Queens borough president candidates urge JetBlue to stay in Long Island City
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Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer (second from right) turned on the lights at a new JetBlue sign at the company’s Long Island City headquarters in 2012. He was joined by then Mayor Michael Bloomberg (third from right), U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (left) and former Queens Borough President Helen Marshall (right) in August 2012. Photo by Kristen Artz/Mayoral Photography
By David Brand
Two candidates for Queens borough president are urging “New York’s Hometown Airline” not to flee to Florida.
Long Island City-based JetBlue Airways has called Queens home since its founding in 1998, but is considering a move to the Sunshine State when its current lease expires, according to an internal memo reported by the New York Post. JetBlue employs about 1,300 people at its Queens office but may ship more corporate jobs to Florida, the memo said. The company’s lease at 27-01 Queens Plaza North expires in 2023.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and challenger Jimmy Van Bramer, a councilmember whose district includes JetBlue’s corporate headquarters, have urged the airline to stay put in response to requests for comment from the Eagle.
“JetBlue is New York’s hometown airline and it should remain so. It’s also called Queens home as its grown into a major U.S. carrier. JetBlue should stay in Queens,” Van Bramer said.
Van Bramer said he has spoken with JetBlue executives and called on the city to help negotiate a lease renewal.
“As they work through their lease renewal with their landlord, and consider their options post 2023, the city must engage with all parties to see what issues we can be helpful with,” he said. “These discussions will continue and if elected borough president I will remain involved and work toward a positive resolution."
On Wednesday, Richards sent a letter to JetBlue President and CEO Robin Hayes urging the company to stay and referencing the “deep and mutually-beneficial partnership” between the airline and its home borough.
“I was disappointed to learn JetBlue is reportedly considering relocating its headquarters from Long Island City to Florida,” Richards said. “If accurate, I am writing to ask you to reassess those plans and to commit to staying in Queens.”
The airline, the seventh largest carrier in North America, first set up shop in Kew Gardens before moving to Long Island City in 2010. The company received a slew of incentives from New York City and state at the time, fueling speculation that the leaked memo was the start of a new attempt to extract concessions from a city eager to keep the company in Queens.
But JetBlue has also contended with huge losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the second quarter of 2020, for example, the company reported a nearly 90 percent loss of revenue as air travel ground to a near halt. Revenue decreased by 76 percent in the third quarter of 2020 and 67 percent in the fourth quarter.
Richards acknowledged the financial impact of the COVID crisis, but said Queens provided the best opportunity for the airline to rebound and grow.
“I understand the COVID-19 pandemic has placed significant strains on JetBlue and other airlines, and that emerging from the nadir will require difficult choices,” he said. “But I know that it would be a long-term mistake for JetBlue to abandon its relationships and roots in Queens, thereby losing out on everything our borough and its residents can offer.”
In a statement Wednesday, JetBlue did not rule out exiting Queens when their lease expires and said they “expect to have a plan in place later this year.”
“We are now reviewing our options in the current real estate market and considering how our space requirements may evolve in a hybrid work environment post-pandemic,” the corporation said. “We have terrific options in both New York and Florida, and are exploring a number of paths, including staying in Long Island City, moving to another space in New York City, and/or shifting a to-be-determined number of New York-based roles to our existing campuses in Florida.”
JetBlue operates a training center in Orlando and a subsidiary known as JetBlue Travel Products in Fort Lauderdale.
“Regardless of our support team footprint in New York, we remain committed to our ambitious growth plans at LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark,” JetBlue said.
