Economic Development

From our two major airports to our countless small businesses, our borough’s economy is just as diverse as our people. To further the mission of creating good-paying jobs and boosting business, Borough President Richards is leading on a number of initiatives to do exactly that.

The Borough President serves as a co-chair of the JFK Airport Redevelopment Advisory Council, working closely with the Port Authority to create thousands of union jobs and secure $1 billion in contracts for Queens-based businesses as the airport undergoes a $20 billion transformation.

He has also launched the Queens Tech + Innovation Challenge, connecting borough start-ups with hundreds of thousands of dollars in seed funding. Meanwhile, the new Global Tech and Innovation Center in Long Island City, created and funded by Borough President Richards to build Queens into an international tech hub fueled by local start-ups, is currently under construction.

Other victories include securing deals to both keep JetBlue’s headquarters in build Bartlett Dairy’s new distribution center in Queens, maintaining Corona Plaza and its street vendors as a hub of cuisine and creating the Queens Small Business Grant Program to support businesses impacted by COVID-19.

Contact:

Shurn Anderson,
Director of Economic Development

718-286-3157
[email protected]