I have lived in Jackson Heights for slightly over twenty years. Jackson Heights is considered to be the area between Roosevelt Avenue to the south and Astoria Boulevard to the north, between the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to the west and Junction Boulevard to the east. Jackson Heights is known for being the home to some of the first garden apartments in the country. Many of the apartment buildings are built around a central green space blocked from the street by the buildings. Most of these buildings are also some of the oldest cooperative apartments in the country. Several blocks along 34th Avenue are considered a historic district.

When I first moved to Jackson Heights, in the late 1980s, the neighborhood mostly consisted of Columbian immigrants, with other South American groups making up the balance. There is also an enclave of an Indian population centered on 74th Street near Roosevelt Avenue. Unfortunately, at the time, Roosevelt Avenue was allegedly dominated by the Columbian drug cartels. Over the years, the neighborhood has become more racially diverse. In the last few years, there has been an influx of people who could no longer afford the rents or the home prices in Manhattan. Landlords, seeing the opportunity, renovated homes and apartment buildings. A number of new retail stores have moved into the area as well, like Dunkin Donuts, Subway and the ubiquitous drug stores: Duane Reade and Rite Aid. Of course, there are still many good South American restaurants. The crime rate has dropped in recent years, and it’s a much safer neighborhood now.

There is no shortage of grocery stores and interesting restaurants in the neighborhood. While I don’t mind the convenience of picking up my weekly groceries at the local Waldbaums, I sometimes like to go to the Trade Fair, where there is a great array of every different kind of ethnic food you can imagine. As for dining, the Columbian restaurant Pio Pio (Spanish for the sound a chick makes) is well known. However, the neighborhood is full of many different small and casual restaurants. Mamas’s Empanana’s, Pollos a la Brasa Mario, and Seba Seba are a few I can recommend. As long as I’ve lived in the neighborhood, I would not have time to have tried every restaurant.

Travers Park, on 34th Avenue and 77th Street is the most active area in the neighborhood. In the summer, small concerts are held there and there’s a farmers market on Sundays. There is a public library on 83rd Street, which is also very active. Unfortunately, with budget cuts, they are now closed on Sundays. However, I’ve noticed that the beauty parlors in the area don’t follow the traditional schedule of being closed on Sunday and Monday. Many are open Sunday, and do mostly walk in business.

If you wish to visit Jackson Heights it can be reached by going to the 74th Street/Broadway/ Roosevelt Avenue stop on the E, F, G, R, or V subway lines. One can also take the 7 train to either 74th Street or 82nd Street. The Q32 bus also comes from Manhattan.

This is part of a series highlighting the different residential neighborhoods in and around the city. If you have grown to love your New York neighborhood, whether you’re a native New Yorker or a new arrival, please write and tell us about it.