Parcel E of the Hunters Point South community is on public land between the East River and the rapidly rising Malt Drive development along 2nd Street in Long Island City. Photo by Bill Parry
June 13, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) has released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to develop Parcel E at Hunters Point South on the Long Island City waterfront, including plans for hundreds of mixed-income units, community space and at least one 100% affordable housing development.
Parcel E, which sits just north of the Gotham Point complex where the Newtown Creek meets the East River and just west of the massive Malt Drive development, is one of seven city-owned sites that make up the Hunters Point South development, which covers a 30-acre area along the East River that was once considered for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Five of the seven parcels have already been developed into more than 3,000 affordable housing units, commercial retail space, community amenities, and two schools. The area’s redevelopment began with the 11-acre Hunters Point South Park on the East River and Newtown Creek waterfront.
Once complete, Hunters Point South will include approximately 5,000 new apartments, about 3,000 of which will be income-restricted to low- and moderate-income households, according to HPD.
HPD said the “long-awaited” and “highly-anticipated” RFP, released on Friday, marks a “key step” toward completing the vision for the neighborhood.
Parcel E is a 69,500 square foot City-owned lot in the Hunters Point South neighborhood of LIC, located between 2nd Street, Center Boulevard, 55th Avenue, and 56th Avenue. Via HPD
The city had previously planned to build between 850 and 900 units at Parcel E, but HPD officials said the agency is waiting to see “what the development community brings us” throughout the RFP process.
However, HPD said development of Parcel E will bring more new homes to the neighborhood, approximately 70% of which income-restricted to households earning less than 120% of the area median income. At least one building in the development must be 100% affordable, HPD said.
The new housing units will be developed simultaneously with new commercial retail, community amenity spaces, and an approximately 1,800 square foot publicly accessible open space.
HPD said the inclusion of at least one 100% affordable building represents a response to the city’s “ever-present” affordability crisis. The vacancy rate for units priced $2,400 and under is currently below 1%.
Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrión Jr. said the RFP for Parcel E will help transform a vacant city-owned lot into an asset for Long Island City with hundreds of market-rate and income-restricted apartments.
“This administration understands that the key to solving the housing crisis is to build more mixed-income housing,” Carrión said in a statement.
“The Hunters Point South Request-for-Proposals will transform a city-owned lot into an asset for Long Island City, delivering hundreds of affordable and market-rate homes, along with important amenities that will support the neighborhood. We look forward to receiving innovative proposals that will deliver for Long Island City.”
Site overview. Via HPD
Acting HPD Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said the development of Hunters Point South has been “decades in the making,” adding that the RFP for Parcel E is the result of a lengthy community engagement process that solicited over 1,300 responses from local residents throughout 2024.
“New Yorkers are depending on us to make more progress more quickly than ever before and moving forward with the next phase of redeveloping Hunters Point South is vitally important to those efforts,” Tigani said in a statement.
“We are thrilled to begin the process of soliciting proposals for the site’s future development. This is an exciting opportunity to transform a long-vacant lot into a mixed-use project that provides much-needed housing that serves the broader needs of the community.”
Council Member Julie Won, who represents the council district covering Parcel E, noted that 40% of Long Island City residents are rent-burdened and said bringing 100% affordable developments and mixed-income housing to Parcel E is a step toward addressing the affordability crisis.
She urged the city to prioritize proposals that include affordable housing and public amenities, as outlined by the local community during the engagement process last year.
“As the project enters the RFP process, the City must prioritize community input collected in 2024 and ensure our neighbors’ feedback for housing, public amenities, and open space is adequately incorporated,” Won said in a statement.
Interested parties can visit the project website and click the “Submit an RFP” tab.
Featured Events
