By Noah Zimmerman
noah@queensledger.com
Local politicians, club executives, and hundreds of fans and union workers gathered around Willets Point last Wednesday to watch shovels hit dirt, signifying the start of construction for Etihad Park, the future home for New York City FC. The 25,000 stadium is the first soccer specific venue in the city, set to open for the 2027 MLS season. It’s part of a sweeping development project designed to transform the “Valley of Ashes” into a bustling neighborhood.
“Willets Point will generate $6.1 billion in economic impact over the next 30 years,” announced NYC Mayor Eric Adams. “It will create 1,500 permanent jobs and 14,000 construction jobs, and we’ve laid the groundwork covering $50 billion in union work across the city.”
The Willets Point development project is one of the largest in the city, finally set into motion after decades of work to transform a forgotten corner of Queens. Alongside the 25,000-seat stadium comes the largest all-affordable housing project in NYC in 40 years, a school, and public spaces.
“I grew up in the shadow of this stadium,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said, pointing at the walls of Citi Field in the distance. “Never in my life did I think I’d be standing in my literal backyard, breaking ground on a facility that will capture the hearts and minds of the biggest, most important city in the world.”
“We all know that we’re standing in the ‘Valley of Ashes’ that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about in the Great Gatsby,” said Councilman Francisco Moya, a prominent voice in the push for a soccer stadium in Queens. Moya spoke about the work done by Robert Moses to transform the pile of ashes into the grounds for the World’s Fair, where his parents would meet, but also how Moses was unable to fully transform the area he promised to develop.
“I stand here as a Latino kid from 102nd street in Corona, Queens, whose life was molded by the choices Robert Moses made. I’m building my own legacy by correcting one of his greatest failures. From the moment I was elected I knew I was going to bring a soccer stadium to Queens. I knew it needed to be union-built and alongside affordable housing.”
It’s far from the first time Moya has been involved with bringing the city’s first soccer specific stadium to Queens. Back in 2021, Moya helped develop plans for incoming USL club Queensboro FC to build a soccer stadium at York College in Jamaica. Despite the club building a strong academy and invested following, finances and plans fell apart, with the club quietly going defunct years later.
No development was started at York College. Despite this, Moya remained insistent in his dreams to bring the world’s game to the world’s borough.
“I never stopped believing that we were going to bring professional soccer to Queens and I think when you find the right partners it really makes a difference. Meeting with the folks from New York City FC, they had a real desire to make this their home. This is a really special day because it’s being built privately funded and 100% union.”
New York City FC is slated to begin play at their new home in the 2027 MLS season, putting an end to what will be 12 years of nomadism. After years of instability, playing on baseball fields, and drawing endless criticism from viewers, the 2021 MLS Cup champions will finally have their house all to themselves. Most importantly, they’re not the only ones getting a new home.
“This is not just about a soccer stadium,” said Moya. “This is about building a brand new neighborhood, something that hasn’t happened in this city in four decades. We’re building homes for people who are going to work here, whose kids are going to go to school here.”
“This man is what great politicians should be all about,” Garber lauded about Moya. “For 15 years he fought for this community and he delivered.”
