Community Archeology

           A Look at the Hunters Point Community in Western Queens

American culture is such that our past is often forgotten in our search for a new and brighter
future.  For this reason we lose a good part of the rich heritage natural to the evolution of our
history and society.  In 1983 I became involved with and later enamoured with the small
community described in this monograph.  Initially as Consultant to Waldes Khinoor charged with
protecting their interest in land use planning or better said retaining and enhancing local real
estate value and later as Consultant to the Hunters Point Community Council, I became a
cultural archeologist without portfolio.  Enjoy the read and hopefully gain insight into history as it
happened in Western Queens, New York.

Located along the East River within Long Island City, Queens, Hunters Point is a unique
mix of residents, retailers, artists, factories, and warehouses - located in New York City's
oldest industrial center.  The Hunters Point area is bounded in the north by the
Queensboro Bridge (Community of Dutch Kills), on the south by Newtown Creek - the border
between Brooklyn and Queens, on the west by the East River, and on the east by Van Dam
Street (Community of  Sunnyside).

The Hunters Point neighborhood has resident population of approximately 11,300. 

Daily 50,000 individuals work in the area.  Also daily, 2,000,000 commuters ride
or drive through the area.  Residential buildings are interspersed among low-rise industrial
buildings giving Hunters Point a unique mixed use character.  Some of the industrial streets
are built of cobblestone (Belgian Blocks) while others are black top paved and lined with trees
tended by dedicated homeowners.  The warehouses and lofts attracted numerous artists who
have located working studios here.  Retailers cater to local businesses and industrial sector
employees as well as local residents.  This low-scale and laid back neighborhood offers open
spaces and stunning views of the Manhattan skyline.  It is very accessible to public
transportation or automobile travelers.  Hunters Point is the next station from Manhattan's
Grand Central Terminal via the Number 7 subway line.

Hunters Point is one of the oldest sections of Queens County.  It is located in the
southwestern part of Queens County directly across the East River from midtown
Manhattan and the United Nations Complex.  Hunters Point has had an important place in
the development of New York City.

HISTORY:

Hunters Point is a microcosm of the evolution of New York's waterfront.  Starting in the
17th century with Dutch farmsteads evolving into the development of residential, industrial and
commercial uses on extensive landfill, and, finally, the rapidly modernized railroad and ferry
facilities in the 19th century.  The community witnessed a gradual deterioration in the 20th
century due to economic and transportation changes.  The following chronology highlights that
history:

_1638_   Nomadic indians known as the Mespaechtes hunted and fished in the area.  They
were named for the creek formed at the juncture with the East River.  It was called Mespit
(Head of the stream).  The Dutch settlers called the creek, Mespit Kill.  Later it became
Newtown Creek.  Early records show this place to be Nechtanc or Curles Hook.  This earliest
name could not be verified but it seems that Capt. Curles settled here with his daughters,
without a grant from the Governor General of New Amsterdam (Lower Manhattan).

_1642_  The Rev. Francis Dougherty was given a land grant for the area to the head waters of Newtown Creek.  He was burned out during the indian uprising in 1643.

_1643_    Ground brief was granted to Everard Bogardus, first Dutch Reformed minister
in New Amsterdam, for land at Mespit Kill (what is now called Newtown Creek (130
acres)).  It was an area of salt marshes, low-lying meadows, and streams with a small island
in the vicinity of the present Vernon Boulevard and Borden Avenue.  The area came to be
known as Dominie's Hook.

_1647_    Bogardus died in a shipwreck and his wife assumed title to the property.

Sometime between 1647 and 1660 the Governor-General had a stone watch tower constructed
in the area to the southeast of Hunters Point in an area called Loral Hills.  Dutch soldiers were
stationed in the tower to watch and warn of potential Indian attacks.  The normally docile
Indians had been slaughtered by farmers from Flushing, Newtown and from Greenpoint in
Brooklyn.  They sought retribution when they came upon settlers who were unprepared to
defend themselves.

_1697_    Captain Peter Praa, a Huguenot, purchased Dominie's Hook from Bogardus'
heirs.

_1740_    Praa died and willed the Hook to his grandchildren (children of his daughter
Anne who had married William Bennett).

_1767_    Jacob Bennett bought out his brothers and sisters

_1780_    and obtained sole title.  The area came to be known as Bennett's Hook.

_1817_    Jacob Bennett died.  The Hook was willed to his daughter Anna who was
married to Captain George Hunter.  The area came to be know as Hunters Point.

_1825_    Captain Hunter died.

_1833_    Anna Hunter died.  The Point was left to her three sons with the stipulation
that they must sell the land and divide the money.

_1837_    Hunter farm was acquired by the Rev. Eliphalet Nott, President of Union
College in Schenectady, New York as an investment property. 

44th Drive a mapped Street that ends at the community pier (mentioned later) is owned by UC.

_1852-53_    Hunter farm was graded and first streets laid out.  Sand from the hill on which
the farmhouse stood was used to fill in the East River reefs from the present 5th Street
(West Avenue) to the bulkhead line in the East River.  The population reached one hundred
ten souls.

_1852-60_  The Van Alst farm (to the east) was acquired in stages, adding 131 acres to
Hunters Point.

_1854_    The first buildings in Hunters Point were erected on the north side of Borden
Avenue, 200 feet east of Vernon Avenue.  People migrated here from Manhattan.

The Flushing Railroad located their terminus in Hunters Point and began service.  A new
dock was built at 54th Avenue and 5th Street.  The railroad contracted to run the first
regularly scheduled ferry service between Hunters Point and Manhattan.

_1857-60_  14 east-west streets (54th Avenue to 44th Drive) and four north-south street
(2nd Street, 5th Street, Vernon Avenue, and 11th Street) were laid out.

_1859_    34th Street Ferry opened.  The landing was located at the foot of Borden
Avenue (old 2nd Street), built on two acres of landfill.

_1860_    Jackson Avenue Turnpike opened, connecting Flushing with the ferries.
James Slip Ferry opened.

_1861_    Long Island Railroad Terminus in Hunters Point opened. Land on the
south side of Borden Avenue (Ferry Street), between the ferry and Vernon Avenue, was
acquired and 10 acres were made filling in the docks.   Rail car and engine houses,
machine shops, and a depot were built on this land.    The new passenger and freight
business led to the building of hotels, saloons, restaurants, boarding houses, stores,
houses, lumber and coal yards, and industry in the area along Borden Avenue and Vernon
Boulevard.

A US Post Office opened in Hunters Point under the name "Long Island City".

_1865_    Hunters Point population was 1500.

_1867_    "It (Hunters Point) has three boiler shops and one iron foundry, a large tin and
Japan ware shop, three varnish factories, a drain pipe factory, one factory for saleratus and
20 for kerosene oil.  Three chemical establishments for manures lately existed there."
(_Brooklyn Times_, November 16, 1867)

_1868_    Anabel basin from the East River to Vernon wascompleted. Long Island Oil Company (later Standard Oil Co.) extended and filled their East River property and constructed a 700 foot warve fronting along the River in the area from 46th Road to 45th Drive.

The first street railway was built:  The Nassau Railroad Company laid tracks on Borden
Avenue, providing shuttle service between East River ferry and the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge.

_1868-69_  500 feet on Newtown Creek, Queens side, west of Vernon Avenue were bulk
headed.  Hunters Point was an important shipping port because of the heavy export trade
in oil.

_1869_    Tidal marshes filled in between East River and Vernon (portions of 5th Street,
Vernon Avenue, 50th and 51st Avenues).  Hunters Point & Blissville Road (Borden
Avenue) built.  Astoria & Hunters Point Railroad opened (trolly railway).

_1870_    Long Island City incorporated  into New York City.   The incorporation included
Hunters Point, Astoria, Blissville, and Ravenwood.

_1873_      _On Site Industries_:
     Standard Oil Company
     Daylight Oil Company
     Charles Pratt's Oil Works
     Captain Tyson's Shipyard & Railway
     Warren Chemical and Manufacturing Company
     Long Island City Pottery
     H.W. John, Roofing Material
     R.O. Hara, Boiler Works
     American Drain Pipe Company
     Long Island City Tool Company

     _Hotels_:
     Revere House
     Gregory & Williams Hotel

     _Transportation_:
     34th Street Ferry
     James Slip Ferry
     Flushing & Central Railroad Depot
     Long Island Railroad

_1874-80_  The First Ward Improvement Commission filled, graded, installed sewers,
curbs, gutters, and signed the streets of Hunters Point.

_1875_    Waterworks completed.

_1881_    New York City outlawed gambling and bookmaking.  Gamblers moved pool
halls and saloons to the foot of Borden Avenue at the East River in Hunters Point.

_1890_    Queens County Bank built near the ferry.  (Still standing on-site, currently
vacant on 2nd Street at Borden Avenue.)

_1898_    Long Island City was officially consolidated into New York City.

_1903-05_  Power plant for the Long Island and Pennsylvania Railroads (New York &
Queens Electric Light and Power Co.) built on the block bounded by 2nd and 5th Streets
and 50th and 51st Avenues (adjacent to rail yards).

_1909_    Queensborough Bridge connecting Long Island City with Manhattan was
opened.

_1910_    Newtown Creek was the busiest waterway of its size in the world.  It carried
5,435,016 tons with a total value of $225 million.

_1910_    Pennsylvania Railroad Tunnel Tubes to Manhattan and Sunnyside Yard opened
While this brought many more people to the area and created more jobs, the need for the
Hunters Point LIRR Station and ferry dropped off (people could now take the train directly into
Manhattan). Downtown Hunters Point declined.

_1915_    Steinway Tunnel opened; IRT service to Vernon and Jackson Avenues
began.

_1917-18_  Growth of factories and light industry in Long Island City during World War I.

_1920_    BMT subway reached Long Island City.

_1920_    Housing boom in Long Island City, many large industrial companies built
plants (e.g. Ford Instrument, American Chicle and Sunshine Biscuit).

_1933_    Opening of IND subway tunnel.

_1936_    Triborough Bridge opened.

_1940_    Queens Midtown completed.

_1941-45_  Long Island City was an active shipping port for WWII distribution of aircraft
parts and munitions.

_1946-55_  Industrial expansion booms making Long Island City one of the largest
industrial centers in the United States.  Ninety percent of NYC Industry was located here.

_1960 - Present_  Large Industry begins to move out replaced by many smaller operations,
Long Island City becomes regional warehouse center for major department stores (B.
Altman, Stern's, Macy's, Gimbel's and Bloomingdale's).

NARRATIVE HISTORY:

The Hunters Point area of New York City is one of the oldest sections of Queens.  Located
in the western part of Queens directly across the East River from midtown Manhattan,
Hunters Point has had an important place in the development of New York City.

The area grew rapidly in the 1850's when both the Long Island and the New York and
Flushing Railroads used Hunters Points as a transfer point for their Manhattan bound
ferries.  By the late 1800's a residential community grew in the areas around St. Mary's
Church and along the area of 45th Drive and 21st Street.  An industrial and residential
boom was spurred between 1909 and 1920 by the construction of six major connections
across the East river; the Queensborough Bridge, 1909; the Pennsylvania Rail Tunnel,
1915; the Hell's Gate Rail Bridge and the Second Avenue El crossing on the
Queensborough Bridge, both 1917; and the BMT subway tunnel, 1920.  The opening of
the IND subway tunnel in 1933, the Triborough Bridge in 1936, and the Queens Midtown
Tunnel in 1940 completed Hunters Point's links to Manhattan.

Following World War II, the general prosperity in the country contributed to the increased
growth in Hunters Point and by 1955 it had one of the largest concentrations of industry
in the United States.  As the district developed, industry, due to its water orientation,
located primarily along the East River and Newtown Creek.  As industrial growth continued,
several residential neighborhoods became engulfed by industrial activities.

In 1960, the new New York City Zoning Resolution, perceiving a conflict between
residential and industrial uses, decided that, in order to retain the industrial community, the
zoning must provide them with new expansion space.  The existing residential land, it was
felt, would, under a M3-1 (heavy industry) designation, eventually revert to industrial use.
There was the underlying belief that residential uses should not be permitted in areas of
obnoxious heavy industry.  It was assumed that the zoning resolution should work towards
the separation of such incompatible uses.  The City's official attitude was one of consistant
support for the M3-1 zone.  The residents, however, were concerned about the future of
their neighborhood.  The residential community, by being zoned M3-1, lost the privileges
and rights of a residential zone.  City services were curtailed to those of an industrial zone;
no enlargements of existing residences were allowed; no new residential units could be
built; and loans and insurance were difficult, if not impossible, to obtain.  Hunters Point had
been home to many of is residents for generations and these people were unwilling to
leave their homes and roots.  In the late 1960's, they appealed to the City Planning
Commission to have the area rezoned to a mixed use zone (residential/industrial).
However, at that time, the attitude of the City was one of tremendous concern over the out
migration of industry from New York City and no action was taken on the mixed use
application.

Finally, in 1981, the City approved the designation of a part of Hunters Point as a special
Mixed Use Zone.  The boundaries of the zone were drawn closely to encompass most of
the areas where there is a residential/industrial mix. The intent of the zone was to
legitimize the residential community and to allow the existing residents to remain and
improve their properties.     The Hunters Point Mixed Use Zone did not, however, intend to
foster major new residential development.

In 1981, Santo Anzalone, President of the Hunters Point Community Council, an
organization representative of the residents who refused to leave Hunters Point, convinced
the City to approve the designation of a portion of Hunters Point as a special Mixed Use Zone
like that in Coney Island.  Mr. Anzalone worked with Dr. Thomas V. Sobczak, than
Chairman of  the CB#2 Land Use and Zoning Committee, and Eva Hanhardt, Queens City
Planning, to draft text for a Hunters Point Special Mixed Use District.  The boundaries of
the District were drawn to encompass all areas where there was a residential/industrial mix.
The intent was to legitimize the residential community and to allow the existing residents
to remain and improve their properties.  The Hunters Point Mixed Use Zone did not deter
major new residential development.  This changed when the PA  NY/NJ and the East River
Tennis Club planned major residential developments.  While local politicians did not
support Queens West, the home owning community stood firmly for the development.

Also, in the late 1960's residents along 45th Avenue petitioned the Landmarks Commission
to designate their block of brownstones a Landmark block.  Their request was granted and
the block is now protected by landmark status.  The designation helped encourage the
already occurring renovation and restoration of homes on that block.

In the early 1970's, when the old P.S. 1 building was to be auctioned by the City, the
Hunters Point community organized to save the building.  The Institute for Art and Urban
Resources entered into a "reuse" arrangement with the City for the use of the P.S. 1
building.  Initially, the Institute used the building for inexpensive studio spaces for artists.
A few years later, the Institute, now affiliated with the Museum of Modern Art, developed
a gallery and now has a regular exhibition and  performance schedule.  In much the same
way as the original SOHO development, the inter-relationships between industrial areas
and arts "production" were seen as a great asset of the P.S. 1 location.  The P.S. 1 studios
were not, however, residential spaces.  Yet, as a result of the artists and gallery viewers
presence, those who otherwise would have been unlikely to go to Hunters Point,
discovered this "new" neighborhood.

The Hunters Point waterfront had been underutilized for many years and in the early 1980s
private recreational uses developed on some of the waterfront sites.  Two tennis bubbles
were built directly on the waterfront and another was located in an underused industrial
building a block back from the water.  These tennis bubbles and swimming pool are private
clubs, much of whose membership is from Manhattan.  As in the case of P.S. 1, these
recreational clubs brought Hunters Point to the attention of persons who would normally
have not had reason to visit.

Prudenti's Restaurant had been a landmark restaurant in Long Island City for many years
moved  from 50th Avenue off Vernon Boulevard to 2nd Street at Borden Avenue (Queens
County Bank  Building).  With the influx of people there was an increase in interest in
restaurant space in Hunters Point.  The Waterfront Crab House opened across from Prudenti's
at the corner of 2nd Street and Borden Avenue.  In 1980, a proposal for a waterfront floating
restaurant off the 44th Drive Pier was approved.  As part of the arrangement, the pier at 44th
Drive and the East River was given to the community by then Mayor Edward I. Koch.

Interest in the potential for large-scale residential development had been a reoccurring
theme in the history of Hunters Point.  As early as 1946, _Riverview_, was proposed as a
"complete residential community of 50,000 people in the heart of NYC".  The proposal
called for a 233 acre site to be rezoned from industrial and marginal residential.the
assumption was that there was adequate industrial space in New York City and that new
industrial space should be located in outlying areas and not in a prime residential
waterfront site.  This, first _Riverview_ idea, however, never went beyond the proposal
stage.

In about 1968, the _East Point_ development proposal was made.  The plan was to create
a residential community of 60,000; to renew industrial development by 5,000 jobs; and to
strengthen and improve the existing residential community.  The project would have
encompassed 192 acres at R-8 and R-6 zoning density.  Both existing residential and
industrial uses would, however, have been, to some degree, displaced by the
development.  The plan, being a total package, would have provided all needed
infrastructure improvements.  It never gained the support necessary to justify investment.

In 1974, the Municipal Art Society did a study of the potential of this part of Long Island
City.     The report which looked primarily at the transportation issues in the area, also
offered a comprehensive guide towards a "Master Plan for L.I.C.".  This plan, like the
earlier proposals, concentrated on major redevelopment and new development, both
residential and industrial.

A broad redevelopment of this nature was the Queen's Borough President's plan for a
Queens Cultural Arts Center.  This proposal called for not only the development of a
Regional Arts Complex, but also, for the development of an arts district that would have an
"interwoven joint development of housing, retail stores, office space, and possibly a hotel".
"Joint development and control of a core area are the key to creating a self-supporting arts
center... Central to the concept presented in the report is the large-scale neighborhood
revitalization project to occur around the Arts District."  Again, the interest of the financial
community was not forthcoming.

Interest has been expressed in Hunters Point as a new location for major Commercial
Office space.  In 1982 Lazares Freres embarked on a major office project in Hunters Point.
The plan calls for the potential of providing 4,000 + new jobs.  The proposal envisaged the
Hunters Point area as becoming a new office area whose proximity to midtown Manhattan
would make it imminently desirable.  Again, financing failed to appear.

In response to much of the speculation and new activities, a number of studies were
undertaken to analyze what was actually happening in Hunters Point and to recommend
appropriate policies and actions.  Three of these studies were concerned specifically with
the industrial health of the area.  The Queens Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with
Queens College, completed a study of a 20 block industrial area in the northwestern
section of Hunters Point.  The study found the area to be healthy industrially with few
vacancies.  The study did, however, uncover many problems facing the industries and
proposed the creation of an "In-place Industrial Park".

The NYC Public Development Corporation, which studied the area, proceeded to develop
an In-Place Industrial Park in Hunters Point and working with the Hunters Point Local
Development Corporation has embarked on a program of helping industries stay and
expand in the Hunters Point area.

A study was accomplished by Interface concerning the industrial health of Long Island City,
and area which, while including Hunters Point, is somewhat larger.  The Interface study,
also, found L.I.C. to be an extremely healthy industrial area - one of New York City's
strongest.  The vacancy rate at the time of the study was only 5% and, while the character
and type of industry in L.I.C. had changed, the desirability of the location remains.  The
Interface study, also, made recommendations for addressing the problems faced by
industries and indicated the need for the City to lend support to strengthening and
stabilizing the industrial community.

All three of the industrial studies were particularly concerned about the impact that any
furthering of a residential community could have on industry.  They sited the experiences
in Manhattan where industrial displacement appeared inevitable when residential
conversion took place in industrial areas.  The studies defended the Industrial Base at the
expense of the existing residential community.

The Department of City Planning continues conducting a surveys of the industries in the
Hunters Point area.  Through mail and telephone questionnaire, the Department of City
planning hoped to be able to document the needs and health of the industrial community. 
This information was to be used to help inform the City's policy on the future development
of the Hunters Point waterfront.

HISTORICAL BUILDINGS & FEATURES:

Key locations in Hunters Point were lost to development.  They deserve mention to preserve
the communities archeological evolution.

1.  Car-Float Gantries

     A pair of railroad car gantry cranes were erected at the water's edge in the 1880's by
the Flushing and Central Railroad.  This structure facilitated the exchange of loaded
railroad cars on to river ferries for transport to docks in New Jersey.  Both of these
imposing structures are significant scenographic elements in the landscape as seen from
both sides of the East River and though not unique to the area, they are of prime industrial
archaeological interest.  They were preserved as a NYS Riverfront Park when the Waterfront
was developed

2.  Electric Light and Power Company

     The New York Electric Light and Power Company located at the block bordered by 2nd
Street, 50th and 51st Avenues, was constructed in 1905 as a power plant for the Long
Island and Pennsylvania Railroads; the first of its kind in the country.  Although not within
the project boundary, it is the most dominant structure in the area due to its enormous size
and four imposing smokestacks.     It is of major industrial archeological significance.

3.  Bank Building

     The Queens County Bank Building constructed in 1890, remains today as a vacant
restaurant within the project area.  Although radically altered by changes subsequent to its
construction, it represents the highest style of commercial architecture remaining from the
boom period when Borden Avenue was the major transportation hub of Queens and a busy
commercial center.

4.  Miller's Hotel

     Built in 1881 as a three story federalist style structure and altered due to a fire to a two
story building in the early 20th century, it is the last remaining of many hotels which served
the area during the heyday of the railroad era.  At the time of its construction, it was the
largest hotel in Long Island City.  It now houses the Crab House Restaurant.

5.  Long Island Railroad

     The Long Island Railroad opened their terminus in Hunters Point in 1861.  The tracks
and yards, expanded considerably over the years, are located at the foot of Borden
Avenue.  The houses on 49th Avenue were built to house RR workers and their families.

6.  51-09 2nd Street

     This two story building (originally 112 Front Street) constructed ca. 1860, is of historic
significance.  It served as the office of Patrick (Boss) Gleason when he was the Mayor of
Long Island City in the 1880;s and 1890's.  It was converted into a garage.

7.  108th Precinct Police Station

     The three-story neo-classical 108th Precinct Police Station was built in 1903 in the
flamboyant baroque style.  It continues to serve its original use and is one of the most
architecturally significant buildings in the area.  It is located on 50th Avenue, one of the
most attractive streets in Hunters Point and close to the East River area.

8.  St Mary's Roman Catholic Church

     Built in 1884, St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, located on Vernon Boulevard in the
vicinity of the project area, represents a fine example of late 19th century church
architecture.  Its style is principally Romanesque and its gothic clock tower spire is both a
symbol and landmark for the neighborhood.  The current church is the third at the site.  A
second church was constructed to expand upon and replace the first.  It was constructed
of wood.  Cinders from the Power Plant on 2nd Street set it ablaze.  The unused structure
was a total loss.

9.  Truss Bridge Overpass

     A Pratt half-hip truss bridge carried traffic along Vernon Boulevard over the railroad cut
leading to the river gantries.  It was removed when a vest pocket park was built as an amenity
to the neighborhood by the Queens West Project..  Subsequent alterations to the steel frame
bridge had occurred along the roadway and pedestrian ramp.  The bridge contributed to
the industrial character and history of the area.  It was lost to progress.

10.  Hunter Point Historic District

     In the vicinity of the project area on 45th Avenue between 21st and 23rd Streets, the
Hunters Point Historic District contains ten of the areas best preserved Italianate row
houses which were built in the 1870's and are faced with Westchester stone.  Other
buildings from this era and later are fine examples of French Second Empire, neo-Greco
and Queen Anne styles.  This block is a designated New York City Landmark District.

11.  Brick Industrial Buildings

     The only manufacturing building of any significance along the river that remains from
the 1880's and the era of Hunters Point early industrial development is the two story brick
structure at the corner of 5th Street and 47th Avenues.  It has been used for the production of
varnish and chemicals and has unique brick masonry ventilation shafts.  It was lost to progress.

12.  Pepsi Cola Sign

     The Pepsi Cola sign once stood atop the bottling plant located along the East River'
It is considered historically significant.  Built in the 1930's, it has been a major visual
element in the Hunters Point Waterfront as seen from Manhattan and is a precursor of the
recent "pop art" period.  It remains in a pocket park along the waterfront.

13.  Approximate 1858 Shoreline

     The 1858 map of Hunters Point indicates that most of the land we see today along the
river was under water at that time.  The 1858 map is resident in the archives of the Queens
Public Library.

HISTORICAL PRESERVATION ISSUES:

Despite its extensive history only a few historically significant buildings remain.  Change
that characterized the history of the area is mostly associated with commercial, industrial
and transportation activities.

No buildings in the area are currently listed as New York City Landmarks or are placed on
the National Register of Historic Places, however, nearby is the Hunters Point Historic
District comprised mostly of residential buildings.

Several structures within or immediately adjacent to the East River are eligible for
Landmark listing.  These include the following structures:

     1.  Flushing and Central Railroad Gantry Cranes
     2.  New York and Queens Electric Light and Power Company
     3.  Queens County Bank
     4.  Millers Hotel
     5.  51-09 2nd Street
     6.  Pepsi Cola Sign

If these structures are ultimately recognized by the National Register of Historic Places,
their certified rehabilitation could provide significant benefits to NYC history.

Redevelopment work in the area should explore the feasibility of preserving some if not
all of the above listed buildings.  Each of these structures contributes to the architectural
and historical interest of the area and offers an important aesthetic focal point to any new
site development.

In addition, the Pepsi Cola Sign must be preserved because of its visual and cultural
association with the waterfront and as a familiar New York City landmark.