JetBlue wants to top its new Long Island City office building with a 40-foot illuminated sign displaying the airline’s logo that would be visible from Manhattan, the New York Post reported, but first it must clear at least six hurdles posed by city bureaucracy.
It needs clearance from two community boards, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, City Planning, City Council and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. And Community Board 2 is already posing problems.
While it supports the airline’s plan, the board opposed a full-fledged zoning resolution for fear it would pave the way for an abundance of similar signage that would become visually unappealing. The neighborhood already has iconic Pepsi-Cola and Silvercup Studio displays.
The airline will begin moving the first of 1,000 employees to the new offices, at 27-01 Queens Plaza North, from Forest Hills in March. The 100-year-old structure, known as the Brewster Building, was once a Rolls-Royce factory. JetBlue reached an agreement with the city in 2010 to take the space after threatening to move to Florida. [Post]