Chaudhry, Sabena. “Jamaica Rising.” Destabilizing Queens, 12 Dec. 2018, https://projects.newsdoc.org/destabilizingqueens/jamaica-rising/.

This article focuses on the rapid change that Jamaica, Queens is going through. It talks about “Jamaica Avenue ” which was once home to mom-and-pop shops and small family-owned businesses, but residents are now realizing the evolution of Jamaica with Starbucks being one of the markers. The residents hold contrasting opinions on the gentrification of Jamaica, one side stating that with gentrification comes the removal of culture and another stating that they dont mind having access to “Chipotle and Starbucks.” “Long-time residents are noticing high rise buildings drastically changing the landscape of their neighborhood once dominated by single-family homes. ‘The builders bought our neighbor’s house and now it’s a building. It’s kind of claustrophobic at this point because before we would have neighbors and backyard spaces. People would have barbecues. Now it’s just a lot of buildings and a lot of people coming in,’ says Akhtar.” This article shows both sides of the upcoming luxury developments in humble neighborhoods, as well as informs me of the history behind a lot of the changes in neighbors such as Jamaica.  

 

 Rpa. “Jamaica.” The Fourth Regional Plan, 31 Mar. 2022, http://fourthplan.org/places/new-york-city/jamaica

This website seems to lay out the future plans for Jamaica, which includes government plans to revitalize “Downtown Jamaica.” Jamaica has also become a hub for development investing given that there has been more than 1 billion put into both public and private investments. One of the major investors being the Greater Jamaica Development Corp and partners, which is a mix of state and nonprofit planning groups aimed to revitalize Jamaica. The plan to restore Jamaica include, “the Jamaica NOW Action Plan, Regional Plan Association’s Downtown Jamaica: Gateway to the New York Region, and New York State’s $10 million economic development investment in 2016. Anti-displacement protections, including anti-harassment protections for residents and small businesses put in place soon after, protected the most vulnerable lower-income households, while more mixed-income housing was constructed.” This article is vital to my project because it states how these corporations intend to realize as well as preserve culture and enact anti-gentrification plans by creating affordable housing systems. 

 

“Neighborhood Action Plan Five-Year Progress Report – Queens.” Jamaica NOW Action Plan Progress Report, NYC Gov, 2020, https://www.queensbp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Jamaica-NOW-Action-Plan-Progress-Report_FINAL-1-1.pdf. 

This is a report on the progress that “Downtown Jamaica” has undergone in the last couple of years. The report highlights in the past 5 years the enormous strides that have been made toward the 26 projects outlined by the Jamaica NOW Action plan. The plan includes four core goals of “increasing access to quality jobs and small business support; promoting commercial growth and economic development; improving livability; and increasing awareness of Jamaica through marketing efforts.” There has been a push to fund entrepreneurship projects with the “Jamaica FEAST ” project, which, “teaches entrepreneurs how to launch a food business, including everything from menu planning, permits, and small business loans, to marketing and back-of-house management. Since its launch, the program has graduated 90 entrepreneurs —mostly minorities and women—with 87 percent officially registered in New York City.” Goal 2 which targeted commercial growth and economic development, they have improved storefronts to promote a regional business increase and from a partnership between the City and developer OMNI a garage space has been transformed into Archer Green, a 100 percent affordable housing development with community space and local-serving retail, among the many other semi-completed housing projects. The third goal includes improving livability by focusing on the restoration of parks as well as civilian safety.  The fourth goal is aimed to “tell the story of Jamaica.” It is essentially trying to increase the tourism population into the diverse parts of New York City. With Tourism, comes economic capital and prosperity.  

 

Perry, Danielle. “What Is the Jamaica Now Action Plan?” The Transformation of Jamaica, 21 Dec. 2018, https://danielleaperry.wordpress.com/what-is-the-jamaica-now-action-plan/. 

This is the proposal for the Jamaica NOW project, it outlines their goals and hopes for the future of Jamaica. It goes into an in-depth play-by-play of the actions being taken to revitalize Jamaica and it states the intention and the relevance of their proposed project. A highlight of this 7-page action plan is that it wants to build on Jamaica’s historic legacy to sustain and enhance the neighborhood as a unique central business district to evolve as a livable, cultural, and attractive destination for residents and visitors. Uniting new initiatives with ongoing projects, the Action Plan seeks to address the challenges that have faced the Jamaica area in recent years by providing workforce training and small business support, initiating new mixed-use development anchored by affordable housing, and improving the livability of the neighborhood through investments in safety measures, green spaces, and more.”

 

Kimmelman, Michael. “The Housing Situation Is Dire. but Progress Is Still Possible.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/arts/design/affordable-housing-lambert-bronx.html. 

This article is based on Bronx development real estate and poses the question of “How many we fix the housing crisis without doing more harm?” The writer goes into depth about the actual architecture of the buildings in the South Bronx and how it has a couple of guaranteed affordable studios and one-bedroom apartments aimed to support formerly homeless people seeking refugee.  Some of the residents also say that it is safer than other places that they’ve lived in because there is comfort in knowing there’s a doorman and a secure front door. The new developments have brought about a sense of safety and security while still being placed at a seemingly affordable rate. However, I wonder how accessible/affordable these apartments are to the majority of the people living in these communities.  The article also brings up how rezoning incentivizes new construction in lower-income communities but I still don’t fully understand what that means so my goal is to read up on rezoning and its impacts and effects.