Proposed 27-01 Queens Plaza North signage.
Photo for illustrative purpose only. Queens Borough President Helen Marshall last month gave a thumbs up to a plan by officials at JetBlue Airways who want the company logo to soar over the Long Island City landscape.
JetBlue officials, in partnership with the Department of City Planning (DCP), proposed a change to current zoning regulations that would clear the way for a rooftop sign that would identify the airline’s new headquarters.
The sign would rise more than 40 feet from the curb outside the Brewster Building at 27-01 Queens Plaza North, in an area zoned for commercial development.
The proposal was approved at a January meeting of Community Board 1 and was turned down by Community Board 2 in February. The Brewster Building is located at the center of the Queens Plaza transportation hub, thereby impacting land use and constituent issues in both community boards.
Flashing signs would be prohibited and all signs would have to be “letter-cut”, in the same style as the iconic Silvercup sign.
Prior to their vote on the proposal, a JetBlue representative told CB 1 members that the airline believes the sign would enhance its image as “New York’s Hometown Airline”.
Marshall said in her decision that the JetBlue sign “would be significantly smaller than what the proposed (zoning) text would allow”.
Approving the zoning change would open the door to other businesses interested in sky-high signs that stand a maximum of 45 feet from rooftops, rising from 70-to-100 feet from the curb.
The DCP will have to approve the zoning change before the proposal can proceed to a vote by the City Council. JetBlue officials are hopeful that DCP and the city council will approve the plan by the end of March, a company spokesperson said.
A number of JetBlue employees are currently settling into the airline’s new headquarters and a majority of the remaining workers will head to Long Island City in early April, the spokesperson said.
Officials at CB 2 said they would continue their opposition to the zoning text change as the proposal is considered by DCP and the city council.
