Renderings courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

A housing lottery opened this week for 144 affordable apartments at a major new mixed-use development in Queens. Developed by Madison Realty Capital, Woodside Central occupies a full block from 69th Street to 70th Street on the border of Elmhurst and Woodside and includes over 470 mixed-income homes, a new public school, and public outdoor space. New Yorkers earning 80 percent of the area median income, or between $55,886 annually for a single person and $115,280 annually for a household of five, can apply for the affordable apartments, priced from $1,511/month studios to $1,824/month two-bedrooms.

How to apply

Image of the New Roots Community Farm in the Bronx by Kathleen McTigue, courtesy of International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Building on the success of the New Roots Community Farm in the Bronx, two additional New Roots Gardens are currently underway in Queens, the Sunnyside Post reports. The gardens are being planted on both sides of 69th Street near Woodside Avenue and will include vegetable beds, flowers, a greenhouse, and seating areas. As part of a Department of Transportation initiative with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and NYC Parks GreenThumb, the gardens aim to create a community space for immigrants and refugees, as well as access to fresh and affordable produce.

More details

Image via Flickr.

Last week brought news that a $5.6 million Amazon conversion project is coming to the former Bulova facility at 26-15 Boody Street in Woodside, Queens that will turn the warehouse into a delivery center for the retail giant. Though the new project is expected to create 2,000 new jobs, an Amazon spokesperson told 6sqft they’re likely to be $18-$25 per hour jobs rather than the 25,000 $150K professional salaries the no-go Amazon HQ had promised.

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Amoeba, organ, extraterrestrial creature — take your pick; this transportation hub dubbed the Urban Alloy Towers is quite interestingly shaped. The creation of Chad Kellogg and Matt Bowles of AMLGM, the structure is proposed for the area around where the LIRR station in Woodside, Queens links to the 7 train.

The idea came from the notion that large-scale housing development is most successful when located near transportation. So, Kellog and Bowles figured they’d put their development “directly on the intersections between surface and elevated train lines,” utilizing the remnant spaces surrounding the train infrastructure. Included in this multi-use structure would be live/work spaces, retail, small offices, both market-rate and luxury residential units, SROs, and a central atrium.

Read more about the design here