Kew Gardens Hills neighbors just watched a pair of sky-piercing towers get taken off the table, and they are not exactly mourning the loss. A controversial two-tower complex planned for Park Avenue has been cut down to a single 13-story building that still clocks in at roughly 800 rental units, easing fears of a full-on mini Manhattan while leaving plenty of concern about what that kind of density will actually mean on the ground.
The revised proposal would turn the site at 71-12 Park Avenue into a 13-story, roughly 784,000-square-foot building with about 800 rental units, according to New York YIMBY. Developer materials lay out a mix of 61 studios, 378 one-bedrooms and 361 two-bedrooms, with around 30 percent of the apartments designated as affordable. On-site perks would include a 468-space underground garage, bike storage, a courtyard and rooftop lounges, a fitness center, a pool and an outdoor garden terrace.
Local Leaders Like the Lower Profile, Still Want a Leash
City Councilmember Jim Gennaro said he was “pleased that the developers heard the community's concerns” and called the shorter design “much better suited for the character of our neighborhood,” while Assemblymember Sam Berger welcomed the shift but pushed for a fuller public look at the project because it appears to be moving “as of right,” according to the Queens Daily Eagle. Longtime opponents say the new plan at least dials back worries that a massive high-rise complex would dwarf the area’s low-rise streets.
From Twin Towers to Single Mid-Rise
The development first surfaced in 2024 as a pair of 50- and 42-story towers and immediately drew heavy neighborhood pushback, QNS reported. Local building-department records cited by media showed more than a dozen complaints last year about excavation and vibrations at the site, turning early site work into a rallying point for residents opposed to the scale of the original plan.
What ‘As-of-Right’ Really Means Here
Because the site appears to comply with existing zoning, the developer can pursue the project as “as-of-right,” which means they may move ahead by seeking Department of Buildings permits without going through the city’s public ULURP process, according to the NYC Department of City Planning. The city’s guidance explains that projects that meet zoning rules generally proceed through DOB rather than the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, limiting formal roles for community boards and the City Council. That setup is why elected officials and advocates are leaning on the developers for voluntary commitments on affordability, local hiring and other neighborhood protections.
Marx Development Group, which has marketed the plan through Manhattan Regional Center, has not publicly said why the project was scaled back; the firm “did not respond to questions about why the change was made,” the Queens Daily Eagle reported. Timelines and construction details posted on developer materials may shift as financing and permits fall into place, and neighbors say they plan to scrutinize early site work and DOB filings.
For many residents, the redesigned project lands somewhere between win and compromise. The super-tall towers are gone, but a dense, roughly 800-unit building is still heading their way. With permits expected to move ahead under current zoning, local leaders say the next fight will focus on securing specific mitigations on traffic, school crowding and day-to-day construction impacts so the downsized “Utopia” feels at least somewhat livable for the people already there.
