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Queens Progress

December 20, 2013

This week, Mayor Bloomberg will visit one of the five boroughs each day to highlight where each borough stood in 2001 and where it stands today in key areas. Today, the Mayor discussed the progress in Queens at the Bard Early College High School, one of 81 new schools opened in the borough since 2001.

Population Growth

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more people are moving into the city than moving out now for the first time since before 1950. o Since 2001, Queens has grown by more than 38,000 people, bringing its population to 470,700.

Public Safety

Queens has become a safer place to live, work and visit than ever before:

  • Through December 15th, overall crime is down by 37.6 percent since 2001 – 22,897 in 2013 compared with 36,678 at the same time in 2001.
  • Through December 15th, murders have fallen by 33.3 percent – 56 in 2013 compared with 84 at the same time in 2001.
  • Through December 15th, shooting incidents are down by 28.7 percent since 2001 – 154 in 2013 compared with 216 at the same time in 2001.
  • Through December 15th, traffic fatalities are down by 19.7 percent since 2001 – 88 in 2013 compared with 109 at the same time in 2001.

Education

In Queens, 81 new schools have opened and more than 41,500 new school seats have been added.

In the 2012-2013 school year, 67.6 percent of Queens high school students graduate within four years, an increase of 25.3 percent from 2005, when the State started its calculation.

Economic Development

As a result of the City’s five-borough economic development strategy, Queen’s economy continues to grow:

  • Private sector jobs in the borough have increased by more than 46,300 to over 486,100 since 2002 – an increase of 10.5 percent, compared to less than three percent growth nationally.
  • From 2002 through 2012, there was also a nearly 19 percent increase in the number of private employers in the borough – and a 17 percent increase citywide – compared to 12.6 percent nationally.

The Leisure and Hospitality industry has also expanded in Queens:

  • For example, 52 new hotels have opened since 2002 – the most of any borough – with another 14 under development.
  • In addition, the number of leisure and hospitality jobs has increased by 49.1 percent since 2001 to 44,300.

Affordable Housing

Over the last 12 years, the City has financed the preservation and construction of more than 17,200 units of affordable housing for Queens residents.

Parks

During the past twelve years, the Administration has invested more than $5 billion in capital improvements in city parks:

  • This is the biggest investment for parks made by any administration in history.
  • Across the city, approximately 1,755 parks and recreation facilities have been redesigned and upgraded. 
The City also dramatically increased the size of the biggest and best municipal park system in the nation by adding more than 870 acres of parkland and more than 490 acres of new waterfront park land across the city.
  • In Queens, 26 new parks have been added, as well as 174 acres of parkland and 146 acres of waterfront acquisitions.
  • As part of the MillionTreesNYC initiative, more than 234,000 new trees have been planted in the borough.

Now, approximately 76 percent of New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of a park or playground – an increase of a quarter-million people in just the past six years.

Arts & Cultural Affairs

The City has invested more than $3 billion for cultural capital projects in all five boroughs since 2001.

In Queens, more than 75 have been completed, including:

  • The City’s first LEED Platinum building at the Queens Botanical Garden, renovations of the Noguchi Museum and Queens Theatre; a visitor kiosk at MoMA PS1; new outdoor programming space at Flushing Town Hall; and the expanded Queens Museum, which reopened this fall.
  • Commissioned 57 permanent public art installations in the borough through the City’s Percent for Art program.

Attendance at City-owned cultural institutions in Queens increased by more than 168,700 from 1,039,442 to 1,208,148 annual visitors.

Compared with 2001, annual regrant support for individual artists and small arts groups in the borough has increased by 78 percent to greater than $135,000.

Public Health

Over the last 12 years, Queen’s quality of life – and length of life – have both improved: On average, men and women in the borough now live more than two years longer than they did in 2001. Between 2002 and 2012, the smoking rate has fallen from 20.8 percent to 14.9 percent – a decrease of 28.4 percent.

 

Contact:

Marc La Vorgna (212) 788-2958