The New York City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises voted 7-0 to approve the Jamaica neighborhood rezoning package — LU 369, LU 370, LU 371 and the related LU 372 — advancing zoning map and text changes, mandatory inclusionary housing mapping and an urban development action plan that supporters say will bring housing, jobs and public investment to Downtown Jamaica and surrounding Southeast Queens.

The package rezones roughly 230 blocks and is projected in the subcommittee discussion to allow nearly 12,000 new housing units, including thousands described as permanently affordable; to create more than 2 million square feet of commercial and community facility space; and to generate an estimated 7,000 jobs. Chair Council Member Kevin Riley called the vote after members agreed to council modifications on density transitions and industrial zoning.

Speaker Adrienne Adams said, "I am pleased to express support for our city's largest neighborhood rezoning in over 2 decades. That will deliver nearly 12,000 new homes, including almost 4,200 permanently affordable homes by mapping the largest MIH zone in the neighborhood." Council Member Nantasha Williams, who led the local planning process, said the plan "finally makes Jamaica a priority" and described secured investments and neighborhood commitments she said were negotiated with the administration.

According to subcommittee remarks, the council's modifications: create density transitions from Downtown Jamaica to adjacent residential blocks; change an M2-3A industrial district between Liberty Avenue and the Long Island Rail Road to M1-2A to support cleaner commercial redevelopment on narrow streets near homes; and alter the applicability of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) options in parts of the rezoning area (removing MIH Option 2 in central downtown areas while retaining deeper-affordability options adjacent to high-capacity transit).

The subcommittee also approved LU 371, a UDAP (Urban Development Action Area Project) and disposition for city-owned parcels to facilitate a 100% affordable project on Union Hall Street described in the hearing as about 83 rental units and 34 homeownership units. LU 372, a city map amendment filed by the Department of Transportation and the Economic Development Corporation, was approved to refine the Station Plaza Jamaica design to improve pedestrian access and public open space near the transit hub.

Williams summarized capital commitments won during negotiations: more than $400 million in new investments for infrastructure and community programs; roughly $80 million for expanded health care infrastructure; $40 million for school upgrades and preliminary funding for a Queens STEAM center; nearly $20 million for York College and Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning; and additional stormwater and flood-resiliency funding building on a prior $315 million sewer commitment. In subcommittee remarks, the administration also agreed to create and fund an independent Downtown Jamaica oversight task force to coordinate agencies and foster public transparency.

Council members on the roll call — Kevin Riley, Moyer, Abreu, Hanks, Shulman, Salam and Carr — voted in favor. The subcommittee laid over a separate item, LU 397 (74 Bogart Street), to a future date. The approved items were referred to the full Land Use Committee for consideration by the City Council.

Supporters said the plan reflects more than three years of community planning and includes commitments for parks, sidewalks, stormwater management, homeownership opportunities on city land, workforce and small-business supports. The subcommittee record shows specific changes and funding commitments negotiated as part of the council modifications; the text of the final zoning resolution, MIH mapping decisions and project disposition agreements will be considered at later stages in the council process.