2 THE QUEENS COURIER • QUEENS BUSINESS • JUNE 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
queens business
Downtown Jamaica is seeing major benefi ts
from ‘Action Plan,’ with more to come
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
agiudice@ridgtewoodtimes.com
@A_GiudiceReport
Th e Jamaica Now Action Plan is already
starting to change the landscape of downtown
Jamaica and promises to bring even
more benefi ts to the community before it
is complete.
Th e 21-step plan, which was introduced
in April 2015, aims to revitalize the downtown
area of Jamaica through a bevy of
development projects — both commercial
and residential — and with an added
boost to the community’s already diverse
arts and cultural scene, transportation
sector, and many more aspects, making
Jamaica a true hub of the borough.
City offi cials, including Mayor Bill de
Blasio and Borough President Melinda
Katz, worked closely with community
leaders and organizations such
as the Greater Jamaica Development
Corporation (GJDC) with the hope of
create 3,000 new housing units, 500,000
square feet of retail space, and 800 hotel
rooms to the neighborhood in the $153
million fi ve-year plan.
“I think that the Queens Borough
President Melinda Katz was brilliant
in creating this platform to support the
changes already happening in Jamaica,”
said Hope Knight, president and CEO of
GJDC. “It is a systematic way to measure
the progress of many actions in a coordinated
way.”
Th e revitalization of the area really
began back in 2003 with the creation of
the $1.9 billion JFK AirTrain, and the
rezoning of 368 blocks in the the downtown
area in 2007 that led to the creation
of increased development in the area.
Th e Jamaica Now Action Plan looks to
expand on these improvements through
a trifecta of goals to increase quality jobs
and small business support, promote
commercial growth and economic development,
and to improve the livability of
both residents and visitors to the area.
“Th e plan will make Downtown Jamaica
a more vibrant community on a number
of dimensions,” Knight explained. “It will
create more residential facilities, elevate
the arts and cultural institutions, provide
more commercial activities to happen,
and training for both youths and adult.
All of the elements that help create a more
economically vibrant community.”
In the way of residential facilities, the
city is already in the process of getting
rid of an underutilized NYPD parking
garage at the corner of 168th Street
and 93rd Avenue in order to erect a new
450,000-square-foot mixed-use building
that will feature more than 350 aff ordable
apartments, parking and retail space.
Earlier this month the Queens Borough
Board voted to approve the sale of the
parking garage. Construction is planned
to begin on the new facility this winter,
and is expected to be complete in approximately
three years.
Th e Jamaica Now Action Plan will also
help connect homeowners, tenants and
property owners to educational programs
to create neighborhood stability, expand
opportunities for aff ordable homeownership,
create small, aff ordable, multifamily
rental buildings, and other benefi ts
and programs to spur community development.
In all, Knight expects to see the creation
of nearly 2,000 new residential units
spring up across downtown Jamaica in
the next few years.
An infl ux of new residents means
increased opportunities for new businesses
to come to the area, and for existing
businesses to grow further.
Th e Action Plan looks to implement
street improvements along Jamaica
Avenue, unify and bolster the downtown
Business Improvement Districts
(BID), and fund redesigns for storefronts
of businesses along Sutphin Boulevard,
and release a Business Guide for Hillside
Avenue and other important commercial
corridors.
Owners of vacant or derelict lots within
Jamaica’s downtown core will also be
urged to activate those sites for potential
residential or retail businesses.
Th e creation of hotels are a major
part of the revitalization of downtown
Jamaica, with its proximity to the borough’s
airports and its own major transportation
hub which is served by more
than 50 city and regional bus lines, four
subway lines, and 10 Long Island Rail
Road lines.
“Business owners can look forward to
a larger and more diverse clientele since
more people will be living downtown,”
Knight said. “And with the hotel rooms
coming online, there will be more visitors
inclined to shop downtown while staying
at those hotels.”
Many other improvements besides
buildings and businesses will be coming
to downtown Jamaica that will improve
the livability of residents and visitors
alike.
Th e city is preparing to implement a
new Select Bus Service (SBS) route from
Jamaica to Flushing to better move commuters.
Th e area will soon be getting
WalkNYC directional maps, and some of
the neighborhood is already connected
to the LinkNYC network, which replaces
old payphones with touchscreen kiosks
that provide free public Wi-Fi, phone
calls, directions and charging stations for
mobile devices.
More changes are coming for downtown
Jamaica each day and the future
is bright for residents, visitors, business
owners, developers and entrepreneurs.
“I am very excited about the plan and
believe that signifi cant progress has been
made,” Knight added. “I am looking forward
to all these projects coming to fruition
to create a more vibrant and economically
healthy community.”
As an added boon to downtown
Jamaica, Governor Andrew Cuomo
announced on Wednesday, July 12, the
seven winning projects in the state’s
$100 million Downtown Revitalization
Initiative (DRI), which aims to further
transform Jamaica into a vibrant economic
and cultural hub for the city.
Because of the funds from the DRI,
Jamaica will receive the following
improvements:
• A 10,000-square-foot co-working space
run by GJDC;
• high-speed broadband internet access;
• improvements to the Downtown
Jamaica Gateway;
• funding for improved dining options in
downtown Jamaica;
• a public space around the Archer
Archways at 159th Street;
• funds for an expanded entrepreneurship
training program; and
• funding for improvements in the Career
and Technical Education programs at
Th omas A. Edison Career and Technical
Education High School.
“Th is critical investment in Jamaica’s
downtown will help it grow into a major
economic hub that boosts small businesses,
expands economic opportunity for
residents, and draws new residents and
visitors to the community,” Cuomo said
in a statement.