Interviews Gerry Romski Senior Project Executive and General Counsel, Arverne by the Sea

0:00 Speaker 1 Good morning. This is Mike Stoler for the Stowly Real Estate Report on the Cats Roundtable this morning. I have a very interesting individual who knows about something called Arverne by the Sea and the Rockways. His name is Jerry Ramsky.

0:12 He’s the senior Project Executive and General Council of Arvern by the Sea, a large scale urban redevelopment site comprising one hundred and twenty acres on the Rockaway Peninsula. So, Jerry, it’s been a long time for Auvern on the Sea and the Rockaways. Tell me what’s going on now and what happened over the last twenty years.

0:30 Speaker 2 Sure, and good morning Gene, Michael, and thank you very much for having me here today. Yes, so it’s been a couple of years since I was last here with you. Well, Arverne by the Sea started over twenty years or so ago when the Benjamin Beechwood Development Team was selected by the City of New York to redevelop the Arvern by

0:52 the Sea Urban redevelopment area, which, as you mentioned as a hunting twenty or soek is right on the water in Auvurne, New York.

1:00 Speaker 1 Where does it span for him.

1:03 Speaker 2 Between beach sixty second Street and Beach eighty first Street, so it’s a little over twenty something blocks.

1:10 Speaker 1 And how much has been redeveloped over there. I know you’ve built single family homes, you built a shopping center with a forty five thousand square foot stopping shop. You’ve there’s a hotel now, which and a number of other things that people don’t realize that’s available in the rock Ways.

1:26 Speaker 2 Yes, the Rockaways has certainly come a very, very long way since the Auvern by the c team got involved in Auburn. In fact, as you know, Michael, I keep my calling you, Gene. I’m sorry, Michael. We started Auvern almost twenties or so years ago, and we started we developed right now about seven hundred or so two family homes.

1:49 We developed a forty five thousand square foot YMCA with two pools, a beautiful indoor gym, and a beautiful outdoor sports court. We developed the stopping shop, the fifty five thousand square feet stopping shop, which actually was a great important part of the redevelopment of the rock Away since prior to that there was really no real supermarket on

2:13 the peninsula. It really was the food desert. So that was a really important part of Avurn. We also then developed another about fifty thousand square feet of retail space which is now released to a number of local retailers, some restaurant tours, and some local convenience shops. We also are in the process of building a new charter school

2:39 that will service not only Auburn by the Sea residents, but also all of the residents of Queens. It’s a thirty five thousand square foot facility and hopefully that will be opened sometime in a year or so from now.

2:53 So that’s really a very important part of AVN. And we’re also now in the test marketing phase for a brand new condominium, which will we call the It’s two hundred and forty seven or so units. It will be called the Aurora. It’s a beautiful site plan.

3:14 Speaker 1 On the water.

3:15 Speaker 2 It’s directly on the water. It’s on beachfront road. Every unit will have its own balcony. Just about every unit will have a view of the water the way this building has been designed. It will also have a little over twenty thousand square feet of amenity space indoor and outdoor.

3:35 The outdoor will have a pool, it will have a pickleball court, it will have various other types of amenities. We’re really very excited about getting through test marketing and a shovel in the ground, and hopefully we will be doing that sometime this fall.

3:49 Speaker 1 Right now, with the situation with the interest rates and everything over there, how do you look at the condo market in general to go into a new project like.

3:57 Speaker 2 That, Well, we think that Auvern is a very special place. It’s the same water as the Hampton’s and unlike other developments along the waterfront in New York City, you can actually use the water in Auburn by the Sea. In fact, one of the city’s only surf beaches is directly in front of the Aurora. So we think that the location

4:20 as well as the list of amenities. It’s only a forty five minute train ride to downtown Manhattan on the A train, which stops directly in front of Auvern. In fact, the stop is the Auburn by the Sea A train stop.

4:34 It’s also very convenient to the wonderful ferry that the administration has continued, which is only a fifty minute or so beautiful ferry ride to downtown Manhattan, and there’s a shuttle that runs directly in front of Avurn by the Sea to the ferry. So we’re very very confident that it will be a great success and will be a

4:56 jewel of the rock and Rice.

4:57 Speaker 1 These are going to be market great kind of the name and not affordable. Correct.

5:01 Speaker 2 Correct. The AVN by the Seed team actually completed its affordability requirements which were part of the original development plan close to fifteen or so years ago, when we build two hundred and fifty six for sale condominium affordable units.

5:20 Speaker 1 Let’s talk about certain other projects that are taking place in the Rockaways in Auburne. I understand down on Beach twenty first Street on my Avenue there are certain retail and residential developments taking place.

5:32 Speaker 2 Yeah, the Rockaways is really going continues to go through a great redevelopment phase. Again, I think it was sort of the thrust behind this was Avin by the Sea. But yes, down in far Rockaway there are a number of development projects underway. There were a number of affordable jobs.

5:51 Speaker 1 There’s the Tissian inspired ts Communities project is rather large, thirteen story, one hundred percent affordable.

5:59 Speaker 2 Yes, that actually a very large project. At the end of the day, I believe it will have at least two thousand or so units. It’s not on the water, it’s sort of in the middle of the peninsular, but it will have two thousand or so units. I think the first building is just about ready for a CO.

6:14 I think that’s about two hundred or so units. And then there’s the r Ourn East development which is further east of us, which I believe at the end of the day we’ll have about seventeen hundred or so units.

6:25 They’ve actually completed the beachfront preserve and also this very very nice, beautiful nature center which is open to the public.

6:35 Speaker 1 The Tishman project is all affordable.

6:38 Speaker 2 Correct, that’s my understanding, correct, right.

6:41 Speaker 1 For families earning between thirty to eighty percent of the area median income. Yes, they’re also doing some supportative housing.

6:48 Speaker 2 Yes, that’s correct.

6:50 Speaker 1 With regard to other developments over there Edgemere and the growth of the area. The Phipps Housing.

6:58 Speaker 2 Yes, Phipps is down in the Mode Avenue area in far Rockaway. At the end of the day, I think that development, which I think is in its last phase. The last time I was down there a couple of weeks ago, I think the last building was just about ready for its COE will have about two thousand or

7:17 so units that sits. If you remember, Michael, the old Rita stock center that was down there in the Rockaways, which took a number of years to redevelop. So that of the Phipps Houses redevelopment project, which I believe is in partnership with HPD, is almost complete. And I should know by the way that we are also an HPD

7:38 sponsored project and we consider them to be a very very important part of the A Burned team, as well as actually the Adams Administration’s the part and the Parks which has also done a magnificent job of redeveloping the entire beachfront area with a whole new series of parks, including a volleyball court, a skate park. It really, we

8:00 really have done a remarkable job on the on the on the water.

8:03 Speaker 1 What about the beach thirty sixth Street Edgemere a train subway station.

8:08 Speaker 2 Yeah, that that the thirty sixth Street stop is part of the Irvor and East redevelopment. There’s a couple of existing apartment buildings there. It’s two affordable buildings that are located there, and as you work your way to the south, that really is also going to be part of the Avorn East project, which I think will have some market rate,

8:30 some affordability, and also they will have some bungalows for sale bungalows.

8:34 Speaker 1 Right They basically it’s sixteen hundred and fifty units to be the development a phase. Eighty percent will be affordable over there for load income people.

8:45 Speaker 2 Yes, Sarah, I think Sarah was on the show with us a couple of years ago. She’s doing a great job out there.

8:50 Speaker 1 What about the hotel that opened up in Arvor in the Rockaways, that’s we’re doing.

8:54 Speaker 2 The Rockaway Hotel was a great addition to the Rockaways. It’s right on one hundred and eighth Street as you come off the ferry and as you walk to the beach, was a very very short, maybe a five minute walk, you passed the new Rockaway Hotel. It’s not new anymore.

9:08 It’s probably about seven or eight years old. It has a number of different restaurants, a rooftop area that oversees the water and has a beautiful view of Manhattan. So that’s a really important part of the redevelopment of the Rockaways, I mean, I think, and also actually you should go further west. They’re also doing some work down in Rhees

9:26 Park and Breezy Point continues to be redeveloped. So the Rockaways is really on the is on the up and up. I mean, we took a couple of hits.

9:34 Speaker 1 Obviously Hurricane Sandy.

9:37 Speaker 2 Hurricane Sandy was a shot. Thankfully, the Benjamin Beachwoodeign by the Sea team was able to help the city through their rapid repair program and they build it Back program to help bring back not only Breezy Point but all of the Rockaways, and I think that was really an important part. And now the Army Corps has just about

9:58 completed a rather remarkable resiliency project where they’ve built up the entire ocean front to ensure that there will be no other Superstorm Sandy tragedies.

10:13 Speaker 1 Say Jerry, I’d like to thank you to tell us on the update of what’s happening in Auburn and the Rockways, and I’ll see you next week.

10:19 Speaker 2 Thank you very much, Michael, I have a wonderful week.