We are grateful to our supporters who make our work possible:
NYC Department of Small Business Services: Avenue NYC Grant, Strategic Impact Grant, and Support for Revitalization of the Jamaica Avenue Clock
Council Member I. Daneek Miller (District 27): Support for Revitalization of the Jamaica Avenue Clock
JFKIAT and Partners (4GOOD Community Philanthropic Program): Programmatic Support for FY22
City Council District 24: Tree Pit Revitalization Support
Office of Queens Borough President Donovan Richards: General Operating and Programmatic Support
Additional In-Kind Support, Friends, and/or All-Around Helpful Partners and Colleagues Making Jamaica Great. We Appreciate YOU!
Home Depot-Support of Parsons Clean Up
Mattone Investors-Support of Parsons Clean Up
Golden Krust, Popeye’s and Dunkin at Parsons Public Space-Support of Parsons Clean Up
SEQ Clean UP-Multiple Downtown Clean Up Initiatives
Cambria Heights Florist-Support of Parsons Clean Up
Lindon Studios-Support of Parsons Clean Up
Greater Jamaica Development Corporation
Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning
York College and the SBDC
Queens Chamber of Commerce
King Manor Museum
Cultural Collaborative Jamaica
A Better Jamaica
Our World Media
Sutphin Boulevard BID
165th Street BID
Where’s the Jamaica Center Clock?! Don’t panic. The clock is in good hands :)
Jamaica Avenue: Not Just Surviving…But Thriving!
The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated retail across the city and nation, but downtown Jamaica serves as a beacon of hope as new businesses, independent and national, continue to open on the Avenue.
Most recently we welcomed the long-awaited Target, located in the lower-level of (160-08 Jamaica Avenue), just below Burlington. Here you’ll find a nice selection of groceries (plenty of organics too!), games, cute lamps, general home goods and a new CVS pharmacy.
Just a couple blocks east at the corner of Union Hall and Jamaica Avenue is another newcomer—Jamaican Flavors (162-02 Jamaica Avenue), selling patties, coco bread and some delectable looking desserts (look for the blue awning). Of course our team is eagerly awaiting the opening of Jollibee (skip to our article below to read our detective work regarding what we can expect when the Jamaica Avenue location finally opens).
And, in case you missed the pics a few weeks ago, we’re resharing photos from our BID’s ribbon-cutting parade last month, when we celebrated five new businesses that have opened, survived, and thrived on the Avenue since the start of the pandemic. Our BID, along with several of our elected officials, stopped by Dunkin Donuts (163-18 Jamaica Avenue), Diamond Braces (166-16 Jamaica Avenue), European Wax (166-16 Jamaica Avenue), MA Perfume (165-12 Jamaica Avenue) and Hook and Reel (161-21 Jamaica Avenue), allowing each store owner or manager to cut the ribbon, meet their local representatives and get the warm welcome they deserve, all set to background music by brass band Underground Horns.
You can view coverage of the ribbon-cutting parade here and here and view the photos of the event here. Special thanks to Queens Borough President Donovan Richards from coming out to our special event along with Council Members Adrienne Adams, I. Daneek Miller, and Assembly Member Alicia Hyndman.
View the rest of our e-newsletter here.
In Honor of Black History Month
February is Black History Month. Here are a handful of ways you can support our Black businesses and cultural community and honor their contributions and legacy right here in downtown Jamaica:
- Promote Black-owned businesses: Share social media posts from Black-owned businesses and help to crowdsource location info on local Black-owned businesses so other customers can discover them too. We’ve noticed downtown Jamaica isn’t getting as much love as it deserves in citywide platforms. So for starters, consider nominating your favorite Jamaica Ave Black-owned businesses to appear on this City-wide list by emailing [email protected].
View the rest of our e-newsletter here.
What’s YOUR New Year’s Resolution?
The calendar has flipped to 2021 and as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic in our community, we are asking our readers to resolve to support their local businesses. Now, more than ever, it’s important to adapt the “I Love Jamaica Avenue” mindset and help local retail survive. Local shopping creates local jobs and activates our local streets. Invest in downtown Jamaica. Here’s a few tangible suggestions for you:
- Make purchases locally instead of ordering from online warehouses outside of your community. This ensures that jobs and valuable services remain close to home.
- Write a positive review on Yelp, Google, Facebook or other public forums for your three favorite businesses.
- Follow your favorite Jamaica Ave businesses on social media and engage with their posts.
- Give Jamaica Ave businesses a shout out on your own social media (don’t forget to tag the local business so your friends can start following them too).
- Sign up for their newsletter.
Although these ideas are widely known, it’s a good idea to be reminded of how you can help.
View the rest of our E-newsletter here.
Open Storefronts Have Been Extended Through September 30, 2021
The Open Storefronts program assists existing ground-floor storefront businesses who want to use outdoor areas on a temporary basis. The program allows eligible businesses to conduct activity on sidewalks, on roadways in the Open Streets: Restaurants program, or a combination of both. In addition to businesses engaged in retail trade, repair stores, personal care services, and dry-cleaning and laundry services are able to use outdoor space for seating, queuing, or display of dry goods. The program also allows businesses to sell pre-packaged food on sidewalks and restaurants to use sidewalks for take-out orders. For a list of eligible retail activities, please visit Open Storefronts FAQ 2.
The Open Storefronts program extended through September 30, 2021.
Jamaica Center Cleans Up For The Holidays
Did you know that our organization removes litter, stickers, bills and graffiti from Jamaica Avenue seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.? Our regular sanitation services keep Jamaica Avenue clean, but we have long been aware that the side streets leading to Jamaica Avenue are in need of some TLC, as these roadways serve as a common artery to our shopping district and are often the first impression visitors receive when approaching our main shopping corridor. That’s why last weekend our BID partnered with local community group SEQ Cleanup for a pop-up Clean-Up event to remove litter from 161st – 162nd Street between Jamaica Avenue and 89th Avenue.
View the rest of our E-newsletter here.
Business Educational Outreach Day With DSNY
Gift Bag Giveaway THIS WEEKEND
This Halloween Saturday we have a fun promotion that’s no tricks, just all treats! Shop or dine at any business in the Jamaica Avenue BID* and YOU just might be one of five lucky winners handed a Jamaica Avenue Halloween Goodie Bag packed with fun surprises and a $25 gift card redeemable at all stores accepting credit cards within our BID boundaries. 2020 has been a pretty frightening year for our business community, with foot traffic down to unimaginable numbers due to the pandemic. Please support Jamaica Avenue’s bricks and mortar businesses and remind your friends to do the same by hashtagging #ILoveJamaicaAvenue and #ShopJamaicaAvenue whenever you shop downtown.
View the rest of our E-newsletter here.
On Wednesday, our BID and our Clean Team removed approximately 150 bags of trash illegally dumped in two different locations on the Avenue. Next time you see our organization’s sanitation workers please give them thanks for their hard work!
We already sweep and remove tens of thousands of bags of trash from our corridor annually as part of our seven-day-per-week cleaning. We will continue to monitor the Jamaica Avenue business corridor, and whenever we see an abundance of trash throughout the district, we will notify our Clean Team as soon as possible to take care of it.
Businesses, please remember that you are required to use a private carter for all of your commercial trash and that fines apply for those that do not follow City regulations on this matter.
View the rest of our E-newsletter here.
Jamaica Avenue Falls in the Yellow Cluster: What this Means for Business
If you haven't heard, precautionary measures have been put into place to stop the spread of COVID in hot spots throughout NYC per Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio. Jamaica has been designated as a Yellow Zone — Precautionary Zone which means the following:
- Businesses: All businesses may remain open but must follow COVID-19 requirements for their sector.
- Food Service Establishments: Indoor and outdoor dining is allowed. There is a four-person maximum per table.
- Schools: All New York City public schools and nonpublic schools may remain open.
- Houses of Worship: Houses of worship may remain open at 50% maximum capacity.
- Gatherings: Non-essential gatherings must be limited to 25 people maximum for both indoor and outdoor settings. Any individual who encourages, promotes or organizes mass gatherings may be fined up to $15,000/day
We encourage all businesses to read up on the zones and the different guidelines you will have to follow if we are elevated to orange or red here. NOW is the time to prepare. Sign up for our BID’s emergency cell phone alert system JBID-Alerts! so that we can reach out to you if our zone or regulations change (see next article for more info).
Next, enter NYC’s Department of Small Business Service’s business hotline into your phone—you can call them for assistance regarding closing, reopening and compliance guidelines: 888-SBS-4NYC (888-727-4692). You should also visit NYC’s Department of Small Business Service’s webpage for a variety of resources and news regarding coronavirus business support (PPE Marketplace, info on reopening rules and regulations, etc., list of financing resources, and so on.)
View the rest of our E-newsletter here.
