Bartlett Dairy breaks ground with hope of bringing
economic development to southeast Queens nabes
BY BILL PARRY
Southeast Queens economic
development had a huge
boost on Thursday, Aug. 12,
when city and state officials
joined community leaders to
break ground on a new headquarters
and distribution site
for Bartlett Dairy Inc. and its
affiliates.
The minority-owned, family
run local business will
develop a 54,000-square-foot
dairy distribution center on a
significant portion of the JFK
North Site, one of the largest
city-owned manufacturingzoned
properties.
“We are excited to be returning
home to Jamaica.
When my father started this
company more than 50 years
ago, Bartlett Dairy was a
small one man, one truck operation,”
Bartlett Dairy Inc.
President Thomas Malave
Jr. said. “Over the years, my
brothers and I have worked
tirelessly to build upon the opportunity
our father provided.
It has been astonishing to see
the growth that we have been
able to achieve. We would not
be where we are today, breaking
ground on our new headquarters,
without the dedication
of all of our wonderful
employees and the support of
the city of New York.”
Their new distribution center
will allow them to bring
approximately 165 jobs with
average wages of $70,000 back
to Queens from New Jersey by
activating a previously unused
and overgrown site wedged between
the Nassau Expressway
and 161-02 Rockaway Blvd.
“Queens is not just leading
the way out of the pandemic.
It’s leading the way toward
a future where good-paying
jobs right here in the borough
sustain entire communities.
That’s the future Queens’ own
Bartlett Dairy is helping build
in its hometown, starting with
today’s groundbreaking,”
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards said. “We
couldn’t be more excited to
welcome back upwards of 165
good-paying jobs to Queens,
and we look forward to working
closely with Bartlett Dairy
to create even more economic
opportunities for local families
and for southeast Queens
as a whole.”
Bartlett Dairy, which was
originally based in Queens,
will become the only milk distribution
Bartlett Dairy leaders join local elected officials attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Bartlett Dairy’s new HQ and distribution
facility in Jamaica. Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
facility in the city
since Elmhurst Dairy shuttered
in Jamaica, costing the
area nearly 300 jobs.
Bartlett Dairy started in
1963 with one truck, delivering
glass milk bottles to
Queens homes. Since its incorporation
in 1990, it has grown
into an enterprise with 100
tractor-trailers and straight
trucks, delivering a wide variety
of products to schools,
hotels, grocery stores and restaurants
in the tri-state area.
“Today’s groundbreaking
is a true testament to New
York City’s continued economic
recovery,” New York
City Economic Development
Corporation (NYCEDC) President
and CEO Rachel Loeb
said. “Bartlett’s new headquarters
and dairy and food
distribution center will bring
quality jobs to New Yorkers,
while strengthening the city’s
food economy. We are proud
to have worked with Bartlett
Dairy and Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards
to make this happen. We want
businesses to know they can
grow and succeed in NYC, and
Bartlett is a great example.”
The project is expected to
create more than 100 union
construction jobs.
“Bartlett Dairy’s groundbreaking
is an excellent example
of the success we can
achieve when we empower M/
WBEs and invest in economic
opportunity for communities,”
Councilwoman Selvena
Brooks-Powers said. “As we
TIMESLEDGER | Q 10 NS.COM | AUG. 20 - AUG. 26, 2021
work to repair the damage to
our local economy inflicted
by the pandemic, Bartlett’s
new headquarters is an important
step. Together with our
community partners, elected
officials, and NYCEDC, we
are bringing valuable jobs to
southeast Queens.”
Assemblyman Khaleel Anderson
said the project will
provide much-needed economic
relief.
“As our communities recover
from the COVID-19 pandemic,
jobs like these provide
economic stability, enhance
the quality of life, and inspire
a sense of hope for renewed
economic opportunity for
families disproportionately
impacted by COVID-19 in
Queens and throughout New
York City,” Anderson said. “I
applaud the NYCEDC, Bartlett
Dairy, my colleagues in elected
office and local community
leaders for their efforts in
making today possible.”
State Senator James Sanders
pointed out that Bartlett’s
new home was a site “that was
crying out for a project for
many years” and that he was
grateful to those who had a
vision for the site.
However, he also stressed
that, in the future, sound economic
development needed
to go further and involve the
community.
“We need to make sure
that the local businesses can
sell everything from shovels
to gravel and even air conditioning
to anything we need,”
Sanders said. “We need to
find a way to work with the
community on these things.”
Community Board 13 District
Manager Mark McMillan
said his members have been
excited about the new facility
since it was first proposed in
2015.
“This development checks
all of the boxes of what is wanted
and needed in our communities:
New York-based,
minority-owned, family-run,
creating 165 jobs with good
salaries. Underdeveloped
areas — outside residential
areas — are finally being utilized
for the benefit of the community,”
McMillan said. “This
is important to keep our young
people around and to make
the neighborhoods nearby
more attractive to those who
end up working for Bartlett.
A win-win scenario by lifting
up and enriching Springfield
Gardens and its neighboring
communities.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards speaks at the groundbreaking
ceremony.
link
link
link
/NS.COM
