Surveyors hired by the city found human remains at a Queens site where thousands of units of housing are planned.
Police confirmed that they received a call reporting possible “human skeletal remains” Monday evening, in a fenced-in area that was previously home to the Flushing Airport in College Point. An NYPD representative said on Tuesday that the remains are in the process of being identified and that a cause of death is being determined.
The representative didn’t provide additional information on what was discovered, but the New York Post reported that the remains included a human skull, as well as a leg and hip bone.
The city has big plans for the defunct airport site, which is surrounded by a chainlink fence that encloses wetlands and sits across from a shopping center on 20th Avenue near 132nd Street.
In July, the Adams administration tapped Cirrus Workforce Housing and LCOR to build 3,000 units of workforce housing at the former airport, which was decommissioned in 1984. The project is expected to include the housing, as well as a new station for the New York City Police Department, along with 60 acres of public space, walking trails and preserved freshwater wetland.
It was not clear at what part of the site the remains were found. A source familiar with the matter indicated that the surveying work was being done as part of preparations for development of the site.
Representatives for City Hall and the development team did not return requests seeking more information.
The project is being funded in part through a workforce housing fund launched by Cirrus, the city and construction pension funds last year. As of July, the fund has raised $300 million.
Cirrus and LCOR are also poised to take over the remaining sites at the Brooklyn megadevelopment known as Pacific Park. The state still needs to sign off on the joint venture before the development rights are transferred. For the six remaining railyard sites, U.S. Immigration Fund and Fortress Investment Group are expected to remain part of the development joint venture but will not have an active role in managing the development.
The developers are also seeking to develop a separate property known as Site 5, home to a former Modell’s and a P.C. Richard & Son near the Barclays Center.
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