Councilmember Julissa Ferreras: “The New Deal for Roosevelt Avenue”
“If you take a walk down Roosevelt Avenue, there is no denying that a change needs to be made… my hope is to revitalize Roosevelt Avenue and make it the must-see destination for tourists, business owners and residents alike.” –Council member Julissa Ferreras
- Julissa Ferreras is part of the official Steering Committee of the BID and 82nd Street Partnership.
- As a member of the City Council, she serves as a direct link between the residents, business owners, property owners and the larger government and its associated parts.
- Ferreras has referred to the Jackson Heights-Corona BID as a “New Deal for Roosevelt Avenue,” alluding to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s revolutionary economic program of the 1930’s.
The Seven Points of the “New Deal for Roosevelt Avenue”:
- Increased sanitation services:
- More than doubling of garbage collection, from six times a week to fourteen times a week
- Addition of fourteen garbage baskets
- Propagation of “Stomp Out The Litter,” an anti-litter and waste campaign put forth to encourage residents to “keep Roosevelt Avenue clean.” (Press Release, New Deal)
- New lighting and painting
- $500,000 of funding to line the streets with more lamposts
- This will both improve the aesthetic beauty of the streets, as well as enhance the safety of residents
- Better business environment
- Growth of 82nd Street Partnership–extension to 114th Street.
- $350,000 in funding towards the implementation of the BID
- Community focused public safety
- Implementation of new security cameras throughout the community
- Increased surveillance of streets for illegally parked vans and trucks that have blocked pedestrian walkways and have taken up parking spots
- Updated zoning
- Commercial rezoning that will allow businesses “…to make improvements to their properties under proper commercial regulations…” (Press Release, New Deal)
- Car free Corona Plaza
- Corona Plaza is in the process of becoming a full-fledged community center, where residents can socialize with one another in a public space.
- Partnerships with Queens Economic Development Corp and the Queens Museum of Art to create community-building events
- Roosevelt Avenue Task Force:
- “…[T]he Roosevelt Avenue Task Force will work closely with other elected officials, government agencies, law enforcement, educational institutions, community-based organizations, business groups, individual merchants and community leaders to study the problems [with Roosevelt Avenue] and begin to develop a long-term systematic plan to tackle these complex issues.” (Press Release, New Deal)