Jamaica

Economic and Workforce Development

Project last updated April 6, 2009

Planning for Jobs and Training Opportunities

The Pratt Center has been in the forefront of efforts to make sure that New York City's land use and development policies and programs promote strong employment and training opportunities, and link major economic development projects with nearby residents and workers.

Jamaica Rezoning

Testimony last updated May 23, 2007

Testimony to the City Planning Commission on the Jamaica Plan

Pratt Center for Community Development
Brad Lander
May 23, 2007

Chair Burden, members of the City Planning Commission, thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony today. My name is Brad Lander and I am the director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, a university-based center that works for a more just, equitable, and sustainable city for all New Yorkers by helping communities to plan for and realize their future.

The Pratt Center was honored to work with Community Board 12's Ad Hoc Committee on the Jamaica Plan. We have deep respect for their work, and all of the time, research, and passion they have put into this effort. We encourage you to give serious consideration to their position, which we believe reflects strong sentiments within the community. Our testimony today, however, is our own.

Pratt Center eNews - Spring 2008

News last updated May 3, 2008

In this Issue:

A Message from Pratt Center Director Brad Lander
Better Jobs for New Yorkers
COMMUTE Puts Bus Rapid Transit on the Map
Pushing a New Vision for Willets Point
Meet the Pratt Center Staff: Michael Bogdanffy-Kriegh and Rebecca Reich
Pratt Center Receives EPA Environmental Quality Award
Helping New Orleans Rebuild
Introducing Energy Matters
Contribute

Bus Rapid Transit proposed route - Sunset Park to JFK

Map last updated May 20, 2009

Building in Good Jobs

Report last updated December 7, 2006

In cities around the country, private sector development and public sector support have combined to create building booms in places that only a few decades ago were in seemingly irreversible decline. However, both working poverty and chronic unemployment in central cities remain disturbingly high.

Workforce "linkage" policies present an opportunity to help people make a lasting exit from poverty by tying economic development projects directly to the creation of quality jobs and training opportunities for people struggling to get ahead.

PrattCenter-Building_in_Good_Jobs_Report.pdf

Jamaica Commuters

Map last updated September 22, 2010

Jamaica Workers

Map last updated October 4, 2010

Transportation Equity Atlas Debuts

News last updated October 6, 2010

The Pratt Center has just released the Transportation Equity Atlas, a collection of downloadable maps showing commuting patterns and the length of rides to work for residents of a dozen low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in New York City, from East Flatbush to East Elmhurst to Washington Heights. The Atlas also shows where workers at major employment centers in the boroughs live, and how they get to work.

The Transportation Equity Atlas arrives just as the MTA announces fare hikes that add to the burden borne by low-income riders, who have already suffered the brunt of recent cutbacks in service.

Based on 2000 U.S. Census data, the Transportation Equity Atlas shows that even when the transit system had more frequent and extensive service, riders in the Atlas neighborhoods endured extremely long commutes to work. For example, more than half of subway riders in Soundview, in the Bronx, had rides of one hour or more.