FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 11, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 35
queens business
RPA report sees Jamaica as bustling hub of the future
BY RYAN KELLEY
rkelley@qns.com
Twitter @R_Kelley6
Jamaica is on track to be a thriving
downtown hub of hospitality, retail and
housing development by 2040, according
to a newly released regional plan with
ambitious recommendations for making
the neighborhood more prosperous.
Th e nearly 400-page report, created
as part of the Regional Plan Association
(RPA) Fourth Regional Plan released in
December, covers everything from transportation
and regional job restoration to
aff ordable housing and protecting low-income
residents from displacement.
While draft ing the report, the RPA
communicated with the Greater Jamaica
Development Corporation (GJDC),
which works to expand the economy in
the downtown Jamaica area.
“RPA’s recommendations dovetail with
GJDC’s mission and provides validation
from a highly respected organization that
our economic development eff orts with
the public and private sectors are headed
in the right direction,” said Hope Knight,
president and CEO of GJDC.
Th e part of the RPA plan centered
around Jamaica is its relationship with
John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK), stating
that the two must grow and develop in
tandem. Th e plan recommends signifi -
cant improvement to JFK, including two
additional runways, larger and more customer
friendly terminals and signifi cantly
better transit access. By 2040, air passenger
travel demand could increase by
60 percent, the plan states, a demand that
could not be met without expansion of
the airport.
To coincide with the growth of the airport,
the plan recommends that downtown
Jamaica add more hotels and hospitality
services allowing more room for the
airport’s expansion. Th e plan also states
the importance of preserving and restoring
parts of Jamaica Bay that could be
aff ected during construction. In total, the
proposed expansion would cost $21 billion,
the report says, which would likely
be funded by Port Authority airport revenues
from airline fees and passenger facility
charges.
Knight described the RPA’s plan as
a platform for the GJDC to continue
its mission and “act as an advocate and
resource to developers to advance this
type of activity.”
With growth and development comes
the need to address other forms of public
transportation. Th e RPA plan lists several
recommendations for improving the quality
of the city’s subway stations, including
making all stations ADA-accessible and
reducing crowding, noise and heat in stations.
Th e plan also describes how the
construction of new subway lines and
the adoption of new technologies would
improve overall service.
One of the plan’s most ambitious recommendations
is to combine the Long
Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad
and New Jersey Transit into one unifi ed
system called the Trans-Regional Express,
or T-REX.
Th e transportation upgrades would
allow for less cars in the streets of Jamaica,
which has typically been an area reliant
on cars in the past. Th e plan makes a
number of suggestions for placing more
priority over people instead of cars in
city streets, a transition that has already
begun, Knight said.
“Th e data suggests that car ownership is
going down,” Knight said. “We’re seeing
that trend with more Zip-Car usage, and
parking lot usage is in decline over time.”
Naturally, if the area will continue to
thrive there will be a growing need for
aff ordable housing to prevent the displacement
of local residents. Th e plan
addresses this need, too, touting “inclusionary
zoning” as the main tool for
addressing housing segregation while creating
more aff ordable homes.
Knight said that Jamaica has been
working on mixed-income developments
in connection to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s
plan for aff ordable housing. Th e plan also
lists the key factors in preventing displacement
are ending homelessness, providing
free legal counsel to those most
at risk, fi xing rent-regulation issues and
investing in public housing.
While many of the RPA recommendations
apply to the entire city, not just
Jamaica, local residents can contribute to
the future success of the neighborhood.
“Th e general public can focus on supporting
local retail and businesses, and
new businesses if they come online,”
Knight said. “Th at provides market validation
to attract more diverse retail in the
community.”
Photo via Flickr/NYCUrbanScape
Photo of housing rooftops in Jamaica, Queens.