Seth Pinsky, president of NYCEDC, says in a release, that theagreements, which follow on the heels of three others inSeptember and several before that, represent "a significantstep toward attaining our goal of transforming the area into anengine of economic growth and the first 'green neighborhood' in NewYork City. The city now controls almost 24 acres of land in WilletsPoint. We remain committed to working with the remaining landownersand businesses to reach as many negotiated acquisitions as possibleas the project moves through the public review process."

The agreements reached to date with Willets Point businessesencompass about 10 acres of formerly private land, coupled with 14acres of public streets already owned by the city. In a release,NYCEDC says it's continuing to work on additional agreements beforethe City Council's vote this month at the conclusion of the UniformLand Use Review Procedure. The City Council voted in Septembertoapprove the Willets Point master plan.

The announcement of two new agreements follows the Bloombergadministration's announcement on Saturday of auto-related trainingand job placement programs that will be free to all workers atWillets Point. Car repair shops comprise many of the businessescurrently located in Willets Point, and the new initiatives expandthe Willets Point Workforce Assistance Plan, coordinated byLaGuardia Community College, according to a release.