Governor Kathy Hochul announced $200 million in funding for two major downtown revitalization initiatives: NY Forward, a new program aimed at rejuvenating smaller and rural communities, and Round 6 of the state's successful Downtown Revitalization Initiative.
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An educational brochure on both programs was also released.
Governor Hochul announced the funding in Jamaica, Queens at the ribbon-cutting for Greater Nexus, a brand-new $11 million coworking space funded through Jamaica's previous DRI award and operated by Greater Jamaica Development Corporation in partnership with York College.
Located at 89-14 Parsons Blvd in Jamaica, Queens, Greater Nexus is a state-of-the-art facility featuring 10,000 square feet of affordable and flexible workspace that can accommodate 75-100 individuals.
Amenities include a collaborative open workspace, conference rooms, soundproof phone booths, and a podcast room for content creators.
Members can choose from multiple work environments starting at a hot desk in the collaborative area, a dedicated cubicle, or choose from a range of private office sizes.
As an extension of the coworking space, Greater Nexus also offers a large modular training space to host events, educational programing, networking and mentoring opportunities.
This training space will be available to the greater Jamaica community as well as to the coworking members.
The new space provides access to business equipment and services to help foster innovation and business growth in Downtown Jamaica.
The Greater Nexus coworking space was supported by a $1,650,000 Empire State Development capital grant, recommended by the New York City Regional Economic Development Council, and a $685,230 Homes and Community Renewal grant.
Additional funding was provided by the Deutsche Bank Foundation and National Grid and New Market Tax Credits through NYCEDC and Capital One Bank.
The Greater Nexus coworking space will be operated by Greater Jamaica Development Corporation. ■