Zooming Out, Zooming In: Jackson Heights
By: Afroza Ahmed
The area in which Khan’s Tutorial, located adjacent to the Roosevelt Ave. subway station in Jackson Heights, is situated is a very popular choice of living and creating businesses in, as seen in census records. As of now, the census tract in which the business runs in (census tract 289) holds a total of approximately 5,574 people. However, this number is a relatively small one compared to the thousands of people who pass by the location for business and/or personal reasons. Currently, about 94.013% of those in the area who are 16 years and older (approximately 3,000 residents) are employed. However, this information does not accurately explain the businesses surrounding the area as a majority of the civilians living in the area may have to commute to get to work.
With more than half of its residents being immigrants, Jackson Heights is seen as one of the most diverse neighborhoods in all of New York. According to 2016 census records, this land surrounding Khans is home to nearly 42% Asians, 45% Caucasians, and approximately 13% are made up of Blacks, Hispanics, and Mixed races. The percentage of Blacks and Hispanics gets higher as one moves from 73rd St. (census tract 289) to 82nd St. (the other end of Jackson Heights). On the East side of Jackson Heights, it is common to see Latino food carts and pineapple drinks being sold underneath Spanish signs. In the West side of Jackson Heights lies a bustling fusion of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi enclaves with colorful shop windows lined with embroidered saris.
Such diversity attracts new people striving to culture themselves and indulge in different experiences. Jackson Heights is only a 30-minute subway ride away from Manhattan and the housing prices in the Heights are much cheaper than those in Manhattan. As a result of this, Jackson Heights is slowly getting more gentrified and certain areas of living in this city are going up.
While its population has increased vastly over the years, Jackson Heights has not always been the conglomerate of cultures and businesses that it is today. Prior to the construction of the Queensboro Bridge in the 1900s, Jackson Heights had been an enormous parallelogram-shaped piece of farmland. In addition, the area was approximately 82% Caucasian in the 1800s! According to census records, this percentage continually increased with its highest percentage hitting 99.7% in the 1940s. The numbers only started dwindling down once immigrants from South Asia and America started immigrating and settling in Jackson Heights. Today, this city’s people come from all parts of the world. The residents of Jackson Heights today speak more than 30 different languages (including Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Korean, Chinese, and Spanish).
The information of census tract 289 provides useful information to understanding the atmosphere of the Jackson Heights neighborhood when Khan’s Tutorial first opened up in 1994. The business opened to serve low-income minorities from immigrant families and will most likely continue doing so as a result of their success and the influx of immigrants coming into the neighborhood even today.
