Doctoroff speaks at York College

Touting PlaNYC, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding Dan Doctoroff told a standing room only crowd at York College that Jamaica would play a central role in building a model for the city’s future.
Doctoroff delivered the keynote address at a York College Executive Leadership Breakfast on Friday, November 30 highlighting some key components of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC, which outlines the mayor’s vision for the future of the city.
Doctoroff talked about the nearly 1 million additional people expected to inhabit the city by 2030 and challenges associated with the increased population including transportation, housing, older infrastructure and environmental issues.
“Growth is good, but only if it’s smart,” Doctoroff said.
At a local level, Doctoroff spoke about making improvements to the infrastructure in Jamaica to alleviate flooding problems area residents and businesses have recently experienced.
“As part of the Jamaica rezoning, we made the commitment to invest hundreds of millions of dollars here and that work is already underway,” Doctoroff said.
In addition to Doctoroff, Carlisle Towery, President of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation - one of New York’s oldest, not-for-profit local development organizations - spoke about working with Bloomberg’s administration to complete the rezoning for downtown Jamaica and praised PlaNYC.
“We applaud the Mayor’s PlaNYC - the first long-range plan for the city in decades,” Towery said.
The rezoning, which was completed in September of this year, is expected to serve as a catalyst for development that will add jobs, housing, retail and infrastructure improvements to the area.
“Carlisle has had a vision for Jamaica,” Doctoroff said. “Sometimes he felt like he was a lone wolf in the wilderness, but he kept insisting and pushing and we believe the vision that he has had is now on the cusp of fruition.”
Meanwhile, York College President Marcia Keizs talked about the college’s recent improvement in enrollment numbers as well as new programs that the college will begin unveiling in the near future.
Keizs also thanked City Councilmembers Leroy Comrie and Melinda Katz as well as Assemblymember Audrey Pheffer for their support of the college.