What's Happening This Week in
Downtown Jamaica
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Our Latest Activities
Jamaica Center BID spent much of August canvassing hundreds of our local businesses to inquire about their recovery, inform them about the City’s proposed Jamaica Avenue busway, assess internet bandwidth strength downtown, and most importantly, to enroll our local storefront businesses in our new emergency alert system, JBID-Alerts!
What’s JBID-Alerts? Something very important in our eyes…In early February a portion of the Avenue was shut down due to an alleged bomb threat. Shortly thereafter, Coronavirus began spreading in full force and many businesses suddenly needed to shut down or modify operations based on their business type. In both instances, our staff struggled to efficiently get time-sensitive info to our businesses, due to varying degrees of email, social media or landline connectivity of each business. The lesson learned? In times of emergency, our BID needs a rapid-fire way to communicate with businesses beyond email, store visits, or calls to store landlines. Enter JBID-Alerts! When a business owner or key manager provides our organization with their cell phone number, we can now send up to the minute emergency blasts directly to their cell phone, using a new software powered by Textedly.
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If you’re a business owner within our BID boundaries that would like to be enrolled in this program, please contact Trey Jenkins at tjenkins@jamaicacenter.org. We will never share your cell information and we will only notify you with critical information that we feel is time sensitive and important to your business’s survival (read: no junk texts). Property owners—we would also like to provide this emergency alert service to you, building supers and building managers who want to be alerted of downtown emergencies (water main break, fire, etc). Please reach out to Trey Jenkins if you or your building staff wish to enroll in these alerts.
We can’t prevent disasters, but we certainly can prepare for them, allowing us as a business community to rebound much quicker!
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We also spent August reminding the community to support local businesses. We gave away I LOVE Jamaica Avenue and “Shop Local” postcards to passersbys at the Family Fun Day hosted by the Queens Chronicle and King Manor Museum on August 21.
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Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
This month we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. As part of this we are pleased to highlight the rich culture and delicious food found at the cluster of Salvadoran restaurants that reside in our district. Rincon Salvadorean (92-15 149th St), Mi Tierra (149-15 Jamaica Avenue), La Playita (149-23 Jamaica Ave) and Miranda’s Puperisa (located inside Jamaica Market 90-40 160th) are just a few spots where you can feast on pupusas (thick corn tortillas stuffed with delicious fillings), savory sopas (soups—often with chicken or pork), tamales and of course, a host of delectable deserts and refreshing flavored waters. One of our longstanding Salvadoran restaurants, Rincon, which is re-opening this Wednesday, September 23 and will have outdoor seating, recently added a new vibrant mural by Gsxl Graffic Scenes and Ton One Tpa, adding cheer to the western side of our downtown. Check it out next time you’re passing by and please support this thriving and delicious restaurant cluster!
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Updates for Restaurants
If you operate a restaurant, be sure to get caught up on the City’s new COVID surcharge bill and regulations around the transition to indoor dining within city limits.
COVID surcharge bill:Now restaurants can use a surcharge from the law's effective date until they may operate at maximum indoor capacity and 90 days thereafter. Restaurants must call it a "COVID-19 Recovery Charge" and clearly disclose the amount of such surcharge to the consumer before any item is ordered by placing it at the bottom of each menu page supplied to the consumer. The surcharge may not exceed 10% of a consumer's total bill and the written disclosure must be explicit that it is not a gratuity for employees. If you are one of the restaurants/bars interested in using a "COVID-19 Recovery Charge" please visit here to read and understand all the provisions and requirements of this legislation.
Indoor Dining: Additionally, with COVID-19 positivity rates hovering at or below 1% for over a month, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio announced that restaurants will be able to offer limited indoor dining beginning on September 30. Some requirements for restaurants include:
- Serve customers at a maximum of 25% capacity
- Conduct temperature checks at every front door
- Collect Test & Trace data from at least one customer at each table
- Close bar tops for seating
- Offer COVID-19 protections like PPE for employees
- Space tables six feet apart
Please continue to watch for our E-newsletters and COVID-19 website page as more information will be shared in the coming weeks leading up to September 30. If you don’t already, we also recommend following the New York City Hospitality Alliance, which is tracking and communicating all restaurant related legislation very clearly.
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Are you a minority or woman business owner? Get certified
The City spends up to $17 billion per year on goods and services. Getting certified as an M/WBE will help you compete for these opportunities and access exclusive programs to help your small business grow.
Want to learn more? Join the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) for an upcoming webinar! RSVP for 9/23 or 9/30.
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Make Sure You're Prepared This Hurricane Season
From gas leaks and fires, to major hurricanes, flooding, and blackouts, NYC business owners face many challenges that can impact your operations and assets. The Department of Small Business Services (SBS) is here to help guide you through the start of a business continuity plan.
Join SBS for a webinar to learn how to:
- Stay in business: Identify your key business functions, employees, and documents
- Protect your investments: Understand how to protect your assets and navigate insurance processes
- Be ready for action: Create a business continuity plan for your business
RSVP for 9/25 event here.
And don’t forget—one way to ensure you’re prepared for a disaster is to ensure you’re able to receive up to the minute emergency notifications from our BID. As mentioned earlier in this newsletter, please email Trey Jenkins at tjenkins@jamaicacenter.org to enroll in our new emergency business cell phone alert service—JBID Alerts!
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Queens Chamber of Commerce PPE & Infection Prevention Micro Grant Program
Our friends at the Queens Chamber of Commerce continues to offer grants (thanks to generous funding from New York-Presbyterian) to help small businesses purchase PPE and other infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, including sanitizing services. Community Board 12 has been slated as a high need area and therefore we encourage all of our Jamaica BID small businesses to apply for the grant here before funding runs out. Did you get a grant for this purpose? Please let us know!
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LISC NYC Grants Now Available
LISC NYC recently announced a new round of Small Business Relief and Recovery Grants to New York City Minority-Owned Small Businesses. Applicants who have been affected by COVID-19 have the opportunity to receive up to $10,000, which can be used to meet payroll expenses, rent, marketing, and technology upgrades.
- Round 1 is open from Monday, September 14th at 9 a.m. EST through Friday, October 2nd at 11:59 p.m.
- Round 2 is open from Monday, October 19th at 9 a.m. EST through Friday, November 6th at 11:59 p.m.
To learn more about this opportunity visit LISC's website here.
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Downtown Jamaica Storefront Improvement Grant Applications Now Open
We are happy to share that NYC’s Department of Small Business Services “SBS” Phase 2 of the Downtown Jamaica Storefront Improvement Grant applications are now open. If you are a small business or property owner in the Downtown Jamaica area who is interested in this grant opportunity, please visit the Downtown Jamaica Storefront Improvement Application & Guidelines pages. You can find more information about the program on the SBS website here. If interested, please direct all questions to storefronts@sbs.nyc.gov. The deadline for this grant opportunity is September 30.
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GJDC Loans
Congratulations to Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, which is one of the few community-based organizations around the state to receive a grant, which is part of the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. We are thrilled that our local Southeast Queens businesses have yet another source of capital at their fingertips to help them weather these times. It is our understanding that this grant will help GJDC administer additional important loans for small businesses. To learn more about GJDC business loans and business counseling services, please visit here.
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Free Book Fair at King Manor Museum
King Manor Museum is partnering with the Blaque Resource Network for a Free Book Fair this Saturday, September 19 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. There are about 2,500 books to share with book lovers both young and old so stop by!
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Time is Running Out. Respond Now.
Beginning on Constitution Day, September 17, through Sunday, September 20, join Census Bureau partners nationwide in reminding your network that time is running out to respond to the 2020 Census.
If you have not responded to the 2020 Census, you can respond online here.
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Request Your Absentee Ballot: Deadline October 27, 2020
The 2020 election is less than two-months away and if you have not already, make sure to request your absentee ballot. The deadline to do so is Thursday, October 27, 2020, and it can be done either online, email, or fax.
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For More Coronavirus Information from the City of New York
If you would like to receive regular text alerts from City government regarding the novel Coronavirus, you can sign up by texting COVID to 692-692.
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About Business and Event Promotions in this Newsletter: Businesses and organizations located in the Jamaica Avenue Commercial District between Sutphin Blvd and 169th Street are invited to submit promotional information for possible inclusion in our newsletter. Events happening near or immediately adjacent to the Jamaica Avenue Commercial District may also be considered for inclusion on a case-by-case basis. We reserve the right to reject or edit materials for length, style, timeliness, and appropriateness. This newsletter serves to inform our community about events, opportunities and commercial activity in Downtown Jamaica, within specifically the Jamaica Center BID boundaries.
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The Jamaica Center BID - 161-10 Jamaica Avenue, Suite 419, Jamaica, NY 11432
Copyright 2020 Jamaica Center BID, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this e-mail as a member of the Jamaica Center BID distribution list.
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