CONTRACT

FROM PAGE 1 the HIP VIP plan or opt out of coverage entirely.

Adams argues that the new plan will be an improvement, with a lower deductible and a cap on outof-pocket expenses.

“Our administration has never wavered in our commitment to provide retirees and their dependents with high-quality, sustainable coverage while allowing us to rein in the skyrocketing costs of health care and the strain it is placing on our city’s budget,” he said in a news release.

Adams announced the contract his entire career with Greater Jamaica since joining in 2006, three years after receiving a master’s degree in business from Adelphi University. In

2021 Gov. Kathy Hochul tapped Rodgers’ predecessor, Hope Knight, to be CEO of Empire State Development.

Rodgers then beat out dozens of other applicants to become just the third president in Greater Jamaica’s 56-year history. Within weeks, he put the finishing touches on Greater Nexus, a 10,000-square-foot, $11 million co-working space in a former Parsons Boulevard courthouse.

“It feels really good to make a difference in my community,” Rodgers said. “That’s why I’m still here.”

What was Jamaica like when you joined Greater Jamaica?

We lacked major retailers and private investment in the downtown. It needed a lot. In the 1940s and 1950s, there used to be three department stores, but by 2006

Some retirees have been fighting the switch. They fear being unable to access their doctors on the new Medicare Advantage Plans and losing prior authorization for a range of conditions and illnesses.

Since 2018, the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, which has more than 17,000 members, has sued the city twice over retirees’ rights to supplemental plans. Marianne Pizzitola, president of the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, was disappointed by Thursday’s decision.

Exhausting all options

Pizzitola said she met with city officials to explain why retirees want to preserve supplemental plans and to suggest other avenues for the city to save money. The experience left her unsatisfied, however.

there were a lot of vacancies. We had the foot traffic, but rents were too high, like on Jamaica Avenue, where landlords wanted $50 a square foot. We’ve also worked to hang on to employers. One early win was Flying Food Group, which provides meals for airlines. The company was thinking about relocating to New Jersey, but we were able to coordinate some tax breaks to keep it here. You know, I was flying into JFK recently when I saw a lot of tall buildings and I thought, Where is that? And I realized, that’s Jamaica. Jamaica now has its own skyline, which makes me feel proud.

Are there any downsides to the growth?

I will say that 90% of the new units that come online have some sort of affordability component. That’s what you want to see. I definitely don’t want to see $1 million decade, he said, and the mayor’s office is in the middle of a procurement process to create additional options condos, because people in this community can’t afford them. When is the last time you’ve walked down Jamaica Avenue? I think developers have done a great job of providing workforce housing with great amenities. You have buildings that house the homeless, all the way up to those that house people making 165% of the area median income. Our housing is very diverse.

Harry Nespoli chairs the Municipal Labor Committee, an umbrella organization that represents city unions. He told Crain’s that the MLC and the city negotiated with Aetna to create a plan that mirrors retirees’ current supplemental coverages.

Jamaica was once troubled by crime and disinvestment. How do you pitch the neighborhood to developers?

Well, it’s taken years. We used to go to these conventions in Las Vegas armed with marketing materials. But around 2013 things changed. We were at the ICSC [International Council of Shopping Centers] conference, and instead of us chasing everybody around, everybody was calling us to set up meetings. That was definitely the tipping point. You know, southeastern Queens has some of the highest income Black households in the country. And it’s not just about incomes. We have the second- or third-highest rate of home ownership for Blacks in the country. So that’s helpful for marketing.

Tell me how the co-working space Nexus came to be.

Well, in 2018 we bought two floors of a commercial condo in a former courthouse at 89-14 Parsons Blvd. because we knew there was a need for spaces for smaller proprietors and entrepreneurs. And the WeWorks of the world were not here. Tax credits helped with the $11 million project, but we had to put in equity. And the project got shut down during Covid, which hurt us as an organization, too, because we had to cut people. We had 58 employees before the pandemic but 32 now.

Nexus finally opened last summer, and we have 20 members so far. We expected 40 in our first year, so we’re on track. A five-person enclosed office costs about $30,000 for the year, but we give you a 10% discount if you pay for the full year. We have real estate businesses, nonprofits and an environmental firm that’s doing work at JFK.

What’s next for you?

Our first ground-up residential project. We’re requesting proposals for a site we own, a parking garage at 90-15 Parsons Blvd., where you can build 600 units. Greater Jamaica would partner with a developer for the project. Forty developers showed up for our first information session, and at least three said they would definitely respond. I’m cautiously optimistic. ■ had been signed with Renee Campion, commissioner of the city’s Office of Labor Relations, eight days after officials said the city did not intend to choose a contract option that would preserve a supplemental plan. The city avoided choosing that option, Option C, which would have come at an additional cost of $20 per member per month.

“When you make a decision we’re supposed to look at everything every which way, kind of like a Rubik’s cube, right?” Pizzitola said. “Flip it around, look at all different options.”

Adams’ representative Jonah Allon said the administration has discussed the Medicare Advantage switch with retirees. Previous administrations implemented several cost-savings initiatives in the past

The city interviewed several insurers—Empire was originally supposed to administer the plan, but backed out during the summer of 2022—and landed on Aetna because of the company’s size and large presence of participating doctors throughout the country, Nespoli said.

CITY RETIREES have long voiced their disapproval of the new coverage option. The final decision did not preserve a supplemental plan, which would have cost the city an additional $20 per member per month on top of the costs of providing the plan.

According to comparison documents reviewed by Crain’s earlier this month, Aetna’s proposed Medicare Advantage Plan includes more zero-dollar co-pays and a smaller deductible than its current supplemental plans. Aetna agreed to eliminate prior authorization requirements for more than 70% of procedures that would typically require them for at least two years. In addition, Aetna said, about 96% of the doctors who retirees already see are expected to accept the Medicare Advantage Plan.

“Try it before you just disregard it,” Nespoli said.

Legal action

Pizzitola said her organization would be pursuing legal and legislative action. She said she hopes the City Council will work on a proposed bill that would require the city to provide Medigap supplemental plans.

Jake Gardner of Walden Macht &

Haran, which represents the retirees organization, said the organization anticipates filing another lawsuit against the city.

Gardner said the Medicare Advantage plan provides retirees with “inferior” benefits and violates their rights.

“I can’t see how they would come to this conclusion that it’s OK, just to save money, it’s OK to hurt people,” Pizzitola said. “And that’s a problem for me. I don’t feel defeated. I’m disappointed.” ■

Quemuel Arroyo

GREW UP Spanish Harlem

RESIDES Arroyo moved back to Spanish Harlem four years ago.

EDUCATION Bachelor’s in urban design and architecture studies and master of public administration, New York University

CARIBBEAN ROOTS Arroyo was born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to the U.S. at a young age. Growing up he often spent his summers in the Dominican Republic.

SPORTSMAN Arroyo enjoys rock climbing, swimming and sailing. He particularly likes to sail at Dyckman Marina in Inwood, where there’s not as much traf c and jet skis. He’s on the board of Hudson River Community Sailing; this summer will be the third year the organization provides adaptive sailing for New Yorkers with disabilities.

INCLUSIVE ART In 2015 Arroyo started as a dancer with Heidi Latsky Dance, which features performers of all different abilities and walks of life, and now he chairs their board.

“Our humanity is such a bigger bridge than anything else that divides us,” Arroyo said. “And it just showcases the beautiful fabric that we are when we come together as one human race.”