For more than three decades, the old Far Rockaway Shopping Center, with its iconic blue sign on Mott Avenue, symbolized the lack of investment along the eastern end of the Rockaway Peninsula. But on Thursday, Aug. 4, Mayor Eric Adams joined elected officials and community members to cut the ribbon on a new 224-unit affordable housing development that has replaced the dilapidated shopping area that was built in the 1960s, as well as major infrastructure upgrades that are part of the $234 million Downtown Far Rockaway Revitalization Plan.
The plan was initiated under the de Blasio administration, which spurred a rezoning that prioritized affordable housing and support for area businesses.