First You Tap That Ass, Then You Tax It

Step one is convincing everyone there’s a crisis. That in turn justifies step two — unquestioned eminent domain:

A polluted 60-acre nest of heavy metal near Shea Stadium in Queens could be transformed into a mega-complex featuring housing and retail space.

The Bloomberg administration announced the specifics of its plans to redevelop Willets Point yesterday, laying out a vision for a new urban center built with sustainable design.

Long slated for development, Willets Point is a run-down colony of more than 200 auto yards and repair shops, enclosed by a noisy mess of two highways, the no. 7 train and a flight path to La Guardia Airport that restricts building heights.

The city is proposing a sweeping makeover of the area that would create a mixed-use center just west of downtown Flushing packed with 5,500 units of housing, a 400,000-square-foot convention center, 1.8 million square feet of retail, and 500,000 square feet of office space at a level of density unusual for the borough.

“We believe that out of these ashes can rise New York City’s next great neighborhood,” Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday at the Queens Museum of Art.

Mr. Bloomberg said the city intends to use eminent domain to acquire property if owners refuse to sell their land, though he pledged to offer relocation assistance and education opportunities for the 250 or so businesses that employ an estimated 1,000 people.

Step three: convincing anyone at all to live on a polluted parcel of land next to two major expressways in the flight path of La Guardia.

Location Scout: Iron Triangle.