Open Streets day returning to Jamaica Avenue

The Woodhaven Business Improvement District has a busy fall ahead, starting off with a Halloween Pet Costume Contest followed by another NYC Open Streets day on Jamaica Avenue.
Email pictures of your pets in their Halloween costumes to woodhavenbid@gmail.com for a chance to win one of 3 prizes: a $100 gift card for Sportslane and 86th Street and Jamaica Avenue, a $50 gift card for GEM at 85th Street and Jamaica Avenue, or a $25 Gift Card for Schmidt’s Candies.
The winner will be announced on October 29 at 11 a.m., so get your pet costumes out and send those cute pictures into the WBID as soon as possible.
The Woodhaven Business Improvement District will be holding another NYC Open Streets day on Sunday, November 7, from noon to 5 p.m. from 75th to 86th streets. Jamaica Avenue will be shut down to traffic and everyone is invited to walk and enjoy the numerous free events that will be taking place.
“The Open Streets program allows us to transform Jamaica Avenue into public space that allows for a range of activities, supports local businesses, and creates opportunities for all of us to gather together safely,” said Raquel Olivares, executive director of the Woodhaven Business Improvement District.
The Open Streets event will include live music, a pirate ship and big bouncing castle, face painting, Zumba classes, Karate presentations, Jumbo Jenga, FDNY Fire Safety Education Unit and more.
There will be a DJ playing music and tables where community-based organizations, such as the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association and Community Board 9, will have representatives you can meet and greet.
This also gives a lot of businesses an opportunity to set up shop outside and introduce themselves to the community. This is the first such event to cover the west end of Jamaica Avenue, all the way down to where Woodhaven meets Brooklyn.
If you have any questions or would like your business or community organization to participate, email Olivares and the WBID at woodhavenbid@gmail.com.
The Woodhaven Art Circle will be there, hosting their first Clothesline Art Exhibit, a collection of work by local artists. Paintings, designs, and patterned quilts will all be hanging from clothespins right on Jamaica Avenue.
And we’re very interested in seeing other artwork by local residents. If you would like to display your work, print it out on an 8.5×11 piece of paper and bring it to the Open Streets event. Come and meet other local artists and become part of the Woodhaven Art Circle.
And it doesn’t have to be just paintings. If you are a photographer, print out a few of your favorite pictures. If you’re a poet, print out a few poems and we’ll display them.
If you would like to display your work at the event, email us at woodhavenhistory@gmail.com. There is no age limit, so bring it to Jamaica Avenue and look for the Woodhaven Art Circle. We’ll be easy to find!
Keep in mind that this is not the street fair we are used to seeing on Jamaica Avenue for many years. There will be no vendors selling anything, and this event is completely free. It is more geared towards families and children. Look forward to seeing you there!