Real Estate

According to a new report from PropertyShark, Malba emerged as the priciest neighborhood in Queens this year.

The “Most Expensive NYC Neighborhoods Report” found that New York City’s residential market activity was down 32 percent year over year.

Median sale prices, however, rose to $660,000, representing a one percent increase from last year.

Hudson Yards was the most expensive neighborhood in the Big Apple with a median sale price of $4.5 million. TriBeCa was the second most expensive, followed by Little Italy.

Malba came in 12th with a median sale price of $1.35 million. Queens overall made up 19 percent of the city’s priciest neighborhoods, with a median sale price of $520,000 and an eight percent increase year-over-year.

Neponsit was the 23rd most expensive neighborhood in New York City with a median sale price of $1.25 million.

New York City is opening up some pedestrian plazas starting this week.

City officials announced that Douglaston Plaza will be opened to include exclusive seating, collective dining and open public seating.

The city’s Open Restaurants program now has more than 9,500 participants. They will be allowed to host outdoor dining through October.

“The expansion of the Open Restaurants program to include Douglaston Plaza in Northeast Queens is a great victory for our small businesses and our community,” said Councilman Paul Vallone, who chairs the Committee on Economic Development.

“Let’s all celebrate by grabbing some coffee and enjoying dinner at our wonderful Douglaston Plaza!”

Major improvements to the curbs of Bayside Hills.

Last week, Assemblywoman Nily Rozic announced that the city has begun curb restoration and construction work.

The northeast Queens assemblywoman allocated $500,000 in state funding to the Department of Transportation for the project, which will bring the streets to a state of good repair.

“Our streets in Bayside Hills have gone far too long without infrastructure upgrades,” Rozic says. “With the announcement, our families in Bayside Hills will finally receive the street infrastructure that will raise home values, improve neighborhood safety and beautify its blocks.”

The curbs will be rebuilt along with new sidewalks. The renovation is expected to be completed soon.

Construction is taking place along:

• 208th Street between 53rd Avenue and 56th Avenue
• 210th Street between 50th Avenue and 53rd Avenue
• 213th Street between 56th Avenue and Horace Harding Expressway

“Our neighborhood has been in critical need of these curb restorations,” said Michael Feiner, president of the Bayside Hills Civic Association, “and I look forward to the DDC’s completion.”

Bland Playground in Downtown Flushing will soon undergo a $6 million reconstruction project.

But before the design is made, the Parks Department wants Flushing residents and park users to chime in on what they’d like to see included as part of the transformation.

On Thursday, March 12 at 6 p.m., the Parks Department are teaming up with Councilman Peter Koo and the borough president’s office to host a scoping meeting for the project.

Attendees can tell parks officials what they want in the reconstructed playground.

“This scoping meeting is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for area residents to redesign their own backyard playground,” Koo said.

The councilman noted that despite its popularity, the playground has been plagued by a variety of problems, “from sanitation to vagrancy.”

“It’s far past time that we address these issues through a redesign and reconstruction that prioritizes the needs of the families and young people who cherish and use this rare urban recreational space,” Koo added.

The scoping meeting will take place at Bland Community Center, located at 133-36 Roosevelt Avenue.

Project Queens, a commercial real estate firm, has opened a new office in the heart of Downtown Flushing.

The tech savvy company is led by real estate broker Michael Wang, who also co-chairs the Real Estate Committee for the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

Their new digs are located at 136-18 39th Avenue, Suite 704.

Project Queens is welcoming friends and colleagues to stop by their new office to see the new space and chat with the team.

For more information about Project Queens, visit their website here.