J’can consulate in NY moving to new address

NEW YORK:

After some 20 years at its current location in Manhattan, New York, the Jamaican consulate will be moving to a new location at 300 East 42nd Street, at the intersection of 42nd Street and 2nd Avenue.

Consul General Alsion Wilson told The Gleaner that leases for the new location have already been signed and, while a firm move date has not yet been agreed on, she expects to be operating from the new location by the beginning of next year.

“My hope is that it will be later this year, but it depends on the contractors and how quickly they can get the space built out,” she said.

The 300 East 42nd Street location is a 237,000 square feet 18-storey full-block office building just two blocks from Grand Central train station. The consulate will occupy two and a half floors in the building.

Also moving to the new location will be Jamaica’s Mission to the United Nations, JAMPRO offices, the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies, all currently housed in the present location at 767 Third Avenue. The relocation of the consulate has been a matter of discussion for some time, but the necessary steps to facilitate it were only recently put in place. Consul General Wilson said that costs at the present location had become prohibitive. “The new location will provide cost savings as well as afford better accommodations.” She said the new location will be larger, with a larger waiting room providing better comfort for visitors to the consulate. The consulate moved to its present location in 1993.