An Image Makeover for Jamaica (Queens)

The Business Improvement District (BID) in Jamaica is in the midst of a major marketing campaign aimed at raising the profile of the neighborhood in the minds of shoppers and business owners. As part of a campaign with the tagline “Hip Meets Historic meets Downtown,” the BID (whose website is at jamaicacenter.org) is touting Downtown Jamaica’s demographics (86,000 pedestrians, 260,000 visitors, 158,000 workers), its connectivity (20 minutes to Manhattan, 8 minutes to JFK) and its real estate development pipeline (a 368-block rezoning to pave the way for more than 5,000 new units of housing and more than 1,000 new hotel rooms). The BID has also started a window redesign program to help local merchants–check out one of the before-and-after shots on the jump. And if you are really interested, you can check out the BID’s annual report here.