Haute Living
AVHS Students alongside JetBlue Chief Information Officer Eash Sundaram.
By Jose Escobar
Aviation High School
On April 4, 2012, JetBlue Airways officially opened their new international headquarters in Long Island City, Queens. The announcement of this new establishment was made back in 2010 after New York City was chosen as their permanent location through a competitive review process made by the corporation.
With this announcement, Mayor Bloomberg also marked the completion of a 45 million dollar improvement project in the same area that includes new roadways, pedestrian zones, and bicycle lanes. Dutch Kills Green was revealed to be the name of the new 1.5-acre miniature park built in front of the JetBlue offices. This innovative green space contains close to 500 wetland native plants that naturally filter storm water.
The headquarters occupies the newly renovated 200,000 square-foot Brewster Building in Queens Plaza, less than a mile away from Aviation High School. The Brewster Building was once an assembly plant for Rolls Royce and for the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation that manufactured the WWII F2A Buffalo fighter plane.
The modern office building features collaborative lounge spaces, chat rooms, glass-front offices, fully furnished halls, and forty-five conference rooms, each named after a JetBlue destination. In addition to the numerous workspaces, the building also incorporates a state of the art fitness center, cafeteria, and roof deck.
Their corporate offices, which were previously located in Forest Hills, have generated nearly 1000 jobs for the city. JetBlue CEO Dave Barger expressed his enthusiasm about their new establishment by stating, “JetBlue is proud to stay here in New York, grow here in New York and continue being New York’s hometown airline.”
To demonstrate true support for their new location, Jet- Blue also attempts to connect with the residents of Long Island City through their community service initiatives such as the one held on April 21st. For five consecutive years, they have hosted the “One Thing That’s Green” Earth Day event in a nearby city park.
This year the event was held at Queensbridge Park and served to support the MillionTreesNYC organization and New York Restoration Project by planting trees throughout the neighborhood. Over 500 volunteers attended the event and among them were students from our own Science Leadership, Key Club, and Honor Society.
Kytoh Li, a junior that attended the event, spoke about his experience by stating, “I appreciate JetBlue thinking about their surrounding communities, and allowing [us] to help them in their efforts in creating a greener environment. I really liked the team building experience as well as forming a closer relationship with those who attended the event.”
Fiona Lau, a second junior that attended the event, added, “volunteering at the event was a great opportunity to give back to our planet. Going out with gloves and shovels, family and friends to take a step towards a greener environment. I am proud to say I have done ‘One Thing That’s Green’.”
Aviation High School and Jet Blue Airways are currently working in collaboration through the PENCIL partnership program. CEO Dave Barger along with Principal Deno Charalambous provide internships and give students a closer look at aviation careers.
