By Adam Pincus
Jennings joined local business owners and residents who criticized specifics of the Downtown Jamaica Redevelopment Plan, although no one opposed the general concept of the plan, unveiled during a four-hour public meeting held at the Academic Core Building of York College, 94-20 Guy Brewer Blvd., in Jamaica. The Department of City Planning held the meeting in order to gather public comments it will consider during the city's assessment of the environmental impact of the zoning changes on the area. A final rezoning plan is expected to be approved within a year, at which point a public review process will begin on the plan, according to a DCP spokeswoman..Downtown Jamaica is undergoing a transformation boosters hope will make it a regional transportation and commercial hub as it was in the 1960s.Local rezoning is an important part of the change, said Carlisle Towery, president of the Greater Jamaica Development Corp., who said downtown Jamaica was close to reaching its target of $55 million from local, regional and federal sources for several planned infrastructure improvements. These improvements will be on top of other projects such as the recently constructed AirTrain terminal, which connects Jamaica to Kennedy Airport; and a Korean-American wholesalers group that is considering placing its International Merchandise Mart on a site near Jamaica station. The rezoning proposal would accelerate the transformation by changing manufacturing districts to commercial and increasing the permitted housing density on high-traffic thoroughfares such as Jamaica Avenue and Merrick Boulevard. The plan also downzones several residential areas. Jennings said several manufacturing companies that employ some 500 workers are located on three blocks west of Jamaica station, where the Long Island Rail Road, the subway and the AirTrain connect, and would be jeopardized if the area were rezoned from manufacturing to commercial as the plan proposes.”If all of a sudden we do anything that requires that [the companies] leave, the people are not going to find jobs,” he said.The deputy director of the Queens office of City Planning, Deborah Carney, said one of the goals of the rezoning was to spur development in the downtown area west of Sutphin Boulevard toward the Jamaica station.The rezoning will “encourage high-density commercial and mixed use with transit-oriented destinations and strengthen the traditional downtown commercial and institutional uses,” she said.Carney added that several blocks east of the station which are viewed as blighted would be targeted for urban renewal through a Jamaica Gateway Urban Renewal Plan, which would allow the city to exercise the right of eminent domain. Danny Englander, a vice president for Rosco Inc., said his company employs 170 workers making mirrors at on 91st Avene., west of Jamaica station. He was concerned by the proposed zoning change, which he had learned of only days before the meeting.”We would like the ability to continue on as manufacturers to be preserved,” he said. “We are all for the improvement of the neighborhood but not to the detriment of manufacturers.”Jamaica resident Crystal Ervin was troubled by a zoning proposal to allow greater density on Merrick Boulevard near her home.”What will be the impact on the infrastructure-the schools, the roadways, and parking?” she asked.Reach reporter Adam Pincus by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
