Does anyone know if there are commercial bus tour operators that actually pass through Jackson Heights and show tourists "the sights" in the Heights?
The reason I say this, is because a little over a year ago, I met someone from Toronto, Canada, and did the usual back and forth introductory conversation dialogue. I mentioned where I live, and he then said that he supposedly did a bus tour in New York once, and he passed through Jackson Heights and knew of the neighborhood.
I thought this rather odd. Usually most tour buses drive through the usual sites in Manhattan (Battery Park area, Times Square, Central Park, etc.), rarely do they pass through any of the outer boroughs, as far as I know. I figured this guy was either mistaken, or pulling my leg.
But, a few months after that, I was walking on Roosevelt Avenue on a weekend morning, and saw an amusing sight. A tour type bus was parked around 78th and Roosevelt, and there were people who were obvious "tourist types" walking around Roosevelt Avenue. One guy had his expensive camera out, and was focusing his lens for a close up on one of those signs that advertise those big concerts geared towards people from central America - the ones that usually have a picture of say 8-10 guys in cowboy hats and matching denim shirts in a musical band, and then maybe 4-5 women in short skirts - I'm sure you've all seen these! Anyways, across the street, a bemused local pedestrian was pointing this guy out to his friends. He kept yelling "AquÃ! AquÃ!", and laughing at him. It seemed amusing to me, the "clash of viewpoints" perhaps? The "tourist guy" probably thought he was taking a photograph of the "gritty urban reality"/"local color" and the local guy probably thought "What the hell is he doing?"
Anyways, I was just wondering if anyone knows if there really are bus tours that pass through the neighborhood, and what they might be saying.