Jamaica

June 25, 2018

Two chances to live near the JFK AirTrain, from $1,418/month

If you travel often for work, this affordable housing opportunity could make your life a lot easier, provided you earn between $48,618 and $83,440 annually. The city opened the lottery for a $1,418/month one-bedroom and a $1,599/month two-bedroom at 89-15 138th Street, which is just two blocks away from the J, M, Z trains and a slew of buses at Jamaica Station and the AirTrain to JFK. An added bonus? The two units up for grabs have balconies.
Find out if you qualify
June 11, 2018

Lottery launches for 21 middle-income units at a new luxury rental in Jamaica Estates from $1,480/month

A newly constructed building in the upper-middle-class enclave of Jamaica Estates in Queens (aka President Donald Trump's hometown) is accepting applications for 21 mixed-income apartments. Dubbed the Maya, the eight-story luxury rental at 177-30 Wexford Terrace contains 68 units. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 85, 90, 100, 105, 110 and 115 percent of the area median income can apply for the units ranging from a $1,480/month studio to a $2,622/month two-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify
April 27, 2018

58 affordable units up for grabs in historic Queens neighborhood of St. Albans, from $558/month

A lottery launched this week for 58 mixed-income apartments in a newly constructed building in St. Albans, a suburban enclave in western Queens. Located at 118-35 Boulevard, the development sits near the historic district of Addisleigh Park. Although it started as a white-only community, the neighborhood was home to many notable African Americans, including famous jazz musicians, from the 1930s and on. Artists like Count Basie, James Brown, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and even baseball superstars like Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson all have lived in this area. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 40, 50, 60 and 80 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from $558/month one-bedroom to a $1,511/month two-bedroom apartments.
Find out if you qualify
February 14, 2018

The city will produce 500 affordable apartments across 87 hard-to-fill vacant lots

An announcement Tuesday by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) gave lower-income New Yorkers lots to look forward to–literally. HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer announced that nine development teams would be creating 490 affordable apartments and homeownership opportunities on 87 vacant lots through the department's New Infill Homeownership Opportunities Program (NIHOP) and Neighborhood Construction Program (NCP). The programs were designed specifically to unlock the potential of vacant lots long considered too small or irregular for traditional housing with innovative smaller homes, and develop more affordable housing on lots long used for parking at existing housing complexes. This latest round of development is the third and final in a series: The program has already seen the construction of over 600 affordable homes on 81 lots.
'No site has gone overlooked'
November 2, 2017

Live in the heart of Downtown Jamaica from $707/month

Applications are currently being accepted for 379 recently constructed, affordable units in a 26-story rental tower, called Alvista Towers, in Jamaica--a Queens neighborhood on the brink of transformation as new residential and commercial developments continue to take root. Amenities at this spacious housing complex located at 147-36 94th Avenue include on-site laundry, playroom, an outdoor courtyard, fitness center, yoga room and a rooftop terrace. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 50, 60, 120, 130 and 165 percent of the area median income can apply to units ranging from a $707 per month studio to a $2,611 per month two-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify
September 18, 2017

Refugees are renting out Trump’s childhood home during this week’s UN General Assembly

With President Donald Trump back in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly this week, a group of refugees is staying at the president’s childhood home, renting the Queens property through Airbnb. The Jamacia Estates home at 85-15 Wareham Place is being rented by Oxfam, an anti-poverty organization, to bring attention to the refugee crisis (h/t NY Post). The group invited four refugees to talk with journalists at the rental, highlighting their concern with Trump’s travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries and all refugees that was introduced in January. After facing multiple legal challenges, the Supreme Court allowed the refugee policy to remain temporarily, but justices will hear arguments about the travel ban on Oct. 10.
Find out more
August 16, 2017

Apply for 88 affordable apartments in Downtown Jamaica, from $494/ month

With new residential and commercial developments and transit options, Jamaica, Queens is on the brink of renewal, after many years of neglect. Adding to the area’s revitalization, the construction of a new 14-story affordable housing building was finished last fall. Now, applications are being accepted at the building for 88 affordable apartments at 92-61 165th Street in Jamaica Center, Queens. New Yorkers earning 40 and 60 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from a $494 per month studio to a $1182 per month three-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify
August 9, 2017

Donald Trump’s childhood home in Queens is renting for $725/night on Airbnb

President Trump, who is currently in New Jersey on a 17-day vacation, announced that he will travel to Trump Tower this Sunday. While his Midtown penthouse will be getting a lot of attention this weekend, his childhood home in Queens is also making headlines. The home at 85-15 Wareham Place is up for rent on Airbnb, according to a recent listing on the company’s website (h/t NY Post). The modest Tudor style home in Jamaica Estates is listed for as much as $725 per night. The home features five bedrooms, sleeps 20 people, and includes a life-size cut out of POTUS in the living room. Even though the president only lived there until he was four years old, according to the listing, “this is a unique and special opportunity to stay in the home of a sitting president.”
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July 20, 2017

Governor Cuomo will invest $5.6B to transform the LIRR

With the renovations at Penn Station just getting underway, the state released a plan on Wednesday to invest $5.6 billion in renovating 39 Long Island Rail Road stations. This includes the reconstruction of the system’s tracks, switches and signals. According to Governor Cuomo, the project, part of his encompassing $100 billion infrastructure plan, would increase rider capacity by more than 80 percent.
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June 16, 2017

After less than a day on the market, Donald Trump’s childhood home finds a renter

Since initially hitting the market last summer, Donald Trump's childhood home in Jamaica Estates, Queens has seen quite the runaround. After a price chop from $1.65 to $1.2 million, the listing was pulled in November to head to the auction block, but shortly thereafter Manhattan real estate mogul Michael Davis bought the Tudor-style home sight-unseen for just under $1.4 million. He then flipped it for $2.14 million, nearly twice what he paid and double the neighborhood average. Mansion Global now has the scoop that the mystery buyer, whose identity was shielded behind the LLC “Trump Birth House,” will rent it out for between $3,500 and $4,000 a month, on par with similarly sized homes in the neighborhood. ***Update 7/16/2017: Just one day after it was announced that Donald Trump's childhood home would be placed on the rental market, DNA Info reports that the Queens property has already found a tenant. Real estate agent Jason Friedman of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage told the website that "a long-term lease, for at least a year" was signed "almost immediately" after the home was listed, although for how much is not clear. Friedman shared only that the rent was more than the $3,500 reported yesterday. No word yet on who has scooped up the property.
Get a look inside
June 14, 2017

84 affordable units up for grabs in Jamaica, Queens, from $368/month

With several large-scale development projects in the works, like a new luxury complex with 100,00 square feet of retail and a 24-story Hilton Garden Inn, the neighborhood of Jamaica is undergoing some changes. Applications are currently being accepted for 84 affordable apartments in the Pavilion at Locust Manor, a newly constructed housing development located at 171-04 Baisley Boulevard. New Yorkers earning 30, 40, 50, 60 and 100 percent of the area median income can apply to units ranging from studios for $368 per month to two bedrooms for $1,511 per month.
Find out if you qualify
March 28, 2017

Investor flips Trump’s childhood home for double what he paid, likely selling to Chinese buyer

When Manhattan real estate mogul Michael Davis bought Donald Trump's childhood home sight-unseen for just under $1.4 million in December, he had high hopes of flipping the Tudor-style residence in Jamaica Estates, Queens. Now, just three months later, the Times tells us that he's done just that, re-selling it at auction last week for $2.14 million, more than double the neighborhood average. Interestingly, the transaction was facilitated by lawyer Michael Tang who specializes in real estate investments made by overseas Chinese buyers. Tang told the Times in an email that he was unable to disclose the name or any other information about the buyer, whose identity is being shielded behind the newly created LLC "Trump Birth House."
Find out more here
January 25, 2017

Trump’s modest childhood home sells at auction, see new photos inside

Going, going, gone... Today reports that Donald Trump's childhood home has traded hands once again, officially selling at auction last week to an undisclosed buyer for an undisclosed amount. As 6sqft previously reported, the Jamaica, Queens house was purchased by Manhattan real estate developer Michael Davis for $1.4 million in January from a couple who had owned the Trump memento since 2008 (they shelled out just $782,500). Davis' intent from the outset was to flip the property for a hefty return, and while no auction price has been revealed, early estimates projected a closing figure of around $10 million—much thanks to the Donald's presidential win (Trump himself even joked about buying it on the Tonight Show). New photos from the auction also give us additional views into the modest Tudor abode.
see more here
January 9, 2017

Manhattan real estate investor bought Donald Trump’s childhood home sight unseen for $1.4M

At the end of last month, 6sqft revealed that an anonymous New York investor had bought Donald Trump's childhood home in Jamaica Estates, Queens with plans to flip it at auction this month and turn a hefty profit. The Post has now learned that the mystery buyer--and democrat-turned Marco Rubio supporter--is Manhattan real estate mogul Michael Davis. Without ever having driven past the Tudor-style home at 85-15 Wareham Place, Davis dropped $1,390,500 on the piece of Trump ephemera, which he still plans to bring to auction next week.
Find out more
December 21, 2016

Mystery investor buys Donald Trump’s childhood home in hopes of flipping it

Hoping to cash in on Trump-mania, an anonymous New York investor scooped up the President Elect's childhood home in Jamaica Estates, Queens in the hopes of bringing it to auction next month and turning a profit. Mansion Global got the news from auctioneers Paramount Realty USA, who say the bidding will take place on January 17th. Previous reports have estimated that the six-bedroom, Tudor-style home that Trump's father Fred built could fetch up to ten times its most recent $1.2 million ask, or a whopping $10 million.
Get the full scoop
November 11, 2016

Headed for auction, Trump’s childhood home could fetch Queens couple $10M

A divorcing couple in Jamaica Estates, Queens just got something new to fight over: proceeds from the sale of their relatively modest six-bedroom Tudor home at 85-15 Wareham Place, which will head for the auction block in the first week in December. The house, which the estranged couple tried to sell for $1.65 million, chopped to $1.2 million, then pulled from the market, just happens to be where President Elect Donald Trump spent his terrible twos, and is expected to fetch at least 10 times that ask at auction, according to the New York Post.
A rising Trump floats at least one boat
July 15, 2016

Jamaica Estates Home Where Donald Trump Grew Up Asks $1.65M

A common question about Donald Trump is "Where did he come from?" and this new listing for his childhood home in Queens may be one piece of the puzzle. Newsday reports that the Jamaica Estates home in which the presidential hopeful lived as a young boy has hit the market for $1.65 million. The six-bedroom tudor home at 85-15 Wareham Place is listed as his address on his 1946 birth certificate (he was born at nearby Jamaica Hospital) and is located in an affluent enclave where the average sales price is around $2 million according to DNAinfo.
More on Trump's beginnings
July 6, 2016

The History of Bowery Bay Beach, the ‘Coney Island of Queens’

This past holiday weekend, New Yorkers flocked to Coney Island for the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, the fireworks display, and to enjoy the beach and boardwalk. For some, though, traveling all the way out to the end of Brooklyn with beach chairs and coolers is daunting, which is why it's sad to learn that back in the 19th century, there was another amusement destination in the city, at the site of present-day LaGuardia Airport. Bowery Bay Beach (later named North Beach) opened in 1886 on the shores of Bowery and Flushing Bays. Built by noted piano manufacturer William Steinway in partnership with brewer George Ehret, it included beaches, swimming pavilions, a huge beer hall, zoo, and the Gala Amusement Park. At one time it was more popular than the parks in Brooklyn, earning it the moniker "the Coney Island of Queens."
So what happened?
February 23, 2016

First Look at MY Architect’s 19-Story Hotel Set for Jamaica’s Transit Hub

With all corners of the city bursting at their seams, once overlooked business nodes are experiencing a resurgence of construction activity. Perhaps most foreign and far-flung to Manhattanites is Jamaica, Queens, where a cluster of high-rises is rising around its transit hub, which serves LIRR commuters and is a terminus to JFK's AirTrain network. The neighborhood's latest large project to come forward is from Flushing-based Ampiera Group, who have proposed a 100,000-square-foot hotel and office tower at 90-75 Sutphin Boulevard, just one block from the transit center. The building's exterior, comprised of a mix of glass and stone, is designed by MY Architect, who are working with the development team on at least two Long Island City projects. Approved permits and documents filed last summer co-align with images published on the architect's website that call for a double-winged building with a low-rise leg fronting Sutphin Boulevard. The low-slung retail buildings along Archer Avenue will be demolished to create a plaza at the foot of the tower.
More views and details ahead
August 31, 2015

A Price Cut for a Gated Mansion in Jamaica Estates, Queens

Yes, you can live in a 6,500-square-foot, five bedroom mansion right in New York City. It's here, at 184-15 Hovendon Road in Jamaica Estates, Queens. The neighborhood is known for its large plots and spacious freestanding homes, but this property takes it to the next level. Not only is it gated in, but the interior is awash in marble, coffered ceilings and Venetian plaster walls. It's got a new asking price since it first hit the market last year, with a price chop down from $3.488 million to $3.388 million.
Check out this interior
August 28, 2015

Enchanting 1930s Tudor Home Is Just $429K, but Also Way Out in Queens

Have you ever heard of Laurelton? If not, start Googling. It's a neighborhood in Queens where you can buy a single-family home for $429,000—a very impressive price in today's real estate market. It's a Tudor built in around 1930 with a charming exterior, unique details on the interior, a small front and back yard and a garage. Of course, at that price, you'll make some kind of sacrifice—it's not located anywhere near a subway station. But if you're in the market for an affordable single-family, don't write this one off.
Check it out
March 30, 2015

Fairytale-Like Tudor in Bellerose Manor Offers Suburbia in the City for $639K

We so often write about homes in Brooklyn and Manhattan that we sometimes neglect the gorgeous real estate that can be found in The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Recently, Forest Hills has gotten its fair share of our attention, but when we came across this Tudor-meets-Cape beauty in Bellerose Manor, we were reminded us of how much the outer boroughs have to offer.
More photos of suburbia in the city
January 14, 2015

Is Jamaica, Queens NYC’s Hot New Tourist Spot?

Not yet, but that's just what the new head of the neighborhood's Business Improvement District (BID) is planning. To realize her goal of turning Jamaica into one of NYC's hot tourist spots, Rhonda Binda is organizing neighborhood tours and launching a series of pop-up installations that would focus on the community's history and culture, as well as local artists. In partnership with the Queens Tourism Council, she hopes these offerings will attract both locals and visitors alike, especially those who have layovers at JFK airport.
More details ahead