On December 1, 2021, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) joined New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Omni New York, elected officials and community members to celebrate the opening of Archer Green, which brings 387 affordable homes to downtown Jamaica.
For new residents like Tricia, Archer Green has already had transformational impact on her life.
“2020 was the hardest year of my life. I had a baby girl, but she was born premature, and because of the pandemic, I had to go back and forth to the hospital for 11 weeks before I could take her home. When we finally got through that hurdle, I found out that my parents’ basement, where we were living, had mold, and I was incredibly stressed thinking about how to keep my child safe.”
“Then I got the call for this apartment, and it has changed everything. I love my new apartment. I have windows now. The appliances are amazing. There’s a new affordable supermarket coming in downstairs, laundry in the building, a gym because they care about your health, and a playroom for my daughter. This is a Godsend, especially for me as a single mother. I can tell so much thought went into this building.”
“I grew up in Springfield Gardens, just a neighborhood over, and I can’t believe the changes in Jamaica in the last few years. There are amazing developments, businesses want to come here, and I know the community has been waiting for this. It has been a journey, which is actually my daughter’s name, Journey, but it’s brought us here — a new home, a new beginning.”
Developed on what was once an underutilized New York Police Department parking garage, Archer Green was the first major milestone to come out of the Jamaica NOW Action Plan, a $153 million dollar neighborhood revitalization initiative announced in 2015. Led by NYCEDC and the Queens Borough President, in partnership with HPD and other City agencies, elected officials, and the community, the plan aims to economically revitalize Jamaica by providing workforce training and small business support and improve the livability of the neighborhood by investing in safety, green space, affordable housing and more.
