Forest Hills is a neighborhood in Queens with a very unique history. Up to the early 1900s, Forest Hills was entirely farmland. After the Queensboro Bridge was built, developers like Cord Meyer bought privately owned farms to form the neighborhood. Meyer was the one who gave Forest Hills its name. With the help of the Russell Sage Foundation and Margaret Sage, one of the first planned communities in the United States came to exist. Subway lines built from the 1920s to the 1950s modernized Forest Hills even more.
The Long Island Railroad station at Forest Hills divides the neighborhood’s commercial zone and residential community. To the south of the railway station, we found quiet streets full of private homes and beautiful gardens. This section of Forest Hills is known as Forest Hills Gardens and has an interesting history. The Forest Hills Gardens Corporation owns the streets and municipality services. It also makes sure that the buildings are kept to their 1908 Brick Tudor styles. Though this part of the neighborhood is privately owned, anyone can walk or drive in its streets. This community was planned to resemble the Hampstead Garden suburb in London, UK.
The north of the railway station is a lot different. Between Austin Street and 71st Avenue, we found lots of different stores. As we walked by and looked around, people were able to tell that we are not from Forest Hills. We were just amazed at the sharp difference between the two sides of the railway station. This side of the railway station had everything that someone may wish to get. Banks are everywhere — some banks are even attached to each other. There are also many fast food and ethnic restaurants. Just outside of the railway station, a small Israeli restaurant fills the street with the aroma of falafels and kebabs. Down the street, there were a couple of McDonald’s chains, Mexican restaurants, and a huge Greek restaurant that caught every walker’s attention.
We also passed by several cellphone stores. Some hire people to hand out flyers to people walking by their store. Bookstores such as Barnes & Noble, eye care stores, pet stores, food stores, and gyms only add to the list of things that one can do in Forest Hills. The only problem is that not everyone has enough money to enjoy the goods and services that each store has to offer. Despite the financial hardships, this section of the neighborhood is still very dynamic and diverse. This made it hard for us to find people who have time to chat. People were either rushing to take public transportation, go to McDonalds or anxiously scratch a lottery card. We actually had to enter stores and walk near a park to find people who have time to talk to us.
This brings us to our first two interviewees in our trip to Forest Hills. Outside of McDonald Park, a very outgoing and friendly fifty-four year old man and his wife were sitting on a bench petting their dog, Sam. As we approached them, we greeted them and said that the weather finally lets us have a nice walk in the park.
We started asking them questions about how it is like to live in Forest Hills. They were able to give us useful answers, because they lived in Forest Hills for more than twenty-four years. They got to see the neighborhood change in its highs and lows. Originally, they are from Philadelphia and came to New York City because of better job openings.
The man said the residents in the neighborhood are mellow, the schools are good, and there are many good restaurants. In his free time, he walks with his wife and the dog. People acknowledge each other. Every time he walks by, people he knows and doesn’t know say “hi” or “good morning”. Even if they don’t say anything, they still nod.
He complained a lot about the economic situation. He said the prices and rents in Forest Hills are “mind-numbing” but still less expensive than some places in Manhattan. He knows people who moved from Midtown to Forest Hills to seek affordable rent. He also noticed that many young people move to Forest Hills with their newborn children. People starting families need to build themselves up until they are able to afford living in more expensive places. He believes that no matter who you are or where you’re from, you can still make it as long as you have a good idea.
He complained a lot about “homeless behaviors.” There are waves of homeless people that come twice a year and disturb the beauty of the neighborhood. He accused some homeless people of public indecency, because they move their bowels at night on the bushes in the local parks. The residents in Forest Hills could not relocate those “mentally ill” people after many failed attempts. Relocating homeless people is not only a problem in Forest Hills, but in many parts of the United States, as well. He argued that the government must reform the mental health care program and make sure that homeless people do not hurt other citizens and ruin things that people enjoy in their free time. His wife briefly told us about a homeless man who beat a woman leaving the 71stAvenue/Forest Hills subway station at 11:00 P.M. They said the neighborhood is safe during the day, but is often dangerous at night. They highly recommended walking in groups in case danger is faced. The man said, he would be “half-scared to death if his wife had to buy a milk carton that late at night.”
After we finished talking to this couple, we went to a deli on Austin Street and Ascan Avenue to buy water. As we paid the cashier, we told him that prices have been on the rise lately. He agreed with us and said that over the past three to four months, prices soared more than ever before. He said he lives in the neighborhood only because he owns a store there. He said people leave Forest Hills and other places in NYC to go live in other states. When we asked him about where they usually go, he said that the people that he knows of went to the south to avoid paying New York’s high taxes. After leaving India, he lived in the US for eighteen years. When he first came to Forest Hills, there were many White American Jews. However, over the past years, he saw many Asians (mostly from China) living in the neighborhood.
Forest Hills is home to about 83,728 residents. Of those people, 41,056 people (about forty nine percent) are born outside of the United States. The most common ten countries of origin are China, Russia, Uzbekistan, India, Colombia, Ukraine, Israel, Poland, Japan, and Korea. Forest Hills is home to the largest Uzbek community in New York City. Many Central Asian Jews, mostly from Uzbekistan came to live in Forest Hills in the 1980s. They are referred to as Bukharian Jews.
From the 1920s to 1940s, Forest Hills became the home of many second generation American Jews. In the 1920s, the average rent in Forest Hills was very high- about twenty-five dollars a month. Jews were one of the fewest ethnic groups that were able to pay this amount every month. In the 1940s, Jews became officially recognized as middle class citizens. Without a doubt, the backgrounds of people living in Forest Hills have changed over the years. When we were walking in the streets, we did not find as many Jews as we expected.
After we left the deli, something strange caught our attention. There were two Metro PCS stores one block away from each other. When we crossed the street, there was a vacant store that had a sign with the new address. We walked up the street to the new Metro PCS and asked if we could talk to an employee. The man we talked to grew up in Forest Hills and moved out when he was eight. Despite saying that the community is comfortable, he does not recommend living in Forest Hills. Like the deli owner and the couple at the park, he complained about the economic recession. He said the store is “broke”, because they do not get a lot of customers and the cost of staying open is higher than it seems. When we asked him what happened to the vacant store, he said they had to move because the rent was too expensive. He complained that they had months when the cost of keeping the business open was higher than the store’s income.
After spending a day in Forest Hills, I appreciated the neighborhood more than I ever did before. The different people we talked to told us many interesting stories that will leave a lasting imprint in our minds.
