Jackson Heights Life

How would you describe the day to day Jackson Heights you experience?

Why don't you send that to Op-Ed? It's a very heartfelt description of your experience.

i agree. the pictures really captured the vibe here, colorful, lively, very sweet. didn't notice any standing pools of mosquito-swarmed water, military patrols or other "third world" elements.....

How would you describe the vibe here?

What I love about Jackson Heights is that it feels like a small town and a global center simultaneously. The vibe is friendly & neighborly, especially in the "mom & pop" stores and restaurants (i.e., non-chain establishments), where one quickly feels like a "regular".  And, at the same time, because of the enormous ethnic diversity, one feels to be in the center of a great cosmopolis.   

Please: You need to drop this "anyone who doesn't love JH like me is from the Midwest" story line. Besides not being true (you accused me once of being a dreaded Midwesterner, and my family has been in NYC since Lincoln was President), it is insulting to anyone from those places. I think Houston is probably plenty diverse. Have you even been to those places? If you love Jackson Heights, which you obviously do, that's all you need to say. People will respect you for your loyalty to a place, but not if you constantly put other places down.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Houston-region-is-now-the-most-diverse-in-the-U-S-3384174.php

" I remember when the lower east side looked different from the upper west side. i remember when astoria and park slope were not interchangeable. when neighborhoods had character. that doesn't matter to you, and you embrace homogeneity. fine. i don't. end of story."

I'm not criticizing what you are saying about JH, it's just this constant: there are people like me, then there are those who "embrace" homogeneity.

if you think JH is  great because it's Diverse. Vibrant. Human. That's wonderful. Say that. It's just irritating that you always end with "not like... or you must be from..." ("couldn't pass for a slice of Cincinnati or Houston.")

But of course you can say what you want. That's your prerogative.

I think a lot of people on this message board will understand what I mean. Guess what: I don't embrace homogeneity (where did you even get that? But I'm not surprised you came back at me with that.) I happen to belong to a multiracial/cultural family.

 And I'm not trying to stir up any trouble or disrespect you, it's just gets under my skin. It's obvious that you love JH and are very protective about this place., which is very laudable.

since you're a native, you remember the jewish lower east side, the german yorkville, the cuchifritos stands around the east village and east harlem, the full on italian carroll gardens and williamsburg, all of which are gone, never to return. and all the things that replaced them are pretty much the same. starbucks. duane reade. wine bar. etc etc. that bums me out. that's all.

My city. A poem.

bank bank bank duane reade bank bank bank cvs bank bank

no yaffa bank
no continental bank
no food co-op bank
no diner bank
no florist bank
no hardware bank
no pork store bank
no delicioso coco helado bank
no neighbors bank
only glass condos and bank

Jackson Heights is far more like the Manhattan I grew up in than anywhere in Manhattan is now.

New York City the way it used to be - and the way it should be. A living, breathing neighborhood that couldn't pass for a slice of Cincinnati or Houston. Diverse. Vibrant. Human.

Quote from: I live here too on May 22, 2015, 10:47:20 AM

How would you describe the vibe here?

Diversity is overrated.