The “Special Willets Point District” established in this Resolution is designed to promote and protect public health, safety and general welfare. These general goals include, among others, the following specific purposes:

(a)        to transform Willets Point into a diverse and sustainable community that enhances connections to its surroundings through a unique combination of uses;

(b)        to create a retail and entertainment destination that catalyzes future growth and strengthens Flushing’s role as a nexus of economic, social and cultural activity;

(c)        to encourage a mix of uses that complement sporting venues within Flushing Meadows-Corona Park;

(d)        to maximize utilization of mass transit, reducing the automobile dependency of the redevelopment;

(e)        to create a livable community combining housing, retail and other uses throughout the district;

(f)        to create a walkable, urban streetscape environment with publicly accessible open spaces;

(g)        to encourage the pedestrian orientation of ground floor uses;

(h)        to build upon the diversity of the Borough of Queens as well as the proximity of regional transportation facilities, including the Van Wyck and Whitestone Expressways, LaGuardia and JFK Airports and the Long Island Railroad;

(i)        to provide flexibility of architectural design within limits established to assure adequate access of light and air to the street, and thus to encourage more attractive and economic building forms; and

(j)        to promote the most desirable use of land and building development in accordance with the District Plan and Urban Renewal Plan for Willets Point and thus improve the value of land and buildings and thereby improve the City’s tax revenues.