NEW YORK -- The New York City Council is expected to vote Thursday on the next steps for the Willets Point revitalization project in Queens. The project includes plans to construct a soccer stadium and affordable housing. Renderings from earlier this year show the 25,000 seat stadium that would be home to the New York City Football Club, or NYCFC. If all goes well, the stadium would be scheduled to open in 2027 across from Citi Field.
It is the largest public housing project the city has seen since the 1970s. The large-scale project has received pushback from small businesses, as some were forced to close shop due to construction. In some cases, they were only given a couple months to leave. 'Undirectly, they are forcing us out of here,' the owner of an auto body shop previously told CBS New York. 'All these shops they forced to close... I don't know what's going to happen, I'm so worried.