FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 18, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Downtown Jamaica celebrates new businesses
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
In an economic downturn caused by
the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw
more than 1,000 businesses close across
Queens, Friday, Feb. 12, off ered a moment
to celebrate a reversal of that trend in
Jamaica.
Borough President Donovan Richards
and the Jamaica Center Business
Improvement District led a parade with
a brass band down Jamaica Avenue on
a multi-business ribbon-cutting event
Friday to welcome half a dozen businesses
that opened during one of the most
challenging years for retail in modern
history.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of
our communities, and that is especially
true in Jamaica. Th e Jamaica Center BID
does incredible work uplift ing our local
entrepreneurs and encouraging local hiring
— critical work we aim to build upon
through initiatives like the Queens Small
Business Grant Program,” Richards said.
“Th e challenges we face are immense, but
working with local partners, we will stop
at nothing to ensure our small businesses
have the resources they need to not just
survive, but thrive.”
Th e parade began in the front of a new
Dunkin’ Donuts at 163-18 Jamaica Ave.
with opening remarks and a traditional
ribbon-cutting led by Richards before
setting off to welcome the other new
businesses.
“Downtown Jamaica is all about community,
and when you join our business
community, we are going to support
you, in the best of times and in the most
challenging times,” Jamaica Center BID
Executive Director Jennifer Furioli said.
“We’re excited to acknowledge those businesses
that have chosen to invest in our
downtown. Th is warm welcome is just the
fi rst of many touch points these businesses
can expect to receive from our organization
and the broader community.”
Th e Underground Horns brass band
played in front of each new store with
separate ribbon-cuttings at MA Perfume
at 165-12 Jamaica Ave., European Wax
Center and Diamond Braces at 166-16
Jamaica Ave., and at the new restaurant
Hook & Reel Cajun Seafood and Bar at
161-21 Jamaica Avenue.
“We are so excited to have indoor dining
at Hook & Reel return in time for
Valentine’s Day,” owner Wendy He said.
“We’re also now operating a full bar for
our customers.”
Monica Chawla, the owner of MA
Perfume, took the opportunity to off er a
special promotion to customers.
‘We look forward to building our perfume
and cologne clientele on Jamaica
Avenue with great prices, trust and convenience
with the support of all our loyal
customers,” Chawla said. “We will have a
sale on all perfume and cologne gift sets as
well as 50 percent off all select fragrances.”
Diamond Braces manager Denis Zubov
added his sales pitch.
“Diamond Braces is happy to be in
downtown Jamaica,” Zubov said. “We take
all insurance, and we off er a complimentary
consultation on your fi rst visit. We
look forward to serving you.”
To learn more about the Jamaica Center
BID and stay up-to-date on all happenings
on Jamaica Avenue, visit their
website.
“Th is is the fi rst time we’ve done a ribbon
cutting parade like this on Jamaica
Avenue from our BID and it was a big
hit,” Jamaica Center BID Director of
Marketing and Business Services Trey
Jenkins said. “We had a nice turnout from
elected offi cials and it seemed like the
businesses we featured appreciated the
love which is fi tting with Valentine’s Day
coming up on Sunday.”
New vaccination hub coming to York College
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A new COVID-19 mass vaccination
hub will open at York College in Jamaica
the week of Feb. 24, becoming the largest
distribution center in the state, Governor
Andrew Cuomo announced last week.
Th e vaccination site will be for Queens
residents only and will target communities
and populations historically underserved
by the traditional health care system
that have been disproportionately
impacted by COVID-19.
Th e York College site will be established
in a partnership between the state
and federal government and distribute
3,000 vaccinations a day. Th e federal government
will provide the vaccine and
staff . Another mass vaccination site will
be located at Medgar Evers College in
Brooklyn.
“COVID created low tide in America,
and all the ugliness, structural racism, injustice
and disparity lurking beneath the surface
was exposed,” Cuomo said. “We know
that communities of color suff ered the most
and from day one we’ve made the fair and
equitable distribution of the vaccine a priority.
Th ese two new sites are going to make a
dramatic impact on some of our hardest-hit
communities and further bolster the work
we’ve already been doing on the ground to
get shots in arms, and we’re so thankful to
the Biden administration for their partnership
in making it happen.”
Cuomo added that the state will still
need to conduct outreach programs to
build trust in the vaccine in communities
that have been hit the hardest by the pandemic
yet have signifi cantly lower vaccination
statistics.
“Th rough the new vaccination sites we
are announcing today, we are taking the
response directly to the communities that
need it most,” White House COVID-
19 Equity Task Force Chair Dr. Marcella
Nunez-Smith said. “We’re implementing
a comprehensive equity strategy to
vaccinate our underserved and hardest
to reach communities that also includes
pharmacies, community health centers
and mobile clinics as well as eff orts to
build vaccine confi dence amongst hesitant
communities. We will ensure that no
one is left behind in our response.”
Dr. Berenecea Eanes, the college’s president,
said that she was “pleased to support”
the eff ort to designate York as a vaccination
site.
“We at York College are happy for the
opportunity to serve our borough, city
and state in the Herculean task of vaccinating
New Yorkers,” Eanes said. “I want
to thank Governor Cuomo for recognizing
York as an important resource, not
just an outstanding institution of higher
learning, but also as an important community
resource for social justice. We are
ready to help in the fi ght against the coronavirus
virus.”
Th e vaccination hub will be located
in the college’s Health and Physical
Education, known as “Th e Gym.” Th e site
will open on Wednesday, Feb. 24.
Meanwhile, Mayor Bill de Blasio rode
the 7 train to Citi Field to fi nally open the
city’s new mass vaccination hub which
will serve eligible Queens residents, along
with priority appointments for TLC and
food serve workers from across the fi ve
boroughs. For its fi rst week in operation,
200 appointments will be available each
day, but the operation will expand rapidly.
“By next week, we’ll be able to do 4,000
doses a week at this site, but if we have
enough vaccine supply, we will be doing
5,000 doses a day here at Citi Field,” de
Blasio said. “We’ll be able to protect tens
of thousands of people each week, here at
Citi Field.”
Eligible New Yorkers can make an
appointment at nyc.gov/vaccinefi nder or
by calling 877-VAX-4NYC.
“Th e race against COVID-19 urgently
demands that we bring the COVID-19
vaccine to all New Yorkers, and the opening
of this massive new site at Citi Field
will unlock more access to the vaccine for
both the residents of Queens and for our
frontline essential workers who have kept
our city going throughout this pandemic,”
NYC Test & Trace Corps Executive
Director Dr. Ted Long said. “As the supply
of vaccine increases, this new site will bolster
our ability to vaccinate as many New
Yorkers as quickly as possible.”
Photo by Nat Valentine
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards leads a parade celebrating new businesses that have
opened along Jamaica Avenue despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo courtesy of Cuomo’s offi ce
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a new COVID-19 mass vaccination site will open at York College
this month.
/vaccinefi
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