The New York City Council's Finance Committee is weighing a new business improvement district that could raise taxes to improve city services near John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens..
The finance panel, which held a public hearing on the Greater JFK BID at City Hall on Wednesday, now holds a 30-day waiting period to hear any public objections and will return to vote on the legislation around Oct. 27, with the full council voting on the measure the same day.
The BID It would be located in the Springfield Gardens area adjacent to the airport.
The area in Queens is on the route to the airport and is predominately industrial, with warehouses and related cargo business dominating a smaller residential neighborhood. In 1990, the NYC City Council took over passing laws creating individual business districts around the city.
This law would create an area of designated properties in Queens and would allow collection of a special tax assessment to pay for additional amenities above the normal city services. The BID District Management Association would work to improve security and sanitation, make physical and capital improvements, and employ marketing and advertising strategies to promote the area.
"The JFK off-airport cargo community is home to more than 600 businesses that provide logistical support to products and goods flowing through JFK and other major ports annually," a City Planning Commission report stated. "This commerce is not only essential to the city's economy and plays a central role in the daily lives of hundreds of New Yorkers, but also provides a foundation for regional, national and international economies at large."
The proposed district is made up of 525 parcels of which 199 are commercial or industrial lots, 154 residential, 103 vacant or undeveloped, 10 mixed use and 59 tax-exempt.
The area would be managed by the Greater JFK District Management Association, Inc. and have a budget of $500,000 a year.
The JFK Air Cargo Study, prepared by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, "illustrates the need for dedicated, specific services and improvements to supplement basic government services within the off-airport district area," the Planning Commission report said.
