Jamaica rezoning plan draws yeas and nays

While the City Council is expected to certify the Jamaica Plan - the largest rezoning effort in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s tenure - at a hearing on September 10, many community members and leaders believe that the revised plan brings a compromise to the issue; however, the plan still has some detractors.
“We worked very hard to listen to all sides, but you can never satisfy everyone,” said City Councilmember Leroy Comrie, who represents a majority of the area affected by the proposed zoning changes. “You try to come down in the middle, and I thought we did a good job of that.”
Recently, the Council’s Land Use Committee approved the City Planning Commission’s proposal to rezone 368 blocks to revitalize the Downtown Jamaica area with increased housing, office and retail development, and at the same time downzone areas in South Jamaica, Hollis and St. Albans to protect the character of the neighborhoods.
“After four years and more than 120 meetings with the community and local elected officials, today’s vote to approve the Jamaica Plan at the City Council’s Land Use Committee is an exciting milestone in the effort to catalyze this extraordinary regional business district’s potential,” Chair of the City Planning Commission Amanda Burden said.
Carlisle Towery, President of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, who has been working in the area for more than 35 years, said he was very pleased with the rezoning efforts, and expects it to serve as a catalyst for private development.
In addition, Towery noted the area’s large transportation hub, proximity to John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports and federal anchor sites like the 1 million square-foot Social Security Administration building on Jamaica Avenue and Parsons Boulevard and the 400,000 square-foot Food and Drug Administration building on the campus of York College as prime advantages the area already has.
“The government has really invested in Jamaica, and this puts the icing on the cake,” Towery told The Courier Sun. “The timing is wonderful.”
However, not all groups believe the entire Jamaica rezoning proposal is good for the community.
City Councilmember David Weprin, who represents a portion of the northwest area in the rezoning map, said he supports the proposal for downtown Jamaica, but he does not support the plans for rezoning from 179th through 191st Streets along Hillside Avenue.
Weprin, who said he would vote no for the plan as it currently stands, has asked City Planning to lower the proposed zoning in the stretch from R6A to R5B; however, he acknowledged that would likely not occur.
Meanwhile, Mark Lefkof, Chair of Community Board 8, which represents Jamaica Estates and Holliswood, had harsher words for the zoning proposal pointing out the recent failure of the city’s infrastructure as a precursor of what could come with more development in the area.
“It will have a horrendous effect on the community,” Lefkof said. “The overall problems will be so monumental the city won’t even know where to start.”
Lefkof also acknowledged that he supported the rezoning efforts in Downtown Jamaica, but he did not support the proposals for his district.
“We feel that the entire plan should be voted NO, until the city and state can come up with how the problems will be resolved,” Lefkof said.
Still, Comrie said that City Planning has done extensive outreach to all of the community groups by partaking in many meetings, and he is satisfied with the proposal the entire council will vote on during a September 10 meeting.
“We tried to come up with a compromise on something that will appease both sides,” he said. “It wasn’t easy because you had two very divergent opinions.”