Queens embraces a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial activity that contributes to its relative economic stability. In recent years, it has experienced the second-most vibrant economy citywide, trailing only Manhattan. Queens’ solid growth in employment and income levels reflects in part its strong appeal to business and its ability to retain manufacturing jobs even while participating in the nationwide shift to service-based businesses. Moreover, as home of the City’s two airports, it benefits from the relatively high salaries and employment opportunities generated by the airline industry. Outside of Manhattan, Queens enjoys the highest average salary level citywide.

Well-known for its diverse population—some 138 languages are spoken in the borough—Queens also leads the rest of the City in economic diversity, which is measured by the degree of concentration of employment or income in greater or fewer industries. In 1998, four major industries—manufacturing, transportation, trade, and services—each accounted for at least 10 percent of the private sector jobs in Queens, giving the borough a relatively high level of economic diversity when compared to the other boroughs. As a result, Queens has the least concentration citywide of employment in the service sector. This sector, comprising industries with widely varying skill requirements and pay, has accounted for a significant portion of New York City’s growth in recent years.

Airline transportation is a key facet of the Queens economy, providing 41,000 jobs with an average salary of almost $42,000 in 1998. In addition to providing passenger services, LaGuardia and JKF airports, both located in Queens, also provide cargo transportation domestically and internationally. JFK handles 98 percent of the international cargo shipments coming through the two airports, which has engendered a significant service infrastructure. For example, the Air Cargo Center at JFK consists of 35 handling and service buildings. Corresponding to a rise in passenger and international cargo traffic, airport employment in Queens increased by more than 1,000 persons from 1993 to 1997. In 1997, the estimated payroll at JFK and LaGuardia totaled $2.6 billion—an increase of $702 million, or 26 percent, from 1993.

Overall, manufacturing employment has held relatively stable in Queens since the end of the recession of the early 1990s, dipping by only 3.7 percent, compared to declines of 11 percent in Manhattan, 18 percent in Brooklyn, and 21 percent in the Bronx. Still, in the past 7 or 8 years, about 10 million square feet of industrial space has been converted to retail, residential, or office space. Vacancy rates for industrial property are estimated at about 3 percent to 5 percent.

Queens has enjoyed robust job growth during the nationwide economic expansion in the late 1990s. Spurred by growth in health and business services, private sector employment in Queens grew by 3.1 percent in 1998, outpacing the rate of growth in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. The transportation and public utilities sector grew by about 2,900 jobs, or 4.4 percent, with public utilities recording its first gain (1,200 jobs) in several years. In the construction sector, significant job gains of 7.6 percent (almost 2,400 jobs) in 1998 reflected the robust real estate market. Moreover, while manufacturing registered a 2.4 percent drop citywide, manufacturing jobs in Queens dipped by a slight 0.7 percent.

Job growth in New York City helped bring down Queens’ unemployment rate to 6.2 percent in the first nine months of 1999. While this is the second-lowest jobless rate among the five boroughs, it is still well above the nation’s 4.2 percent unemployment rate.

Earlier in the decade, higher-paying jobs were being replaced throughout the City with lower-paying ones as job growth occurred in industries offering low average salaries. In 1998, however, job growth in Queens favored higher-paying sectors because of recent job gains in well-paying industries, such as transportation and construction.

Although the average salary growth in Queens is finally keeping pace with inflation after many years of decline, another component of compensation is eroding. The number of New Yorkers without health insurance has risen throughout the 1990s, and a recent study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund found that Queens had the highest proportion of full-time workers without health insurance coverage (42 percent uninsured in 1997) of the five boroughs.

Reflecting the borough’s population growth and economic health, residential property values in Queens topped the City average in FY 1999, although the value of residential property has not yet regained its 1993 level. In 1999, the average value of one, two, and three-family properties was $201,730, slightly higher than the citywide average of $200,846. The rate of growth in market values picked up in FY 1999, with an increase of 3.6 percent.

Public assistance rolls in Queens have declined slightly faster than in the rest of the City. By the end of FY 1999, the number of recipients in all public assistance programs had declined by nearly 41 percent from its FY 1994 level. Crime, too, has trended sharply downward, and Queens saw the second-largest decline of all the boroughs in crimes per capita in the period from 1990 to 1998.

Although the economy of Queens has performed well over the past several years, the borough is actively working to promote economic development that will further improve job and income growth. On the manufacturing front, a number of projects are under way in Long Island City, and the area has been chosen as one of three demonstration sites in the New York metropolitan region to showcase an international project supporting urban manufacturing.

Government investment is an important facet of economic development. It has been a critical spur to growth in areas such as Jamaica, where several initiatives are under way. These include a new Family Court facility, a regional headquarters for the Federal Food and Drug Administration, and a new branch of the Queens Borough Public Library.

The airports have also been critical to the strength of the Queens economy. Planned airport-related infrastructure investments by both the public and private sectors will connect Jamaica with JFK Airport via the Port Authority’s "Airtrain" and will improve airport capacity through better access and modernized terminals.

Finally, population and income growth in Queens have attracted numerous national retailers who have established a major presence in Long Island City, College Point, and elsewhere to capture the spending power of the borough’s residents.

In 1635, Dutch settlers arrived in the area known today as Queens. Four years later, they bought the land from its Native American inhabitants and began to charter towns: for example, Maspat (Maspeth) in 1642 and Vlissingen (Flushing) in 1643. Dutch rule, however, was short-lived, and in 1683 the British reorganized the towns into a county within the growing province of New York. The British named the new county "Queens" in honor of King Charles II’s queen—Catherine of Braganza. Queens remained a largely rural and agricultural area throughout the 18^th century and well into the 19^th century.

Population growth in Queens reflected the introduction of transportation linking the area with Manhattan. The nation’s first census, taken in 1790, showed 5,393 inhabitants in the present-day area of Queens. Forty years later the figure had risen only slightly, to 7,806 inhabitants. The rate of growth increased sharply, however, when a steam ferry began running from Manhattan across the East River to Astoria, which in 1839 became the first village officially incorporated as a town since the late 1600s.

While Astoria thrived as a shipping center, other parts of Queens became home to the first wave of European immigrants—Irish, Swiss, and German workers—employed in breweries, mills, and rubber factories springing up in the growing industrial areas of Queens. By 1860, the population had climbed to 30,429.

Creative approaches to the urbanization of Queens included the construction of company towns, such as Steinway Village. In 1872, William Steinway moved his piano factory from Manhattan to its current location east of Astoria. The 400-acre site included foundries, a factory, a post office, employee housing, a kindergarten, library, ball fields, and a park.

On January 1, 1898, the New York State Legislature created the Greater City of New York, which consolidated Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, the Bronx, and western Queens into a single city. The eastern part of the original Queens County was designated Nassau County.

Developments in Queens’ transportation infrastructure further established the borough as a suburb of Manhattan. By 1910, commuters living in small towns throughout Queens could travel to jobs in Manhattan on the Queensborough Bridge or use the East River tunnel of the Pennsylvania Railroad. From 1915 to 1928, the then privately owned subway system was extended through parts of northern Queens, including Astoria, Corona, and Flushing. These improvements, along with highway development, fueled strong population growth, and by 1930, Queens had 1,079,129 inhabitants.

The Depression of the 1930s slowed growth, but by the end of the decade development resumed, spurred by the Triborough Bridge, the City-built Queens Boulevard subway lines, the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, and the World’s Fair held at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

After World War II growth surged again. Public-funded development during these years included JFK Airport; major highways, such as the Long Island Expressway; the Throgs Neck Bridge; subway service to the Rockaways; and Shea Stadium. Although many single-family and attached houses were constructed, residential construction turned more toward high-rise apartment buildings in order to meet demand. Immigration continued to spark population growth, especially after the 1965 national immigration act, which changed the mix of immigration away from the European-based orientation it had had since the 1840s.

Queens, the largest of the five boroughs comprising New York City, occupies 112 square miles, or 35 percent of the City’s total area. A land of sharp contrasts, Queens comprises not only homes and 6,474 acres of parkland (almost equal to that of the other four boroughs combined), but also the 4,930-acre John F. Kennedy International Airport. Today, Queens is the most residential of New York City’s boroughs, with over 75 percent of its lots devoted to one, two, and three-family dwellings. When apartments and other residential properties are added to the mix, the figure rises to over 89 percent.

Among New York City’s five boroughs, Queens experiences the second-most vibrant economy, trailing only Manhattan. Queens’ growing population—the second-highest citywide—results largely from immigration, giving the borough a rich ethnic and racial mix. Leading the rest of the City in the area of industrially diverse employment, Queens offers the second-largest number of jobs.

The large export component of Queens’ job base helps create relatively high-paying employment, boosting the average salary above that found in the City’s other boroughs, except in Manhattan. Some of the well-paying jobs can be found at New York City’s two airports, which are both located in Queens. High salaries are also offered at Queens’ many manufacturing plants, where employment has maintained a steady level in recent years. The borough, in addition, seeks to provide a home to manufacturers who can no longer afford Manhattan’s escalating real estate prices.

According to U.S. Census figures, Queens has the second-largest population of all the counties in New York State, with 1,998,900 residents in 1998; only Brooklyn is more populous. Queens, home to nearly 27 percent of New York City’s population, accounted for nearly half of the City’s net population growth in the 1990s, with recent population gains exceeding even those of Manhattan.

During the 1970s, New York City suffered a 10.4 percent loss of population, with declines in every borough except Staten Island. During the 1980s, the population rose in each borough, but the severe recession of the early 1990s brought about additional population losses in Brooklyn and the Bronx, where the population is still well below the 1970 level. In both Queens and Manhattan the population rose throughout the 1990s and now exceeds the 1970 level.

Queens’ population rose during the 1990s because net births and immigration exceeded domestic out-migration. From 1997 to 1998, for example, there were about 15,300 more births than deaths, and the immigration of 33,900 people from many different nations fell just short of offsetting the loss of 34,800 people (see Appendix A). While Brooklyn experienced a greater number of net births and higher immigration levels during this period than did Queens, more people moved out of Brooklyn, resulting in a greater net increase of population in Queens.

Compared to the other boroughs, in 1998 Queens had the highest concentration of people aged 65 and older and was second only to Manhattan in its concentration of people in the prime working ages of 25 through 65 (see Appendix B). A considerably smaller proportion of the Queens population is below age 25.

The population in Queens is ethnically and racially diverse, with about 60 percent of the residents classified as white, 23 percent African-American, and 17 percent "Asian or Pacific Islander." Hispanics, who can be of any race, account for 22 percent of the Queens population. By comparison, the population of Staten Island is 84 percent white, and over 40 percent of the people in both the Bronx and Brooklyn are African-American. Nearly half the population living in the Bronx can claim Hispanic descent.

The number of people of Asian or Pacific Islander origin is growing rapidly in Queens. During the 1990s thus far, this segment of the population grew by over 35 percent. In 1998, over 332,400 people of Asian or Pacific Islander descent lived in Queens, accounting for nearly 46 percent of all Asians or Pacific Islanders living in New York City.

The signs of ethnic diversity in Queens are abundant. Neighborhoods reflect the languages and cultures of Ireland, Italy, Greece, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, the Middle East, Russia, Eastern Europe, and many other regions. Approximately 138 languages are spoken in Queens. According to The Queens Tribune, there are about 551 Protestant churches, 120 synagogues, 101 Catholic churches, 26 Orthodox churches, 12 Hindu temples, 5 mosques, and 4 Buddhist temples. Many businesses and newspapers target the specific needs of the various ethnic groups in the borough, and together these groups drive much of the borough’s neighborhood revitalization. One of the best examples is downtown Flushing, which is experiencing rapid growth and development because of the area’s growing Asian population.

As in the rest of the City, over the past few decades the economy of Queens has shifted from manufacturing to service-oriented businesses. Such industries as transportation, communications, banking, and trade have been significantly restructured, typically resulting in employment losses. Thus, diversity in the local economies has lessened. Queens, however, has maintained more economic diversity than have the other boroughs.

Economic diversity is measured by the degree of concentration of employment or income in greater or fewer industries. If most of the employment or income is centered in one or two major industries, the area has less economic diversity; if employment or income span several industries, the area has more diversity. In 1998, four major industries—manufacturing, transportation, trade, and services—each accounted for at least 10 percent of the private sector jobs in Queens, giving the borough a relatively high level of economic diversity. Although not meeting our chosen benchmark of providing at least 10 percent of the private employment base, construction is also an important industry in Queens, where it offers more jobs than in any other borough, including Manhattan (see Figure 1). In contrast, employment in the Bronx and Staten Island was concentrated in only two industries in 1998: trade and services; in Brooklyn, trade, services, and manufacturing; and in Manhattan, trade, services, and the finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE) industry.

The erosion of economic diversity in New York City is evident in a comparison of the number of industries accounting for at least 10 percent of employment in 1977, when the recession of the 1970s finally ended in the City, versus the number of such industries in 1998. In 1977, both Queens and Manhattan had four major industries that each provided at least 10 percent of those boroughs’ employment base, while the other boroughs each had three.

Today, the service sector provides more jobs than does any other sector of the City’s economy; in 1998 the share of service jobs in the private sector in each of the boroughs ranged from 35 percent in Queens to 53 percent in the Bronx. The types of service jobs and the pay they provide, however, vary widely. Like the overall economy, the service sector can be broadly divided into businesses that sell to local markets and those that are export-oriented. The export sector generally consists of industries that sell goods and services outside the region, and jobs in these industries tend to be higher-paying than those in industries that service primarily local markets. The service component of the export sector is usually comprised of hotels; business services, such as computer programming or advertising; professional services; and engineering, accounting, and management consulting.

In Queens, the categories of local and export-oriented business services are less clearly defined than in many other regions. Queens has the second-highest concentration of business services in the City after Manhattan, and this sector is growing rapidly in the borough. Because this sector is dominated by firms that provide services to buildings, temporary employment agencies, and armored car services, business services in Queens, like much of the service sector in the borough, are oriented toward the local market.

Health care—primarily in hospitals and nursing and personal care facilities—is the largest source of service sector jobs in Queens, as it is in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. (Health care also constitutes much of the state and local government employment outside of Manhattan.) Because of Queens’ diverse employment base, however, health care is a much smaller part of the economy than it is in the Bronx, Brooklyn, or Staten Island. Similarly, social and education services, the next-largest component of the service sector outside of Manhattan, makes up a smaller portion of the economy in Queens than it does in the other boroughs.

Most of the boroughs in New York City have experienced a declining manufacturing base, but to different degrees. While Brooklyn had the greatest reliance on manufacturing of any borough in 1977, it has also shared with the Bronx the highest rate of manufacturing job losses in the City since then (about 61 percent). In contrast, Queens has had the smallest decline in manufacturing jobs (41 percent); thus by 1998 the borough had become the second-largest source of manufacturing jobs in the City after Manhattan.

Well over half of the manufacturing jobs in Queens in 1998 were in nondurable manufacturing—primarily the apparel and the printing and publishing industries. Employment in the printing and publishing industry in Queens rose in 1997 and 1998, returning to nearly the level it reached before the recession of the early 1990s. Overall, manufacturing employment has held relatively stable in Queens since the end of the recession, declining by only 3.7 percent, compared to declines of 11 percent in Manhattan, 18 percent in Brooklyn, and 21 percent in the Bronx. Staten Island’s manufacturing sector leads that of the other boroughs, with an 8.6 percent employment gain.

Trade, construction, and the trio consisting of transportation, communications, and public utilities (TCPU) are—along with health and social services—the major components of the local market economy. Reflecting the residential orientation of Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island, the economies of these boroughs share an emphasis on jobs that serve the local markets.

Trade constitutes about 23 percent of Queens’ private sector economy, representing nearly 100,000 jobs. Although trade accounts for a bigger share of the Brooklyn and Staten Island economies, Queens has the second-largest number of trade jobs in the City after Manhattan. Most of the trade jobs in Queens are in retail, especially food stores and restaurants, but Queens has more jobs in auto dealerships and building-supply stores than does any other borough.

TCPU and construction are major sources of middle-income jobs. While TCPU employment has declined in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx since 1977, it has increased in Queens and Staten Island. Also since 1977, construction employment has risen and become a larger part of the economies of all the boroughs—especially in Queens, which is home to over one-third of all construction jobs in the City. Thus, these two sectors are important aspects of the economic diversity of Queens.

In 1998, TCPU provided almost 71,000 private sector jobs in Queens, representing over 35 percent of all such jobs in the City. Airline transportation, including the airlines, the cargo companies, terminal services, and many other activities, is a major source of employment, providing 41,000 jobs with an average salary of almost $42,000. Air transportation is export oriented because it assists tourism, business travel, and the long-distance movement of goods. By contrast, although Manhattan has nearly 89,000 jobs in TCPU, most of them are in communications, public utilities, and bus and train service—areas that target mainly local markets.

LaGuardia and JFK International airports, which are operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA), also generate employment in supporting industries. The PA estimates that more than 46,000 people work at the two airports, with some 37,000 working at JFK and 9,000 at LaGuardia. Such airport-generated economic activity is (through ripple effects) directly and indirectly responsible for providing approximately 270,000 jobs throughout the region.

Passenger traffic at the two airports in Queens increased annually from 1994 through 1998. The 16 percent loss of passenger volume during the recession of the late 1980s and early 1990s—from 55.3 million in 1988 to 45.4 million in 1993—was almost completely recouped during the following five years, when traffic increased annually to 53.9 million, up almost 16 percent (see Figure 2).

Although the increase in the number of passengers at JFK exceeded the growth of passenger traffic at LaGuardia from 1993 to 1998, both airports had significant increases in passenger volume. During this period, the total number of passengers rose 16 percent at JFK and 15 percent at LaGuardia. At each airport, both domestic and international passenger volume grew at nearly the same rates. In New Jersey, however, Newark Airport is emerging as a major competitor, with overall passenger volume slightly greater than that of JFK.

In addition to providing passenger services, the airports in Queens also provide cargo transportation domestically and internationally. Although by 1998 cargo operations at LaGuardia Airport had declined by 66 percent from their peak in 1990, this decline was offset by increases at JFK, where total cargo transported increased by 289,000 tons, or 21.7 percent, during the same time period. Over 98 percent of all cargo transported through the Queens airports is handled at JFK. Almost all of the growth at the two New York City airports during this period was the result of international shipping (see Figure 3).

International cargo shipments require a significant service infrastructure. For example, the Air Cargo Center at JFK consists of 35 handling and service buildings, some of which have recently been opened at the airport. A 195,000 square-foot building to be operated by Korean Air Cargo is scheduled for completion in 2000. Corresponding to the rise in passenger and cargo traffic, airport employment in Queens increased by more than 1,000 persons from 1993 to 1997. In 1997, the estimated payroll at JFK and LaGuardia totaled $2.6 billion—an increase of $702 million, or 26 percent, from 1993.

Most business establishments in Queens are small, employing fewer than 20 persons, and close to two-thirds of these businesses employ only 4 or even fewer workers. In 1996, 30,834—or 90 percent—of the total number of establishments had fewer than 20 employees, and less than 2 percent of the businesses in the borough employed as many as 100 people. While the percentage of establishments with 20 or fewer employees has been holding steady since the late 1980s, companies of only 4 or fewer workers have been increasing, rising from 63.6 percent of the total for the borough in 1988 to 66.3 percent in 1996. The importance of small business in Queens is similar to its importance in the other four boroughs (see Figure 4). Even in Manhattan, home to many of the world’s largest corporations, about 86 percent of the business establishments have fewer than 20 employees, and the citywide total is 88 percent.

Small businesses predominate in trade and in the transportation and public utilities sector. About 85 percent of the retail trade establishments operating in 1996 employed fewer than 10 people. Similarly, for wholesale trade, 80 percent of the companies had fewer than 10 people. The transportation and public utility industry had a lower percentage of small businesses, with firms of 9 or fewer employees representing 76 percent of the industry total.

(percent of total)

In 1996, more than half of the 81 large establishments (those employing 500 or more workers) operating in Queens were related to the service industry, and 32 of these were largely within the health services sector. Within health services, the distribution was about equal between hospitals (17) and home health care providers (13). LaGuardia and JFK airports, along with related aviation businesses, accounted for 16, or almost 20 percent, of the largest businesses in Queens in 1996. Those industries having a greater concentration of the smallest firms have few businesses with as many as 500 employees. For example, only 4 of the 11,788 companies operating in Queens’ trade industry in 1996 had 500 or more employees.

Private sector employment in Queens grew by 3.1 percent in 1998, outpacing the rate of growth in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan (see Appendix C). Over 13,000 jobs were added, bringing the total number of jobs in the borough to 437,000, the second-highest in New York City. In absolute terms, Queens added the largest number of jobs outside of Manhattan (see Figure 5). Because of continued downsizing in government, the growth rate for total employment in Queens was slightly less than the rate for private employment.

The service sector in Queens added more than half of all new private sector jobs in 1998, expanding by over 6,700 jobs, or 4.6 percent (see Figure 6). The strong growth centered in health and business services, particularly in personnel supply services and detective and armored car services. The transportation and public utilities sector grew by about 2,900 jobs, or 4.4 percent, with public utilities recording its first gain (1,200 jobs) in several years. Air transportation, a particularly important industry for Queens with its two major airports, grew slightly.

In the construction sector, significant job gains in 1998 reflected the health of the local real estate market; almost 2,400 jobs, or 7.6 percent, were added for a total of nearly 34,000 construction jobs in Queens—a level of employment that exceeded even that sector’s total in Manhattan. Moreover, a large number of new projects in Queens are either under way or have been announced. The value of permits issued for construction projects during the first six months of 1999 more than tripled compared to the value of permits issued during the same period in 1998. Even excluding the $553 million permit issued for the start of the light rail link to JFK, the value of permits for 1999 is up 88 percent. For the past two years, the value of building permits has trailed the value of permits issued for other types of construction, such as streets, highways, bridges, sewers, and water mains. More than half the value of all permits added was for new construction, rather than for alterations or additions. (For details on individual projects, see Chapter 4, Economic Development in Queens.)

Other industry sectors in Queens also grew, but at less robust rates. The trade sector added over 700 jobs, or 0.7 percent, with growth being almost equally divided between wholesale and retail trade. Within the retail sector, the recent growth in local incomes and real estate activity boosted employment in restaurants and furniture stores, while general merchandise stores lost jobs for the second year running. The FIRE sector added 200 jobs, or 0.8 percent, with growth in real estate offset by declines in banking.

The manufacturing sector, after growing by more than 1,800 jobs in 1997, declined in 1998 by more than 300 jobs, or 0.7 percent, compared to a drop of 2.4 percent in the rest of the City. Government employment fell by 180 jobs, or 0.6 percent, with most of the declines occurring at the State level, particularly in State-run hospitals.

Despite the current nationwide economic expansion, which is in a record-breaking ninth year, New York City unemployment rates until recently have been stubbornly high. All five boroughs performed poorly compared with the rest of the nation, where unemployment rates keep reaching new lows. Beginning in 1998, however, Queens saw significant decreases in its unemployment rates, when unemployment fell to 7 percent, the second-lowest rate citywide after Manhattan. For the first nine months of 1999, the Queens average unemployment rate was down to 6.2 percent (see Figure 7). While these rates are still higher than the national average of 4.2 percent, the gap has narrowed considerably.

The unemployment rate is defined as the number of people without jobs as a share of the total labor force, which includes individuals who are working and individuals who are without jobs but are actively looking for work (i.e., the unemployed). People who are not looking for work are not considered part of the labor force and are therefore not considered to be unemployed. Growth of the labor force in Queens has slowed significantly, from 3.5 percent in 1997 to 1.1 percent in 1998 (see Appendix D); in fact, during the first nine months of 1999, the labor force actually declined by 0.7 percent. Growth in the number of employed residents has continued, although at a slower pace than in 1998. Thus, a shrinking labor force and growing employment combine to reduce the unemployment rate.

Part of the fluctuation in the labor force may stem from a decrease in the number of welfare recipients entering the workforce following the initial surge in 1995-96. At that time, new rules compelling many public assistance recipients to participate in workfare programs went into effect.

Total wages paid, defined as the amount paid to all employees in all industries, grew in Queens by 6.6 percent during 1998, a pace that is midway among the growth rates of the five boroughs (see Figure 8). Manhattan, with its dominance of jobs in the high-paying FIRE sector, led the City. Although average salaries per employee in the major industries grew, most of the 1998 wage growth in Queens reflected the strong increase in employment, which rose by 2.9 percent. The total amount of wages paid in all the major industrial sectors increased, but the gains in construction, transportation, and services were particularly strong, since these were also the sectors that experienced the largest employment growth (see Appendix E). Almost two-thirds of the wages generated in the borough come from services, transportation, and trade.

Wages in Queens rose by 6.3 percent (adjusted for inflation) from the beginning of the economic recovery in 1992 through 1998. Most of the increase occurred in the last two years of that period, when employment growth was strong, with real wages rising by 1.8 percent in 1997 and by 4.9 percent in 1998. Queens’ share of the growth in total New York City real wages for the period 1992 through 1998 was about 3 percent, roughly the same contribution as that of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island combined (see Figure 9). The remaining growth came from Manhattan, especially its financial sector.

The average salary in Queens grew by 0.2 percent in 1997 and by 2 percent in 1998 after many years of decline. Even after the end of the recession in the early 1990s, real average salaries in Queens declined and did not begin to pick up again until 1997. On net, since the beginning of the economic recovery, real average salaries have fallen by 1.5 percent, similar to the 1 percent average decrease for the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. In contrast, real average salaries in Manhattan rose by over 17 percent during the same period. Many of the key sectors that constitute the Queens economy, such as manufacturing, construction, transportation, trade, and services, saw significant declines in real average salaries during this period (see Figure 10).

In Manhattan, the financial sector helped boost average salaries per employee to $62,960, outpacing the levels in the other boroughs (see Appendix F). Reflecting its job mix and employment gains, Queens had the next-highest average salary level: $32,566, almost 5 percent higher than that of the Bronx, which had the third-highest average salary level.

Although average salaries may soon recover to levels preceding the early 1990s recession if current growth trends continue, another component of compensation is eroding. Citywide, the number of working adults without health insurance coverage rose from 21.1 percent to 28.6 percent from 1991 to 1998. While trend data are not available for the individual boroughs, a recent study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund found that Queens, with 42 percent of the workforce uninsured in 1997, had the highest proportion of full-time workers without health insurance coverage of the five boroughs.

Overall, 27 percent of all adults living in Queens are uninsured, compared to 25 percent in Manhattan and the Bronx, 21 percent in Brooklyn, and 12 percent in Staten Island. Statewide, 17 percent of the population is without insurance, slightly higher than the 15.6 percent national average. Lack of health insurance is particularly high among minority groups, especially Hispanics, and among the near poor—those working and earning incomes slightly above the poverty rate. In Queens, 34 percent of the near poor were uninsured, also the highest level in the City. Many Queens residents obtain medical coverage through managed care providers. Of the combined insured and uninsured working-age population in Queens, 35 percent have no regular health care provider, 10 percent don’t get the care they need, and 23 percent report having difficulty getting any care.

Queens’ relatively diverse economy includes a large concentration of higher-paying and, in many industries, unionized jobs. Job growth has been strong, and many of the newly created jobs are in such sectors as transportation and construction, where average salaries are higher than the overall average salary in the borough. Thus, for the past several years, wages in Queens have benefited from both strong job growth and an advantageous mix of jobs. By comparison, the Bronx has had very little job growth, while Brooklyn has seen a shift in its job base from manufacturing to the lower-paying portions of the service sector.

The positive trend toward higher-paying jobs is seen in the top ten employment-gaining industries in each borough in 1998 and the wages that these jobs generate. Not surprisingly, the total of additional private sector wages was highest in Manhattan, while wages in Queens ranked next, outpacing wages in all the other boroughs. The average salary in all the industries that added jobs during 1998 was $34,905 in Queens, higher than both the borough’s overall average salary ($32,566) and the average salary for all industries that lost jobs ($31,697). In contrast, during the earlier part of the decade, higher-paying jobs were being replaced by lower-paying ones in Queens and all the other boroughs. Appendix G shows that for the ten industries having the largest job losses in each borough in 1998, the average salary for such jobs was consistently lower than the average salaries of jobs added. The average salary for the top ten industries adding jobs in Queens was higher than that of all the other boroughs except Manhattan, which benefits from its high concentration of securities and business service jobs.

Personal income includes not only wages but also income from partnerships and proprietorships, dividends, interest, rent, and transfer payments. Therefore, this measure of income can capture the impact of changes in many parts of the economy on households. Personal income growth slowed across all five boroughs of New York City in 1997, the latest period for which data are available.

In Queens, however, personal income growth held nearly steady (see Figure 11 and Appendix H), slowing only from 4.2 percent in 1996 to 4.1 percent in 1997. This stability results from the borough’s rapid gains in earnings during that period, which offset slowed growth in other components of personal income. Earnings is a measure of income that includes not only wages but also income from partnerships and proprietorships. In 1997, the rate of growth in earnings rose in every borough except Brooklyn, but the sharpest rise was in Queens. Only in Queens was the added growth in earnings enough to offset a citywide decline in the growth of dividends, interest, and rent—and by the even slower growth, or actual declines, in transfer payments.

Transfer payments consist primarily of government payments to individuals in the form of pensions, disability benefits, Medicare, welfare, veterans’ benefits, and unemployment insurance benefits. In Queens, as in the rest of the City, about half of all transfer payments are medical payments, including Medicare and Medicaid for welfare recipients and other qualified individuals.

In 1997, the growth of transfer payments slowed substantially across all the boroughs, as growth in medical and income maintenance benefits slowed and in some areas declined. These benefits were previously among the fastest-growing components in transfer payments, and the change most likely reflects the impact of welfare reform and restructuring in the health care industry.

Shares of the components of personal income vary widely across the boroughs. Earnings account for 59 percent of personal income in Queens, while dividends, interest, and rent comprise 16 percent; the remaining 25 percent is made up of transfer payments. Manhattan, by comparison, derives more of its income from earnings and dividends, interest, and rent, while transfer payments account for a bigger share of income in the Bronx and Brooklyn.

Queens joins Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx in being out-performed by Manhattan across most measures of economic growth. Manhattan dominates the other boroughs in personal income because of the high-paying jobs many of its residents hold, as well as the higher dividend, interest, and rent incomes they accrue (over 50 percent of all such income received citywide). Thus, personal income in Manhattan increased by 7.3 percent in 1997, compared to 4.1 percent growth in Queens and in Staten Island. Growth was much lower in Brooklyn and the Bronx, at 1.9 percent in each of those boroughs.

Queens ranks midway among the boroughs in the level of per capita personal income, which totaled $26,980 in 1997. Per capita income was significantly higher in Manhattan and slightly higher in Staten Island, but lower in the Bronx and Brooklyn. Growth in per capita personal income slowed in step with overall personal income, with Queens showing the smallest fall-off.

Poverty rates rose significantly citywide from 1989 to 1993 in response to the early 1990s recession. The nation began to recover from that recession in 1991, but a slow recovery on the local level did not begin until 1992. From 1993 to 1995, the most recent period for which data at the local level are available, the citywide poverty rate fell despite an increase in poverty in Manhattan and in Queens. While the increase in Manhattan was small, rising from 22.3 percent of the population in 1993 to 22.7 percent in 1995, the increase in Queens was larger, rising from 15.3 percent of the population in 1993 to 16.3 percent in 1995. The Bronx had the greatest share of residents in poverty—over 31 percent in 1995.

People under the age of 18 years accounted for 37 percent of the 1995 poverty population in Queens. These youths represented 23 percent of the total population in Queens and 16 percent of all children living in poverty in New York City in 1995. Although high in Queens, poverty among children is greater in Brooklyn and the Bronx, where nearly half of all children live in poverty.

Although more recent data are not yet available for the counties, poverty levels across New York State had not improved from 1995 to 1997, an indication that the same may be true for New York City.

As a largely residential borough, Queens provides workers for employers throughout the City and the region. In 1990, Census data indicated that a little over one-third of Queens residents worked in the borough, filling most of the jobs located there, although the borough also attracted commuters from throughout the region. Another 44 percent worked in Manhattan, and most of the rest of Queens residents worked in Brooklyn, the Bronx, or on Long Island.

Since the mid-19^th century, transportation has been central to the growth and development of Queens. Public transportation plays a major part in moving labor to job sites. In Queens, there are 42 miles of subway tracks, 297 miles of City bus routes, and about 248 miles of private bus routes. In early 1999, the average daily ridership on subway lines originating in Queens was almost 565,000, while the City’s buses carried an estimated 355,000 people daily. When combined with the four major private bus companies, which together carry about 346,000 people a day, average daily public transit ridership in Queens totals over 1,250,000. In the past few years, this usage has increased, with both the Flushing and Queens Boulevard lines having some of the heaviest traffic in the New York City subway system. In addition, the Long Island Rail Road serves Queens with 169 miles of track, carrying people into Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Overall job growth, the expansion of the Metrocard program to include fare discounts, and elimination of the two-fare cost of combined subway and bus rides have helped fuel a dramatic increase in transit ridership. From the first half of 1997 to the first half of 1999, weekday subway ridership rose by 13.5 percent across the City and by 12.6 percent in Queens. Bus ridership is up more dramatically, with weekday ridership rising by 31.8 percent citywide but up 35.2 percent in Queens—the highest rate of growth in the City. Weekend bus ridership is up even more, growing by 50 percent in Queens.

Vehicular traffic is handled on 76 miles of major highways, including the Long Island Expressway, Grand Central Parkway, Cross Island Parkway, and Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, as well as 2,443 miles of major and minor local streets. In addition, there are both toll and free bridge and tunnel connections to Manhattan and the Bronx. Each year there is an extensive program for the rebuilding or resurfacing of major and minor local streets. For example, in fiscal years 1998 and 1999, over 230 lane miles of streets were resurfaced annually, more than in any other borough. Work is continuing on the Queensborough, Triborough, Whitestone, and Throgs Neck bridges, while virtually every major highway in the borough has sections where lanes are closed or traffic is rerouted to accommodate construction activity.

Queens boasts well-respected cultural and recreational facilities. Its museums range from PS1, specializing in contemporary art, to the Queens County Farm Museum, with a restored farmhouse and a working farm. Theater and performing arts programs are widely available, some of which, such as Thalia Spanish Theatre and the Black Spectrum Theatre, reflect the cultural diversity of the borough. Long Island City is home to two outdoor sculpture parks: the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum and the Socrates Sculpture Park.

Professional sports are played by the New York Mets baseball team at Shea Stadium, and the U.S. Open is featured at the United States Tennis Association National Tennis Center. The Alley Pond Environmental Center was designated a National Environmental Study Area and stresses environmental education, while the Queens Wildlife Center was renovated earlier in the decade. The former World’s Fair site in Flushing Meadows Park is home to several institutions, including the New York Hall of Science and Queens Theatre in the Park, and hosts several ethnic celebrations, including the Ecuadorean Independence Day Festival, the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, and the Festival of India. Queens also has the only museum in the country devoted to motion pictures—the American Museum of the Moving Image.

In 1983, Queens became the home of Silvercup Studios, the largest film and television production facility in the Northeast, while Kaufman Astoria Studios, which had its beginnings in the 1920s, began a major expansion. These studios have been so successful in attracting feature films, television production, music videos, commercials, and photography shoots, that they are expanding their locations in Queens. While such facilities have helped New York City re-enter the industry of film and television production after loosing this business to Hollywood and other locations, they have had little impact on the number of jobs in motion pictures in Queens. Currently in Queens, about 1,100 people (the same number as in 1992) work in that industry. This low level of direct employment reflects the studios’ function as rented space. The production company that is renting the studio for a particular project supplies the necessary labor. Although most production companies are located in Manhattan or elsewhere, the Queens studios have made it possible for other facets of motion picture production to expand in other parts of the City and the region. They have also stimulated the growth of support services, such as car services and catering, in Queens.

To a larger extent than in any other borough except Staten Island, real property in Queens is predominately owner-occupied. About 70 percent of the total market value of real property comes from owner-occupied residences, primarily Class 1 properties (i.e., one, two, and three-family homes), of which Queens has more than does each of the other four boroughs.

In FY 1999, the total market values for all real property in the borough amounted to $82.6 billion, or about 28 percent of the citywide total—a larger share than in each of the other boroughs except Manhattan. Overall, residential properties, both owner-occupied and rentals, accounted for more than 80 percent of the market value in Queens. Most of these properties are in Class 1. Among the rest of the residential properties (Class 2 multifamily property), more than 41 percent of the market value represents cooperative apartments and condominiums.

The average value of Class 1 property in Queens in FY 1999 was $201,730, slightly higher than the citywide average of $200,846 for that year but still about 3 percent less than the level in FY 1993, when the City began reporting market values. Much of this decline occurred in FY 1994, when the average value of Class 1 properties in Queens dropped by over 7 percent, to a low of $192,927 (see Figure 12). During the following two fiscal years, values were stable, before moving up at an average annual rate of 0.6 percent in fiscal years 1997 and 1998. The rate of growth in market values picked up in FY 1999, with an increase of 3.6 percent.

For most neighborhoods, the median home value has been slow in rebounding from the declines of the early 1990s. From 1991 to 1993 the median value of a home in Queens declined by almost 4 percent. For some neighborhoods, such as Forest Hills/Rego Park, the decline continued from 1993 to 1996, while other neighborhoods, such as Jamaica, saw an increase in home values during this period (see Appendices I and J). Neighborhood data are not currently available for more recent years.

Approximately 42 percent of Queens households own their homes, well above the citywide average of 30 percent. Staten Island, with 62 percent of its households as owners, is the only borough with a higher rate of home ownership. Several Queens neighborhoods have a greater number of owner-occupied than renter-occupied residences (see Appendices K and L). For example, in the Kew Gardens/Woodhaven area, more than two-thirds of the total households are in owner-occupied properties. The smallest concentration of owner-occupied residences is in Astoria, with 19 percent.

Rental Apartments by Regulation Status in 1996

Almost half of all Queens households (46 percent) reside in unregulated rental apartments, exceeding the proportion in each of the other boroughs except Staten Island (see Figure 13). Excluding Manhattan, median contract rents in Queens are above those elsewhere in the City. In 1996, the median contract rent for rent-stabilized apartments in Queens was $612 compared to $700 for unregulated apartments (see Appendix M). For all apartments, neighborhood contract rents ranged from $535 in the Rockaways, where there are a significant number of Mitchell-Lama rentals, to $750 in the Bellerose/Rosedale area.

Although commercial properties account for less than 20 percent of the market value in Queens, owners of these properties pay over 40 percent of the real property taxes levied within the borough. Among types of commercial real property, owners of utility properties and stores pay more than half of the total tax levied on commercial property. Since FY 1993, stores, warehouses, and garages have had the fastest-growing market values among commercial properties, with the value of stores increasing by $515 million, or 16.5 percent (see Figure 14).

In contrast, utility property has seen an increase in market value of only 3 percent during this period. Since FY 1993, there has been a significant decline in the number and the market value of factories in Queens. In FY 1993, there were 2,904 factories on the tax roll in Queens, but by FY 1999, the number had been reduced by 21 percent, to 2,289. This erosion in the number of factories was reflected in a decline in the total market value for factories, from $1.8 billion to $1.4 billion.

While major real estate firms provide overall statistics on the commercial real estate market for Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn, comparable data for Queens are not available. There has been a shift in the use of industrial and commercial property in Queens. As industrial and manufacturing concerns have left the City, the buildings they once occupied have been modified for other uses. This has been the case in Queens, where there has been no recent new industrial construction of any significance; moreover, in the past 7 or 8 years, about 10 million square feet of industrial space has been converted to retail, residential, or office space. In some areas, the conversion of manufacturing space to other uses has been significant.

Still, about 122 million square feet of industrial space remain in Queens, with estimated vacancy rates for industrial property running about 3 percent to 5 percent. Some of this space is available for $7 to $11 per square foot. Properties in Queens are thus attractive to manufacturers who are being forced out of Manhattan’s soaring real estate market because they either cannot afford to renew their leases at higher prices or cannot find enough reasonably priced space when they need to expand.

The newest office building in Queens is the former International Design Center of New York, located in Long Island City. This space was converted to offices in the late 1980s and is finally almost fully occupied, with leases at $19 to $22 per square foot. Government offices, a training school, and LaGuardia Community College are among the major tenants. Most office space in Queens is in small Class B or C buildings. The only major Class A property is the Citicorp building in Long Island City, although other sites in that area are also zoned for new office construction. Some residential space is being created from industrial lofts, and much of it is being rented to artists who can no longer find enough affordable space in Manhattan.

The number of New York City residents receiving public assistance has fallen steadily since FY 1994 in response to an improving economy and aggressive welfare reform efforts at all levels of government. By the end of FY 1999, the number of recipients in all programs had declined by nearly 41 percent, to 680,000 people. This is the smallest number of City residents receiving public assistance since FY 1968. Across the five boroughs, the reductions varied from almost 51 percent in Manhattan to 30 percent in the Bronx (see Appendix N). Most people on public assistance are children, primarily in single-parent households.

From FY 1994 to FY 1999, 82,100 people left the public assistance rolls in Queens, a decline of nearly 48 percent, leaving just over 89,000 people receiving public benefits at the end of this period (see Figure 15). Because the reduction in recipients was sharper in Queens than it was citywide, Queens’ share of public assistance recipients in the City has declined, from a 15 percent share in FY 1994 to 13.3 percent in FY 1999. Only Staten Island had a smaller share of citywide public assistance recipients. Less than 5 percent of the population of either Queens or Staten Island receives public assistance, compared to about 18 percent of the residents in the Bronx, 10 percent in Brooklyn, and 7 percent in Manhattan.

From 1990 to 1998, reported crimes in New York City dropped by nearly 55 percent. Reported crime in Queens followed the overall citywide trend, declining by 54.2 percent, to 75,573 incidents in 1998. The largest declines occurred from 1994 through 1996. Declines in the major categories of crime in Queens ranged from a high of 67.7 percent for motor vehicle theft to a low of 31.4 percent for assault (see Appendix O). In general, crimes against property (burglary, larceny, and auto theft) declined more than crimes against people (murder, rape, robbery, and assault). The largest category of crime in each of the boroughs was larceny, although there were more auto thefts in Queens than in any other borough (over one-third of such crime citywide).

When the crime data are adjusted for differences in population, the incidence of crime over the past decade is seen to fall sharply in every borough. Manhattan had the sharpest decline in the number of reported crimes per 100 residents, falling by 60.3 percent from 1990 to 1998 (see Figure 16). Nonetheless, Manhattan still had the highest level of per capita crime in the city, with nearly 6 crime incidents reported for every 100 residents. Queens had the second-largest decline in per capita crime, falling by 55.3 percent to 3.8 crimes per 100 residents in 1998, from 8.5 crimes per 100 residents in 1990. In 1998, Queens had the second-lowest incidence of crime in the City.

Data Source: NYC Police Department Office of Management Analysis and Planning

In 1998, the rate of decline in crime picked up a bit in Queens and Manhattan, while Staten Island showed a much larger drop. Continuing the trend, crimes against property declined more than crimes against persons in 1998. Citywide, the number of crimes against property is approximately three times the number of crimes against persons. In Queens, crimes against property are even more prevalent, with the ratio of property crimes to personal crimes running 3.6 to 1.

Although the economy of Queens has performed well over the past several years, the Borough is actively working to promote economic development that will further improve job and income growth. The initiative to build on the industrial and demographic diversity of Queens benefits not only the major commercial centers—Long Island City, Flushing, and Jamaica—but also all the other neighborhoods, since each area contributes to the diversity that underlies the borough’s strength. Some of the current projects for economic development in Queens are presented here, along with names of a few participating institutions.

In Queens, the developmental work being done to boost the economy targets all businesses, but special attention is given to those in manufacturing, aviation, motion pictures, and retail trade. The Queens Borough President’s Office and Queens County Overall Economic Development Corporation have been active participants in this work. By providing business training and helping firms obtain financing and tax incentives, the Borough seeks to assist businesses looking to start up or to expand. In addition, special programs provide outreach for minority-owned businesses, of which nearly one-third citywide are located in Queens. The Borough President’s Office has also created the Economic Development Networking Council. The regular meetings of this group provide an opportunity for government, economic development groups, and private firms to meet to discuss ongoing projects, identify firms that need assistance, and in general work to address business needs, preserve jobs, and grow the economy of Queens.

Unlike other boroughs in New York City, Queens has been able to achieve a level of stability in the manufacturing sector, in part because public-private partnerships have assisted manufacturers facing financial difficulties. Further boosting this economic sector, the borough is attractive to firms that are being displaced from elsewhere in the City.

One source of assistance is a statewide program that, while including manufacturing, also helps other businesses. New York State designates certain areas as "economic development zones," within which businesses can qualify for generous tax incentives, reduced utility rates, technical training, assistance with business plans, and access to low-cost financing. Benefits, moreover, are not confined to manufacturing or even to export-oriented businesses. In Queens, these zones are located in Jamaica and Far Rockaway (see Appendix P).

Providing services similar to those of the Economic Development Zone program, but more specifically targeting manufacturing and industrial firms, is a program called In Place Industrial Park (IPIP), which is administered by the City’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC). In Queens, the IPIP facilities are in Long Island City and South Jamaica. The Jamaica IPIP is a 400-acre site near York College that is home to food processing, metal fabrication, and electronic equipment manufacturing companies and wholesale distribution firms. In Long Island City, EDC has established a partnership with the Long Island City Business Development Corporation to help facilitate business services, marketing, employment assistance, recycling, and waste reduction.

Technical assistance to manufacturers throughout the City is provided by such organizations as the Industrial Technology Assistance Corporation (ITAC) and the New York Industrial Retention Network (NYIRN). ITAC helps firms become more competitive, while NYIRN identifies and assists firms at risk of closing or relocating. NYIRN is working in partnership with the Queens County Economic Development Corporation on the Queens Manufacturing Initiative, which helps firms recruit and train workers, reduce energy costs, find space, obtain financing, and work with community groups to address neighborhood problems.

In the summer of 1999, the City Council created an $8 million fund to assist printing companies that can no longer find affordable space in Manhattan. A trade group for this industry estimates that in the next few years about 110 companies, employing 3,700 people, will need to move from their current Manhattan locations. Many of these firms are considering relocating to Long Island City.

With the City’s largest concentration of manufacturing firms outside of Manhattan, Long Island City has the potential to become a model urban manufacturing district. In 1999, the area was chosen as one of three demonstration sites in the New York metropolitan area to showcase an international project that is developing policy and design recommendations to support urban manufacturing. The project, named Transforming the Places of Production, was organized by the Regional Plan Association in New York and by Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy. Preliminary recommendations for Long Island City highlight its potential as a place where production activities can interact with New York City’s design, technology, and research communities.

Development projects under way in the Long Island City area include building a facility for Petrocelli Electric, which installs and maintains the City’s traffic lights, and consolidating the operations of Eagle Electric, which manufactures commercial and residential wiring devices. Mana Products, a full-line manufacturer of cosmetics, will remain and expand in Long Island City. A building owned by the former Case Paper Company has been sold and will warehouse goods sold over the Internet, while Schuman Properties is building a new facility for the NEC computer company and has several other projects planned. The former Swingline Staples plant has been converted to a facility for printers and firms specializing in information systems. The old Macy’s warehouse, another industrial space, is now home to several small manufacturing companies, many of which are in the jewelry business. To the north of Long Island City, in Astoria, a large site owned by Con Edison is expected to become available for industrial development.

A formerly industrialized area in College Point has been transformed into the College Point Corporate Park—a major industrial, office, and retail center in northern Queens. The chief industrial tenant in the Park is now The New York Times, which has located a printing and distribution plant there.

The construction of major government facilities has historically contributed to economic development in Queens. Such building projects not only provide construction jobs, but also, when completed, draw a workforce that in turn supports local businesses. This type of development has contributed especially to the economic health of Jamaica for nearly 30 years, helping to stabilize the area.

Present-day examples of such initiatives include a wide range of projects. A new Civil Court House recently opened in Jamaica, as did a "one-stop" office of the New York City Department of Finance, and work on a new Family Court facility has begun. The Federal Food and Drug Administration will soon be opening a regional headquarters on the campus of York College, which has also been proposed as the site of an aviation-training center. Jamaica will be the northern terminus for the light rail system that will connect JFK airport with the city subway system and the Long Island Rail Road. A hotel and conference center is also planned for the area near the rail terminal. Queens Hospital Center in Jamaica has begun construction on new centers for cancer treatment and women’s health services. Finally, a new branch of the Queens Borough Public Library is being developed in South Jamaica.

The Federal government also uses procurement policies to foster business growth. The Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Zones Program is administered by the US Small Business Administration and was created through the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997. This program seeks to generate economic development through the empowerment of eligible small businesses by providing a preference system to compete for all types of federally procured contracts. These preferences provide opportunities to negotiate sole source contracts, as well as participate in restricted-competition contracts. Currently, there exist seventeen tracts within Queens that qualify for Zone designation. Specific areas include Jamaica, Long Island City, Far Rockaway, Astoria, Ozone Park, and Flushing.

Capital investment in the airports also contributes significantly to both jobs and economic development in Queens. In 1948, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA) invested about $150 million to develop JFK, and in 1939 the City invested $40 million to construct LaGuardia before it was transferred to the PA in 1948. Fifty years later, the cumulative PA investment spending had reached about $2.6 billion for JFK and $791 million for LaGuardia. Recently, new redevelopment programs have begun at both airports. LaGuardia has planned an $800 million program to expand and modernize the central terminal building, improve the parking garages, and build new taxi access areas. At JFK, construction for a new terminal and parking garage has been completed, and both the PA and private airlines are planning to spend $5.3 billion for renovating existing terminals, with about $4.1 billion coming from the airlines. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration has broken ground for a new regional headquarters building near JFK airport.

Several new projects will expand airport access, especially via mass transit. With the support of both the State and the City, the PA is constructing the "Airtrain," which is a light rail system connecting JFK airport with Jamaica to the north and Howard Beach to the west. This will also allow for connecting service with the Long Island Rail Road and the City subway system. The decision to develop a one-seat ride from Manhattan to JFK has been deferred. The total cost of the program is about $1.5 billion, and it is expected to provide about 4,150 construction jobs and $580 million in wages. The project is expected to stimulate the economy in Jamaica by enabling support services currently located in areas surrounding the airports to relocate to Jamaica. The PA has received all of the necessary government approvals for the project, which will be funded largely by money already collected by the PA through the $3 passenger facility charge. In addition, the most recent capital program proposed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) includes $225 million for improvements at Jamaica Station, the northern terminus of the Airtrain.

The MTA’s proposed capital program also includes $645 million for part of the work needed to extend the N subway line to LaGuardia airport in order to provide a rail link from Manhattan. The PA has not yet presented a plan to make the necessary connections within the airport itself.

Although not related to airport access, the MTA is proceeding with its 63^rd Street Connector project. To be completed in 2001, this project will reduce overcrowding on the Queens Boulevard subway lines by allowing trains to access an additional tunnel under the East River.

Queens, with its relatively high-income and diverse population, is attractive to retail firms and the entertainment industry. In fact, there has been a surge in the growth of large national retailers who have rushed to open branch stores in the borough. Until recently many of these firms, although prominent in the suburbs, have been slow to move to the city. Also eager to tap into the wealth of the people living and working in Queens is the entertainment industry, which is investing in movie theaters, sports complexes, and cultural centers throughout the borough. Eight large movie theater complexes, each containing from 12 to 30 screens, are planned for such areas as Astoria, Jamaica, and Elmhurst.

In Long Island City, "big box" retailers, such as Edwards Supermarket, The Home Depot, and The Sports Authority, have opened new facilities, some of which are built on former manufacturing sites. For example, The Home Depot took over the former Ronzoni facility, while another industrial property will become a Price Club. Also in this area, Silvercup and Kaufman movie studios are expanding their production facilities, and Kaufman Studio plans to offer a new multiscreen theater.

Downtown Flushing has seen a surge in new Asian businesses—a growth that parallels the rise in this group’s population. The Home Depot has opened a store in the area, and just to the north, the College Point Corporate Park includes Target, BJ’s Wholesale Club, TJ Maxx, Circuit City, and Toys R Us. The park will also house an entertainment complex, featuring a multiscreen movie theater. Several developers have made proposals for the adjacent site of the now-closed Flushing airport.

For the city’s sports fans, the Mets have proposed replacing Shea Stadium with a new facility. It would have a retractable roof and floor, would be built next to the current stadium, and would be suitable for nonsports events, such as concerts and conventions. The plan also includes an entertainment complex. The city and the Mets are currently in negotiations over financing, the outcome of which may alter features of the plan.

Several retail and entertainment projects are moving forward in Jamaica. Pathmark, which has been at the forefront of commercial development in some of the City’s minority neighborhoods, will be the first major supermarket chain to open a superstore in the area. It will anchor a retail development project adjacent to a former UPS facility, which is being converted to a multiscreen movie and entertainment complex. A Gap/Old Navy store is also expected to open soon. The Jamaica Farmers Market will be expanding into additional space so that it can include a conference center/catering facility, and a new cultural center will occupy the former Dutch First Reformed Church.

In many locations throughout Queens, smaller retailers have joined Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), which focus on cosmetic improvements in commercial strips—including providing greenery, lighting, security, sanitation, and special-event marketing. For fledgling commercial strips located outside of BIDs, the City’s Department of Business Services administers the Commercial Strip Revitalization Program via numerous local sponsors. The program identifies the areas that are to be improved and organizes local merchants into functional groups, while providing institutional guidance until the merchants can operate independently.

Most of the recent residential development in Queens has been in small, multifamily projects. Developer Avalon Bay, however, will soon begin work on the next phase of development at Queens West, located along the East River in Long Island City across the river from the United Nations Building. This will include two cooperative apartment towers and a senior citizens’ housing center, which will adjoin the existing residential tower and public school. Early development work on the Arverne Urban Renewal Project, which will consist of 322 dwelling units and 110,000 square feet of new retail space, has begun. In Jamaica, efforts are under way to convert former industrial land near the MTA bus depot to housing.

(in 000s)

Data Source: US Census Bureau

Data Source: US Census Bureau

Data Source: NYS Department of Labor, ES202 Insured Employment Series

(thousands of people)

*Change in the Unemployment Rate is defined as a difference; for all other data, change is a percent change.

Data Source: NYS Department of Labor

Data Source: NYS Department of Labor, ES202 Insured Employment Series

Data Source: NYS Department of Labor, ES202 Insured Employment Series

Data Source: NYS Department of Labor, ES202 Insured Employment Series