Audio Slideshow by Ying Chan

For years, New York City has tried to transform Willets Point, Queens, a hub of auto shops and junkyards near Citi Field, into prime real estate space for apartments and offices. But local businesses, their workers – and the neighborhood’s only known resident, Joseph Ardizzone – have stood in staunch opposition. Ardizzone, who attends many Community Board 7 meetings, has much to say about the continuing three-year legal battle and his 78 years at Willets Point.