Queens Visitor Center opens at mall

BY JILLIAN ABBOTT

Thursday, March 22, 2007 3:49 PM EDT

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall joined other dignitaries and retailers at the Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst on Tuesday, March 20 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Visitors Center that will provide information about some of the borough’s organizations and cultural attractions.

Marshall thanked all those who had a hand in the establishment of the center for their combined efforts to make the Queens Visitor Center a reality. “We expect that thousands of shoppers will take a few minutes to stop in and find out more about the 14 [participating] Queens-based not-for-profit organizations,” she said.

Shoppers and visitors at the Queens Center Mall will be able to order tickets, get bargains and information about everything from upcoming concerts to legal services and connection to immigration services. The center will also be stocked with guides, newsletters, neighborhood histories, maps and community activities.

Queens’ official tourism guide, “Key to Queens - Your guide to the borough”, is now available at the center.

Participating organizations include the Louis Armstrong House Museum; the Queens Symphony Orchestra; Queens Legal Services; the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College; the Queens Theatre in the Park; the Queens Economic Development Corporation; Queens Community House, Forest Park; the Queens Botanical Garden; the New Immigrant Community Empowerment organization; the Queens Museum of Art; the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning; the Queensborough Performing Arts Center; and the Haitian Americans United for Progress.

Queens Economic Development Corporation’s Executive Director, Spencer Ferdinand, Queens Tourism Council’s Director of Marketing and Tourism, Michelle Stoddart, Queens Chamber of Commerce President Raymond J. Irrera and Kate Cavaliere, Senior Manager for Tourism, the Macerich organization, the company that managers the Queens Center Mall, were joined by mascot Mr. Met, to kick off the volunteer-run center.

“My office and the Queens Tourism Council look forward to this new partnership in order to develop new and innovative packages that will help to build Queens as the destination of choice for unique dining, shopping and entertainment in New York City,” said Marshall.

Additional organizations are welcome to participate. For more information about the center and other upcoming events, visit the Discover Queens website at www.discoverqueens.info.