Category: Reflections

Being the son of two immigrants, I thought that I had heard enough from their stories and experiences to know everything there was to know about what it was that brought them to this country. Unbeknownst to me, however, was the reason as to why immigrants like my parents came to New York, and Jackson Heights in particular. Sure,
while it is easy to see that Jackson Heights allows for accessibility to transportation, is home to many good public schools, and is generally considered a safe neighborhood, there were aspects that were not as obvious.

Through the interview with Sangay, a Nepali immigrant and father of two, I was able to see a bigger reason as to why people move to Jackson Heights. Sangay, when asked to give a reason as to why he moved, presented the fact that many of those that he knew from Nepal – my own father included – had moved to Jackson Heights. Sangay also brought up his involvement in the United Sherpa Association and how their headquarters, a church-turned monastery/community center, is located in Jackson Heights. It was clear to see that being close to friends and family, more generally, a community of people similar nationalities was crucially important in making the decision to move from Brooklyn.

It seemed as though Jackson Height’s ability to bring a small piece of the old country to this country was what has made it such a popular destination for immigrants that were leaving their old life behind. The presence of ethnic restaurants, places of worship, etc. is what allows the thousands of people that live here to comfortable call it home.

I’ve never lived in Jackson Heights, but it was still a familiar part of my life growing up in NYC. My father spent a lot of time there because that was where his office was situated, and because he had so many friends there. He would take his family with him from time to time so that we could enjoy the delicious food served in the Indian restaurants, or watch the newest Tamil movie in a small theater there that, for most of my childhood, was the only theater nearby that showed Tamil and Hindi movies. I’ve grown attached to Jackson Heights without ever living there, because I saw the robust South Asian community that thrives there. So much like one of my interviewees, I developed an idea of Jackson Heights as an exclusively brown community, without realizing how narrow my perception of the neighborhood was.

One of my interviewees, Noshin, lives in Woodside but visits Jackson Heights often for grocery shopping or to simply be in the neighborhood. But although Jackson Heights was such a fundamental part of her life growing up in NYC, she didn’t realize there was more to Jackson Heights than just the brown community until after she had joined a Facebook group for the neighborhood. Shi Ting, another interviewee, acknowledged that she also had a limited perspective of Jackson Heights based on where she lived. Both recognized that the neighborhood was diverse yet separated, and that their narrow experiences were not enough to understand the broader community that exists within Jackson Heights.

Shi Ting and Noshin both touched upon the separation of ethnicities within Jackson Heights and why they think that might be. Both of them coming from immigrant backgrounds, they stressed the importance of finding a community that one feels accepted into and comfortable in to recent immigrants, citing that this may be the reason for the smaller ethnic communities that have been formed in Jackson Heights, which does have a primarily immigrant population. They express concern for this separation within the community, but are also optimistic that the coexistence of different ethnicities in the same neighborhoods will be more common in the future when the children of these immigrant families—who grew up in the US and are more likely to socialize with more people from different backgrounds—form their own families.

Through my interviews, I have learned a great deal more about the Jackson Heights that, without my own knowledge, has become a place of comfort and community for me. These interviews gave insight into a neighborhood that can be a safe haven for so many people and so rich with culture but also lack the integration of its different ethnicities to make it a truly diverse, multicultural neighborhood. I also really appreciate Shi Ting and Noshin’s optimism for the future of Jackson Heights and their faith in the younger generation to blur the lines between the different communities. Although I do not know if the neighborhood will ever be fully interspersed with its different ethnicities, I do believe that the strong sense of community that is found there will continue to keep the neighborhood alive.

I valued listening to the thoughts and sentiments of the people I interviewed, who I have all known for years now. I interviewed my brother and sister-in-law, my friend Sophia, and her parents Cecilia and Roberto. In all three interviews, everyone discussed different issues that they cared most about concerning the area. Kristi expressed concern about “outsiders” not understanding how Jackson Heights works; Sophia discussed the negative effects of a whitening neighborhood; Cecilia was worried about the growing homelessness in Jackson Heights. There are few clear answers to any of these issues, and the interviewees themselves showed confliction at some points. Kristi herself has only been here for a couple of years and Cecilia & Roberto seemed to understand that more people are becoming homeless due to unemployment from the pandemic.  

However, the aspect of life that was consistently mentioned in all the interviews I conducted was the amazing food in Jackson Heights. Kristi mentioned Tibetan momos in the southwest of the neighborhood, while Sophia and her parents recommended restaurants in the middle of the neighborhood. Perhaps the food of Jackson Heights is what unites all its residents; no one, regardless of background, can deny that the food here is unmatched by that of anywhere else in the world.  

I have said before that being from Jackson Heights feels like being a part of something bigger than just yourself. That has only become truer for me after working on this project.

Though I have not lived in Jackson Heights, I would say I am pretty familiar with the South Asian/Bangladeshi part of the neighborhood. Growing up, I often visited the area with my family and I gave it an unofficial nickname: “mini Bangladesh.” Jackson Heights, particularly 37th ave and 73rd-77th streets, was a pleasant and adventurous home away from home that I enjoyed almost every week. My mom and I would venture out into the lively part of Queens and take the next available R train to 74th St station, where we would then walk to her favorite store, Indian Saree Palace (ISP). I think I have spent over 100 hours just sitting and waiting at the front of the store while my mom shopped. But I didn’t mind. There were actual Bengali people here. Random strangers that I would call “uncle” or “aunty” simply because they were Bengali.

I’ve lived in Oakland Gardens, Queens since the mere age of 2, and simply put, there were no other Desi families in the neighborhood for the last 16 years. In elementary school, I was not only the only Bengali student in the class, but also the only South Asian student. So, embarking to Jackson Heights to run errands or visit family was always a nice change of pace. I knew that there was always a strong sense of community in the neighborhood when I was 10, but I was gladly surprised to hear from Eishika and Nazaha that the sense of community hasn’t changed for the most part. 

While cultural appreciation is still heavily seen in Jackson Heights, as Nazaha said Bangladeshi’s can experience Latino culture through their food, heritage, and identities and vice versa, there now lies a larger concern: gentrification. Both Eishika and Nazaha mentioned the rise of gentrification in Jackson Heights, which especially came to light after the opening of a new Starbucks. I, for one, was disheartened to hear about this as there are so many unique restaurants and coffee shops in the area — Starbucks was simply not necessary. Gentrification is essentially a process in which lower income urban areas are altered by wealthier people moving in, changing housing, and bringing in larger businesses and corporations. While this sounds like a positive effect, it comes at the cost of displacing the current low-income (and often minority) groups that were living in the region long before the wealthy arrived. 

Eishika explained how gentrification in Jackson Heights caused many people to move out of Jackson Heights, resulting in a loss of community. With the lower-income residents leaving and the wealthy migrants arriving into Jackson Heights, property prices and the cost of living skyrocketed. The sense of community seemed to fade just as she moved out. On the economic side, Nazaha mentioned how many small businesses were forced to shut down. These are just some of the effects of gentrification: loss of community, increases in property taxes, the displacement of local residents, and the liquidation of small local shops and businesses. 

And so, Jackson Heights is not exactly as it was 10 years ago when I would sit impatiently at ISP. There’s now a Starbucks a few blocks down, a deli that’s so fancy it has an LED light chandelier inside (Shah’s Deli on 37th ave and 75th St), and commercial buildings left and right. Even the Wendy’s has been renovated and looks like it could be a high quality 3 star restaurant. It is likely that all of this was a result of gentrification in Jackson Heights. Gentrification in such neighborhoods often worsens wealth inequality, widening the gap between the rich and the poor (Miller). Simply put, it manifests the idea that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The people who get affected the most by this are undoubtedly people of color. 

It is time to put an end to the developing gentrification of Jackson Heights before we lose the neighborhood completely. Instead of gentrifying the neighborhoods, there should be an implementation of positive development methods focused on the local residents of the neighborhood (National Low Income Housing Condition), such as funding that allows small locally owned businesses to flourish and prosper. This would also empower communities. That is how I would like to see Jackson Heights in 15 years. For now, however, Jackson Heights continues to be the cultural hub that has a place for just about everyone.

 

References

“Gentrification and Neighborhood Revitalization: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?” National Low Income Housing Coalition, 5 Apr. 2019, nlihc.org/resource/gentrification-and-neighborhood-revitalization-whats-difference.

Miller, Lindsay M. “We Need to Change How We Think About Gentrification .” National Civic League, 4 Feb. 2019, www.nationalcivicleague.org/national-civic-review/issue/winter-2019-volume-107-number-4/?popup=true.