By Betsy Scheinbart
The Greater Jamaica Development Corporation welcomed state Comptroller H. Carl McCall and paid tribute to Borough President Claire Shulman at its annual meeting in Jamaica last Thursday.
The non-profit group also touted its plans for Jamaica’s future development, traffic and parks, which were unveiled May 7.
“Jamaica is like a phoenix — it’s going up,” Shulman said before the meeting in the Harvest Room of Jamaica Market.
Arthur Benjamin Jr. gave his final remarks as chairman of the corporation before passing the baton to Tazewell Smith.
Much of the plans for Jamaica Center were motivated by the AirTrain, a $1.9 billion transportation system which is scheduled to connect John F. Kennedy International Airport with Jamaica by the middle of 2003.
A $316 million station is currently under construction in Jamaica at Sutphin Boulevard and the corporation plans to build a hotel above the AirTrain station.
“We see Jamaica as a destination, not simply a transfer point,” Benjamin said.
Benjamin and Greater Jamaica President Carlisle Towery both thanked Shulman for her support over the years and she, in turn, emphasized the group’s integral role in the improvement of Jamaica.
Shulman is barred from running for re-election as borough president due to term limits.
“It has always been my idea that if Jamaica didn’t make it, the county wouldn’t make it,” Shulman said. “And I don’t think it would have been done without the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation.”
City Council Deputy Majority Leader Archie Spigner (D-St. Albans), introduced as “Mr. Jamaica,” welcomed McCall to the neighborhood.
Spigner enthusiastically endorsed McCall’s run for governor on the Democratic line and gave a long list of his qualifications, including eight years as state comptroller. McCall also served as president of the city Board of Education and three terms as a state senator.
McCall looked back on the time he spent working in Queens as a vice president of Citibank in charge of all the bank’s Queens branches.
“I was struck by the great diversity here,” McCall said of Queens. “I applaud Queens’s spirit — there is a strong neighborhood identification … it is great to be here in one of Queens’s great neighborhoods.”
McCall said he admired the corporation’s vision for Jamaica, which could be a model for other cities. He said he ultimately saw Jamaica as a hub for aviation and other business.
“Things are looking up in Jamaica and all of Queens,” McCall said, noting the development of a new 15-screen movie theater at One Jamaica Center, which is scheduled to open next spring as the neighborhood’s only source of first-run films.
On a statewide spectrum, McCall outlined two major goals: giving every child an excellent education and getting energy prices under control.
“Too many students aren’t getting the education they need,” McCall said, “And teachers don’t get enough money.”
McCall said energy costs in New York state are 70 percent higher than the national average because the current state government “dropped the ball.”
“Now we’re in a crisis situation building 10 emergency generators,” McCall said. He praised Shulman for protesting the construction of one of those generators on Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City.
McCall said if the school and energy problems are addressed, “I have no doubt Jamaica will be a catalyst for greater prospects and prosperity as we work to make Jamaica, Queens, all of New York a stronger, more pleasant place to live.”
Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300 Ext. 138.
