Jamaica Center BID
161-10 Jamaica Avenue, Suite 419, Jamaica, NY 11432
Jamaica.nyc
Media Contact:
Trey Jenkins
Director of Marketing and Business Services
[email protected]
718-873-2506
For Immediate Release:
Jamaica, Queens, November 7, 2019 – The Jamaica Center BID celebrated their 40th annual meeting today at the Harvest Room located inside the Jamaica Market in Downtown Jamaica. Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), and Queens Borough President and Queen’s recently-elected District Attorney Melinda Katz were the keynote speakers for this special event. Senator Leroy Comrie and Council Member Rory Lancman also provided remarks.
Executive Director of the Jamaica Center BID, Jennifer Furioli, highlighted the successes of the BID over the past year including the BID completing their first year in SBS’s Avenue NYC Program, which grants of up to $100,000 per year over three years to nonprofit organizations. Jennifer also spoke about the brand-new family events that the BID has created, Family Fun on the Ave and Trick or Treat on the Ave, along with the BID’s continued outreach to businesses on Jamaica Avenue both in-person and through special technical assistance programs.
Jamaica Center BID’s staff continues to work with businesses that are new to the Downtown Jamaica community and also those that are institutions for the community. The BID has continued to expand its outreach and partnership with many local community organizations like the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (JCAL), Cultural Collaborative Jamaica, King Manor Museum, Greater Jamaica Development Corporation and Community Board 12. “I want to thank our property owners, merchants, and community members for calling us when you need help with issues related to the Jamaica Avenue Commercial Corridor. It’s our job to help you: keep those calls coming,” said Jennifer Furioli. “Our terrific team, Trey, Fred and Jahnavi are hardworking and at the ready. They really care about this area and their work and are ready to assist.”
The Annual Meeting concluded by honoring long time board member Rose Boord who was attending her last official meeting as a board member.
Jamaica Center BID also acknowledged local citizens who have made an impact on Jamaica Avenue: Roy Fox caretaker of the historic King Manor Museum in Rufus King Park who just celebrated his 30th Anniversary in this role, and Antonio Escamilla, a member of the BID’s Clean team which keeps Jamaica Avenue spotless. Antonio is one of the supervisors for the Clean Team and has served Jamaica Avenue for four years. In the past year, the BID spent 18,756 hours on sanitation-related issues, removing 47,245 bags of trash from the 101 trash receptacles on Jamaica Avenue and cleaning up 20,352 incidents of graffiti, stickers, and illegally-posted bills.
To learn more about the Jamaica Center BID and stay up-to-date on all happenings on Jamaica Avenue, make sure to visit www.Jamaica.nyc, sign up for our weekly newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About the Jamaica Center Business Improvement District (BID)
Founded as the Jamaica District Management Association in 1979, the Jamaica Center BID is central to one of New York City’s fastest growing communities. Jamaica Center BID is the proud home to national and regional retailers, several major cultural and educational institutions as well as City, State and Federal Offices, and more than 400 businesses. The Jamaica Center BID seeks to maintain Jamaica Center as a thriving business hub and premier destination to shop, work, live and play. For more info visit www.Jamaica.nyc.
