2 THE QUEENS COURIER • QUEENS BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 9, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
queens business
ing relocation. Queens admittedly has
fewer subway stations per person (and
fewer stations per square mile) than its
neighboring boroughs. However, Queens
presents many opportunities for strategic
positioning along subways lines and
major bus routes.
Th e Museum of Modern Art and its
Long Island City outpost, MoMA PS1,
are just two stops apart from each other
on the E and M lines. MoMA has placed
several highly visible subway ads at the
Fift h Avenue/53rd Street stop, proudly
announcing the ease of traveling between
the two locations.
Performing arts groups especially
appreciate the borough’s direct and
rapid connection to Manhattan’s Th eater
District. Th e administrative operations
of the Th eatre Development Fund are
housed just 10 blocks south of the organization’s
famed Times Square ticket booth.
When Denham Wolf led TDF in securing
a new location for its costume collection,
Manhattan’s steep asking rents
made Queens an appealing option. Th e
80,000+ piece collection is now housed
within Kaufman Astoria Studios, mere
blocks from four subway lines that also
stop near TDF’s headquarters.
For nonprofi ts like TDF, the growing
number of arts-based institutions in
Queens is also a major draw. Kaufman
Astoria Studios and the Queens Museum
both laid groundwork for organizations
such as Silvercup Studios, the Museum
of the Moving Image, and the Noguchi
Museum, all three of which made a debut
in Queens in the 1980s. More recently,
the borough has become a home for
the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts,
which has operated from Queens since
its founding in 2001, as well as Flux
Factory, the Chocolate Factory, and modern
dance company Rioult Dance NY.
For years, Rioult’s search for an aff ordable
but physically appropriate space
in Manhattan was unsuccessful, but an
expansion of the organization’s search
parameters revealed several exciting possibilities
in Queens. Ultimately, Rioult
selected a location on the border of Long
Island City and Astoria.
Th rough a collaboration with a local
developer, which was facilitated by
Photo by Sakeenah Saleem
Denham Wolf, the site will soon house
a space with 14’ fl oor-to-ceiling height
and up to 36’ column spacing. If Rioult
had persisted with its initial geographic
parameters, “securing such a performer
friendly space at such a reasonable
price would have proven very diffi cult,
if not impossible, in Manhattan,” said
Denham Wolf’s Christopher Turner.
Queens is also home to many organizations,
performance-based and otherwise,
whose mission inherently infl uences
location. For example, the ethnic Chinese
population of Flushing has steadily
grown since the 1970s, resulting in one of
the largest such communities outside of
Asia. Unsurprisingly, nonprofi ts such as
the Chinese-American Planning Council
(CPC) and Asian Americans for Equality
(AAFE) are heavily invested in the neighborhood.
With help from Denham Wolf, CPC
completed a new community center earlier
this year, in the heart of Flushing.
Th e 28,000 square foot facility responds
directly to local demand; the building
houses expanded programs for seniors as
well as increased opportunity for intergenerational
recreation and learning. Just
four blocks away, AAFE is in the midst
of creating a new community center of
its own.
By prioritizing proximity to their constituents
and related organizations, these
nonprofi ts are able to serve their communities
more directly and effi ciently. Th ey
also benefi t from the adjacency of their
peers, who may have common partnerships
or helpful lessons to share.
Of course, Queens off ers a number of
attractive characteristics beyond aff ordability,
transportation access, and community
proximity.
“Th e large population of Queens is compelling
for nonprofi ts,” notes Denham
Wolf co-president Jon Denham, “in that
it suggests ample program participants
and a substantial need for services.”
Th e need for healthcare services, among
others, has undoubtedly grown. In recent
years, several community-based health
centers have expanded their Queens operations
or established an initial presence in
the borough. In 2014, population data
and rates of healthcare coverage, gathered
The interior of CPC Queens Community center.
Photo by Zbig Jedrus
The Theatre Development Fund Costume Collection, now at Kaufman Astoria Studios.
Photo by Zbig Jedrus
The exterior of Kaufman Astoria Studios.
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Photo courtesy of Denham Wolf.
The future home of Rioult Dance NY in Astoria.