WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES AUGUST 5, 2021 7
JetBlue will
stay in LIC
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
New York’s hometown airline
is staying grounded in Long
Island City.
JetBlue has decided to keep its
corporate headquarters in Queensboro
Plaza and it will add jobs as its
footprint grows at JFK International
Airport.
“Some people call New York the
Big Apple. Others call it the center
of the universe. At JetBlue, we call
it home,” said Robin Hayes, chief
executive officer at JetBlue. “Our
unique brand and culture have been
embraced by millions of New Yorkers
for more than two decades, and we
remain committed to helping bring
this iconic city back from one of the
greatest crises it has ever faced. A
lot of out-of-town airlines like to
talk big about New York City, but as
the only airline based right here, no
one knows like we do why this city
has always been – and still is – such
a great place to live, work and visit.”
JetBlue had been contemplating
a move to Florida when its current
lease expires in 2023, but a full-court
press from elected offi cials and business
leaders in Queens beginning in
March may have helped keep the
airline — and its 1,300 corporate
workers and another 7,000 JetBlue
employees who work at various locations
including LaGuardia and JFK
airports — in western Queens.
“I would like to thank all of our
partners and supporters for their
collaboration. I’d especially like
to thank Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer, who has been our steadfast
friend and strong supporter since
our founding 21 years ago, always
realizing the importance of JetBlue’s
low fares in our eight Empire State
airports, the jobs they add to the
economy and the importance of
having our head offi ce based right
here in New York City,” Hayes said.
“No one has been there more in the
most pivotal moments of our history,
leading the way for crucial payroll
support during this pandemic
through the CARES Act, allowing
us to continue our record of never
furloughing a single crew member.”
Schumer, who also implored the
airline to stay in Queens, said Jet-
Blue’s announcement will help the
city recover from the darkest days
of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
economic turmoil that came with
the shutdown.
“Thousands of new jobs connected
to JetBlue’s growing presence at
JFK, paired with the company reaffi
rming its commitment to being
NYC’s hometown airline are great
news,” Schmer said. “During the
pandemic, I shepherded unprecedented
relief to the aviation sector
that saved hundreds of thousands of
jobs and the entire airline industry. I
am encouraged that having survived
the worst of it, JetBlue is adding jobs,
reinvesting and recommitting to
New York.”
The budget air carrier was created
in Forest Hills in 1998 and has been
headquartered in Long Island City
since 2012.
JetBlue plans to stay at its current
home in the Brewster Building at
27-01 Queens Plaza North in Long
Island City, where the company has
been based since 2012 and is home
to its iconic rooft op sign. JetBlue
intends to negotiate and execute a
lease over the next few months and
then re-design its office space to
be responsive to rapidly evolving
workplace trends that have accelerated
during the pandemic.
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards, who previously
called on the Port Authority to work
with JetBlue so the company could
remain at their location, said it was
a “privilege to work” with them in
the monthslong campaign to keep
them in the borough.
“JetBlue is a valuable corporate
partner here in Queens, and I am
overjoyed they will keep their headquarters
in Long Island City,” Richards
said. “By remaining here in
Queens, our borough is connected
to one of the world’s largest airlines
and entrusted with thousands of
jobs that will surely revitalize our
economy. Queens is flying high
today and open for business.”
JetBlue will also expand its
footprint at LaGuardia Airport
beyond its current space at the
historic Marine Air Terminal and
partially move into the airport’s
recently opened and state-of-theart
Terminal B later this year with
plans to move completely in 2022.
“I’m proud of New York’s hometown
airline for keeping their team
in the greatest city in the world,”
Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “New York
City is building a recovery for all of
us, and that means keeping iconic
companies like JetBlue here at home.
We’re excited to keep them around
and we look forward to years of collaboration
to come.”
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
