Jamaica Plans its Growth
As the Department of City Planning prepares a massive rezoning of Jamaica, Queens, Pratt Center planners are working with Queens Community Board 12 to help neighborhood residents weigh in on the future shape of their neighborhood.
In February 2007, the city presented a detailed draft of the changes
it envisions making to 368 blocks of downtown Jamaica and bordering neighborhoods. One of the biggest rezonings the city has ever attempted, the Jamaica plan would allow development more than 4.5 million new square feet of commercial and retail space and more than 5,000 units of new housing. City Planning announced urban renewal plans for the area immediately surrounding Jamaica's Long Island Rail Road/AirTrain/subway transit hub, where officials have said they are prepared to use eminent domain to acquire any property that the city cannot successfully purchase.
The city proposes rezoning major thoroughfares to allow for bigger apartment buildings while reducing the size of development allowed on side streets in residential areas. The Department of City Planning is also offering what it calls "affordable housing alternative" version of the plan, which includes a framework for inclusionary zoning in the parts of Jamaica under consideration for the area's highest-density development. It would allow apartment-building developers in those sections who make 20 percent of their space permanently affordable to lower-income households to construct buildings one-third larger than those who do not.
With Pratt planners' technical guidance, a Community Board 12 committee is now drafting its own proposals for the area, in preparation for a forthcoming public hearing on the city's plan.
Committee members have expressed concerns about the strains of new development on the area's schools, streets, water supplies and other infrastructure, the displacement of residents and businesses, and density of new development.
The Pratt Center has suggested opportunities for innovative solutions, including a displacement mitigation tax credit for landlords who continue to rent to low-income tenants; variable-rate parking meters to discourage unnecessary driving in downtown Jamaica; living wage and local hiring requirements for new businesses; and the establishment of a greenway.
Jamaica Rezoning Resources
- Department of City Planning Guide
- [Sorry, display of this email address requires a Javascript-aware browser, in order to deter spam. Please use the general contact page instead.] Queens Community Board 12
- PlanNYC Updates
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