Do the powers that be in Jamaica (Jamaica BID, Greater Jamaica Development Corp, elected leaders and others) really know what the fuck they are actually doing. I mean with all the talk of revitalizing the downtown area and trying to bring in quality businesses and restaurants, how is plopping an HIV healthcare facility smack in the middle of downtown at 161-21 Jamaica Avenue actually considered any type of progress. Nothing against a HIV healthcare facility, but really, this is the location for it.
I am already doubt the leadership in this community and feel even more that they all do not know what the fuck they are doing. I mean are they just picking shit out of a hat. This makes no sense to mean. A Methadone clinic on Hillside Avenue, two big homeless shelters smack in downtown on 89th Avenue, I mean what the fuck are these folks thinking. I mean why was Jamaica and Jamaica Ave in the middle of downtown picked for this spot. Why not Austin Street in Forest Hills or Jackson Avenue in Long Island City or even Jackson Heights or Corona. Could it be that Jamaica is the place to just dump whatever other communities do not want.
I do believe the powers tha be here just do not know what the fuck they are doing.
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From Queens Chronicle:
HIV healthcare facility opens on Jamaica Ave.
AIDS Center of Queens County cuts ribbon on world commemoration day
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PHOTO COURTESY ACQC – Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, center, and Assemblyman Jeff Aubrey, third from left, were among the guests on Tuesday at a ribbon cutting for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s new health center and pharmacy in Jamaica. Tuesday was World AIDS Day.
Posted: Thursday, December 3, 2015 10:30 am
The AIDS Center of Queens County and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation on Tuesday held a ribboncutting for a new healthcare center and pharmacy catering to patients with HIV/AIDS.
The center is located on the seventh floor at 161-21 Jamaica Ave. The opening took place on World AIDS Day, and participants subsequently attended a ceremony marking the day of remembrance.
Prominent guests at the ceremony included Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, state Assemblyman Jeff Aubrey (D-Corona), Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, assistant city health commissioner for the Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, and John Rojas, assistant commissioner for management from the Division of Disease Control.
Statistics offered by ACQC are sobering.
“Queens County is currently home to over 17,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, and the borough, compared with the other boroughs in the city, has fewer HIV/AIDS services available,” according to a statement on Tuesday.
ACQC officials stated that of the 3,141 people in the city who were diagnosed with HIV in 2012, 501, or 16 percent, were from Queens. Of those, 403 were men.
Black men accounted for 102 of the cases while 179 Hispanic men were diagnosed.
Officials said a 2012 report compiled by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene stated that the city still has one of the largest HIV epidemics in the country, with 114,926 people who had been diagnosed and reported in New York City “and were presumed to be living.”
The AIDS Center of Queens County said it is the largest provider of HIV/AIDS services in the borough, serving over 9,000 residents. It provides case management, health education, legal and housing services, mantal health care and a food pantry.