8 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 19, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Bartlett Dairy’s new HQ expected to bring
economic development to southeast Queens
BY BILL PARRY AND GABRIELE
HOLTERMANN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Southeast Queens economic development
had a huge boost on Th ursday, Aug.
12, when city and state offi cials joined
community leaders to break ground
on a new headquarters and distribution
site for Bartlett Dairy Inc. and its
affi liates.
The minority-owned, family
run local business will develop a
54,000-square-foot dairy distribution
center on a signifi cant portion of the
JFK North Site, one of the largest
city-owned manufacturingzoned
properties.
“We are excited
to be
r e t u r n -
ing 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 Th omas
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.”
Th eir 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.
Th at’s the future Queens’ own
Bartlett Dairy is helping build in its hometown,
starting with today’s groundbreaking,”
Queens Borough President Donovan
R i chards
said. “We
couldn’t be
more excited
to welcome
back
upwards of
165 goodpaying
jobs
to Queens,
and we look
forward to
w o r k i n g
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 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.”
Th e 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 work to repair
the damage to our local economy infl icted
by the pandemic, Bartlett’s new headquarters
is an important step. Together with
our community partners, elected offi cials,
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 offi ce and local community
leaders for their eff orts 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 fi nd 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 fi rst proposed in 2015.
“Th is 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 fi nally
being utilized for the benefi t of the community,”
McMillan said. “Th is 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 lift ing
up and enriching Springfi eld Gardens and
its neighboring communities.”
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Rachel Loeb, president and CEO of NYCEDC, speaks
at the groundbreaking ceremony for Bartlett
Dairy’s new HQ and distribution facility in
Jamaica.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Elected offi cials and community representatives attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Bartlett Dairy’s
new HQ and distribution facility in Jamaica.
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