My Neighborhood and Why It's So Livable

There's a nice profile in the New York Times about my neighborhood, Jackson Heights:

Jackson Heights, a middle-class Queens neighborhood only three express subway stops from Manhattan, is so ethnically and culturally diverse that some people call it "a utopia of diversity."

A walk down 74th Street amounts to a day trip to Mumbai, India. In the shops along 82nd Street, you can habla español with Latinos from almost every Spanish-speaking country. Stroll the leafy historic district of garden apartments and you'll think you've stumbled into suburbia.

In the 2000 census report, fewer than 20 percent of the households reported that English was the only language spoken at home. More than half also speak Spanish. And Arabic, Chinese, French (including Cajun and Creole), Greek, Hindi, Korean, Polish, Russian, Urdu and Yiddish were among the more than 30 languages tallied.

"Like Manhattan, it's urban," said Jeffrey A. Saunders, president of the Jackson Heights Garden City Society. "People are from all over. Nobody teaches us to get along. It just works."

Indeed it does. I'm just sorry I didn't move here sooner.

Comments

[Woody]

Until now, all that I knew about Jackson Heights was that it was in the theme song for "Car 54, Where Are You?" I grew up in what use to be a steel and mining town in the South. Immigrants flocked there during its rapid growth, creating interesting communities and opening some great restaurants that you won't find in most places. Those initial people then saved and paid for relatives from Italy, Greece, and other East European countries to join them and open up stores and markets. One of my old friends still owns a large banana processing center that his grandfather started after coming here from Greece. I don't know about earlier generations, but in mine everyone got along well, plus the immigrants learned to speak English and increase their opportunities. One other thing--they came here legally, so I know that it can be done. But, I don't want to take away from your theme. Whatever works is fine. I now live in the sterile, low-crime suburbs and you are in an interesting neighborhood, which really sounds fun.