Public School 48. Image Credit: LPC/Lisa Kersavage
PS 48 is the first landmark to undergo its entire designation public hearing process over Zoom. On September 22, 2020, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Public School 48, also known as The Robert E. Peary School in Jamaica, Queens, as an individual landmark. PS 48 is located on 108th Ave and 155th Street, and is a three-story art deco style public school building. PS 48 is the first building to be designated an individual landmark in South Jamaica, and is the second art deco building designated as a landmark in New York City. For CityLand’s past coverage on Public School 48, click here. (more…)
The Northeastern Tower Annex. Image Credit: HPD
The building provides much needed affordable housing for seniors. On July 21, 2021, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), other City and elected officials, community leaders and others participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Northeastern Towers Annex at 161-11 132nd Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. Northeastern Towers Annex is a 159 affordable-unit development for seniors. (more…)
Image Credit: GF55 Partners/HPD
The new building will have a variety of amenities and 111 parking spaces for residents. On February 12, 2019, HPD and HDC announced the completion of Alvista Towers, a 380-unit, affordable housing development in Jamaica, Queens. City agencies and private sector firms came together to develop this project as part of the City’s affordable housing initiative. The involved parties were the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Council Member I. Daneek Miller, the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, Phoenix Realty Group, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Settlement Housing Fund, the New York City Housing Partnership, and Artimus as the developer of the project. The development was the result of the Special Downtown Jamaica Rezoning, which was adopted by the City in 2007 to foster transit-oriented development in Jamaica.
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Contextual rezoning would impact 229 blocks south of Forest Park in Woodhaven and Richmond Hill. On May 23, 2012, the City Planning Commission approved the Department of City Planning’s Woodhaven – Richmond Hill Rezoning proposal. The contextual rezoning would impact 229 blocks along Jamaica and Atlantic Avenues south of Forest Park in Queens. The portion of Woodhaven impacted by the plan is generally bounded by Park Lane South to the north, Jamaica and 91st Avenues to the south, 98th Street to the east, and Eldert Lane to the west. The portion of Richmond Hill impacted by the plan is generally bounded by Atlantic and Jamaica Avenues to the north, 103rd Avenue to the south, 121st Street and the Van Wyck Expressway to the east, and 112th and 102nd Streets to the west.
The Woodhaven and Richmond Hill neighborhoods are characterized by low-density development and are known for their one- and two-family wood-frame houses, and tree-lined streets. The blocks north of Atlantic Avenue, found largely (more…)
- South Jamaica Proposed Rezoning. Image: Courtesy of NYC Department of City Planning.
Contextual rezoning would impact 538 blocks in South Jamaica. On May 4, 2011, the City Council’s Land Use Committee approved a Department of City Planning proposal to rezone South Jamaica and portions of Springfield Gardens and St. Albans in southeast Queens. The 538-block rezoning area is generally bounded by Liberty Avenue and South Road to the north, North Conduit to the south, Merrick and Springfield Boulevards to the east, and the Van Wyck Expressway to the west. Planning also proposed a zoning text amendment to expand the City’s FRESH program to commercial and manufacturing districts within the rezoning area and other portions of Queens Community District 12. The FRESH program offers incentives to encourage the development of grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods.
South Jamaica is a residential neighborhood characterized by one- and two-family detached houses, with small pockets of one- and two-family semi-attached and attached houses and multi-family buildings. Approximately 97 percent of the study area is zoned R3-2 and R4. These zoning districts permit a variety of housing types at densities that are inconsistent with the neighborhood’s built character. (more…)
