The Downtown Jamaica Cultural District is a partnership between the area's arts and economic development organizations in an effort to combine resources to promote Jamaica's cultural heritage and current happenings. The partners are:
165th Street Business Improvement District
161-04 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, New York 11432 , (718) 298-5489
The 165th Street Mall is an outdoor pedestrian plaza comprising a block between Jamaica Avenue and 89th Street, lined with shops and Caribbean takeout. The 165th Street BID works with New York City's Small Business Services to deliver assistance on matters such as sanitation and maintenance, public safety and visitor services, marketing and promotional programs, capital improvements and beautification to enhance local business conditions.
Afrikan Poetry Theater
176-03 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, NY 11432, Phone: 718-523-3312, www.afrikapoetrytheatre.com
Afrikan Poetry Theater is a cultural and community center that has provided workshops, programs and services for the entire family since 1976. Musical performances encompass jazz, blues, reggae, ska and other Caribbean, South American and African forms. There is also a program of film screenings, the production of original plays and a summer youth employment initiative, which places student interns with local businesses.
By appointment, the organization will undertake in-school workshops in cultural craft-making, creative writing and storytelling. Craftmaking consists largely of tie-dyeing, jewelry-making and drum- and mask-making, which are designed to reinforce lessons on classical West African culture. Storytellers, sometimes accompanied by music, utilize a "call and response" method as a means of encouraging deeper engagement by student audiences.
Cultural Collaborative Jamaica
161-04 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, NY 11432, 718-526-3217
Cultural Collaborative Jamaica (CCJ) is an alliance which seeks to link local arts and cultural organizations effectively for mutual benefit and to further community development in Jamaica. CCJ works to create activities that meet the interests of a wide spectrum of downtown audiences.
Greater Jamaica Development Corporation
90-04 161 Street, Jamaica, NY 11432, 718-291-0282, http://www.gdjc.org
Greater Jamaica Development Corporation is a community-building organization that plans, promotes, coordinates and advances responsible development to revitalize Jamaica and strengthen the region.
Marshalling the resources of the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, GJDC's work expands economic opportunity and improves quality of life for the ethnically and economically diverse residents of Jamaica and for the region at large, which benefits from rational, well-planned, and sustainable metropolitan growth.
Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning
161-04 Jamaica Avenue, Phone: (718) 658-7400, http:www.jcal.org
Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Inc. (JCAL) is a multi-arts facility serving all ages. JCAL annually mounts museum-quality gallery exhibitions, ranging from international masters to new work by contemporary artists. JCAL has a 1,650 square-foot visual arts gallery, a 99-seat proscenium theater, painting and dance studios, a ceramics studio, a computer lab, and a music studio; offers visual and performing arts workshops; and presents professional jazz and popular music performances.
Each year, JCAL hosts Workshop Competition and awards a studio and stipend to a Queens or Brooklyn visual artist. JCAL makes rental space available to nonprofit groups.
Jamaica Center Improvement Association
90-50 Parsons Boulevard, Jamaica, New York, Phone: (718) 526-2422
Jamaica Center Improvement Association manages promotions, supports cultural events, special clean-up and safety services for Jamaica Avenue.
Queens Borough Central Library
89-11 Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11432, 718-990-0700, http://www.queenslibrary.org/
The Central Library and 62 branches of the Queens Borough Public Library offer a variety of music, dance, film and literary arts programs. The annual Individual Artist Showcase Competition offers artists a chance to exhibit their works in the Library. An extensive collection of videos, cassettes, compact disks, music scores, books, periodicals and one million mounted pictures are available for borrowing. Collections vary from the general and popular to in-depth subjects, such as art history and the history of Long Island. The Queens Library Gallery (at the Central Library) houses rotating exhibits of paintings, sculpture, photographs, collectibles, and topics of historical interest. Lectures, tours, and children's programs are available free of charge. Computer access to online information sources, including the Government Printing Office, is available free of charge at all locations. The Job Information Center at the Central Library provides career, vocational and educational information, resources and counseling for adults.
King Manor Museum
90-04 161 Street, Suite 704 (153rd Street and Jamaica Avenue in King Park), Jamaica, New York 11432, Phone: 718-206-0545 , http://www.kingmanor.org/Home
The centerpiece of an 11-acre New York City park, King Manor Museum was the home and farm of Founding Father Rufus King from 1805 to 1827. Rufus King was an author of the U.S. Constitution, as well as one of New York's first United States Senators, Ambassador to Great Britain and an early, and outspoken, opponent of slavery. King Manor later became the estate of King's son, John Alsop King, who served as New York's Governor. King Manor has been a museum since 1900.
Visitors can tour the house, including the library that originally held King's 5,000-volume collection and read pages from his diary, account books and letters. There are also exhibit galleries devoted to local history and to village life in early Jamaica. The museum offers a variety of public programs as part of its community outreach.
Sutphin Boulevard District Management Association
89-00 Sutphin Blvd., Suite 305D, Jamaica, NY 11435, (718) 291-2110, http://www.sutphinblvdbid.org/index.htm
The Sutphin Boulevard Business Improvement District (BID) is a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic development of Sutphin Boulevard in downtown Jamaica Queens. Serving approximately 134 business, 56 properties and 39 property owners, the BID serves as a catalyst for economic revitalization along Sutphin Boulevard and was established to make the area clean and safe. The BID provides supplemental services, marketing/promotion for the area, advocacy for the interests of the local businesses, gather and distribute information to boost economic development and enhance neighborhood quality of life for local businesses and residents.
York College of the City University of New York
94-20 Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11433, 718-262-2400, http://www.york.cuny.edu/
Committed to academic excellence through teaching and learning, research and scholarship, York College is a student-centered institution that prepares students to enrich their communities, the nation and the world. An important intellectual resource in Southeast Queens, York emphasizes the traditional academic disciplines in liberal arts and sciences as preparation for careers or for graduate and professional schools. The College's Department of Fine and Performing Arts produces theater programs and concerts.
The York College Performing Arts Center is one of the finest state-of-the-art facilities in New York City, with a main stage theater that seats 1,437, and a Little Theater that seats 152. Recent performances have ranged from traditional flamenco music to groups like the Ritz Chamber Players, the nation's first chamber music ensemble comprised solely of accomplished musicians spanning the African-American Diaspora.