Jackson Heights Life

That is horrible!! I can't believe nobody came to your aid. Years ago on 37th road when the bus stopped there, there was always an african american man tormenting people. He would go in/out of bank bothering people for money then to the bus stop and get right up in your face. Alot of people were afraid and just gave it to him. I called the police on  a daily basis and they never did anything. The last time I saw him I was on line with my husband and kids, the man went up to an elderly lady and it looked like he was going to attack her. My husband intervened and the man became so violent that he had to be physically handled. He ran away after and that was the last time we saw him. It is a shame that there is no police over there especially with the prostitutes in/around those streets. Perhaps if you see him again you can snap a pic. Thanks for the warning.

Years ago something similar happened to me.  It was so upsetting, especially since the attacker was screaming at me and calling me names. It got so bad that undercover cops intervened and arrested the attacker. You were upset and attempting to defend yourself.  So perhaps while screaming back might not the best thing to do (in terms of your personal safety), it is very understandable how you would respond that way.

There is irony in the fact that you state "This isn't Times Square".  the reason we have the prostitutes and the drunks etc. is because the city made a concerted effort to develope Times Square and in the process pushed the undesirable elements out to Queens.  Jackson Heights has a retail but it is essentially a  residential community.  On our way to the subway or just walking from one place to another, we don't deserve to have to put up with that degree of lawlesness.  And violent streets is not the price we should have to pay for pedestrian plaza meant to improve the quality of life.  Remember Times Square was Ground Zero for "not family oriented" for decades and decades.

If someone attacks you and especially if they threaten to hurt you, it is your right to be protected by the police.  If there are no visible police on the beat at the time , I would call 911 immediately and report the incident.

How about the Bryant Park (formerly "Needle Park"),  Bowery, the LES. the East Village, Times West etc...
Shows you how a little "will" (money) can change turn things around.
When developers got involved and the City had a chance to cash in, then Times Square went from "Sex Shop City" to the "Cross Roads of the World".

You deserve to be safe in your community. Jackson Heights as a whole deserves better.

a couple of posts up, "I Live Here Too" discussed the same exact thing happening several years back -- long before the plaza was even dreamt of.

i had an issue with one scary homeless guy about four or five years ago, again, long before we had a pedestrian plaza.

would you care to explain those incidents away? probably not the fault of the green people (irish, i presume?) or danny dromm, who wasn't our councilman at that point?

that doesn't mitigate the horrible nature of your encounter. i hate anyone feeling unsafe and i hope this man can be caught and removed from our midst.

I have walked through the plaza every day on my way to work in the mornings. I have encountered the same homeless people who were there before the plaza ever even existed. I don't think it's drawing a whole new crowd. I do think it is wrong to blame the plaza, "Green People" (whoever they are, martians maybe?) and Danny Dromm for a problem that has existed in that area for YEARS.

The major problem with that area is no one seems to really care for, or take care of it. The merchants there seem to have little interest in the greater community they ARE a part of (even before the plaza) and couldn't be bothered to do more than the minimum amount of cleaning and tending to their area. The one thing places like Times Square, and other places in the city have that make them go a long way to working is a Business Improvement District. With a BID looking after things like security and sanitation it makes a huge difference. However, I'm not sure the property owners in that area are willing support this (why we should continue to support them is beyond me). Maybe rather than complaining and blaming we should be asking our elected officials how we can help make something like this happen.

I also think it's important for those of us who live here to put as much pressure as we can on the Police Department. I think there are monthly meetings where the community can let the police know what their needs are and what's going on.  It is a lot more work than any of us should have to do, I know the last thing I want to do after a long day of work is attend yet another meeting. But sadly, that's they way things get done.

In addition to BID's many neighborhoods that we cite as being better off than poor old JH have a VERY active community base. People who step in where the city fails and take action to make changes. While that's often ascribed to more affluent communities there's no reason it can't be done here. There are quite a few neighborhood groups already doing this work volunteering now and then getting more connected and productively working towards solutions to problems seems like the right course of action to me.

There are also homeless outreach organizations and churches that will come and try to get people off the streets. It's very very hard work. Supporting their efforts here could help the problem in due time.

As far as safety goes, no one should feel unsafe, especially in broad day light on their way to work. Maybe walking to work with a neighbor or two would help, there is safety in numbers.

My point is it takes a lot to keep a community together, safe and prosperous and that means those of us that live here have to do a little more than any of us would like to achieve the sort of community we want to live in.    

Thanks for the warning.  Seems early for a drunk to be harassing people - does that happen often at 8:30am around that street?  I tend to avoid Roosevelt Avenue at night - especially weekends when it turns into the red light district and the paddy wagons come out.  It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful Jack Hts can be on one side and how unsavory and filthy it can be on the other.  It's like night and day.  Reminds me of Amsterdam, another very beautiful city with this one street full of strip clubs and prostitution.  If anything, once it warms up and the plaza is actually made green, perhaps it would bring some much needed beauty to our neighborhood.  I suppose it remains to be seen but you don't know until you try.  I'm happy the green groups exist - the area needs all the help it can get.  I keep up with their events on FB.  They are very active.

how do they help drunk homeless people in other cities? what's an effective way of helping?