Willets Point (known locally as the "Iron Triangle") has a longand gritty past. It is the infamous "valley of ashes" from F. ScottFitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, "a fantastic farm whereashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens;where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smokeand, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly andalready crumbling through the powdery air." And now it is becominga mall.

Last week, the Bloomberg administration struck a deal with theRelated Cos. and SterlingEquities, a real estate firm affiliated with theNew York Mets, to construct aone-million-square-foot retail and entertainment complex west ofCiti Field. Called "WilletsWest," city officials announced that an old parkinglot adjacent to the stadium will be converted into a verticalshopping complex comprised of 200 stores, a movie theater,restaurants, entertainment venues and a 2,500-space parking garage.In addition, the developers are also planning to construct 4.5million square feet of mixed-use development, including 2,500housing units, 35% of which will be affordable; 900,000 square feetof street level retail; and 500,000 square feet of office spaceserving Queens-based businesses. A 280-room hotel and five acres ofpublic space along 126^th Street is also in theworks.

This news is a huge step forward for a neighborhood known forits auto shops, gigantic potholes and pollution. Formerly utilizedas an ash dump for passing railroad cars, Willets Pointwasrezoned by the city council in 2008 to allow mixed-usedevelopment. Now, the $3 billion project is expected to beredeveloped and remediated over a nine-year period, with totalbuild-out estimated by 2017.