11 community news COMPTROLLER POINTS TO BORO BOOM BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO Queens is on a roll and isn’t stopping any time soon, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. “Queens is a New York success story,” DiNapoli said. “Superstorm Sandy impacted thousands of Queens residents, but the borough is on the recovery path. With a strong economy, a fast growing and diverse population, and several large projects on the horizon, Queens is booming.” DiNapoli gathered with local elected offi cials and community leaders on December 13 at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City to release an economic snapshot of Queens, revealing how the borough has made an economic comeback over the past two years since the Great Recession. According to the report, since 2012 the borough has had the highest level of employment among all the boroughs outside of Manhattan, as private sector employment reached its highest recorded level of 486,160 jobs. The largest employment sectors in Queens include health care, social assistance, transportation and warehousing and retail trade. The borough’s population has also grown by 20 percent over the past three decades, more than the citywide growth rate, according to the report. The state comptroller’s economic snapshot also found that Queens is the most diverse large county in the United States, with immigrants from more than 120 countries comprising 48 percent of residents, without a single dominant ethnic group. In 2011, the borough had 44,070 business establishments, with small businesses most prevalent in the borough, according to the report. The report also found unemployment to be lower in Queens, compared to the rest of the city. The unemployment rate averaged 8.3 percent in 2012 and in the fi rst eight months of 2013 dropped to 7.8 percent. Together with an increase in jobs and low unemployment rate, fi lm and television production have both been thriving in the borough. Silvercup Studios, with 410,000-square-feet of space and 19 soundstages, is the biggest studio space in the city, while Kaufman Astoria Studios has seven soundstages and the city’s only outdoor movie set. “I just think that fi lm and television production is a mutual part of New York and Queens and of surrounding areas and it provides jobs,” said actor Michael J. Fox, who is fi lming “The Michael J. Fox Show” at Silvercup Studios. “I want to voice whatever support I can to continue nurturing fi lm and television production in New York; it’s a big part of the city.” Photos by Angy Altamirano Together with local elected offi cials and actor Michael J. Fox, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released an economic snapshot of Queens revealing the borough has been strongly moving forward over the past two years.
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