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SEPTEMBER 14, 1^12
THE INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF JAMAICA
Its Railroad Facilities Are Being Greatly Aided By the Building of a New Clearing
Station There For All Long Island — Many New Buildings Erected in the Place.
THE building of a new and larger
union railroad station at Jamaica by
the Long Island Railroad Company is
going forward steadily, and when it is
completed Jamaica Is expected to become
a residential section of Queens of more
importance than ever. The plans of the
railroad embrace more than the mere
building of a new station. Work is under
way on the raising of the tracks to an
embankment from 15 to 18 feet in height
and extending from Jamaica to Richmond
Hill, a distance of one mile, A good-sized
offlce building and waiting room will be
built near the tracks, the foundation of
which is already in place; numerous grade
crossings between Jamaica and Richmond
Hill are being eliminated and concrete
viaducts are being built; the covered pas¬
senger platforms, of steel and concrete,
are already in place alongside some of the
raised tracks, and much steel structural
material Is dally arriving to be used in
making a great train yard commensurate
with the greatly increasing traffic of the
Long Island Railroad, for which Jamaica
is the distributing point to and from its
various divisions except the North Shore
division to Port Washington, The traffic
of the entire railroad system has more
than doubled within the last six years.
The new station is to be 1,500 feet west
of the old one, and it will have an ap¬
proach to the entrance direct from Fulton
street, the principal traffic artery of Ja¬
maica, All of the establishments of the
wholesale provision and produce firms ad¬
joining the north side of the old train
yard are to be removed to the south side
of the same, where the railroad will have
the beat of facilities for handling ship¬
ments to and from them. The three-i
fourths of an acre owned by one Sherwood
on the line of the enlarged railroad track
space In the west part of Jamaica—about
which there has been lengthy litigation—
is now in the courts for determination.
The parcel is on the west side of Van
Wyck avenue, between two lines of the
road. The case has been to the Courtj
of Appeals, who ordered the questions
of fact submitted to a jury. Sherwood
at one time asked $50,000 for the parcel;
the railroad company offered him $25,000;
and appraisers have declared within a
few days that $12,000 is a fair and equit¬
able price for it. It is likely now that less
than $25,000 will be paid. But the legal
fight has delayed the progress of the work
on the improvements at Jamaica more
than a year. J. & T. Adikes, wholesale
grocers, who have a warehouse adjoining
the railroad company's frontage on Ful¬
ton street, are resisting the attempt of
the company to acquire their property;
but It seems likely that the company will
get it before long in order to enlarge its
advantages to residents of Jamaica, The
trolley road between Brooklyn and Ja¬
maica passes along Fulton street.
The new station Is far removed from
the heart of the business section of Ja¬
maica, and in order to prevent damage to
property values there and frustrate im¬
pairment of Its business conditions the
railroad will build a station probably be¬
tween Puntine and Smith streets, Ja¬
maica,
Jamaica's Business Section.
A new station has been opened at Hill¬
side, in the east end of Jamaica. Nearly
all Long Island trains stop at Jamaica,
and yet its business section has not un¬
dergone any notable structural changes
or Improvements in late years. The latest
big improvement has been made by James
Butler, a grocer, who has erected a two-
story brick offlce building and store on
the southwest comer of Fulton street and
Twombly place. Previous to that E. C.
M. Fitzgerald and H. C. McNulty erected
a six-story offlce building on a plot a
block deep, and at the corner of Fulton
street, a block west of Butler's new store,
Jamaica needs a reconstruction of Its
business district. It is antiquated.
A large theatre was planned for Ja¬
maica, but it has not been built. There
is not a dozen modern business buildings
in Jamaica, and yet it is the financial'
center of Long Island outside of Brooklyn.
Four trolley lines pour traffic into Ja.i
maica from as many directions. The
place has two modern offlce buildings and
all of the title companies have their
Queens headquarters in Jamaica. AU of
the old buildings in the busy part of Ful¬
ton street, however, are well rented.
Property In the strongest part of Fulton
street, from Rockaway road to Bergen
avenue, is held as high as $1,000 a front
foot. Vacant property in Fulton street
opposite to and near the approach to the
new station is held at $400 to $500 a front
foot. It is believed by those who have
studied the real estate situation in Ja¬
maica that after the new station opening
into Fulton street is in use that fee val¬
ues In the vicinity will rise rapidly and
that the business center will shift to that
point; but so far there are no strong in¬
dications that it will. The trolley lines
connecting with Far Rockaway, Flushing
and to points east of Jamaica now all
stop at Washington and Fulton streets.
In the heart of the business section. Xt
is probable, however, that when the new
station opens that these lines of cars will
run further west In Fulton street, where
easy connections with the new station-
can be made. It is pointed out that the
new station to be built between Smith and
Puntine streets will be only a substation
at the best and that trolley connections
with the main station will be imperative.
The trolley between Jamaica and Brook¬
lyn already passes the new station. It is
asserted by some that property near this
station has been purposely kept unim¬
proved until the station is in use.
Structural improvements in Jamaica are
the most dense in the section south of the
Long Island Railroad, where hundreds of
detached one-family houses have been
built within the last three years. These
houses range in price from $2,900 to $5,000.
Most of their occupants and owners re¬
moved there from the tenement districts
of Manhattan. These buildings contain
all municipal improvements, but in some
cases cesspools are in use where sewers
have not yet been installed.
Numerous two-family brick houses In
rows have been built in the last two years
in Union Hall street. Globe avenue and
Prospect street, all south of the railroad.
They sold for $4,500 each. Four years ago
there were no prospects of improvement
in tills part of Jamaica,
The Residential Sections.
Fulton street is the line of demarca¬
tion between the cheap and high clasa
sections of Jamaica, North of Fulton
street to and including the high ridgd
skirting Hillside avenue is the best resi¬
dential part. The new station at Hillside
connects directly with Jamaica Estates
by way of Homer Lee avenue. The prop¬
erty known as Jamaica Estates comprises
550 acres of rolling country and has an
extensive frontage on Hillside avenue.
This is a high-class development in every
way, is richly wooded in places, and has
a fine entrance lodge. The houses built
there are numerous and cost from $6,000
to $40,000.
Nearby is a fine development of 230
acres known as Hillcrest of Jamaica.
Prominent among its residents are Burt
J. Humphrey, Judge of Queens County,
and Judge Van Siclen, of the Supreme
Court. This tract has undergone more
extensive high-class improvement than
any other part of Jamaica. All munici¬
pal improvements have been installed.
The property was opened two years ago
last April and since that time forty-three
fine detached homes have been built, cost¬
ing from $6,800 to $25,000 each. The plots
range from 40x100 feet to 100x100 feet in
size. Lots 20x100 on the Hillside avenue
side of Hillcrest of Jamaica are held at
$1,800 each, but a plot 40x100 is the small¬
est size parcel that will be sold. The
property has a frontage of 1,000 feet on
Hillside avenue and it extends back to
Union turnpike. Lots on the inner streets
of Hillcrest sell from $700 upward, ac¬
cording to location.
An extensive building movement has
NEW LONG ISLAND RAILROAD TERMINAL AT JAMAICA IN COURSE OF CONSTRUCTIU-V.
Photograph by Arthur Wocdward.