Opinion: The future of Queens hinges on this year’s budget
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Justin Rodgers is the president and CEO of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation. Photo via GJDC
By Justin Rodgers
Queens is returning to glory. There’s no denying that the borough is now the place to be for many New Yorkers. That’s largely thanks to the explosion of new housing you’ve seen effectively along Queens Boulevard from Long Island City to Rego Park and finally here in Jamaica.
While this is exciting to see for those of us who’ve dedicated our career to improving our borough, the reality is it will only go so far unless Albany lifts the outdated Floor-Area Ratio (FAR) cap, which, since 1961, limits the amount of residential in new buildings. Legislators can do just that in the upcoming budget, as they also mull allowing existing commercial buildings to convert to residential and creating an incentive to ensure these transformations yield affordable housing.
Only once the FAR cap is lifted can we fully realize our goal of live-work-play communities outside of Manhattan, like here in Downtown Jamaica.
We’ve spent decades trying to restore Jamaica to the destination it once was. The fruits of our labor are indeed paying off, but there’s still so much untapped potential due to the restrictive FAR cap of 12. The transportation infrastructure alone is already enough to transform Downtown Jamaica from an office hub to a 24/7 community. There are few neighborhoods in the City that can boast a major LIRR station, 59 bus routes, four subway lines – and none that also have an AirTrain Station connection to JFK Airport. Nearly 600,000 people pass through Jamaica every single day.
This built in opportunity also speaks to the greater dilemma: people are passing through Jamaica – not staying. A major reason why is the 12 FAR cap, which has made it difficult to build and create density for decades. This 60-year-old outdated policy has fueled the affordability crisis both here in Queens and throughout the City. Instead of building densely near areas like the Jamaica LIRR – which gets commuters to Midtown Manhattan in just 20 minutes – we have been forced to fight for whatever housing we can get.
The 5 Borough Housing Movement and its coalition partners have urged State lawmakers to lift the cap in this year’s budget. We could not think of a better time as the pandemic has accelerated the housing crisis. A state budget should also include an expansion to office-to- residential conversions, so unused Class-B office space here in Jamaica can finally become housing for seniors, students, and working-class residents. Governor Hochul has also proposed an incentive to ensure affordable housing is created when these transformations take place.
Surely there’s no quick fix to solve the housing crisis. These are, however, three solutions that
provide tremendous, immediate benefitThe longer we forgo housing action, the worse the crisis becomes. And to be clear, lifting the FAR cap will not create a developer free-for-all. The uniform land use review procedure – the City’s rigorous zoning process better known as ULURP – will still be in effect. Towers will not pop up overnight to cast a shadow as wide as the borough itself. Rather, it will give New Yorkers the ability to have control of their own housing destiny.
We are at a pivotal moment for the future of New York City.
Down one path is a worsening housing crisis, where middle class communities from Sunnyside to St. Albans become more expensive. Down the other is a borough that remains a welcoming place for residents, companies, and visitors. We choose that path.
Justin Rodgers is the president and CEO of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation.
