8 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 4, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Dunkin' is Queens' fastest-growing chain store: report
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
Th ere was a modest increase in the number
of chain stores that opened in Queens
this year, according to a report released by
the Center for an Urban Future.
Th e 10th-annual “State of the Chains”
found that the borough saw a 0.9 percent
increase in the number of retail chains in
2017, down from the all-time high of 5.3
percent in 2014. MetroPCS opened the
most locations in the borough this year
with 34. Th e cell phone service company
now has 122 stores in the borough, making
it the most represented chain next to
Dunkin’ Donuts.
Queens seems to run on Dunkin’,
according to the report. Th e chain, which
tops the list of most chains in Queens,
opened eight stores in the borough this
year, bringing the total number of locations
to 187.
Other chains reduced the number of
locations in the borough. CVS closed 14
locations while Duane Reade/Walgreens
shuttered eight stores.
Of the 296 retailers with locations in the
fi ve boroughs, 56 of them have more locations
in Queens than any other borough.
Queens has the second largest share of
national retailers next to Manhattan with
23 percent.
Not surprisingly, the ZIP code 11373 in
Elmhurst is home to the most retail chains
in Queens with 131. Th is ZIP code also
includes Queens Center mall.
Th e ZIP code that saw the largest
increase of retail chains this year was 11354
in Flushing. On the other side of the spectrum,
the Far Rockaway/Broad Channel
ZIP code 11693 experienced no growth in
the number of chains from 2016 through
2017.
Th e report also includes analysis of the
state of city chains through the past decade.
Since the fi rst “State of the Chains” report
in 2008, the number of coff ee retailers
jumped 65 percent with 621 locations citywide.
Th is spike is due to the expansion of
chains like Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks and
more local chains.
Th e number of fast-food chains expanded
14 percent since 2008, with 1,261 fastfood
locations calling New York City
home. Fast casual chain restaurants such
as Chipotle and Chop’t doubled since 2008
with 289 locations in 2017 as opposed to
141 a decade ago.
Frozen yogurt chains such as 16 Handles
and Red Mango grew 283 percent since
2008, from 12 chain locations to 46 locations
today. Th ese chains hit a peak in 2014
when there were 57 locations in the city.
Ice cream chains have been declining
for a decade, the report found. Since 2008,
there has been a 17 percent drop, from 376
locations to 311 today.
Th is year, cell phone stores outnumbered
clothing store chains for the fi rst
time. Cell phone chains added 621 locations
in the past decade, rising from 233
locations in 2008 to 854 in 2017.
Th e explosion of online shopping has
contributed to the decline of electronic
retailers like RadioShack. Th ere are now
only 53 electronic chain stores citywide
compared to 144 in 2008.
Offi ce supply chains lost 25 percent of
their locations since 2008, with 63 locations
today compared to 47.
Shoe retail chains experienced a 16 percent
decrease this past decade, from 239
locations to 207.
Overall, 66 percent of national retailers
maintained the same number of locations
as last year, compared to 2016, when just
one-third of all retailers remained fl at.
Queens pol's renewable ferry fuel bill now law
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
A new bill passed in the City Council on
Dec. 19, 2017 will require that a two-year
study be completed to determine how feasible
it would be to use renewable fuels
and technology to power the city’s ferries.
Earlier this year, Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced that he would expand ferry
service to include routes in Astoria,
Rockaway and South Brooklyn. Now,
a new bill aims to make this expansion
more environmentally friendly.
Introduced by Astoria Councilman
Costa Constantinides, Int. No. 54-A will
result in a study to analyze what alternative
fuels can be used to power the motorized
watercraft s.
Alternative fuels like biodiesel and
hybrid electric, battery electric and fuelcell
electric technologies will all be considered
in the study, which should be
completed no later than Dec. 31, 2019.
Th e study would also require a review
of the types and classes of ferries used,
their compatibility with the alternative
fuels and alternative fuel technologies, the
availability of the fuels and technologies
and other issues such as storage and regulatory
requirements.
Th e most commonly used fuel, petroleum
diesel fuel, generates greenhouse gases when
it is burned, as well as harmful pollutants
such as sulfur dioxide. Th e exhaust released
by petroleum fuel can also cause respiratory
illnesses such as asthma and lung disease.
According to the Staten Island Advance,
the Staten Island Ferry began to use liquefi
ed natural gas to power one of its ferries
in 2013 as opposed to low-sulfur diesel,
which was done to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions and cut fuel costs.
“Over the past four years, our city has
made environmental protection a priority
– whether through ending our reliance on
fossil fuels, cleaning our air quality, building
sustainable transit habits, or encouraging
use of renewable energy,” Constantinides
said in a statement. “Int. 54 will help
A new bill will require the city to explore alternative forms of energy to power ferries.
increase use of renewable fuel in one of our
city’s most sustainable transit options – our
ferries. As use of our citywide ferry system
has grown exponentially, we must innovate
the type of energy we use to fuel the boats.”
Photos courtesy of NYC Ferry
Another bill introduced by Constantinides
also passed City Council on Dec. 19. It
requires power plant operators in the city to
stop burning dirty grades of fuel oil to power
their plants sooner than originally proposed.
File photo
The number of retail chains grew in Queens for the ninth year in a row.
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