Jamaica Avenue, from Dexter Court to 100th Street, is a large stretch to keep track of -- and every so often here at Project Woodhaven we take a ride down the avenue to see what's new. Previous Changes of Jamaica Avenues can be found here:
We're living through rough economic times, so one would expect a number of closures. But in a good sign that our business district is pretty resilient, many of these locations do not appear to be vacant for too long. Here's what we saw on our most recent tour down Jamaica Avenue.
This location has an interesting recent history. 84-10 Jamaica Avenue, near Forest Parkway. Below left is an image from about 2 and a half years ago - there was a Realty downstairs, and "Upper Level Barber Shop" was on the 2nd Floor. Then, the Real Estate vamoosed and the barber shop moved downstairs, but kept the "Upper Level" name -- after all, they already invested in the neon light, the business cards, etc.
But it looks like they didn't make it at this location and the lot sat vacant for a while. It has now reopened as a Florist / Grocery. And it appears that upstairs, there is a Real Estate / Tax Services business. We hate to see shops close, but we're also glad to see new ones open in their place.
Here's a former church on 75th Street, right next to Lane Pizza. The gates were down for a while, and then it sat empty for about a year.
Now it has reopened as a -- not sure what you would call it -- they rent tuxedos, and it looks like they sell Christening outfits, and fancy stuff for baby showers. It's a lovely old-fashioned store on the outside, isn't it? Look at the woodwork at the bottom of the windows. It will be interesting to see a 1940s picture of that location.
Next, here we have Sterling Optical and Big Apple Health Center on 88th and 89th Street, across from Monsignor Mulz Hall. It's a big double-lot, for years it was a supermarket. About a year and a half ago, it was Interboro Medical Center. Is this place still in business? I don't see a "For Rent" sign, but the gates are always down, a bad sign. If anyone knows, drop us a line.
Here we have an interesting saga. This lot between 91st and 90th Streets, next to Phil's Cheese and Cold Cuts. Back in the 1940's it was Tip Top Vegetables. Then, about a year ago, it was Mena Fashion.
Then, after Mena went south, the lot sat empty for a few months and then a brand new awning went up. The Magic Scissors. But then they never opened and *poof* the awning disappeared and now it appears to be open (as a barbershop/hairstylist) but without a sign. We'll keep our eye on this to see what happens next.
By the way, here's a neat video we did a while back -- 90th & 91st Street North in 1941:
Here's one at the corner of 97th and Jamaica, across from The Cordon Bleu. It was a Deli/Grocery for a while, then it sat empty -- and ugly -- for a while.
Now, it's Kings of Queens Cafe. We've heard that they have WiFi inside. We were inside when the owner was renovating and it looked real nice.
Just down the street a bit, between 96th and 97th (across from The Cordon Bleu) is the following lot, which in the last few years was a fruit stand/grocery and a meat market/grocery. Neither store lasted very long.
The lot has now been converted into a brand new Laundromat. Looks nice and clean. If you look closely, you will also notice that there is now a giant finger on Jamaica Avenue :-)
More pictures, including old ones in Part Two of this Feature. Click Here to See Part Two!
If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com .