New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-02-23
NEW. ERA FOR JAMAICA [ A.
Town Will Be Centre OF Vast
Rapid Transit System.
ONCE A QUAINT VILLAGE
~
Has Had No Boom in True Sense
of. Word in About the -.
Last Five Years. 4 /
BY William p. Rae.

Now that the new Union Station at
Jamaica Is completed and the Pennsyl-
vania-Long Island Railroad is ready to
make Jamaica the centre Of its vast sys-
TEN Of rapid transit on Long Island. a new
era is opening for that place From this
time. in all of our evolutionary calcula-
TONS, we must look back at the old
Jamaica, Of the past and forward al;tbc
new 'Jaraica Of the future
The two views are totally different.
Backward We have the quaint, slow soinc,
yet satisfied and fairly prosperous old
Long Island village. Forward is the bust
ling, struggl(nS expanding ambieltus
metropolis for all of the section cast Of
the East River. We have left the purely
local atmosphere there Behind us and We
arc rushing now into the cosmopelits1
field with all of its rivalries. its restless
turning over Of capital. its rapid transfer
nations and development its steady pill
ing no of riches and its vigorous young
enthusiasm for. progress in all lines Of
city activities.
The Jamaica Of the future can he no
more the Jamaica Of the past than the
rapid transit subway can be the STAGE
coach We are leaping into another era.
We are. going so fast that We do not re-
alize the change. In future years We~will
look back al to-day and give due credit 10
the period in which tho vital change was
TRANSFERRING
Why should We stand IDLY by and neg
lect the opportunities which are always AZ
hand for real estate evolution during suCh
q memorable transformation? They are
all around us: We will he able 10 see
them in their TRUE light through retrospect.
II takes a calm, keen. we'll balanced in
telligence TO grasp them while in their
seething midst.
Until the Pennsylvania-Long Island
Railroad plans had been enfolded the
Jamaica of the past had lain practically
dormant from real estate point of view.
There was a slow rise in value Of land
rs a faint echo of the population pressure
that was radiatinc from the crowded city
centres Of Manhattan and Brooklyn but
the distance both in miles and i'm transit
lime was so great that the rcverberation
in Jamaica was small indeed. From dec
ade TO decade the rise in land values did
not average more than taxes and assess-
ments. 10 say nothing Of fair interest re-
tern upon IT'S cost.
Then came the new transit plans and
= lively discounting movement started.
Prices began 10 soar in the central bust
ness sections Of Jamaica. and fine sur
rounding home area shared generously 5 n
proportion An instance is the Kings
Park parcel two blocks east Of the new
railroad station. The city paid what vas
considered a very high price for II a
decade or a dozen years ago 5000 Now
just the Fulton street frontage. or one
tenth of the entire park, is appraised con-
servatively az $4,000 Values in the
business centre have all Joined in the rise
These higher values discount the avail
ability for Improvement with much more
costly buildings than were ever thought
of in the Jamaica Of the past Population
and business are pouring i'm 10 make such
structures good. sure income payers, thus