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In terms of immigration, I am second generation. I grew up in Jamaica Hills (Parsons Boulevard) for most of my childhood. Recently, I moved away but I am literally two blocks away from Jamaica Hills. Even though, the neighborhood is small and mostly residential, the neighborhood including the surrounding area have a lot to offer to the residences of Jamaica Hills. Three blocks down from Hillside Avenue there is a major shopping center on Jamaica Avenue, where I have spent hours shopping! Mass transit makes it very easy to go to all parts of New York City and Long Island.
Growing up, I could just feel and see the transformation of Hillside Avenue, primarily from 164th Street to 169th Street. Those six blocks are economic ethnic enclaves of South Asians. I really like the fact that the area is so close to home because just being able to buy ethnic grocery, jewelery, and clothing really helps me "connect" with my culture.
Mohammad Islam's family owns three businesses on Hillside Avenue, Fatima Grocery (1995), Fatema Restaurant (2003), and Al Hamra, clothing store (2008). The Islam family has been living in Jamaica Hills for a very long time. Mohammad Islam has been living in the neighborhood for twenty years and said, "When I first moved here in Jamaica Queens there were barely any Bengalis. It was so bad that I had to get Halal meat from Brooklyn. There were hardly any stores that sold our kinds of food or spices. The closest thing that came close was the green farm groceries owned by Chinese or Koreans. Now years later Jamaica is very diverse. There are White, Bengali, African American, Guyanese and Hispanic families living there. There are also more stores run by desis[South Asians]."
He says what he dislikes about the neighborhood is that since there a lot of people here, it gets very crowded.He says, "when you are Bengali and you see too many Bengalis to a certain extent you feel conscious of your surroundings because people are always watching and judging you by your family and your business."
He also feels "politicians should make sure the streets are safer and cleaner for the people who live in the area. Sometimes it gets out of hand , I can’t begin to tell you many robberies have occurred or when I had to call the police to have someone removed because they were drunk!"
Thinking about this neighborhood in the future, he says, "I know this neighborhood will expand and more immigrants will be living here in the near future. Also the fact that everything the post office, the social security office, the department of motor vehicles, the library , public transportation (buses and trains) and the Medicaid office were all within a few block of each other makes it easier for a lot of people."
It's a very quiet neighborhood with a lot of different ethnic groups, who get along,
Like many Queens neighborhoods, Jamaica Hills is very diverse. Attending many schools in the neighborhood, I witnessed teachers who understood the immigrants students and made special arrangements in our classes to help the "new students". It's hard for immigrant students coming to America, both for English and non-English speaking students as the tests of Hillcrest students explained.