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JFK has gleaming new terminals. LaGuardia has gone from a punchline to a showpiece. And then there's New York City's other airport—the one that's been quietly disappearing into the marshes for more than 40 years.
Hidden in College Point, Queens, the former Flushing Airport has sat abandoned since 1984, fenced off and slowly reclaimed by nature. Once a bustling airfield, it's now better known to urban explorers, birdwatchers and aviation buffs than frequent flyers. But that long-forgotten stretch of land is about to become one of the city's biggest redevelopment projects.
The city is moving forward with a $3.2 billion plan to turn the former 80-acre airport into a mixed-use neighborhood with about 3,000 homes, nearly 60 acres of public parkland and wetlands, plus space for walking trails, wildlife habitat and community amenities. The proposal, led by Cirrus Workforce Housing and LCOR with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, is projected to generate $3.2 billion in economic activity over the next three decades while creating roughly 1,300 union construction jobs and 530 permanent positions. Construction is expected to begin in 2028.
The site's story stretches back almost a century: Flushing Airport opened in 1927 as Speed's Airport and—for a brief period—it was New York City's busiest airfield. At its peak, the airport featured four clay runways and later served as a Civil Air Patrol base during World War II. Everything changed when the much larger LaGuardia Airport opened nearby in 1939, siphoning away commercial traffic and leaving Flushing to gradually fade into obscurity.
Flooding and deteriorating infrastructure eventually sealed its fate. The airport officially closed in 1984 under Mayor Ed Koch and despite repeated redevelopment proposals over the years, the property remained untouched as wetlands slowly reclaimed the runways and taxiways.
The new plan doesn't try to erase that transformation—instead, it embraces it. Developers say the design will weave housing into the existing wetlands environment through elevated walking paths, nature overlooks, seating areas and restored habitat. The proposal also calls for exploring mass timber construction and building the entire project with union labor.
"For too many decades, this valuable land has sat vacant, but our administration said it was time to change that," former Mayor Eric Adams said when unveiling the proposal last year. "We are advancing generational projects to deliver the housing New Yorkers need and fighting every day to make our city more affordable and the best place to raise a family."
So no, you won't be catching your next flight from Flushing Airport. But after spending more than 40 years as one of New York's most overlooked pieces of real estate, the city's forgotten airfield is preparing for another takeoff—just in a very different direction.