Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced today that the $45 million Queens Plaza Improvement Plaza has wrapped up. The result is a newly landscaped 1.5 acre park with 489 newly planted trees, and the mayor’s office says it’s got non-invasive and drought-tolerant native plantings, wetlands, artist-designed benches and interlocking / permeable pavers to direct storm water to these plantings. This new open space is now called “Dutch Kills Green,” which was one of 600 entries submitted in a naming contest. Translation: the goal was to transform Queens Plaza into a place people where people don’t hate being.
At the same presser today, Bloomberg announced the completion of the JetBlue corporate headquarters in Queens Plaza, which will bring a flood of foot traffic in the form of 1,000 JetBlue workers, when the office opens. And right outside their doors, there’s now that pleasant little park, which seems like the perfect place to unwind. The completion of JetBlue’s building caps off the $45 million—$20 million from federal and $25 million from city funds—Queens Plaza improvement project, which started in 2009, to redevelop Queens Plaza.
Before JetBlue agreed to settled down in LIC, rumor had it the company was taking off for Orlando. But thanks to some sweet tax breaks New York City kept JetBlue, which describes itself as “New York’s Hometown Airline.” They company will now be based out of the new and improved Brewster Building, which was once an assembly plant for Rolls Royce car and Brewster Buffalo airplanes. After taking up residence in Long Island City, the airline has reported they’ll start painting their planes with the I Heart New York brand.
So while you probably won’t ever see or hear about the JetBlue corporate offices again, be sure to make the most of your tax dollars by checking out the “gateway” to Queens and Manhattan. With its new pedestrian walkways and bike paths, Dutch Kills Green seems like it’s turned Queens Plaza into a lovely place to spend a warm spring afternoon. Yes, Queens Plaza!
