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Jamaica

Jamaica Workers

Map posted May 25, 2010

Downtown Jamaica, Queens, offers a mix of retail, government, educational and medical employment, attracting many workers who live along the bus subway and commuter lines serving this transit-rich hub. Widespread car-commuting by workers who live outside the local transit corridors suggests that while well served by two rail trunks, Jamaica is also challenging to access from neighborhoods outside of Queens.

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Jamaica Commuters

Map posted May 24, 2010

Where Jamaica Residents Work and
How They Get There

The distance between the black-bordered area on the right outlining Jamaica and the sea of blue showing where most Jamaica residents go to work in Manhattan only begins to show the journeys faced by the residents of this eastern Queens neighborhood. While Jamaica is an job center in its own right - employers include a medical center and government offices - most residents leave the neighborhood to work, and more than one-third of them drive.

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Bus Rapid Transit proposed route - Sunset Park to JFK

Map posted May 20, 2009

Transit connections to job centers outside of Manhattan will be vital as New York City moves to diversify its economy. Bus Rapid Transit can connect riders to industrial centers, hospitals, universities, and other destinations hard for many riders to reach by subway.

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Economic and Workforce Development

Project posted April 6, 2009

Planning for Jobs and Training Opportunities

The Pratt Center has been in the forefront of efforts to make sure that New York City's land use and development policies and programs promote strong employment and training opportunities, and link major economic development projects with nearby residents and workers.

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Pratt Center eNews - Spring 2008

News last updated May 3, 2008

In this Issue:

  • A Message from Pratt Center Director Brad Lander
  • Better Jobs for New Yorkers
  • COMMUTE Puts Bus Rapid Transit on the Map
  • Pushing a New Vision for Willets Point
  • Meet the Pratt Center Staff: Michael Bogdanffy-Kriegh and Rebecca Reich
  • Pratt Center Receives EPA Environmental Quality Award
  • Helping New Orleans Rebuild
  • Introducing Energy Matters
  • Contribute

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Jamaica Rezoning

Testimony last updated May 23, 2007

Testimony to the City Planning Commission on the Jamaica Plan

Pratt Center for Community Development
Brad Lander
May 23, 2007

Chair Burden, members of the City Planning Commission, thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony today. My name is Brad Lander and I am the director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, a university-based center that works for a more just, equitable, and sustainable city for all New Yorkers by helping communities to plan for and realize their future.

The Pratt Center was honored to work with Community Board 12's Ad Hoc Committee on the Jamaica Plan. We have deep respect for their work, and all of the time, research, and passion they have put into this effort. We encourage you to give serious consideration to their position, which we believe reflects strong sentiments within the community. Our testimony today, however, is our own.

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Building in Good Jobs

Report last updated December 7, 2006

In cities around the country, private sector development and public sector support have combined to create building booms in places that only a few decades ago were in seemingly irreversible decline. However, both working poverty and chronic unemployment in central cities remain disturbingly high.

Workforce "linkage" policies present an opportunity to help people make a lasting exit from poverty by tying economic development projects directly to the creation of quality jobs and training opportunities for people struggling to get ahead.

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