of visitors to the neighborhood every year.

That being said, from what I can tell at this point, it is too early to say just what kind of impact the new planned mixed-used apartment building will have on all of Restaurant Row. For example, we do not know what types of establishments will go into the ground floor of this development. It could very well be restaurants.

So, it seems to me that we need more concrete information on this new structure before we can decide whether it will be good or bad for the neighborhood.

To destroy Restaurant Row would be absurdly foolish for anyone to do. It would be removing a huge part of what makes Forest Hills a desirable neighborhood in the first place. It would harm property values in the neighborhood as well. However, there is the potential for an upside. And that would be via the thoughtful development of 70th Road. If the uses in the "mixed use" of the building include some really cool things, maybe a few beautiful new restaurants, and a great new supermarket, for example, that could turn a potential tragedy into a huge positive for the neighborhood.

The reality is, given the track record here in Forest Hills, and the dreadfully poor oversight by public officials when it comes to development, I would not be surprised to see a construction project go forward that destroys Restaurant Row. After all, who is watching to make sure that doesn't happen? Where is the oversight? Where is the planning? If it is there, it has failed dramatically over the past several decades when it comes to Austin Street.

But this is New York City, and development is reaching this part of Queens in a big way now. And I am by no means against that. But I am for thoughtful development. I am very much in favor of the new Urban Target going up just nearby, for example. Despite the lies and exaggerations by some, this format of a Target is designed for urban shoppers. It won't be the type that you drive your car too to load it up on supersized packages. Traffic won't be an issue with it. Those against it have been plain foolish. We desperately could use a store like Target here which adds all kinds of convenience to the majority of Forest Hillers who won't have to hop on the subway to get some simple staples. Another place like it is sorely lacking here.

But to destroy a strip like Restaurant Row that adds a unique flavor and personality to our neighborhood, and draws thousands of visitors, many of whom shop at our local stores, and not replace it with something similar, well, that is something only a developer with no attachment to this neighborhood, but whose only interest is in making a buck, would do. If that is the case, not only residents and diners should be terribly angry, but local store owners should be as well. They very well might end up losing thousands of customers.

And such a worst-case scenario would be a terrible thing for the future of our neighborhood if it turns out to be the case. As much as the return of wonderful music concerts to our Stadium has been a step in the right direction for our neighborhood, the disappearance forever of Restaurant Row would be just as big a step backwards—perhaps even more so.