I just want to introduce myself to everyone within this forum. I lived in Jackson Heights my entire life (28 years) minus some years for college. My parents purchased their 82nd Street home when I was barely walking. I must say many things have changed in both positives and negatives within JH and its surrounding areas. I mainly grew up playing in my parents’ backyard or at the local parks (78th and 34th, 85th and 30th) and running to Joe’s Candy Store on Northern and 85th. I learned a lot growing up in JH. I learned not to leave your bike leaning on the front steps while eating ice cream 2 feet away from it (some guy hopped on it and took off, I was 13
). But most importantly I learned about diversity, culture, respect and street smarts.
I went to PS148, IS145 & Long Island City HS before moving to a SUNY Upstate NY university. To be honest I never really looked in the history and background of Jackson Heights until the past year or so. I must say I have learned a lot and learned to look up at the detailed buildings more often.
Like all neighborhoods JH has its positive and negative cycles. I remember back in the early 90’s when I couldn’t walk home from IS145 without a gang of kids asking me for a quarter (I never gave up a dime). During that same time the local park grounds were littered with broken malt liquor bottles and graffiti filled the benches and handball courts. Now, I noticed that the area became a lot better. Business owners on Northern seem to care more about the people in front of their establishments. I also noticed that IS145 now requires khaki bottoms and a white top which is a great idea. This eliminates a student going home shirtless since he has a trendier shirt that a bully wanted.
I didn’t mean to create a multi paragraph introduction but I have a lot of thoughts and opinions when it comes to the neighborhood I spent my youth in. To cut this short, I want to say that this is a great online forum filled with people that have car and concern when it comes to Jackson Heights. If there are any questions please let me know. Thanks
