Jackson Heights Life

Actually few of these schools are being reorganized into smaller schools. Most of the schools will have the same student populations and be renamed. They are replacing 50% of the teachers and appointing new principals. The other 50% will have to find new jobs or go into the "ATR" pool. Teachers will not be reinterviewed until July, leaving many of them to find new jobs now so they feel secure for September. The logic seems poor to me, as I would think most of the highly effective teachers will be picked up by other schools by the time July rolls around. It's also extremely unfair to those who have been in the system for 20+ years and have only a few years to go until retirement. I know several excellent educators at some of these schools who fit exactly that description, and they are very worried that their last two years will be spent floating around an ATR pool because some schools are more likely to higher more less experienced teachers than experienced teachers to save money, especially now that budgets are tighter than ever before.

Ultimately, it appears as if this plan targets teachers rather than improving the schools. These schools were ineffective due largely in part to poor policy and not due to lazy teachers. I know this because I taught at one. Now that I teach somewhere else, it is clear to me that the teachers I worked with who will be fighting for their jobs are just as good, if not better, than those I work with now at a "better" school.  If I had an 8th grader set to attend one of these schools next year, I would be very worried about just how much improvement could be made to a school within only six weeks time. Throwing a bunch of new teachers together during a vacation no less is not likely to build community. And I would also be very concerned as to how many of the good teachers would wait around to see if they are lucky enough to be hired back for jobs they already have.

Found a dog on 84th street and 35th ave.  Small male, seems like a poodle with black and gray coloring. Has rabies tags from Sunnyside pet healthcare center.  I've left a message with the vet office and posted on craigslist.  If anyone sees any signs or knows of a missing dog, please let me know.  Thanks.

Our dog was recently very ill with similar symptoms and was eating Nutro Ultra at the time.  We'll definitely stay away from this brand from now on!

Actually, we park in Buddy's building and it is now about $190 a month. 

i know that the c-town sells sharons sorbet for 4.99 while trader joes sells it for 2.99 i think.  just one of my observations.

A friend of mine just had an incident there where the waiter changed his credit card receipt and added 30 dollars to the tip.  When he found it he went to the manager who handled the incident and refunded the money.  I can only hope this waiter was fired and that the rest of the staff are more trustworthy.

Thank you Todd, for finding the statistics on this. I think the assumption is that because many of the buildings in Jackson Heights are more owner occupied than renter occupied our incomes on average are higher.  However, I just had friends try to find a decent apartment to rent in Astoria, and crappy one bedrooms were going for 1800 at minimum.  They found a beautiful two bedroom here for the same price.  My husband and I couldn't even find a reasonable apartment to buy in Astoria under 300 thousand.  So I don't see how NYCMac gets the impression that Astoria's average incomes are lower than ours.  It seems to be that the way the real estate market and rental market are going there, only people with higher incomes will be able to live in Astoria.

If the majority of Jackson Heights residents don't have a problem with the way our traffic laws are enforced, then I don't see what the problem is.  In fact, I feel better that our traffic laws are enforced as much as the article insinuates.  People who violate parking rules deserve to be ticketed!  If I get a ticket I don't whine and complain, I pay it!  Unless, of course, I was wrongly ticketed.  Unless you walk or drive down our streets every day having to swerve in and out of double parked trucks and cars, avoid cars making an illegal u-turns, wait ten minutes for traffic to move one block because of double parked vehicles, or even listen to the honking horns coming from behind said double parked vehicles from your apartment, then I don't think you can offer an informed opinion on this issue.  Like other posters have said, traffic rules are here to keep us safe, and while some officers might be a bit overzealous, almost all the tickets written are legitimate.  If you don't want a ticket, park appropriately.  And if you have a problem with delivery trucks getting tickets, write to the mayor about how it affects the merchants in YOUR neighborhood.