Jackson Heights Beautification Group (JHBG), established in 1988, is a 501(c)-3 nonprofit organization. JHBG consists of people who reside and work in Jackson Heights and their goal is to improve the quality of life in Jackson Heights.

Jackson Heights Beautification Group welcomes anything that improves Jackson Heights.

• “JHBG supports high standards; preservation; local pride; diversity; inclusion; cleanliness; greenery; civility; local schools, institutions, and merchants; and anything that enhances Jackson Heights.”
• “JHBG opposes to litter; crime; pollution; disorder; intolerance; landmark violations; noise; and apathy.”

The JHBG put in a lot of effort to win recognition of Jackson Heights as a historic district. The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted and decided to designate around 36 blocks of Jackson Heights as a historic district in 1993.

Programs hosted by JHBG:

• Green Agenda – Development in the past years has made Jackson Heights as one of the NYC’s most park-deprived places
  • To discuss about the issues, the organization assembled more than 400 people in 16 meetings (discussed in 3 different languages)
  • It also provides tree care and pruning
  • Advocated for open space and helped create the 78th Street Playstreet/Pedestrian Plaza; also support environmentally safe transportation
  • Worked with Queens Community House and Pratt Center for Community Development, with funding from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to produce The Green Agenda for Jackson Heights plan in 2010.
  • Holds various workshops about tree care, composting and waste reduction
  • Community-composting center at 69th Street and 35th Avenue

JH SCRAPS – collecting non-meat food wastes / credit: JHBG

• Beautification programs
  • Garden Club – winners of Mollie Parnis “Dress Up Your Neighborhood” Award from Citizens for NYC &“Neighborhood Environmental Action Program” Award
    • Adopt a Tree – assign a tree to an individual to take care of
    • Flower Planting
    • Monthly meetings – generally at third Wednesday of the month at the Community United Methodist Church

planting 1,000 daffodil bulbs along 34th Avenue/ credit: Rodrigo Salazar

• Graffiti Busters – Attempt to make Jackson Heights Graffiti free by volunteers
• Clean Streets Campaign – Plans monthly clean-ups along 37th Avenue, gradually raising the awareness of cleaning streets in Jackson Heights

the annual clean up along the east side of the BQE/ credit: JHBG

• Improving Travers Park – cleaning, planting, and supporting increased funding for future beautification projects
• Town Hall Meetings
  
  • Jackson Heights Beautification Group sponsors two Town Hall Meetings to give an opportunity to the residents to meet and ask questions of candidates for office and government representatives, trying to adress key neighborhood concerns
  • In the spring Town Hall meeting, the representatives from city agencies come interacting with the residents for any concerns. The fall meeting is for candidates running for local office addressing issues and answering to the audience’s inquiry

The Jackson Heights Beautification Group was founded on the basis of dealing with beautification issues in Roosevelt Avenue. However, they began to address other issues such as: crime, public safety, and quality-of-life complaints.

• Eventually, they began to take up a more political agenda by pressuring local police officials to clean up Roosevelt Avenue.

• The Jackson Heights Beautification Group sought to clean up the perceptions of Jackson Heights as being a center for drug dealing, money laundering, prostitution
  • Two of the solutions decided upon by the Jackson Heights Beautification Group were:

1.  They sent angry letters to local newspapers and television stations which portrayed Jackson Heights as “The cocaine capital of the world”
2. They also attempted to disclaim Roosevelt Avenue as a part of the “Real Jackson Heights” which was largely excluded, except 82nd street, from the Landmark District Boundaries.
   

   Schenectady Gazette article labeling Jackson Heights as “Cocaine Capital of U.S.”

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