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Phuntsok – Reflection

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.

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Sowjan – Reflections

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.

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Henry Mei – Reflections

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.

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Demographic Transformations: Jackson Heights’ Immigration Story

At the dawn of the 1930s, Jackson Heights was a commercially desirable and uniformly white, middle class neighborhood of 44,500 residents with a cohesive community identity and architectural aesthetic. But in the next decades, the neighborhood would deteriorate in real estate value and physical appearance. By the mid-50s, development in the neighborhood had come to a close. By the end of the 60s, whites were fleeing Jackson Heights for the suburbs, fewer whites were moving in, and the neighborhood was physically declining. Once pristine courtyard gardens were paved over for asphalt, sandboxes, and playgrounds. Many single family homes and garages were illegally converted into apartments.

The Hart-Celler immigration Act of 1965 allowed for a major demographic change across New York. The law abolished the natural origins quota system that the US government had used since the 1920s to severely limit immigration from the Asian continent, among other purposes. In the following decades, an enormous number of immigrants from Asia and Latin America would establish lives in New York. Queens was especially transformed. From 1983-87, 42% of Asian immigrants and 47% of Central and South American immigrants arriving in New York settled in Queens. By 1969, half the 700,000 households in Queens were headed by an immigrant resident. The influx would sustain itself throughout the 1990s.

In the mid-70s, Jackson Heights was still largely white and middle class. The early Latin American immigrants belonged to the same race and economic demographic as the neighborhood’s historic residents: Cubans escaping first Batista’s despotic regime and then Castro’s revolutionary Cuba, and middle-class Colombians escaping the chaos and violence of their country. These early Latino groups had the resources to start businesses. Many of the immigrants who arrived in New York in the 60s and 70s settled in Manhattan’s Chinatown, El Barrio, and the Lower East Side, but others—particularly those who were relatively affluent—chose to settle in the less dense neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens. Much of the new wave of Asian immigrants following the 1965 Act were highly educated, with the resources to rapidly enter the middle class in the US. They tended to settle in neighborhoods with high vacancy rates and large, affordable apartments or houses, access to public transportation, and available storefronts to establish ethnic businesses. Jackson Heights was one of these neighborhoods.

In 1960, Jackson Heights had 81,000 residents and was 98.5% white. In 1990, the neighborhood was 40% white with 85,000 residents. And in 2000, it had 109,000 residents and was 20% white.

Racial composition of Jackson Heights, 1960-2000; Derived from US Census Bureau, STF1. (Source: Maly)

This racial transformation was part of a borough-wide trend. Until the 1970s, Queens was majority white. In the 90s, the county became the most ethnically diverse in the entire country. From 1990 to 1996, 180,000 immigrants arrived in Queens. In 2000, 46% of Queens and 63% of Jackson Heights was foreign born, compared with only 32% of the other four boroughs.

Though it is more economically diverse than in the neighborhood’s early days, today Jackson Heights remains relatively strongly middle class. In 1999, 63% of households had incomes over $30,000 and only 4% of residents received public assistance income. In 2010, one third of units were owner-occupied, a rate higher than New York City and lower than Queens. However, there are some race-based disparities in homeownership rates. In 1990, the ratio of white renters to white homeowners in Jackson Heights was 1.6:1; the ratio of Asian renters to homeowners was 1.5:1; and the ratio of Latino renters to homeowners was 3.7:1—meaning Latino Jackson Heights residents are much less likely to own their homes than white or Asian residents, who have similar rates of ownership.

Residential lending patterns by race, class, and type: Jackson Heights, 1992-98. Mortgage loans reported from Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. (Source: Maly)

Jews and Irish Catholics were the first to diversify Jackson Heights, in the late 40s after restrictive covenants were ruled illegal. Black people continued to be excluded from the neighborhood until Congress passed the Fair Housing Act in 1968. However, discrimination against Black people might have continued secretly through the 80s. This is especially likely in the co-ops, where antidiscrimination housing ordinances are still notoriously difficult to enforce. MacDougall’s co-op housing plans are still largely in place in Jackson Heights. They were conceived to give residents the benefit of home ownership while protecting themselves from owners who might sell their stock interest in the building at a low cost to “undesirable people.” This feature contributed in part to Jackson Heights’ racial homogeneity.

The Queensboro Corporation’s early ads for Jackson Heights invited middle class whites looking to flee the increasingly crowded and culturally diverse city into an exclusively white, suburban community shaded by huge trees and full of private lush gardens and recreation areas. Today, Jackson Heights is considered a hyperdiverse neighborhood. The integration of its residents was never planned, and didn’t follow invasion-succession models of ethnic turn-over. It’s not the only neighborhood that went from WASPy to Black, brown, or immigrant, but Jackson Heights is different from Brighton Beach or Harlem in that no single ethnic group ever became dominant. Instead, the magnitude of its diversity has only increased.

But despite this explosive diversity, since 1980, Jackson Heights has only been 2% Black. This is especially significant because neighboring Corona and East Elmhurst have long-standing Black populations, and North Corona is historically Black and middle class. Junction Boulevard (the eastern border of Jackson Heights) was nicknamed the Mason-Dixon line in 1964, after an attempt by the Board of Education to integrate schools in Jackson Heights and Corona. Whites in Jackson Heights mounted significant resistance to the Board’s integration plan.

Racial composition of Jackson Heights schools, 1986-99. Derived from US Dept. of Education, 2000; National Center for Education Statistics. (Source: Maly)

Today there is less white hostility, but some believe that although Jackson Heights was open to Asian and Latino immigration, that never extended to Black people. A thirty-year resident told an interviewer in 1995 that if a lot of Black people moved into the neighborhood, many apartments would be sold very fast because “many of the tenant owners are elderly, they have enough problems dealing with Hispanics or gays.”

The Jackson Heights Latino (mostly South American) population grew from 6.1% of the neighborhood in 1970 to 30.7% in 1980 to 41.3% in 1990. Colombians are the largest and most visible single Latin group in Jackson Heights. After that, the largest Latin populations are Ecuadorians, Peruvians, Mexicans, Argentines, and Salvadorans. Puerto Ricans and Dominicans are present in smaller numbers, despite being the city’s largest Latin populations.

Modern-day Jackson Heights disrupts the “ethnic Main St.” paradigm (where one national origin group dominates a commercial strip): Roosevelt Ave, heavily Latino, is the most diverse commercial area in Queens. Though South Asians were the least residentially concentrated among all recent immigrants to the New York metro area, they are highly commercially concentrated along 74th Street. This has caused tension with long-established white and Latino businesses and residents, since it seemed to them like 74th was being overtaken by people who didn’t live in the neighborhood. Little India, stretching from 74th to 76th Streets, is hugely profitable because South Asians from all over the New York metro area shop and eat there. Interestingly, when this commercial ethnic enclave was establishing itself in the 90s, some white residents of Jackson Heights attempted to cede Roosevelt Ave to adjacent neighborhoods, dissociating from it. Many whites insisted Jackson Heights ended on the north side of Roosevelt, while Latino residents considered the border less clear. Koreans, who are residentially concentrated in Flushing, own a significant amount of Jackson Heights commercial real estate, often leasing to Latin American business owners or establishing their own businesses, which sometimes cater to Latin customers. And as an added dynamic of commercial activity in Jackson Heights, the informal economy of street food and drink vendors largely represents the most recent immigrant arrivals, typically Mexicans, who lack the means to break into established commercial markets, like restaurants. Going west along Roosevelt Ave the businesses become more Filipino, and then Irish, and then Korean towards Woodside and Sunnyside. Going west on Broadway, one transitions into Greek and Italian Astoria and going east on Roosevelt toward Flushing, one approaches New York’s Koreatown and the Taiwanese Chinatown. Though spectacular, Jackson Heights is one piece in the rich tapestry of Queens, New York.

 

References:

Bazzi, M., Doane, R., Kasinitz, P. (1998). “Chapter 8: Jackson Heights, New York.” Cityscape, 4(2): Racially and Ethnically Diverse Neighborhoods, pp. 161-177.

Copquin, C. G. (2009). “Jackson Heights,” The Neighborhoods of Queens, Yale UP.

Maly, M. (2011). “Jackson Heights, New York,” Beyond Segregation: Multiracial and Multiethnic Neighborhoods, Temple UP.

Miyares, I. M. (2004). “From Exclusionary Covenant to Ethnic Hyperdiversity in Jackson Heights, Queens.” Geographical Review, 94(4), pp. 462-483.

Plunz, R. (2016). A History of Housing in New York City, Columbia UP.

Williams, K. (2015). “How Queens Became New York City’s Largest Borough.” Curbed New York.

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Early Planning of Jackson Heights

When the British acquired New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664 and named it New York, Queens County–neighbored by Kings and Suffolk counties–contained five townships: Jamaica, Oyster Bay, Flushing, Newton (later Elmhurst), and Hempstead. The 1790 census recorded 5,393 residents of Queens, 1,095 of whom were enslaved. When greater New York was consolidated in 1898, Queens was split in two: The smaller, eastern portion became Nassau County, with Hempstead and Oyster Bay, while Newton, Jamaica, and Flushing became the new Queens.

In 1909, a group of bankers and real estate agents called the Queensboro Corporation purchased 325 acres of land in Trainsmeadow, an area of mostly farmland in Newton. The Corporation’s director, Edward MacDougall, named the land Jackson Heights, after John Jackson, a descendant of one of the original Queens families and a leader of transportation development in Queens (in 1860, Jackson had built one of the first major roads in Queens: Jackson Avenue, known today as Northern Boulevard). The “Heights” part of the name was meant to add prestige; Technically, Jackson Heights is slightly higher in elevation than neighboring Elmhurst.

In 1910, the Queensboro Bridge opened. Jackson Heights’ development didn’t follow a master plan. Lots were quickly divided up for sale to other developers, with MacDougall holding onto a significant percentage of the land. Early buildings were clustered along Northern Boulevard. When the elevated 7 Train line was unveiled in 1917, connecting western Queens and Midtown Manhattan, Jackson Heights’ real growth could begin.

MacDougall’s neighborhood was modeled after 19th Century British planner Ebenezer Howard’s garden city concept, which envisioned urban areas limited in size and density, full of open, airy spaces. Howard’s 1898 book, Garden Cities of To-morrow, had a big effect on urban developers of that era. In it he wrote: “Town and country must be married, and out of this joyous union will spring a new hope, a new life, a new civilization.” Jackson Heights was the third garden city neighborhood in Queens. Sunnyside, developed by Charles Stein in the 1920s, was built as a working class neighborhood with row houses and the Phipps Garden Apartments complex. Forest Hills, developed by Clarence Perry and sponsored by railroad tycoon Russell Sage, welcomed working class families, but only upper middle class families could afford the large, Tudor-styles homes. Jackson Heights added a new spin on the garden city concept with its garden co-op apartments. Unlike the other two neighborhoods, Jackson Heights was meant to be an elite, exclusive suburban community for white, nonimmigrant Protestants, within a close commute to Midtown Manhattan. Ironically, today Jackson Heights is the most economically and ethnically diverse of the three.

The original six apartment complexes in Jackson Heights were built on blocks developed all at once, set back for ample landscaping. Buildings only covered 30-50% of a given block, while in Manhattan they covered 70%. The apartments faced interior courtyards with flower gardens, sitting areas, and walkways. They were given fancy names like Chateau.

Chateau Apts., 1928. (Source: Copquin)

Streets were shaded by trees. To lure urban professionals, MacDougall donated land to churches and built playgrounds, golf courses, tennis courts, and community clubhouses.

Tennis courts in Jackson Heights, 1928. (Source: Copquin)

He planned a commercial strip along 37th Avenue and 82nd Street. It was key that the infrastructure was top-notch to attract the right type of people. Roosevelt Ave was built to accommodate an extension of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (the original private operator of the New York subways), taking the Manhattan commute down to twenty minutes. To meet the demand for single and two-family homes, MacDougall developed row houses and villa-like houses with English garden motifs or made to look like a French villa.

English garden houses on 87th St., 1929. (Source: Copquin)

Semi-detached single and two-family houses flanked the east-west borders of the residential core.

Two-family semi-detached homes on 89th St., 2009. (Source: Copquin)

In 1919, the Queensboro Corp introduced a cooperative ownership plan in five of the original six complexes. Families who were renting previously were invited to buy their units for $500 down, and mortgage payments of about $52 a month. Over the next decades, co-ops would make up a significant portion of the neighborhood’s housing.

From 1923-30, fifteen apartment complexes in addition to the original six were built, and private homes filled the gaps between them in an area covering 33 square blocks. The Towers were MacDougall’s largest and most elaborate apartment complexes in Jackson Heights.

Chateau Apts., foreground; The Towers, background–2002. (Source: Miyares)

Built during the 20s, units ranged in price from 18 to $25,000 and were among the most expensive apartments in all of New York at the time. The Towers’ enclosed gardens ran the length of the block and were full of statues and fountains. The intricate wrought iron gates to the gardens were guarded by statues of griffins, adding to the cultivated aura of exclusivity. In the 70s, the penthouse units in The Towers would attract a handful of Colombian oligarchic families.

By 1930, the neighborhood was racially homogenous, solidly middle class, and architecturally unified. When the Depression hit, Jackson Heights was booming. But in the following years, prices of apartments were halved and many of the units were subdivided. Jackson Heights wouldn’t regain its former real estate value until the 90s. Part of why the neighborhood had a hard time bouncing back was because of Robert Moses’ highway out to Long Island, and the housing boom in Nassau County, which connected Midtown Manhattan to new, further secluded suburban areas. In 1950 the golf course and local tennis courts were leveled for cheaper, less elaborate, and higher-density apartments. By 1954 local developments had pretty much stopped, and MacDougall’s vision had come to an end.

Jackson Heights’ cohesion as a neighborhood is partly owed to its inception as a commercial venture. The neighborhood doesn’t correspond to any political jurisdiction; Even the local community board (decentralized units the city introduced in 1973 to make government more in-touch with neighborhood concerns) is shared with neighboring Corona and East Elmhurst. Jackson Heights is also comparatively young: Elmhurst was settled in the Dutch period, and Corona in the 1800s. Though some of the original green space has since been lost, MacDougall’s vision of a green urban community has remained to some degree. The original garden apartments still stand. In 1994, The Jackson Heights Beautification Group, founded in 1988 to combat graffiti and crime, successfully lobbied to achieve the designation of New York Historic District for Jackson Heights’ 36-block residential center. MacDougall would probably be surprised to learn that the Queensboro Corporation’s development, carefully calibrated to exclude the non-immigrant, non-white, and working class, laid the foundation for what has become one of the nation’s most ethnically diverse neighborhoods.

 

References:

Bazzi, M., Doane, R., Kasinitz, P. (1998). “Chapter 8: Jackson Heights, New York.” Cityscape, 4(2): Racially and Ethnically Diverse Neighborhoods, pp. 161-177.

Copquin, C. G. (2009). “Jackson Heights,” The Neighborhoods of Queens, Yale UP.

Maly, M. (2011). “Jackson Heights, New York,” Beyond Segregation: Multiracial and Multiethnic Neighborhoods, Temple UP.

Miyares, I. M. (2004). “From Exclusionary Covenant to Ethnic Hyperdiversity in Jackson Heights, Queens.” Geographical Review, 94(4), pp. 462-483.

Plunz, R. (2016). A History of Housing in New York City, Columbia UP.

Williams, K. (2015). “How Queens Became New York City’s Largest Borough.” Curbed New York.

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Amrin – Reflecting on My Family’s Voices in Jackson Heights

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. 

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Sangay

Phuntsok 0:13

Sangay Sherpa, so if you’d like to introduce yourself, could you go ahead and do that…

Sangay 0:17
Hey. Phuntsok. My name is Sangay Sherpa. I’m a father of two kids. And I’m, I live in Jackson Heights. I’ve been living here for about 11 years. And I, I’m an Uber driver.

Phuntsok 0:43
Right?

You said 11 years in Jackson Heights right? All right. Before we get into that, I just want to know, you know, how are you doing right now?

Sangay 0:53
I’m doing good. Yeah. Thank you.

Phuntsok 0:55
I mean, I know your wife is in the healthcare field. And with this COVID, how she doing? Is she doing alright.

Sangay 1:04
Yes. We both are COVID survivors. So yeah. So we didn’t get… she’s working and serving the community.

Phuntsok 1:20
Alright, that’s great to hear. You have to tell her thank you for me when you do see her. And okay, so you say you’ve lived in Jackson Heights for 11 years? How long have you been in America?

Sangay 1:35
I’m here since 1999. So it’s running in like 21… 22 years now.

Phuntsok 1:47
And only 11 years in Jackson Heigths. Where did you stay before Jackson Heights?

Sangay 1:52
I live in Sunnyside for about two years and then the rest in Brooklyn.

Phuntsok 2:00
So that’s almost nine years in Brooklyn.

Sangay 2:03
He I think around eight. Yeah. Eight, nine years in Brooklyn. Yeah.

Phuntsok 2:06
And I know you had your children in Brooklyn. Right?

Sangay 2:09
Yeah

Phuntsok 2:09
So they grew up there. How was Brooklyn? I mean nine years, you have to of have some experience there. How was it.

Sangay 2:19
Oh, well, it…

It was good. It just that we were there for our own convenience, I guess my sister in law was there. And then my eldest son is of the same age as her daughter. So it was better for, for us to, you know, work out our schedules, work schedules, because one of one of the families could take care of both kids while the other are working. That luckily, we decided to move there and stay there. Around eight, nine years.

Phuntsok 3:07
I see. And what made you want to move to Jackson Heights was like, what was the reason that you would say,

Sangay 3:14
Well, the kids grew up and then not just that. Even though, it was an okay place down there. I didn’t feel the sense of community. I didn’t have that many friends and families there. Most of my family members were in Queens. So we moved here in 2010.

Phuntsok 3:35
So you’d say you moved here for… because to be closer to your community?

Sangay 3:40
Yeah

Phuntsok 3:41
Alright, that’s, that’s good to hear. When you first arrived, was there anything that you know, how was it first? What What kind of people did you find yourself amongst?

Sangay 3:53
Well, the the main reason I moved to was my friends. I have most of my family and friends and family from my town from my city in Nepal, they live in Jackson Heights. And that’s the reason why I’m moved here. So it’s, it’s mainly for my friends and family, I guess. So I have a lot more a lot of my friends and my friends over here. So that’s why I’m up.

Phuntsok 4:26
And what could you say about the diversity of Jackson Heights?

Sangay 4:30
Well, is very diverse. And it’s mostly Indian, the Bangladeshi and Nepalese community in Jackson Heights right now.

Phuntsok 4:45
So you’d say mainly South Asian is what you…

Sangay 4:48
South Asian. Yes

Phuntsok 4:49
And since since you moved, has it changed anyway?

Sangay 4:57
Yes, of course. It has There were very few businesses or restaurants. Back then now there are like more than 50 restaurants. We have our law firms, real estate farms, accounting tax services…

Phuntsok 5:15
Run by the Nepali people

Sangay 5:18
Run by… the grocery stores all run by Nepalese. It’s like a big community right now.

Phuntsok 5:25
And since you arrived, I know you said you moved for community and your friends. But was there anything that you found yourself that you didn’t expect in Jackson Heights, but you ended up liking?

Sangay 5:37
Ah, no, I think the most mostly, it was not unexpected. I think I knew what I was getting into. And I liked it. Yeah.

Phuntsok 5:58
And we talked about what you liked about it. Were there any issues that you had with Jackson Heights?

Sangay 6:06
Well, the only issues we have is I live in a community where there are lots of other South Asian neighbors. And there are a lot of places where there are no houses and, and people leave trash on the streets. And I don’t understand why why they do that. That’s the only issue. I don’t like it.

Phuntsok 6:37
It’s kind of you saying it’s kind of dirty?

Sangay 6:40
Yeah, the trash its like big trash like TVs and the big furnitures. They just bring it in their car and leave it at street corners. I don’t know if it’s if it is the lack of education, or they don’t know how, how to dispose of those electronic stuff. I have no idea. But that seemed to be a problem.

Phuntsok 7:06
For sure. For sure. I know that. Both. Both you and me. We live near the BQE. And under the bridges near our house, they do leave a lot of trash. Yes, I know what you’re talking about. I feel like the city could do a better job there. For people to get rid of that. But I see what you’re talking about. So I mean, I know you live right off 34th Avenue. And, you know, during quarantine, New York City, the DOT they’ve started to have these open streets programs where they closed down the streets. And I was just wondering, what was your take on that? Like, how did like do you do walk on that street often? Do you take the dog out?

Sangay 7:42
Yes, I do. We walk on the streets, we run, we take our dogs. I love the idea, but just I’m just wondering, you know, Jackson Heights already has very congested streets, traffic wise, and when it fully opens I don’t know what kind of effect it’s gonna have. So if it if there is, no, there is no problem with the current traffic condition. I’m all up for it. It’s a great idea.

Phuntsok 8:18
You mentioned you’re an Uber driver. That’s your profession. So I’m just wondering, from a drivers point of view, you know, we have these open streets in Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan… driving in quarantine, did you notice any extra congestion? Or was it alright?

Sangay 8:37
No, because very few people are working right now. So there is not much problem right now, but once once the city fully opens and everybody starts working, I don’t think it will be the same. So you know, there will be problems.

Phuntsok 8:58
Okay. So make your overall opinion. You said you enjoyed it. You were walking, running, getting out there, but at the same time, it’s going to cause issue with congestion. Do you do you support the making of, they’re saying they want to make it permanent? The city. Do you support that?

Sangay 9:15
All support it if it’s not going to cause problems? Of traffic congestion.

Phuntsok 9:23
So you want to kind of want to see how it…

Sangay 9:25
Yeah. I want to see how it works out. Yeah.

Phuntsok 9:28
All right. Okay that’s fair. That’s fair. Um, so I mean, you spoke about how you came for your community, your friends again. And I just wanted to mention how I mean, you know, that there’s a Sherpa Kyidug and if I’m not wrong, 75th and Broadway.

Sangay 9:46
Yeah.

Phuntsok 9:47
How important was the fact that it was so close to where you live now. Sherpa Kyidug.

Sangay 9:56
It’s an organization I’ve been involved since like, 2000, 2001. I’ve been volunteering since and in different levels, not just outsider, but I was in the Board of Trustees for seven years and in the executive board for like two years. And I still, I still volunteer as a… in any capacity that I can. And it’s a great community center. It runs you know, a lot of adult classes for religion and language classes, language and dance classes for the youth, young ones. And he has a very successful soccer programs, which are part of, you know, very, yeah. Yeah, I’m very involved. And it’s doing a great job.

Phuntsok 11:00
Yeah. And you mentioned religion, how important is religion in your, in your life?

Sangay 11:07
I’m not very religious, but it plays a big part in in our lives because we were brought up in that way. The real religion plays a big part in all of our lives, I guess,

Phuntsok 11:29
In the Sherpa community or are you saying…

Sangay 11:31
Yes in the Sherpa communities.

Phuntsok 11:35
TThat’s great that we have a place that we can meet up for something like that. I appreciate the fact that you helped run it. That’s amazing. I’m onto more lighter things. I mean, what do you like to eat in Jackson Heights? What are your favorite restaurants?

Sangay 11:54
Oh, well, I yeah. I love all kinds of Nepalese dishes. And I don’t have a particularly favorite one. I go to all all the restaurants and I try all the Nepalese dishes. The most favorite one is momo of course. Yeah, yeah. But-

Phuntsok 12:18
Are there any. Sorry. Go ahead

Sangay 12:21
Yeah. Yeah, I like I, like I said, there are about 40, 50 restaurants in Jackson Heights. I visited maybe 30 of them already. So, you know, I don’t have a particular favorite one.

Phuntsok 12:36
So in quarantine, if you were to say, oh, let’s go get some momos was there like, one restaurant that comes to mind? Would you say oh, let’s try a new restaurant.

Sangay 12:43
Yeah, yeah, I try my best to try new ones.

Phuntsok 12:50
So what was the most recent one that you’ve been to?

Sangay 12:54
The most recent Momo I got from? What was it? I think it was Spicy Tibet.

Phuntsok 13:05
Spicy Tibet

Sangay 13:06
Yeah.

Phuntsok 13:07
I’ve actually had that. That’s great. Yeah, it’s really good. And you like there?

Sangay 13:12
Yeah, very.

Phuntsok 13:14
That’s great. That’s great. Um, I mean, while we’ve read through these questions pretty… is there anything else you’d like to say about Jackson Heights? I mean,

Sangay 13:24
I love this community. It’s very diverse. It’s not just the South Asian. We have a huge a South Asian community here. But there are lots of other communities as well. I know we all you know, living happily together. So it’s, it’s a fun neighborhood to be in.

Phuntsok 13:46
And how would you I mean, I personally have haven’t had any problems, but I’m just wondering, safety wise, you know, with this Asian American hate going around. Do you feel safe and Jackson, nice walking around with your family?

Sangay 13:59
I feel very safe. I haven’t had any problems.

Phuntsok 14:03
That’s great to hear. Well, I mean, I guess that’s it. I appreciate you for taking time out of your day to come answer questions.

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An Interview with Nazaha

Nazaha Ahmed, 18

A native Jackson Heights resident, Nazaha has only ever known this neighborhood as home. 

Amrin: Ok so for our second interview, I’m going to interview my cousin Nazaha and she has lived in Jackson Heights her whole life. So Nazaha do you want to introduce yourself?

Nazaha: Yeah, hi everyone my name is Nazaha Ahmed. I’m 18 years old, I go to Baruch College, and I’ve lived in Jackson Heights my whole life.

Amrin: Okay so let’s get started with the interview! So the first question is what is your relationship to Jackson Heights and how did you come to call it home?

Nazaha: My relationship is that I was born in Elmhurst Hospital so I basically grew up in Jackson Heights my whole life. I’ve come to call it home because it’s where all my cousins, my friends, everyone is in so I’m pretty comfortable living in Jackson Heights.

Amrin: Okay great! So how was the neighborhood like during your childhood?

Nazaha: The neighborhood was pretty quiet when I was pretty young. There weren’t that many people but I remember there being a big Bengali community so I was always around a lot of different people. 

Amrin: So how has it changed since your childhood?

Nazaha: I think now there’s a lot more stores opening, a lot of big companies are opening stores in Jackson Heights. A lot of gentrification, and there’s also more people moving into Jackson Heights. 

Amrin: So would you say [gentrification is] your biggest concern with the neighborhood or do you have other concerns you want to share?

Nazaha: Yeah I think that’s a really big concern because now all the small businesses, like the family-owned businesses, are being forced to shut down because of the bigger stores opening up.

Amrin: Do you think that’s affecting the sense of community in Jackson Heights?

Nazaha: I think so because the smaller businesses are mostly like those small Bengali food stores or like those Indian restaurants maybe. So it’s losing a sense of culture in the neighborhood that was there for so long.

Amrin: Yeah so how is that sense of community different now than it was before?

Nazaha: I think now is more different, not really in a bad way because there’s a lot more people coming from outside of Jackson Heights to come visit the shops. But it’s mostly how the bigger stores are getting more popular.

Amrin: Are there any particular like ethnic groups that you interact with a lot in Jackson Heights?

Nazaha: I usually talk to a lot of South Asians in Jackson Heights. That’s the group that I see mostly living in Jackson Heights in my everyday life. 

Amrin: Are there any groups that you don’t really see or don’t really interact with in the neighborhood?

Nazaha: There aren’t many white people in the neighborhood. It’s very diverse with different ethnic backgrounds but I don’t really see white people everyday.

Amrin: Do you think even though there’s different ethnic backgrounds, there is still a sense of community with those groups or is it more separated by culture?

Nazaha: I don’t think it’s separated, maybe in a way it is separated. Maybe on one block there’s mostly Bengali restaurants and on a different block it’s mainly Latino restaurants. But they’re not really divided in a way that they are against each other, but it’s people from different cultures going to those restaurants. So it’s like people from different cultures learning about other culture’s foods and heritage and things like that. So I wouldn’t say it’s really divided. 

Amrin: So speaking of the restaurants that you mentioned, what is your favorite spot to eat in the area? Do you have a favorite restaurant or anything?

Nazaha: My favorite spot would be the new Birria Tacos (Birria Landia) truck that opened up. It got really big on TikTok, it was right near my house, maybe like a two min walk!

Amrin: And how would you like to see Jackson Heights in 15 years?

Nazaha: In 15 years, I would still like to see the smaller businesses still open but maybe they’ll even flourish. I’d also like to see maybe some reconstruction of the buildings since some buildings I need some renovating. But honestly I’m not sure how Jackson Heights will be in 15 years cause even now everything is changing in Jackson Heights, even the prices of rent are increasing. So who knows who’s gonna be living in Jackson Heights in the next 15 years?

Amrin: Yeah those are very solid answers! So just one last question: what is your favorite memory of Jackson Heights?

Nazaha: My favorite memory would have to be multiple memories because every year at the end of Ramadan there is always Chamrat, which is like a festival kind of thing the night before Eid, which is a Muslim holiday. Basically all of my cousins and I and my friends go to a spot in Jackson Heights where there’s a lot of Muslims coming together, mostly South Asians, who basically get their henna done the night before, just walk around, and have a fun time in the neighborhood.  

Amrin: So  I might ask one more: so how is like the Muslim Community in Jackson Heights different from maybe like other parts of Queens?

Nazaha: I think in the other parts of Queens, there’s not really a lot of mosques or like any Halal restaurants for Muslims to eat and enjoy. Jackson Heights has a lot of halal food options / restaurants and even have mosques so that we can go pray whenever we have to.

Amrin: And the final question is can you see yourself living anywhere besides Jackson Heights in the future?

Nazaha: Even though I love Jackson Heights, I would want to move because I’ve been here my whole life. So, I think it’s good for me to kind of leave and go explore other places and meet new people just to you know,

Amrin: Like for the experience?

Nazaha: Yeah.

Amrin: Okay thank you Nazaha and Eishika for your wonderful insights to Jackson Heights. I think this was very helpful and yeah thank you guys.

Nazaha: Thank you for having us.

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An Interview with Eishika

Eishika Ahmed, 18

Eishika lived in Jackson Heights until she was 16, in which her parents moved their family to Bayside, a residential and suburban neighborhood on the border of Queens.

Amrin: Hi I’m Amrin and today I am interviewing my cousin Eishika, who lived in Jackson Heights up until she was 16, and then moved to Bayside, a Suburban neighborhood also in Queens. Eishika, do you want to introduce yourself?

Eishika: Sure! My name’s Eishika, as Amrin said. I go to NYU, I live in Bayside, used to live in Jackson Heights, and [today I’m] just helping out with the project!

Amrin: So we can go straight into the interview! So the first question I’m going to ask you is, “what is your relationship to Jackson Heights and how did you come to call it home?”

Eishika: Well I lived there pretty much since birth or like since I was one or two years old so it’s pretty much all I remember, all I know. Prior to living in Jackson Heights I lived in some other neighborhood in Queens, but obviously I was 1 so I don’t remember it. But I went to school in that area, all my friends live in that area, so yeah I was all I knew for most of my life.

Amrin: Nice! Okay so how was the neighborhood like when you first arrived, which you might not remember (haha), so how was it just like when you were a child like during your childhood?

Eishika: I mean growing up it was really close knit I guess is how I would describe it, at least on my block. Like I knew my neighbors or like our families knew each other and we would play with like the kids next door or whatever. It’s changed a lot mostly because I think like gentrification contributed to a lot of it, you know there’s like a bunch of Starbucks near there now and I know it’s gotten a lot more crowded for sure and a lot more like people moving in from different parts of the city; so I don’t think it’s as close knit anymore but that’s how I remember it when I was growing up.

Amrin: You mentioned gentrification. Is that the biggest concern you have about the neighborhood or are there others?

Eishika: Oh yeah for sure that gentrification is probably my biggest concern, not even just about [Jackson Heights] but like about New York City in general. Like if you go on TikTok these days there are videos of like “come to New York City and make your dreams come true and live like a hipster” or whatever, which I think is dangerous because a lot of people come here and then they don’t realize like a lot of the negative effects of moving out people who are more low-income. So that is one of my biggest concerns.

Amrin: You also talked about gentrification affecting the sense of community, so what was that sense of community like for you before and after gentrification really increased? 

Eishika: Well before like I said, we would play with the neighbors kids and there was like a park nearby so a lot of like after school evenings and stuff were spent at the park just running around. After gentrification or as it gradually happens, I guess families start to move out of the neighborhood. It got really really expensive actually, to live there. Like even my house there now is worth a lot more than it was previously, but yeah it definitely did get a lot more busy and less personal. There’s just more people that you didn’t know and more people that you couldn’t really talk to as much moving in.

Amrin: Were there any like ethnic or cultural groups that you interacted with a lot in comparison to others in the neighborhood?

Eishika: It’s definitely mostly an Asian and Hispanic neighborhood. In terms of like Asian [it] is a very big subgroup. I mean there’s lots of subgroups inside the Asian umbrella, so I don’t think there was one specific group. I mean there were definitely a lot of South Asians and Southeast Asians that I grew up with and also like in my school a lot of Southeast Asians and Hispanic people. 

Amrin: Were there any groups that you didn’t really see a lot in the neighborhood that you didn’t really interact with?

Eishika: Not a lot of white people in my school at all from what I remember. And also not any on my block, like my two next door neighbors were both Asian and I think maybe there was like one white family at the very end of the block. Also not a lot of Black people either. 

Amrin: On a lighter note, what is your favorite spot to eat in Jackson Heights? Do you have a favorite restaurant or anything?

 Eishika: Yeah, Farine Baking Company [was] probably one of my favorite spots to eat. I went there a lot in high school with my friends and stuff.

Amrin: Is there a reason why you pick that one out of all the other many restaurants in the neighborhood?

Eishika: I really like sweet food in general. It had a lot of good desserts and it was also “aesthetic” I guess. Whatever that means. I like places with a good ambiance, let’s just put it that way.

Amrin: What kind of cuisine is it?

Eishika: Mostly American style food I guess, like burgers, fries, chicken and waffles, mac and cheese. That kind of stuff.

Amrin: Do you have a favorite meal or go to order from the restaurant? 

Eishika: I liked their cookies and I liked their chicken and waffles.

Amrin: Okay so last question about Jackson Heights in general: how would you like to see Jackson Heights in 15 years?

Eishika: That’s an interesting question. 15 years. I think I would like to see it a lot better than it is now because of Covid, it’s a lot emptier than it was before. Especially at the beginning of the pandemic, it was like really empty all the time, which was sad to see. I think I’d like to see it just as diverse as it’s always been, like I definitely wouldn’t want to lose like a lot of the culture that’s made Jackson Heights what it is. So I would want to keep it as diverse and as representative of New York City as a whole as it is right now and it’s always been. And that includes diverse food spots and not just diversity of people but like the food and the different things you can find there.

Amrin: You mentioned culture in Jackson Heights. Do you see any of your own culture in the neighborhood?

Eishika: Oh yeah I mean I’m Southasian and Jackson Heights [I think] is like one of the most populous neighborhoods probably on the East Coast or at least in the tri-state area for South Asian people in general. I read an article that talked about demographics, and besides New Jersey (New Jersey also has a lot of South Asian people), I know Jackson Heights is a hotspot.

Amrin: Great. Okay so now we’re going to move on to more specific questions that are catered to you just about moving from Jackson Heights to Bayside. So what was that like, the whole I guess difference between the two neighborhoods?

Eishika: It was kind of stressful at first, sometimes it still is. I remember we moved like the last day of my finals, like finals were over and then I went home and we had to pack and well we already packed and stuff but you know we had to move everything out. It was a huge adjustment, I was really really sad for like many months, especially the first weekend there because all of my friends lived in Jackson Heights and (well Amrin lives here! Hey Amrin! And a couple of my other cousins) but a lot of people that I went to school with [were in Jackson Heights]. I went to a K-8 school, by the way, so my entire childhood was spent with the same people and they all lived in Jackson Heights. So coming here was kinda like pulling the rug out, I guess. There’s [also] no subways here so it was hard to get to school for a bit and actually it still is because I go to school in Manhattan. It was definitely a big change.

Amrin: What do you think was the biggest difference between Jackson Heights and Bayside?

Eishika: Definitely like the loss of people and how sprawling it is here. Like in Jackson Heights you would have stores on every single block and like lots of activity, people always walking around. You never really felt alone. Here, like I said it’s a lot more sprawling, there’s like the stores are clustered together so you kind of have to walk a bit from the parts where all the houses are to the parts where all the stores are, so it’s a bit less accessible I guess. And without easy transportation, it’s not really a convenient place for a lot of people to come and go so I think in general it’s easier to feel a lot more isolated here [Bayside].

Amrin: So you’re saying that it feels more isolated, so do you think Jackson Heights had a better sense of community?

Eishika: Yeah I think so I mean I could be biased because I lived there for like 16 years and so obviously I might have a better sense of community there. Maybe if I lived [in Bayside] for like the same amount of time maybe I think that’d like Bayside also had the same sense of community. But I think it is a lot easier for a community to be built when you’re around people all the time, like how can you not kind of be engaged when you’re around people all the time, whereas if you live in a neighborhood and suburbs, you have your own house in your own backyard and then you’ll see like your neighbors on your either side but you won’t really have that same interaction.

Amrin: So you mentioned diversity and culture in Jackson Heights that was very prominent, do you have that same experience here in Bayside?

Eishika: Honestly no. Both of my neighbors on either side are white. I think it definitely is a lot less diverse here or at least on my block from what I’ve seen or like the small little part that I live in. There are parts that are busier and I guess like have more diverse people, people of different cultures I guess. Like when I walked to the really huge park that’s like a couple blocks away during the summer, there’s a lot of people there from a lot of different backgrounds but talking about just my block compared to what I lived in before, yeah definitely a loss of culture.

Amrin: Okay so Bayside / Oakland Gardens right, that’s a very suburban area it’s very far away from like everything but Jackson Heights, that’s kind of like a very urban center so what was your experience like with these two worlds? Which one do you prefer?

Eishika: Well me I always prefer more urban areas than suburban ones. A big part of it is because it was just what I’m used to and I grew up there. I get really bored easily. I feel like without just constantly having people around, I feel like there are always like things to observe in busy neighborhoods and places to go. And like I said it’s a bit of a walk to get to like the cluster of stores, so if I want any food or even the Starbucks is like a 20 minute walk away so it’s definitely like I said a lot easier to feel isolated, so I do prefer urban centers because of that.

Amrin: Okay Last question! Which neighborhood would you call home? 

Eishika: Probably Jackson Heights if I had to pick between them. Bayside has only been my home for like a year and a half now so I don’t know if I can call it home yet but yeah probably Jackson Heights.

Amrin: Okay thank you Eishika, for all of your input about Jackson Heights, it is very appreciated!

Eishika: Thank you for having me.

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Shi Ting

00:00:02 Sowjan

Hello.

00:00:03 Shi Ting

Hi.

00:00:08 Sowjan

Would you care to introduce yourself and talk a little bit about who you are and your relationship to Jackson Heights?

00:00:16 Shi Ting

Yep. Hi, my name is Shi Ting and I’m currently 19 years old. I’m Chinese and I’ve lived in Jackson Heights for five years, and I am not an immigrant.

00:00:30 Sowjan

Cool. So what would you say is your relationship to Jackson Heights? How did you come to call it home?

00:00:40 Shi Ting

Well, first of all, I moved here. Previously, I lived in the Upper East Side and when I moved to Jackson Heights, I guess that’s when I started calling it home. To me, Jackson Heights is… I haven’t really been to a lot of restaurants in Jackson Heights, but I have walked around the neighborhood and I can see that it’s a pretty clean neighborhood. The people here are also really nice. For example, I dropped my wallet once and people just standing by—like some people, if you’re in some other neighborhood, they don’t even care, they don’t even point it out, but there are people [here] who are like, oh, hey, you dropped your wallet, or they would chase after you and they would give you the wallet. I think that’s something that I really like about this neighborhood. The people here are pretty kind, and also there’s just a lot of socialization I think amongst people in this neighborhood. I personally have not socialized with some of these people because I don’t speak the same language, but I’ve seen a lot of people, you know, hanging out, just standing there and talking. I think that’s just something that’s really nice. Especially with technology, I think it’s harder and harder to see that in neighborhoods sometimes.

00:20:05 Sowjan

You mentioned that you only moved to Jackson Heights a few years ago. How many years was it again?

Shi Ting

Five.

Sowjan

Five years ago. Okay. 

Shi Ting

Yeah, this is my fifth year.

Sowjan

Right. Do you remember how the neighborhood was like when you first arrived?

00:02:25 Shi Ting

Yeah, well, when I first arrived, I didn’t explore the neighborhood too much but I definitely thought it was a lot more homogeneous. I think there was just a lot more East Asians, but I think now there’s more people, at least on my street, that are South Asian as well.  I have seen more people of other ethnicities in this neighborhood, but I don’t know if it’s just because I haven’t explored that much previously when I just moved in, or if it’s because there are actually more ethnicities coming into this neighborhood.

00:03:20 Sowjan (3:20)

Other than you seeing more people of different races coming in, are there any other changes that you’ve seen to the neighborhood from when you first arrived? Or has it changed at all?

00:03:41 Shi Ting

I don’t think it’s changed. I think everything’s kind of been the same. I’ve seen the same restaurants, the same supermarkets. I don’t—I haven’t really seen a change in the neighborhood, really, other than people moving in and out. That’s pretty much it.

00:04:10 Sowjan

What is the sense of community like in Jackson Heights for you? ‘Cause you mentioned that it was pretty homogeneous for the most part, right, so were you still able to feel like you’re part of the community even though you’re East Asian but most of the people in your neighborhood are South Asian? Do you still feel like you’ve become integrated into the neighborhood? Do you feel like you’re part of the neighborhood?

00:04:52 Shi Ting

Definitely because of Covid, I think I’ve gotten to know some of my neighbors better. We haven’t really necessarily talked deeply per se, but I think we kind of know more about each other. Especially I think last year because of Covid, everyone’s in lockdown and so we went to the backyard to exercise more and there are people—like, I have a neighbor [who’s] like 3 houses down from where I live and when they also go on their walk, that’s exactly when I go outside to exercise. So, we do see each other and then we say hi, you know, we greet each other. We do talk but the very basics. I think it makes me feel nice that people in the neighborhood still know us and, although we speak different languages, we’re still able to speak and talk to each other. But also, I mentioned I think there’s more East Asians coming to at least where I live, in this section of Jackson Heights, and I think just generally, I’ve seen my parents talk to these people and we exchange gifts sometimes and it’s just really nice. And then my brother—my brother is younger and so when he plays with friends in this neighborhood, that’s when I really feel like there’s still…although we’re different races, different ethnicities, speak different languages maybe at home, you’re still able to get along.

00:06:46 Sowjan

So you’d say that you interact with most of the people, well not most of the people but like people of different races in the neighborhood, rather than just people of your own ethnicity? Even though there are more East Asians coming into your neighborhood, would you say that you still interact with other people of other ethnicities as well in the neighborhood? 

00:07:20 Shi Ting

I do interact with them but I think, at least my family interacts with East Asians a bit more because we just feel like we’re able to talk more deeply with them because we speak the same language. 

00:07:42 Sowjan

When you observe your neighborhood, who do you see the people in your neighborhood interacting with? Do you usually see them interacting with people of their own ethnicities or do you see some intermingling as well?

00:08:04 Shi Ting

Definitely, I think there are… because most people here are immigrants and they don’t know how to speak English, I think that creates some language barrier between some people. I know the people who live on my street, in my neighborhood, who are East Asians, don’t really speak English that well. They speak Chinese, they speak Mandarin, and the South Asians also, they don’t speak English as well, and obviously they don’t speak Mandarin, and so I think that just generally creates a language barrier that’s kind of hard to break. But I do see people of younger generations hanging out with each other. You know, they’re talking to each other regardless of where they come from. So I think that’s just the generation and language problem. I don’t think it’s because they have certain opinions of some other race.

00:09:05 Sowjan

Can you talk a little bit more about that because we also had another interviewee say something similar? In Jackson Heights, and I think a lot of neighborhoods in New York City, we have this sort of divide in a sense where people of the same race or the same language kind of cluster together, and there’s little intermingling at least in the older generation, but in the younger generation, people do talk to other kids who speak a different language at home or who practice a different religion or who are a different ethnicity, etc. So can you say something more about that?

00:10:02 Shi Ting

I think that partially comes from the fact that most of these people are immigrants. They’re coming to a new country where they have to start all over again, and I think that speaking their home language kind of makes them feel more at home, maybe, and also it’s kind of hard to adjust to speaking another language on top of adjusting to a new life. I think that it also comes from them just being at home—when they’re at their home country like the neighborhood is probably more homogeneous there—and being in a different place but in that same kind of environment probably makes them feel more at home, more relaxed. I think most immigrants probably feel the same way, because I know my parents sometimes feel the same way as well. I think the reason why in New York City there are so many places like Koreatown, Chinatown is that I think that’s just the clustering of people who just want to feel more at home. But I definitely do see that like times are changing. I think the reason why younger generations are able to interact more even though they speak different languages at home is because when they go to school, right, they don’t have the homogeneous population—like, when they go to school they see people of different races there. They interact with them at such a young age that I think they’re used to disregarding race sometimes—like race doesn’t really matter for who they become friends with. So I definitely do see that. Also, it’s just hard to speak with someone when you have two different languages because, I think when you can only exchange greetings and then it kind of just stops there, it’s really hard to interact deeply with them, but if you speak the same language, you’re able to talk about almost everything. There’s definitely that, but  obviously the younger generation, they’re all learning English and so they are able to interact that way and they may share the same interest as well. I know there’s different cultures for different ethnicities and that might also play into it. 

00:12:33 Sowjan

You mentioned before that there is a large immigrant population in Jackson Heights and there still is and there’s probably going to be more and more immigrants coming in as the years go by. So… you’re not an immigrant right?

Shi Ting

No.

Sowjan

No.  Are your parents immigrants?

Shi Ting

Yep.

00:13:05 Sowjan

Yeah. Ok, so I guess taking that into account, how welcoming would you say that Jackson Heights is to new immigrants?

00:13:21 Shi Ting

I don’t think we received a greeting or anything from people of like… I think the only person we actually received a greeting from was someone of the same ethnicity as us but I don’t… 

00:13:45  Sowjan

Perhaps that was a little misleading. I meant to ask, do you think that your parents felt, I suppose safe, in a way as immigrants in Jackson Heights? Do you think that—you know, there may be some places where it’s easier for immigrants to integrate into the neighborhood and there are some places where it’s harder for them, so which one would you say Jackson Heights is for your family? 

00:14:30 Shi Ting

I think it was relatively easy. I don’t think…we didn’t receive any hate. I think in the beginning, it was kind of just like, we moved in and it was kind of like, our family is doing what we’re doing and then the neighborhood, everyone else is also doing what they’re doing. But as the years go by I think there’s a little bit more interaction, but I definitely don’t think we were receiving any kind of hate or anything. Generally the neighborhood was pretty welcoming…

Sowjan

Accepting?

Shi Ting

Yeah.

00:15:18 Sowjan

Do you think the fact that Jackson Heights is ethnically diverse or has a large immigrant population has anything to do with that? Do you think that’s part of the reason why it felt more comfortable? 

00:15:46 Shi Ting

I don’t think it was necessarily because there are a lot of immigrant families. But I think it’s because… I don’t know, I can’t exactly pinpoint it either, but I think people here kind of just…there’s not a lot of hate going on. I don’t see any hate going on here in this neighborhood at all. I think it’s just the neighborhood, the people in general are just really nice. They don’t have a misconception of some other people. I think they kind of just let people—like, if they don’t interact with you they kind of just let you do your thing.

00:16:40 Sowjan

Ok, I’ll just finish off with one or two last questions. If you have any, what would you say is your biggest concern about the neighborhood? 

00:17:01 Shi Ting

My biggest concern… II don’t think anything is bad but, I mean, I would like to see more restaurants… I think—OK, because of the homogenous neighborhood there are a lot of restaurants that cater to that one ethnicity, and so I personally would like to see more restaurants adhere to more ethnicities, but that would be if there are more races coming in, which I definitely do think there are but I think it’s coming in like a trickle like it’s not like very fast. I think other issues like this neighborhood talking more between races—I think that’ll be okay as time goes by, because I think the main reason why people aren’t intermingling is because they don’t speak the same languages.It’s because people don’t speak the same language, but you can’ tell—like I can’t tell people you have to learn English to be in this neighborhood, that’s not a thing, but I think as the younger generation grows up, they will start interacting with each other. So, I think that’ll be solved by time. Other than that… yeah I really like this neighborhood. 

00:18:48 Sowjan

Do you think the younger generation will stay in the neighborhood once they grow older?

00:18:55 Shi Ting

I think so because I think most people who live here, they may stay here for a long time because they have already developed a community in this area,  or at least their parents have. There’s just a really strong community here, because I think most people have the same beliefs and most people here also have, you know, same customs and, maybe they’re already used to this routine of where they’re going to buy groceries, where they’re going to do this, and where they’re going to do that. They kind of just know this neighborhood very well, but I do see some people moving out. I haven’t interacted with them so I can’t pinpoint why that is that they’re moving out, but I definitely do think that a majority of these younger generations growing up might stay in this neighborhood, or at least their parents will.

00:20:01 Sowjan

I’m not going to hold you to this, but would you want to stay in the neighborhood when you grow older too, or do you think your parents will?

00:20:10 Shi Ting

I think my parents will. I mean I think that generally, they feel pretty welcomed here. They have made a couple friends. But yeah, I think for me…I might. But…

00:20:35 Sowjan

You don’t know for sure. You don’t know what the future’s gonna be like.

00:20:45 Shi Ting

Yeah, so I don’t know, but if I move out, that definitely won’t be because I don’t feel welcomed here or anything like that. I think it might be because of other things like jobs or something. It won’t be because I don’t feel welcomed here or I don’t feel part of the community.

00:21:09 Sowjan

Yeah, I get that. Most people in New York kind of have to move around a lot because of careers or other dreams. So, it’s all good. 

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to interview you. It was a very enlightening conversation. Thank you so much.