Categories: Articles, Mayor Eric Adams, Op-Ed,
New York City is breaking jobs records over and over again, which is good news for every New Yorker. To keep up with this economic expansion, this administration has been actively working to rezone key neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs, advancing bold, transformational projects that will strengthen the local economy, improve quality of life, and help address our city’s longstanding housing needs.
This past week, we advanced two critical neighborhood plans in Jamaica, Queens and on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn that will deliver thousands of homes, new jobs, and hundreds of millions of dollars in new investments. Both plans serve as powerful reminders that government is still capable of delivering visionary and vital projects. These community-led proposals will ensure that working-class families have affordable neighborhoods to live, play, and thrive.
Building on over two years of intensive community engagement, the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan would update zoning to spur the creation of over 12,000 new homes — including approximately 4,000 permanently income-restricted affordable homes — to a 230-block area of this transit-accessible neighborhood. In Brooklyn, the Atlantic Avenue offers a similarly transformative commitment to building more housing, creating 4,600 new homes — including 1,440 permanently income-restricted, affordable homes — and 2,800 permanent jobs to a roughly 21-block stretch of Atlantic Avenue in Central Brooklyn, as well as neighboring blocks in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Both plans understand that to be the best place to raise a family, we need to make holistic investments beyond just housing. That is why both plans invest in commercial and industrial space, creating 7,000 jobs and new economic opportunities in Jamaica and 2,800 jobs and new economic opportunities in the Atlantic Avenue neighborhood. Additionally, the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan also includes strategic investments and infrastructure upgrades, including streetscape enhancements along Jamaica Avenue, $300 million for sewer improvements, transit access and open space, job training, and support for cultural institutions and faith-based organizations. And, for the first time in over 60 years, updated zoning would allow for new housing and commercial opportunities in the section of the neighborhood near the Jamaica Station and the Jamaica Center – Parsons/Archer subway station, a major transit hub and an ideal site for the affordable, accessible housing New Yorkers need.
Residents across Atlantic Avenue will soon be able to enjoy enhanced community open space, including a $24.2 million investment towards a renovated St. Andrew’s Playground with a new, synthetic turf multi-use field, a running track, upgraded basketball and handball courts, renovated playgrounds, a remodeled public restroom, and new seating, plantings, and other green infrastructure. Lowry Triangle, located near Atlantic Avenue and Washington Avenue, will also be augmented to serve as a more vibrant community space.
Both plans build on the continued success of our “City of Yes” agenda, the most pro-housing proposal in our city’s history and a vital template for a new era of abundance and accessibility. Since entering office, our administration has made historic investments toward creating affordable housing and ensuring more New Yorkers have a place to call home. The Department of City Planning is advancing several robust neighborhood plans that, if adopted, would deliver more than 50,000 units over the next 15 years in Midtown South in Manhattan and in Long Island City and Jamaica in Queens. Last year, the City Council approved the Bronx-Metro North Station Area Plan, which will create approximately 7,000 homes and 10,000 permanent jobs in the East Bronx.
The Jamaica Neighborhood Plan now begins the roughly seven-month Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which includes reviews by Community Boards 8 and 12 and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, followed by hearings and binding votes at the City Planning Commission and then the New York City Council. Atlantic Avenue will now go the City Council for a final vote. We encourage New Yorkers to continue to engage with the process as we work to increase affordable housing, expand economic opportunity, and invest in the infrastructure upgrades that will help the neighborhood grow and thrive into the future.
A home is more than just four walls and a roof — it’s the foundation needed to achieve the American Dream and thrive in the greatest city on the globe. Across the five boroughs, we’re getting closer and closer to making that dream a reality for generations to come. Jamaica and Atlantic Avenue are on the precipice of becoming neighborhoods of the future with good-paying jobs, affordable homes, and public spaces for families to enjoy. New York City’s best days still lie ahead and, together, we’ll build towards a better tomorrow.
