Neoliberalism is Ruining Queens

Queens! Home to the largest Chinatown in the city, as well as many other bustling communities ranging from the predominantly Hispanic Jackson Heights to the Jewish neighborhoods in Kew Gardens Hills to the deeply-rooted African American groups in Jamaica and St. Albans. One of the most diverse areas in the world, with over two million people calling it home, Queens is a cultural hub for working class New Yorkers attempting to live the American Dream. However, as housing and rent costs continue to rise throughout the city, private developers have set their sights to convert the largest borough of New York into profitable land developments that displace the communities living there. 

Neoliberalism is the economic concept that the government should play a minimal role in the free market, specifically addressing lower taxes, deregulation, and a reduction in government spending. Neoliberalism was popularized as a response to the economic stagflation of the 1970s, as many believed that the government’s influence on the economy was the reason for the decline.

As a major economic and population hub, Queens has been particularly impacted by neoliberalism. Private housing developers partner with the government using Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) as massive tax deductions to expedite constructions of mega-projects. PPPs are supposed to increase the amount of residential housing and stimulate the local economy through incentives, but in reality, these land development projects become high-cost luxury apartments for the wealthy few who could afford it.

From September 2024 to 2025, the overall rent across Queens increased by 4.22 percent. Long Island City on its own had the most expensive one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and studio apartments on average in all of Queens—a consequence of rezoning laws increasing the housing market that favors high luxury apartments. In response, lawmakers passed even more housing rezoning that would build an additional 15,000 apartments in Long Island City, with roughly 4,000 of those being income-restricted. This could be one of the largest housing developments in the nation. According to neoliberalist theory, it should follow that this increased supply of apartments should lower rent and allow for greater economic stimulation as a result of a larger residential population. This theory glosses over the fact that more apartments wouldn’t equal more housing for the working class, and that the surrounding infrastructure, industry, and market will suffer.

Developers circumvent affordable housing laws because of the Area Median Income (AMI). Higher net-worth individuals’ incomes outside the surrounding community raise the AMI so much that the “affordable” rent costs and requisite incomes become out of reach for the majority of working families. To make matters worse, the chance of winning the affordable housing lottery to actually get one of these apartments is so statistically low that hundreds of people end up fighting for a single apartment. 

Although the plan also covers infrastructure upgrades such as sewage upgrades and NYCHA repairs, there is backlash from the Queens community, as people believe that the infrastructure still isn’t prepared to handle the housing development. Subway lines would be jammed with the influx of people, and the newly rezoned area is susceptible to harsh weather. The surrounding businesses have become tailored to high-end retail and other luxury services as a result of these higher net worth individuals, while manufacturing industries and small businesses get priced out in place of upscale restaurants and cafes. As a result, skilled jobs with income mobility get replaced with low-income, low-mobility jobs.

Another controversial land development is Metropolitan Park at Willets Point backed by billionaire Steve Cohen. The development plans to build an $8 billion entertainment complex near Citi Field that would include a Hard Rock Casino and Hotel, public parks, and restaurants. Cohen vigorously lobbied for the project, allowing the bill that rezones Willets Point from Parkland to commercial space to pass nearly unanimously in the State Assembly and Senate. New York State Senator John Liu, who stated in March 2024 that “the arrival of new casinos in New York City will lead to increased rates of gambling addiction, financial hardship and strained familial relationships for Asian-American New Yorkers,” changed his position, saying that the casino development would actually bring thousands of jobs and provide increased funding for local infrastructure. Nearly a thousand protesters rallied in Flushing last November against the casino’s development and called out Senator Liu for being bought out by Cohen. The casino inherently preys on nearby communities and raises gambling addiction and poverty rates while only delivering low-wage jobs.

The idea that neoliberalism through the development of casinos and luxury apartments is the manifestation of progress isn’t just wrong; it’s destructive. We should focus on helping the people who actually live there and whose livelihoods are directly affected by these land developments. Queens residents are fighting back. Many organizations such as Queens Neighborhoods United, Chhaya CDC, and Queens Community House fight to ensure that local communities are not displaced because of unstable housing. They have pushed back against business interests in Queens that would raise surrounding housing and rent prices substantially, and advocated for more rent-stabilized apartments. Chhaya CDC and other organizations helped trigger a major lawsuit against Zara Realty, owner of more than 2,500 rent-stabilized apartments. Queens Neighborhood United helped halt the largest proposed Business Improvement District PPP in New York City that would have resulted in even greater private development. Organized tenant assemblies, protests, and lawsuits, and community-controlled developments are how we get Queens to continue being a multicultural epicenter.

If developers have their way, we will lose the 2.4 million residents and the countless communities that call Queens their home. It’s time to stop valuing corporate interests over the needs of the people.