There is an application before the NYC City Planning Commission (CPC) for a special permit to convert manufacturing space at 59-02 Borden Avenue in Maspeth, Queens, to a personal self-storage facility.

Self-storage facilities in manufacturing zones can be harmful to the industrial sector: they take manufacturing space off the market for the sake of non-industrial, low-employment activities, in anticipation of rezoning the space to commercial or residential. This is particularly an issue as Covid has demonstrated how important these value-added activities are to the city’s resiliency; we should be creating space for jobs and capacity in the sector. Self-storage facilities are not as-of-right developments, and require a special permit by CPC, so the approval of this facility would set a bad precedent for future applications.

If you would like to add your name and business to the following letter in opposition to the self-storage special permit, to be submitted to the NYC City Planning Commission prior to their vote in October 2020, please complete the form below.