Introduction
Introduction to Jackson Heights
Mayha Ghouri
New York City is known across the globe as one of the most culturally vibrant and diverse cities. Much of this culture and diversity comes from a unique blend of immigrants from every corner of the world. Jackson Heights, Queens is a home to what may be the largest immigrant community in the entire city. The streets are bustling centers of restaurants, food stands, sweet shops, clothing, music, and jewelry stores. In addition to the White and Black residents of the neighborhood, there are Hispanics, South Asians, and more recently Tibetans and Nepalese people. When walking down a street you can hear snatches of at least five languages in five minutes.
Jackson Heights started out as in the early 1900s as a series of apartment complexes built after the Queensboro Bridge was erected. The area was bought by the President of the Queensboro Corporation, Edward Archibald MacDougal. In its early days Jackson Heights was compared to Park Avenue in its size, comfort, and overall luxury. History shows relatively consistent patterns of people moving into Jackson Heights, and to meet the demands of the ever growing population, construction continued for almost a full 90 years.
Ask someone how to get to Jackson Heights and you will receive more routes and directions than you can fit on the scrap of paper you’re scribbling directions on. This neighborhood is tucked into the northwest side of Queens, north of Elmhurst, to the east of Woodside, and west of East Elmhurst and North Corona. The northern boundary is Grand Central Parkway. If you’re asking for subway directions, you can take the 7, E, F, G, R or V trains from Roosevelt Avenue. As far as buses are concerned, the 19, 19B, 33, 47 and 66 all run in and around Jackson Heights. Driving is not as practical a solution, because parking is nearly impossible to find. However, one would be able to get there from the BQE and exiting onto Roosevelt Avenue. Once again, ask anyone and they’ll insist you use the subways.
Because Jackson Heights is a predominantly immigrant neighborhood, there are several mitigating institutions. There are places to eat, clothing stores, Bollywood movie and music stores, even newspapers available in popular immigrant languages. Even signs are multilingual.
Historically there are landmarks and locations that add to the richness of the community but they are not as well known as some of the contemporary landmarks around Jackson Heights. Because this neighborhood is now known as an immigrant neighborhood, the most well known places are immigrant run locations. Patel Brothers is an Indian Grocery store whose fame and products reach far beyond the boundaries of New York City. Bombay Chat/Samyeling is another must-visit, yet admittingly hard-to-find location, with a menu of spicy Indian or Tibetan snacks, it is the perfect stop for the tired shopper. The last stop for the shopper with a sweet tooth, Raja Sweets and Fast Food is the place to go for a little dessert. Although heavy in both calories and sugar, the little square or round methais are available in several different flavors, with bright colors and some even covered with a layer of ever-so-thin edible foil. Overall, Jackson Heights is known as a vast immigrant center and that is reflected in the neighborhoods cuisine and fashion.
For those of you who have never been to Jackson Heights, the link below will show you a video we took of what it looks like now and a map of where exactly it is in Queens, NY:
View Jackson Heights in a larger map
