Queens, NY was first settled by the Dutch in the year of 1635. Over 250 years later, it became a New York City borough in 1898. Jamaica, Queens, my neighborhood of focus, was established in 1656, following the settlement of Newton (which later became Elmhurst) in 1642, Far Rockaway in 1644, and Flushing in 1645. Jamaica remains one of the many commercial centers in Queens although there have been changes in demographics.
According to the 2010 Population Census for zip code 11432, Jamaica had a population of approximately 60, 809 people. That is a 6.06% increase from a population of 57,045 in 2000. Walking around the neighborhood, one would assume that Jamaica is a predominantly African American neighborhood. However, according to the same 2010 Census, 12,203 people identified as being African American while 21,601 identified as being Asian, majority of them identifying themselves as Asian Indian. In an article about Jamaica’s change in African-American predominance, it was stated that currently “blacks are 20 percent of the residents… [And] Asians, many from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and China, now make up a whopping 30 percent of the population.” Between 2000 and 2010, the African American population decreased by 8.90% while the Asian population increased by 54.86%.
When I think of Jamaica, Queens, immediately what comes to mind is Jamaica Avenue, or what I think most of Queens’s residents near Jamaica refer to as “the Ave”. It has been a very active area in Jamaica, Queens for as long as I can remember. However, I find that the types of people that now frequent Jamaica Avenue are a little different from those that did maybe 5-10 years ago. I feel like the Ave is more for the younger and older folks who either have less money than others or just don’t want to spend a lot on clothing and other wanted items while the middle aged people are less likely to shop there. I find that people my age tend to flock to malls, such as Green Acres in Valley Stream, or head over to Manhattan to do their shopping in Midtown or SoHo, for instance. Don’t get me wrong, though. The Ave is a great place to find bargain items and even though there is a stigma that cheaper priced clothing is cheap in quality, I have found some staple items that have held up through the years and didn’t cost me no more than $20.
I decided to take a walk down Jamaica Avenue and actually managed to talk to three people who basically confirmed my theory about who shops on the Ave. One person I spoke to was a girl named Tiffany Williams. She’s 15 years old and goes to Hillcrest High School right nearby on Hillside Avenue. I was in one of the many beauty supply stores on the Ave when I ran into her and her friends. She told me that just about every day after school she and her friends walk down the Ave until it’s time for them to go home. Sometimes they buy things, sometimes they just go to look at clothes or get food at Wendy’s, McDonald’s, or Burger King.
Nonetheless, you’ll always find some young people like them shopping or walking up and down the Ave, and personally I avoid the times of day when they are plentiful. The young kids are usually a rowdy bunch, and on numerous occasions, although not so frequently now, there have been fights in the street among them.
I also got to speak with an older woman named Sheryl Watson who was stopping by the flea market to look around for some good bargains. Sheryl is 56 years old and works as a home health aide for a 92-year-old woman. While we were talking, she let me know that she usually comes to the Ave anytime between 10am and 2pm because she knows “that’s when the kids are away, and I can shop in peace.” I can definitely see her point. It’s kind of safe to say that the older folks plan their trips around the times when the younger kids who frequent the Ave are in school.
The third woman I spoke to was on her way to the subway. Her name is Taylor Morgan. She is 21 years old and is currently a junior majoring in accounting at York College right nearby the Jamaica Center train station. We only spoke for maybe three minutes, but I did find out that, like me, she only shops on the Ave when she’s in desperate need of something or she left some shopping until the last minute. Other than that, “you can catch me somewhere in the city shopping,” she said. I hope I’m not speaking incorrectly for her when I say that the clothing you find on the Ave is slightly limited and everything, at least to me, looks almost exactly the same from store to store.
Regardless of how limited the choices may or may not be, you will always find people shopping. That’s always a given, and that’s the very reason I like the Ave. To me, it’s like the part of Queens that never sleeps (well until 8:00 pm or so when all of the stores close). And shopping isn’t all that can be done there. There’s a major movie theater, Jamaica Multiplex Cinemas, where tickets are usually around $12.00 on a regular day for adults but only around $7.00 on Tuesdays. However, here is a disclaimer before you may decide you want to go see a movie on a Tuesday at the Multiplex: it is almost guaranteed to be crowded and you might be able to be money and win that you won’t get to sit through a movie in peace and quiet, as there will be very active and emotionally invested movie watchers who react to and comment on just about everything going on in the film.
Besides watching movies and shopping, there are also places to grab a bite to eat, although I must say the choices are a bit disappointing. Starting from the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and Parsons Boulevard working eastward, there are a slew of fast food restaurants that begin with Wendy’s. Directly across the street is McDonald’s, and along Parsons Blvd but still near Jamaica Avenue are Subway, Popeye’s, Dunkin Donuts, and Golden Krust. A block or so down the Ave is Burger King and then Taco Bell. A ways down is a pizza place and then a really good Jamaican food spot called Jamaican Flavors on the Colosseum Block. Basically, there are a lot of fast food places and the only sit-down restaurant is Applebee’s, sadly.
Regardless of the change in demographics over the years, it still remains that Jamaica is a commercial center although, in my opinion, the target population has shifted. I chose Jamaica, Queens because it is the closest urban neighborhood to Queens Village, where I live. I think the liveliness of the Ave on any given day, during any circumstance is perfectly described with the following:
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these Jamaica residents from the swift completion of their material acquisitions at discounted prices.
That is a little alteration to the unofficial US Postal Service creed that I created, and I think it sums up the atmosphere of the Ave. There is never a day when you don’t find people making their rounds through the stores, shopping for the best deals they can find.
WORKS CITED
Boone, Ruschell. “Queens Week 2014: Jamaica No Longer Predominantly African-American Neighborhood.” Borough Spotlight. Time Warner Cable Enterprises, 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
“JAMAICA, NY 11432.” 2010 Census for ZIP Code 11432, Population Demographics, JAMAICA NY, 2010 Census. Zip-Codes.com, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
“Jamaica, Queens, NY.” FindTheBest.com, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
“Queens (borough, New York City, New York, United States).” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
