Economic Development in Queens

Queens County Meeting and Exhibition Center
The Queens Chamber will remain actively involved in the Economic Development Corporation's selection process for choosing a developer for our proposed state of the art, first class meeting and exhibition center in Willets Point, Queens.

A recent feasibility study has shown that even after the expansion of the Javits Center, there will remain a need for a center capable of accommodating between 100 and 300, 10' x 10' exhibit booth events. These events are too small to garner advance event dates at the Javits Center, but too large to adequately fit into hotels with exhibit hall space. Manhattan hotels used for events with even 80-100 exhibit booths face logistical problems associated with parking and often require a minimum room block commitment in exchange for access to their entire supply of function space that exceeds the needs of events in this size range. Queens' hotels with meeting space are too small to host most of these types of events, forcing event sponsors and attendees to travel outside of the borough.

Queens has the 5th largest population among U.S. cities and is home to two international airports, but has few opportunities to maximize revenues from the region's air traffic. With ready access to both airports and to Manhattan by major highways and public transportation, a Queens Meeting and Exhibition Center would capture these revenues and produce a positive economic effect on all Queens' businesses.

High-Tech Incubators and Bio-Tech and Nanotechnology Centers
Support legislation and funding to construct High-Tech Incubators and BioTechnology and Nanotechnology Centers in Queens County. Tax and other incentives, like the $60 million in state tax credits granted to insurance companies that provide venture capital to start up companies in Manhattan, and the $5 million provided by the Assembly in Ge*NY*sis funds to the Lower Manhattan Bio-science Project, should also be provided to Queens educational facilities, landowners, businesses and others willing to make investments needed to "wire" buildings, provide low cost rents, affordable commercial laboratory space, training and research facilities, and other services needed by High-Tech, Bio-Tech and Nanotechnology "start-ups." The market for nanotechnology products and services is predicted to reach $1 trillion by 2015.

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
The NYC Economic Development Corporation should increase incentives to lure pharmaceutical manufacturing to Queens.

Manufacturing jobs in New York State decreased 41% in the last 25 years — even as pharmaceutical employment increased 22%, accounting for approximately 100,000 jobs state wide averaging 16% higher pay than other manufacturing sectors state wide and generating more than $1 billion in state and local tax revenues. Most pharmaceutical sales are out of state, so the industry effectively imported approximately $9.7 billion dollars in wealth in New York State in the year 2000. Five of the word's largest pharmaceutical firms, with almost 20% of global pharmaceutical sales, have world or U.S. headquarters in New York State. Pfizer, the City's fastest-growing corporation, recently agreed to relocate over 1000 jobs to Manhattan. Incentives should be developed to bring a fair share of pharmaceutical jobs to Queens.

Queens Cultural Institutions
Support legislation and increased funding to programs and institutions that showcase the creative diversity of the Queens' art and cultural communities to the public. Promote projects, programs and presentations for the borough's creative communities and help these organizations develop professional skills that help them enrich the cultural life of Queens. Increase funding to arts and cultural organizations for programs that enable the development and promotion of the arts in the borough of Queens. Support affordable commercial and residential facilities for artists through tax incentives for developers.

Community Technology Centers
Support development of dedicated Community Technology Centers in Queens County. Tax and other incentives should be provided to both new and existing educational facilities for programs dedicated to the development of technologically skilled personnel needed by Queens business. While helping small and medium sized business adapt to continually changing technology, these facilities should be available to community residents seeking to learn or upgrade skills needed through continuing education in technology.

Improvement of Essential Business Amenities
Development of "Ancillary" Business Centers proposed in Flushing, Northeast of Shea Stadium from Roosevelt Avenue to 138th Street, and in Jamaica, bounded by the Van Wyck Expressway, Liberty Avenue, Merrick Boulevard, and Hillside Avenue should be encouraged by rezoning for high rise commercial office buildings and incentives.

Conversion of factory space suitable to telecommunications, web hosting, dot coms, high-tech back offices, and commercial laboratory space with competitive rents, such as the Bridge Plaza Tech Center, should be encouraged by incentives.

Local government should be encouraged to improve business amenities involving interconnect services, low cost energy, security and cleanliness in the manufacturing districts surrounding these centers.

Citywide Wireless Communications
The Queens Chamber supports Citywide wireless communications networks which are critically important to growth and commerce in Queens and opposes legislation that seeks to create obstacles that unnecessarily lengthen the approval processes for the siting and placement of wireless cellular towers. Legislation of this nature endangers the availability, affordability and overall usefulness of wireless technology, which negatively impacts Queens County businesses and residents. The current processes and legislation already in place adequately ensure the safety and integrity of the siting and placement process. The health effects of the towers and other safety matters, however, should be continually monitored and appropriately studied by the proper government agency.

City, State and Federal Contracts
Contracts issued for city, state and federal projects should be granted on a prioritized basis for qualified small business firms, like many of the businesses in Queens.

In order to encourage more participation by small business, groups of small, but qualified businesses should be allowed to bid on unbundled portions of projects too large for a single small business to handle. The Federal OMB has reported that the number of small companies awarded federal contracts has fallen from 26,506 in 1991 to 11,651 in the year 2000, due to unnecessary bundling of federal contracts into multi-site projects. city, state and federal government should reverse this trend.