Our Mission Statement

Greater Jamaica Development Corporation is a community-building organization that plans, promotes, coordinates and advances responsible development to revitalize Jamaica and strengthen the region.

Marshalling the resources of the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, GJDC’s work expands economic opportunity and improves quality of life for the ethnically and economically diverse residents of Jamaica and for the region at large, which benefits from rational, well-planned, and sustainable metropolitan growth.

About Us

Greater Jamaica Development Corporation is one of New York’s oldest not-for-profit local development corporations. Since its founding in 1967 by the Regional Plan Association and local business, civic and community leaders, GJDC has stressed economic development as it pursues its community-building mission.

GJDC envisions Downtown Jamaica as a modern and efficient mixed-use regional center offering a pleasant and productive experience for those who work, live, and visit here. We see Downtown Jamaica as a major employment center for enterprises directly connected to JFK International Airport, via the new AirTrain light rail service. We also envision a quality residential and retail community built around Jamaica’s regional transportation hub, which provides easy access to a large skilled and educated multicultural work force.

GJDC is supported by corporate and foundation grants, by government contracts and by income earned from its project operations. It has an overall annual operating budget of $12 million and a staff of 30 professionals. It owns and operates several commercial projects including small office facilities, a food market, and a public parking system of facilities serving the downtown. Its activities include planning and predevelopment work, development projects with private developers through a special entity, a real property holding company, a small business loan fund, administration of government programs in industrial retention and commercial revitalization, and the marketing of the Downtown Jamaica area.

Greater Jamaica Development Corporation is a New York State membership organization with some 85 Members; it is governed by a Board of Directors of 25 business and community leaders.

President's Message

Accomplishments

The Landmark Project
Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning
Jamaica Market
York College
King Manor Museum/King Park
Jamaica Business Resource Center
Joseph P. Addabbo Building-Social Security Administration
The Borough Office Building
The Firehouse
Neighborhood Housing Services of Jamaica
Civil Court
The Grove
Food and Drug Administration’s Northeast Regional Laboratory
Jamaica First Parking
Jamaica Pathways
Yorkside Towers

Board


Officers

Chairman

Peter Kulka

Vice Chair

Elliot Sander

Vice Chair

Jonathan D. White

President

F. Carlisle Towery,
Greater Jamaica Development Corporation

Executive Vice President

Andrew M. Manshel,
Greater Jamaica Development Corporation

Chief Financial Officer

Todd S. Benenson, CPA, CGMA,
Greater Jamaica Development Corporation

Treasurer

Arthur Benjamin, Jr.

Secretary

Calvin Lawrence, Jr.

Assistant Secretary

Myrna Fraser,
Greater Jamaica Development Corporation

Counsel

Vincent M. Albanese, Esq.




Members and Directors

* Directors



Isa Abdur-Rahman
Attorney At Law, Law Office of Isa Abdur Rahman

*Lamont R. Bailey
Esq., Bailey & Bailey, LLC

Samantha Bailey-Champagnie
Seabright Ventures

*Andrew Barnes
Manager, Community and Customer Management, National Grid

*Arthur Benjamin, Jr.
Vice President, Treasurer/CFO, Access.1 Communications Corp.

Daisy Bernard
Resident

Lawrence M. Bernstein
Attorney At Law, Jonas Equities Inc.

*Eric Bluestone
Partner, The Bluestone Organization, Inc.

Patricia Chin
Founder, VP Records Headquarters

Jennifer Ching
Project Director, Queens Legal Services

Elizabeth Custodio
Assistant CRA Officer, Astoria Federal Savings

*Rebecca Deutscher
President, Deutscher & Daughter, Inc.

Cedric Dew
Executive Director, Jamaica YMCA

*Frank DiMola
Executive Director, Terminal 4 Airline Consortium, John F. Kennedy International Airport

Kerri Edge
Executive Director, ESOTA – The Edge School of the Arts

Daniel Englander
Vice President, Rosco, Inc.

Ernest Ferrara
President, Gemca Electric Corp

*Reverend Dr. Floyd H. Flake
The Greater Allen Cathedral of New York

*Bruce Flanz
President & CEO, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center

AJ Ghaness
Senior Account Executive/Broker, H&N Insurance Agency & Financial Group, Inc.

*Icema D. Gibbs
Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, JetBlue Airways

*Howard Graf
A.I.A., Partner, Graf & Lewent Architects, LLP

*Yesenia Graham
Vice President, Graham Associates, LLC

*Daniel A. Greene
Vice President, Northfield Bank

Cathy Hung
Executive Director, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning

Dr. Wilma Hunt-Watts, D.P.M.

*Chuck Imhof
Staff Vice President, Delta Airlines

Derek C. Irby
Executive Director, 165th Street Mall Association

Rev. Fr. Darryl F. James
Priest-in-Charge, The Parish of Grace Church

*Philippa Karteron
President, Galleria Noire

*Dr. Marcia V. Keizs
President, York College

Michele B. Keller
Resident

*Peter Kulka
President, K.J.L. Property Management Corporation

*Calvin Lawrence
Editor, ABC News

Albert Laboz
Principal, United American Land, LLC

Neil J. Lucey
Senior Vice President & NY Area Manager, Parsons Brinkerhoff

Peter Magnani
Director, Capital Program Management, Queens Borough Public Library

*Meredith Marshall
Managing Partner & Co-Founder, BRP Corporation

Greg Mays
President, A Better Jamaica

*Sister Kathleen McKinney
Principal, The Mary Louis Academy

*Peter Meyer
President, NYC Market, TD Bank

Charles Morant
Resident

Mary Anne Mrozinski
Executive Director, King Manor Museum

Cynthia Murphy
Executive Director, Adult and Continuing Education, York College

*Michael Nussbaum
Publisher, Queens Tribune/Press of Southeast Queens

*Reverend Patrick H. O’Connor
Pastor, First Presbyterian Church

Edward Odom, Jr.
Vice President, Citi Community Development, Brooklyn, Southeast Queens, & Upstate NY, Citibank

Dorothy N. Ogundu, M.D.
Resident

Jim O’Neill
Real Estate Consultant/Broker

Shanie Persaud
Executive Director, Guyanese & American Business & Professional Council

*Greg Polis
Vice President, Chasson Associates, LLC

Simone Price
Executive Director, Sutphin Boulevard Business Improvement District

*Rev. Calvin Rice
Pastor, New Jerusalem Baptist Church

Eileen Sackman
Senior, Vice President, Valley National Bank

*Elliot G. Sander
President and CEO, HAKS

Brian Sarath
Resident Manager, Massey Knakal Realty Services

Henry Schwartz
President, Elmhurst Dairy, Inc.

Raymond Schwartz
Executive Director, Venture House

John C. Simons
Managing Partner, Corporate Fuel Partners, LLC

Monica Slater Stokes
Managing Director, Continental/United Airlines

*Father William Smith
Pastor, Our Lady of Light Church

*Drew Spitler
Director of Development, The Dermot Company, Inc.

Steven E. Stowers
Commercial Real Estate, Banco Popular Community Bank

Steven L. Sussman
Vice President, J. Sussman, Inc.

Martha Taylor, Esq.
Second Vice Chair, Jamaica Estate Association

*Joy A. Tomchin
President, Vanguard Investors

*Judy Tucker
Executive Assistant to Henry Schwartz, Steuben Foods

Donald Vernon, Esq.
Vernon and Associates P.C.

*Jonathan D. White
Resident

Patricia Wylie-Kennedy
SVP/COO, Project Samaritan Health Services

*Scott Yales
Chief Financial Officer, Elmhurst Dairy

Tom Zlabinger
Instructor, Performing and Fine Arts, York College




Directors Emeriti



Vincent M. Albanese, Esq.

Lawrence J. Cormier

Robert V. Delaney

Paul P. Gibson, Jr.

Hampton D. Graham

William L. Jefferson

James A. Lacchini

William J. Laraia

Therese M. Molloy, Esq.

Tazewell A. Smith

Staff

Vignike Anderson
Real Property Operations Assistant

Michelle Andrews
Staff Accountant

Todd S. Benenson, CPA, CGMA
Chief Financial Officer

Magnus Carrena
Accounting Clerk

Mikki Columbus
Director, Real Estate and Economic Development

Caroline Forbes
Human Resources

Myrna Fraser
Executive Assistant

Jessica Garcia
Controller

Donald Gonzales
Accounting Clerk

Danielle Greene
Administrative Assistant

Levar Haffoney
Manager, Business Services

Shoba Jagesar
Accounting Clerk

Aron Kurlander
Director, Business Services Group

Masheika Lewis
Executive Assistant

Andrew M. Manshel
Executive Vice President

Mark Nieves
Director, Capital Projects

Mary Reda
Director, Real Property Operations

Justin Rodgers
Managing Director, Economic Development and Real Estate

Edwin Rosado
Manager, Real Properties Facilities Manager, Director FS/EAP

Rashon Smart
Graphic Designer

Mitchell Sternbach
Director, Resource Development

F. Carlisle Towery
President

James Vaccaro
Director, Security & Quality Control

Donors

Supporting Jamaica’s Transformation

Greater Jamaica Development gratefully acknowledges the government partners, corporations, foundations, and individuals who contributed to Jamaica’s revitalization in 2010. If any names have been listed incorrectly or omitted, please accept our apologies and let us know how we may adjust our records.

Government Partners

Empire State Development Corporation

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Transit Administration

New York City Department of City Planning

New York City Department of Small Business Services


New York City Department of Transportation

New York City Economic Development Corporation

New York State Department of Transportation

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Office of the Queens Borough President

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey


Corporate, Foundation, and Individual Partners

AECOM

Ahmuty, Demers & McManus

Air Services Development Office, Inc.

AKRF, Inc.

Albanese & Albanese LLP

American Airlines

Analytic Partners, Inc.

Astoria Federal Savings Bank

Bank of America Foundation, Inc.

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.

Best Mounting Corporation

Bombardier

Breitstone & Co. Ltd

Capital One Bank

Carolene and Richard Eaddy

Citibank, N.A.

Citigroup Foundation

City University of New York

City Waste Services of NY, Inc.

CNY Builders LLC

Consolidated Edison Company

Council for Airport Opportunity

Cutsogeorge Tooman & Allen

Delta Air Lines

Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation

Dunway Corporation

East West Bank

Elmhurst Dairy, Inc. / Steuben Foods

Epic Pharma LLC

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

First Presbyterian Church In Jamaica

Flushing Savings Bank

Flying Food Group, LLC

Fund for The City of New York

Goldman Sachs Bank USA

Graf & Lewent Architects

Greenman-Pedersen, Inc.

HDR Engineering, Inc.

Health Plus

Herrick, Feinstein LLP

Holland & Knight LLP

HSBC Bank USA, N.A.

Imperial Parking (U.S.) Inc.

Jamaica Center Improvement Association, Inc.

JetBlue Airways

Jonas Equities

JPMorgan Chase

KJL Property Management Corporation

Marks Paneth & Shron, LLP

Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects

Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. (USA)

National Grid

New York Business Development Corporation

New York Community Bank

Professional Transit

RCGA Architects, P.C. II

Rosco, Inc.

Ross Strent & Company, LLP

Rothzeid Kaiserman Thomson & Bee, P.C.

Siebert Brandford Shank

Starkie Brothers

State Bank of India

State Bank of Long Island

Sterling National Bank

TD Bank

The Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

The Bluestone Organization

The Cashel Group, LLC

The Ciampa Organization

The Community Preservation Corporation

The Dermot Company

The Liro Group

The Marino Organization, Inc.

The Pickman Foundation

The Port Authority of NY & NJ

The Queens Borough Public Library

Triangle Equities Development Co LLC

Trop & Spindler Esqs.

Verizon

WEB Capital & Development, Inc.

Wharton Realty Group, Inc.

York College (CUNY)

Contacts

GJDC Office

90-04 161 st Street
Jamaica, NY 11432
718-291-0282
Fax: 718-658-1405

For Real Estate Development:

Justin K. Rodgers x147

For Business Incentives:

Aron Kurlander x141

For Office and Retail Space Needs:

Mary Reda x124

Directions to GJDC Office

From the J/Z/E Parsons/Archer Subway station:
 Head north along Parsons Boulevard and take a right on Jamaica Avenue Walk along Jamaica Avenue and take a left at 161st Street. Our office is at the end of the block on the left.

From the F Parsons Subway station:
Head south along Parsons Boulevard and take a left on 90th Avenue Walk along 90th Ave, as you approach 161st St, our office is on the right side between 160 th and 161st streets.

Parking:

90-15 Parsons Blvd. Jamaica, NY 11432 718-526-5606

89-35 162nd Street Jamaica, NY 11432 718-558-4179

Marketing Center

93-43 Sutphin Boulevard Jamaica, NY 11435 718-526-3930

Directions:

From the J/Z/E Sutphin Blvd station-LIRR-AirTrain:
Head south along Sutphin Boulevard under the LIRR tracks. The Marketing center is located on the left side of the street, across from the AirTrain terminal, on the corner of Sutphin Boulevard and 94th Avenue

From the F Sutphin Boulevard Subway station:
Head south along Sutphin Boulevard. The Marketing Center is located on the left side of the street on the corner of Sutphin Boulevard and 94th Avenue.

The Harvest Room

90-40 160th Street Jamaica, NY 11432 718-297-4708 Fax: 718-262-9763

Directions:

From the J/Z/E Parsons/Archer Subway station: Head north along Parsons Boulevard and take a right on Jamaica Avenue. Walk along Jamaica Avenue and take a left at 160th Street. The Harvest Room entrance is midway down the block on the left.

From the F Parsons Subway station: Head south along Parsons Boulevard and take a left on 90th Avenue. Walk along 90th Avenue, take a right on 160th Street. The Harvest Room entrance is midway down the block on your right.

Message from our President, F. Carlisle Towery



Jamaica, Queens is New York. It is diverse, entrepreneurial, and vibrant. It has exciting commerce and street life, wonderful historic architecture, and a population from around the globe.

Unique in the city of New York, Jamaica is a thriving downtown that is affordable—to families, to artists, and to business.

Located within a 35-minute subway trip of Midtown (or 20 minutes via Long Island Rail Road) and now a 10-minute AirTrain ride to JFK International Airport, it is conveniently at the nexus of one of the region’s premier transportation hubs.

With its livable, urban center and superb accessibility, Jamaica is a growing community. New hotel, housing, office, and retail developments are planned for the area around AirTrain/Jamaica Station. A performing arts venue and a children’s wing at the Queens Public Library are opening soon. York College—the youngest senior institution in the City University system—is flourishing under a dynamic new President.

These new opportunities to live, learn, work, and play around Jamaica’s transit hub are revitalizing downtown and contributing to community life, as well as to a more prosperous and sustainable New York region.

As Jamaica takes off, I invite businesses and visitors from near and far to come explore its downtown and discover the future of New York.

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First Reformed Church (The Landmark Project)

153-10 Jamaica Avenue

The landmark former First Reformed Church is being transformed into a performing arts center, to be managed by Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL). Cultural Collaborative Jamaica and Black Spectrum Theater are the project’s cosponsors. Greater Jamaica Development Corporation assisted in the preservation, protection, and restoration of the building. The church’s façade is being lovingly restored, and the interior is being transformed to house a 400-seat theater suitable for films, dance, music, rehearsals, performances, and meetings. Other features of this $18 million undertaking will include a third-floor community conference room, and additional performance space on the grounds. The renovation will be completed in 2007. Call 718-658-7400 x123 for more information. The project was initially supported by Borough President Claire Shulman, Councilman Archie Spigner, State Senator Serphin R. Maltese, Borough President Helen Marshall, and Councilman Leroy Comrie. Greater Jamaica Development Corporation commissioned initial feasibility studies for this re-use, and maintained, on an interim basis for the city, the churchyard and building.

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King Manor

King Manor
King Manor, Main Entrance
King Manor, East Entrance
King Manor, East Entrance
King Manor
Prospect Cemetary at King Manor

Jamaica Avenue at 153rd Street

King Manor, the oldest house in Jamaica, is the focal point of the historic 11-acre King Park. The house takes its name from the 18th and 19th century statesman Rufus King, who signed the United States Constitution, spoke out against the spread of slavery, and served as a senator from New York for 19 years. King attached the 18th century Dutch-style house to the Long Island “half house” on the property. In 1810 King further expanded his home by adding a Federal-style dining room and two bedrooms. This landmark is one of the oldest historic house museums in the country.

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Yorkside Towers

90-05 161st Street

Completed in 2005 by the Ciampa Organization, Yorkside Towers were the first market-rate rental housing structures built in Downtown Jamaica in 30 years. The two fully occupied buildings—180 units total—demonstrate the high demand and desirability of living in Downtown Jamaica. The project has added vibrancy to Jamaica and has spurred a wave of new housing developments across the Downtown. Greater Jamaica Development Corporation assembled the land in the mid-1970s and took responsibility for rezoning the land for higher density housing. The project was financed through the New York City Housing Development Corporation’s New Housing Opportunities Program (NewHOP) with a letter of credit from North Fork Bank.

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