Lights, Camera, Action!:
New Movie Theater And Shopping Center
To Boost Jamaica Economy

By Michelle Sellers

After nearly two-and-a-half years in the making, a highly anticipated 15-screen multiplex movie theater in downtown Jamaica is gearing up to open its doors and for merchants, residents and planners in the area its arrival means more than movies.

They are hoping it’s a sign for better business in Jamaica.

The Shape Of Things To Come 

The Jamaica Multiplex is expected to be the anchor tenant at the soon-to-open  Jamaica Center One – an $82 million shopping center project built adjacent to the E, J, Z subway at Parsons Boulevard and Archer Avenue.

“The multiplex is but a harborage of better days to come,” said Councilman James Sanders, chair of the Council’s Economic Development Committee. “The economy will be boosted a great deal.  I encourage all interested entrepreneurs to speak with the Department of Business Services now to find a spot.”

Greater Jamaica Development Corporation (GJDC)  Spokesperson Sam Samuels said, “One of the hopes of the movie complex is stores and restaurants will stay open later,” instead of closing at 7 p.m. leaving the heavily populated Jamaica Avenue area desolate. 

The domino affect of the complex would be for businesses along the avenue to “stay open at least until 8 or 9 o’clock,” Samuels said.

Like Night And Day

 In Jamaica, there’s a difference between night and day.

In the daytime, this area of Southeast Queens resembles midtown Manhattan with large crowds and traffic jams on the sidewalks and on the streets.

Several retail stores, including Old Navy, are scheduled to open up in Jamaica Center One, which will bring people and dollars to the Jamaica business district.   PRESS Photo by Ira Cohen

However, when the evening rolls in, it is a totally different story.

Unlike Times Square, which never sleeps, Jamaica Center definitely gets its fair share of quiet time.

But the Jamaica Center One project expects to change that, according to developers.

The retail space is slated to house clothing stores: Old Navy, Gap and Gap Kids, and Walgreens Pharmacy; restaurants: Pizza Max and Golden Crust; Bally’s Fitness Center; Urban Haircutters and other stores.

Samuels said the center “represents probably the largest private investment in Southeast Queens, certainly in a decade and probably ever. The nature of what’s being developed will have additional benefits. When you have 15 theaters, that means thousands of people will come in at night. We feel that many of the people will not just go to the movies and go home, but will stay and shop. It will be a magnet for people, who will come in to see movies and go shopping and do other things.”

Rebirth As An Urban Mecca

For the past 150 years, Jamaica has been a focal point of transportation and commerce in the city’s largest borough.

But following the Second World War when roads opened up to neighboring Nassau County, the amount of shoppers who came to the area to spend their hard-earned dollars lessened in the area.

The effort to revive Jamaica to make it the urban mecca it once was began over 30 years ago and with past public investments in the area that include York College, the courts and regional office buildings for the Food and Drug Administration and the Social Security Administration, in addition commitments being made by major retailers and the building of the AirTrain, the future for downtown Jamaica is looking even brighter.

An artist’s rendering of what planner’s envision to be the future of the part of Jamaica surrounding the area’s LIRR station.

The new vision for Jamaica Center includes several ideas for construction that planners are hopeful will make the area a business and shopping attraction to out-of-towners and Southeast Queens residents alike.

Proposals of a plan unveiled by GJDC in 2001 contained proposals for the construction of elaborate retail spaces, improved transportation spaces — even a quality multi-story hotel.

The multi-faceted report also focused on proposals and guidelines for traffic and parking improvements and development to be put in place in Jamaica over the next 20 years.

“We want to create the setting to get private investors to invest here,” said GJDC President Carlisle Towery.

Highlights of the traffic plan call for the widening of Archer Avenue to allow more cars to freely flow to the area’s high profile shops and businesses.

According to Marty Taub, a principal at Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates, a traffic and transportation consulting firm, a major goal of the project is to provide a gateway that will lead shoppers and business clientele from the Van Wyck Expressway to downtown Jamaica.

Taub said that pedestrian improvements and the addition of major new parking facilities will allow for that gateway to open up.

Other key components of the plan include:

• Zoning changes to encourage commercial development

• Construction of a hotel above the AirTrain terminal

• Creation of retail space within the vicinity of the transit hub and under the viaduct on the east side of Sutphin Boulevard

• More public parking

• Encouragement of retail development along Sutphin Boulevard

Apply Now for Jobs

Shops slated to enter in weeks following the open of the Jamaica Multiplex on May 14 are Old Navy, Walgreens, Gap, and Gap kids.

“There were an estimated 400 full-time jobs recreated by the project,” Michael Mattone, chief financial officer of the Mattone Group said.  “Local people can fill these positions,” he added. 

Employment recruitment began for Old Navy who set up a booth along Jamaica Avenue on April 27 for passersby to fill out applications to assist customers when its facility opens.

Anticipating More Traffic

“The real competition is attractive malls in Nassau County where you don’t have to worry about parking,” Samuels said.  “The main problem is to get more parking. 

“There is going to be congestion,” Community Board 12 District Manager Yvonne Reddick said. “According to police reports 5 to 6,000 kids come through here every day,” Reddick said.

“There will be chaos the first month.  As with everything new, everyone will come once, just to see.” Reddick added.

    In an interview with the PRESS last year, Reddick said, “You have to remember all the people that live in Southeast Queens and go to the theater in Great Neck. There are not too many communities that do not have a theater. We haven’t had a theater here in a long time,” she said.