Essential Stores and Eateries Open on Jamaica Avenue

A large number of our essential stores are open on Jamaica Avenue along with eateries that are offering delivery and takeout options. Please take a look at the below document we have compiled. Currently three are 19 essential stores and 22 eateries offering takeout and/or delivery. We will continue to update this document as circumstances change. Please make an effort to keep these businesses open and their staff employed by supporting them.

Click here to download the list.

COVID-19 Updates - 3/30/20

TOMORROW: TWO IMPORTANT TELE-TOWN HALLS FOR SE QUEENS
What's Happening This Week in
Downtown Jamaica
A Letter From our Executive Director
Recently, we debuted a new I “Love” Jamaica Ave storefront icon to express our fondness for the diverse businesses and many cultural organizations located in our Jamaica Avenue Business Improvement District. As I write this today, that little phrase "I Love Jamaica Ave" takes on new meaning and inspiration. During this tough time, when the community is trying to stay healthy, and businesses are trying to stay vibrant with significantly reduced customer traffic, it is important more than ever for us to love and support our Jamaica community and neighbors during this time.
For the past few days, our BID has been calling, writing, and visiting hundreds of our businesses to ensure that they are aware of the support materials that the Department of Small Business Services has prepared to help the City’s business community weather this challenge. We are tracking and sorting through the latest legislative developments, financial support instruments and NYC Department of Health and NYC Office of Emergency Management directives and compiling that info on our new “Covid-19 Info for Businesses” page on our website, Jamaica.nyc. We are passing along reliable and accurate information from City government and the CDC to our broader community of residents and shoppers via our social media channels and e-newsletter. And we are collaborating with our neighboring BIDs and other economic development organizations in Queens and City-wide to ensure that we are sharing ideas for assistance and solutions to address today’s challenges as thoughtfully as possible. We have already fielded several calls from our business community, and we are working on issuing a special COVID-19 dedicated support number for those businesses who wish to speak to a “real person” because they may not feel comfortable using a computer to explore our new Covid-19 Business Page on our website or the many excellent City of New York online resources.
This is all to say that it has always been our job to look out for Jamaica Ave (see our boundaries here). We Love Jamaica Ave and more than ever, our Jamaica Center BID team is working hard to ensure that our community gets through this.
Kind regards,
Jennifer Furioli
Executive Director
Restaurant Delivery/Takeout
A large number of our restaurants and bodegas on Jamaica Avenue offer delivery and takeout options. Please take a look at the below document we have compiled. How lucky we are that 29 eateries offer takeout and 22 offer delivery. We will continue to update this document as circumstances change. Please make an effort to keep these businesses open and their staff employed by supporting them.
Downtown Jamaica Business Resources
Application Open: Small Business Employee Retention Grant
The Mayor’s Office recently announced two new financial assistance programs to support our small businesses being impacted by COVID-19: Employee retention grants and a no-interest loans.
Employee Retention Grants: Available to New York City businesses with one to four employees that can demonstrate at least a 25% decrease in revenue as a result of COVID-19. Eligible businesses will receive a grant covering up to 40% of their payroll for two months. Businesses can access up to $27,000.
Loan Program: Businesses with fewer than 100 employees who are seeing a decrease in revenue of 25% or more will be eligible for zero-interest loans up to $75,000 to help mitigate losses in profit.
The application for the Employee Retention Grants is now live: Apply here.
The application for the no-interest loans will go live next week. To be notified when this goes live, fill out the SBS COVID-19 Business Assistance Survey.
COVID-19 Business Resource Page Debuts on Jamaica.nyc
Businesses--There is a lot of information to digest right now. To help you keep up, our BID is diligently combing through the news, attending (remotely!) City information meetings and tracking new legislation to help keep track of all that our business community needs to know during this time. Today we added a new page on our website serving as a convenient “one-stop-shop” for loans, grants, links to helpful workplace health and safety tips and more.
In addition to checking our site, you should also sign up for updates from the NYC Department of Small Business Services.
Community Resources for
Individuals and Families
School Meals from the NYC Department of Education
Grab-and-go breakfast and lunch is now available at the entrance of every New York City Department of Education school building from 7:30 AM to 1:30 PM. ANY student can pick up breakfast and lunch at ANY school building.
Price Gouging Complaint Form
Per New York State Attorney General Letitia James, please use the 'Learn More' link to the right to submit complaints about sudden price increases of essential goods and services (like water, ice, food, generators, batteries, flashlights, lodging, home repair materials and services, and snow and tree removal services). If a merchant took advantage of you or others by charging unconscionably high prices for essential goods or services during a major weather event, natural disaster or other emergency situation, please submit the form to the right.
Get Emergency Food Now
If you or someone you know is in need of food, please visit the NYC Emergency Food Assistance Program or call the Emergency Food line at 1-866-888-8777. Learn more here.
Download a Free Coloring Book from DSNY
Families that may have children at home because of COVID-19 that are participating in homeschooling can take a break and download a free coloring book from the NYC Department of Sanitation below here.
Helpful COVID-19 Information for the General Public
  • NYC’s Health Department is regularly updating information about the Coronavirus here.
  • Remember that you can call 311 to have many of your novel Coronavirus questions answered as well. 311 can also help you locate a health care provider.
  • If you feel that you, or someone you know, needs counseling to help cope during this time, 1-888-NYC-WELL (1-888-692-9355) is a free, confidential help line for New York City residents. You can call 24 hours per day/7 days a week. The staff of trained mental health professionals help callers find mental health services. NYC Well is multilingual and multicultural. More information about this program can be accessed here.
  • If you would like to receive regular text alerts from City government regarding the novel Coronavirus, you can sign up by texting COVID to 692-692.
NYC Department of Sanitation Special Waste Update
Due to concerns over public gatherings, ALL Special Waste Drop-Off Sites are closed until further notice. Additionally, DSNY SAFE Disposal Events scheduled to take place in April have been cancelled and the DSNY Curbside E-Waste program has been suspended until further notice
About Business and Event Promotions in this Newsletter: Businesses and organizations located in the Jamaica Avenue Commercial District between Sutphin Blvd and 169th Street are invited to submit promotional information for possible inclusion in our newsletter. Events happening near or immediately adjacent to the Jamaica Avenue Commercial District may also be considered for inclusion on a case-by-case basis. We reserve the right to reject or edit materials for length, style, timeliness, and appropriateness. This newsletter serves to inform our community about events, opportunities and commercial activity in Downtown Jamaica, within specifically the Jamaica Center BID boundaries.

COVID-19 Updates (3/24/20)

TOMORROW: TWO IMPORTANT TELE-TOWN HALLS FOR SE QUEENS - E-newsletter

A(nother) Letter From our Executive Director
Last week I wrote a letter detailing how our organization is committed to doing our part to help Jamaica Avenue get through, and eventually recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 crisis. If you missed that letter, you can access it here. Today, I would like to use this space to speak directly to those in our business community.
Businesses, if you haven’t already, I implore you to reach out to your local economic development organizations, whether that is a business improvement district (such as our very own Jamaica Center BID or our adjacent BIDs, the Sutphin Avenue BID or 165th Street BID.) You can also call your nearest chamber of commerce such as the Queens Chamber of Commerce, merchants association or a local development or local economic development organization like the Queens Economic Development Corporation. The types of organizations I just listed are all nonprofit organizations with the philanthropic/charitable mission to provide businesses with support.
Why is it particularly important to get in contact with your nearest BID, chamber, or merchants association right now? Well, two reasons. First, our profession is in full-gear tracking all of the federal, state, and city directives, along with the grants, loans and other business assistance packages being rolled out to help the business community. We have been studying and synthesizing it for hours on end and many of us have formed helpful resource guides such as our new COVID-19 resource webpage. We are an efficient way for businesses to get this critical information quickly and in one place.
Second, we also need businesses to communicate with us so that we can advocate for your needs now, and during the recovery period on a larger scale. We need to hear your reactions to small business support legislation being proposed by the local, state and federal representatives. We need to hear what types of grants or loans would be most helpful for your business to survive now, and rebuild later. It is our job as economic development professionals to synthesize all that we are hearing from a variety of businesses and report that back to elected officials and government agencies so that their eventual policies and programs reflect the true needs of the businesses we represent. But we can only advocate for businesses if they share their needs with us. That’s why I ask that you email or call our office and share information you think we need to know right now about how the Covid-crisis is affecting you.
I wish I could make promises that this will be over soon, or that the damage will be minimal. Unfortunately, we all understand that this Covid-19 tragedy is going to affect us for quite some time. One promise I can make to our business community, however, is that our team is here for you and we will work hard for you to help you weather this storm.
Jennifer Furioli
View the rest of E-newsletter here!

A Letter From our Executive Director

Recently, we debuted a new I “Love” Jamaica Ave storefront icon to express our fondness for the diverse businesses and many cultural organizations located in our Jamaica Avenue Business Improvement District. As I write this today, that little phrase "I Love Jamaica Ave" takes on new meaning and inspiration. During this tough time, when the community is trying to stay healthy, and businesses are trying to stay vibrant with significantly reduced customer traffic, it is important more than ever for us to love and support our Jamaica community and neighbors during this time.
For the past few days, our BID has been calling, writing, and visiting hundreds of our businesses to ensure that they are aware of the support materials that the Department of Small Business Services has prepared to help the City’s business community weather this challenge. We are tracking and sorting through the latest legislative developments, financial support instruments and NYC Department of Health and NYC Office of Emergency Management directives and compiling that info on our new “Covid-19 Info for Businesses” page on our website, Jamaica.nyc. We are passing along reliable and accurate information from City government and the CDC to our broader community of residents and shoppers via our social media channels and e-newsletter. And we are collaborating with our neighboring BIDs and other economic development organizations in Queens and City-wide to ensure that we are sharing ideas for assistance and solutions to address today’s challenges as thoughtfully as possible. We have already fielded several calls from our business community, and we are working on issuing a special COVID-19 dedicated support number for those businesses who wish to speak to a “real person” because they may not feel comfortable using a computer to explore our new Covid-19 Business Page on our website or the many excellent City of New York online resources.
This is all to say that it has always been our job to look out for Jamaica Ave (see our boundaries here). We Love Jamaica Ave and more than ever, our Jamaica Center BID team is working hard to ensure that our community gets through this.
Kind regards,
Jennifer Furioli
Executive Director

Restaurant Delivery/Takeout

 

A large number of our restaurants and bodegas on Jamaica Avenue offer delivery and takeout options. Please take a look at the below document we have compiled. How lucky we are that 29 eateries offer takeout and 22 offer delivery. We will continue to update this document as circumstances change. Please make an effort to keep these businesses open and their staff employed by supporting them.

 

Click here to download the list.

COVID-19 Updates

A Letter From our Executive Director - E-newsletter

A Letter From our Executive Director
Recently, we debuted a new I “Love” Jamaica Ave storefront icon to express our fondness for the diverse businesses and many cultural organizations located in our Jamaica Avenue Business Improvement District. As I write this today, that little phrase "I Love Jamaica Ave" takes on new meaning and inspiration. During this tough time, when the community is trying to stay healthy, and businesses are trying to stay vibrant with significantly reduced customer traffic, it is important more than ever for us to love and support our Jamaica community and neighbors during this time.
For the past few days, our BID has been calling, writing, and visiting hundreds of our businesses to ensure that they are aware of the support materials that the Department of Small Business Services has prepared to help the City’s business community weather this challenge. We are tracking and sorting through the latest legislative developments, financial support instruments and NYC Department of Health and NYC Office of Emergency Management directives and compiling that info on our new “Covid-19 Info for Businesses” page on our website, Jamaica.nyc. We are passing along reliable and accurate information from City government and the CDC to our broader community of residents and shoppers via our social media channels and e-newsletter. And we are collaborating with our neighboring BIDs and other economic development organizations in Queens and City-wide to ensure that we are sharing ideas for assistance and solutions to address today’s challenges as thoughtfully as possible. We have already fielded several calls from our business community, and we are working on issuing a special COVID-19 dedicated support number for those businesses who wish to speak to a “real person” because they may not feel comfortable using a computer to explore our new Covid-19 Business Page on our website or the many excellent City of New York online resources.
This is all to say that it has always been our job to look out for Jamaica Ave (see our boundaries here). We Love Jamaica Ave and more than ever, our Jamaica Center BID team is working hard to ensure that our community gets through this.
Kind regards,
Jennifer Furioli
Executive Director
View the rest of our E-newsletter here!

Updated Novel Corona Virus (Covid19) Info for Business and Public - E-newsletter

Dear Downtown Jamaica business owners, shoppers, customers and regular readers,
We know you are faced with a lot of information from many sources right now regarding the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19). That’s why, in lieu of our usual e-blast, we are issuing a special streamlined email with pertinent information from official City sources detailing how you can protect yourself, your neighbors, and your business during this time. We hope you find it helpful.

Helpful Information for the General Public

Helpful Information for NYC’s Business Community
New York City’s Department of Small Business Services “SBS” (nyc.gov/sbs) has updated its home page to feature a variety of resources and up-to-date information regarding novel Coronavirus specifically for business owners.
If you need immediate capital, you should contact one of SBS’s Business Solutions Centers to connect with a network of 40+ lenders. You can visit any location citywide (Find a location: maps.nyc.gov/sbs) but for convenience sake, the Jamaica location is at 90-27 Sutphin Boulevard, 4th Floor, Jamaica, NY 11435, Phone: 718-570-8500.)
Additionally, a new bipartisan spending package was just passed in the House of Representatives and the Senate. This package, when it is implemented, will provide $7 billion in federal funds to assist small businesses that suffer economic harm from the Coronavirus outbreak. You can read more about the bill here.
Other useful resources:
Download a Business Continuity Planning Checklist;
Download a Business Planning Checklist for Pandemics

Dropping Some Knowledge on Jamaica Ave - E-Newsletter

Jamaica Center BID Makes an Appearance at Queens High School for Sciences' Career Day
This week, Jahnavi Aluri, our Program Manager, and Fred Green, our Admin and Operations Manager, participated in the Queens High School for the Sciences’ Career Day to share their professional and educational experiences with these gifted high school students. Jahnavi and Fred answered questions on a broad range of topics ranging from retail on Jamaica Avenue to how our BID partners with city government. Fred’s prior experience serving in both FEMA and the Special Services sparked a lot of excitement. Additional inquiries were made by curious students as to whether our office provides free lunch to BID employees. The answer to that, dear reader, is no. All of our nonprofit’s funding is used to support district services such as supplemental sanitation, beautification and small business support, rather than our growling stomachs (check our annual report which contains a financial statement breakdown of our expenses here). However, all of us on the team love to purchase our lunches from the many great restaurants on Jamaica Avenue. Lately we have been traipsing to the newly-opened Plaintain Werks at 147-21 Jamaica Avenue. If you missed the article about this cute restaurant’s recent opening, check our past article here.
Our BID is more convinced than ever that our future is in great hands after liaising with these bright stars at the Queens High School for the Sciences. We hope our team helped inspire a new generation of potential BID managers, planners, and policy makers. Founded in 2002, Queens High School for the Sciences at York College is one of the nine specialized high schools in New York City, which admits students in NYC that based on scores attained on the Specialized High School Admissions Examination.
View the rest of our E-newsletter here!

Eaaaaaaaaaaaaats! A Seafood Restaurant Coming Soon to Jamaica Avenue - E-newsletter

Hook & Reel Cajun Seafood & Bar
It’s almost open! In just a few weeks anyone craving New Orleans-style seafood will be able to get their fill when Hook & Reel opens on the Ave (161-21 Jamaica Avenue). We’re so excited to welcome this new dining establishment to the neighborhood; Hook and Reel will provide a spot for patrons looking for late night eats and drinks on the Avenue (along with a lunch menu too). Po-boys, King crab, sausage, sweet potato fries, hush puppies, clam chowder are just a few of the tantalizing options we saw while perusing the online menu, not to mention the extensive drink section. We hope you’ll support this newcomer, along with all of Jamaica Avenue’s businesses. Once open, Hook & Reel's operating hours will be Sunday - Thursday from 12 - 10 p.m. and Friday - Saturday from 12 p.m. - 12 a.m.
And speaking of Jamaica Avenue businesses, in case you missed it in last week’s newsletter, check out the “I Love Jamaica Ave” decals we posted on dozens of stores downtown earlier this month. “I Love Jamaica Avenue” is one of the BID’s many marketing initiatives designed to encourage foot traffic to, and support of, our downtown business community. Readers: what Jamaica Avenue businesses do YOU love? Send us a selfie here at one of the businesses in our BID district (Jamaica Avenue) from Sutphin Boulevard to 169th Street, and we might just send you your very own “I Love Jamaica Avenue” mug and a reusable shopping tote.
View the rest of our E-newsletter here!
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