Jackson Heights Life

I actually think the station is pretty nice too.  But recently, I tried to use one of the machines to purchase an unlimited with a credit card and absolutely none of them worked and the station attendant said it had been that way for months.  Not sure if it's fixed by now.  I'd get rid of the pigeon crap all over the outside - but that's a huge undertaking since the nests are all along the elevated train.  One spot I think they should really clean up is the entrance near the pedestrian plaza.  It's constantly littered with garbage and the homeless use it as a hangout as well.  It's pretty gross most of the time.

The actual station inside is pretty nice though.  And I do like Backwoods.

JHBG -- Jackson Heights Beautification Group has been working for the last 25 years to make JH a better, safer and cleaner place to live.

JHBG now takes care of  4 public garden spaces in JH (in front of the JH Post Office, 37th Ave at the BQE, along the east side of the BQE and 34th Ave and Junction Blvd), we plant flowers in the tree pits along 37th Avenue each spring.  This fall JHBG planted thousands of daffodil bulbs along 34th Avenue, in the school yards on 34th Avenue and along the eastside of the BQE.  A group of volunteers works to keep our street trees healthy, by removing bricks, adding mulch and pruning. JHBG just opened a new composting center this fall and collects on the weekends at the 78th Street Play Street. (JH SCRAPS)
 
JHBG established a large and small dog run at the BQE at 35th Avenue. (JH CREW). 
 
JHBG removes graffiti all around Jackson Heights.
 
JHBG normally holds an annual  Halloween parade if there are no super storms to interfere.
 
JHBG helps run the 78th Street Play Street with JH Green Alliance bring the Police Athletic League, PAL, last summer and the Summer Sunday Concerts for the last 10 years.
 
JHBG does an annual tree lighting at the Post Office where children sing and the tree is lighted.
 
JHBG co-hosts Principal's night at 82nd Street Academics every January to help parents understand the public school options in the area.
 
JHBG hosts Community forums when issues arise such as to start the Play Street and to insist that the city buy the lot from Garden school to expand Travers Park.
 
JHBG has a group that work with the parks department to improve Travers Park.
 
JHBG advocates for the community about how the neighborhood looks.  JHBG established and are pushing to expand the JH Historic District.  JHBG files complaints with the building department about sign violations.  After the fire along 37th Avenue, JHBG attending all the meetings regarding the planning of the new apartment building and made written submission seeking changes that were granted.
 
Each spring, JHBG runs  an annual JH Historic Tour and lectures about the history of Jackson Heights.
 
JHBG has launched the Jackson Heights Orchestra --which will have 2 upcoming Spring concerts.
 
We run a web site full of community information.  We publish a newsletter full of community information.
 
We attend public meetings about school re-zoning, transportation changes and city planning to watch out for the interests of Jackson Heights.
I am not saying JHBG is perfect, but we are active.  What I think JHBG does best is offer guidance, support and financial backing to individuals in the community who want to start a community project.  So we have a group of people who love to gardens, love dogs, love compost, love classical music and JHBG helps them turn their dreams of a better neighborhood into reality.
We have no paid staff. We are all volunteer organization.  We would love to have more people volunteer and to support new projects.  We are a dynamic organization that changes as Jackson Heights changes, which is why I was upset at the post below.

Check us out at www.JHBG.org

Nuala

The whole equation doesn't make sense to me.  Low volume (and low margin stores) should not equal high rents.  I'm not questioning your friend's research - I just don't understand how such a market is sustainable.  If JH residential apartment rents were higher, people wouldn't rent the apartments and would live elsewhere in the city, creating vacancy and leading to lower residential rents.

On the other hand, 37th avenue doesn't appear to be low volume to my untrained eye and perhaps the dollar stores have a higher profit margin than I might guess.  I've never taken an economics class, but there must be a demand for the rents to remain high and there must be potential profit - at least for some types of stores - for there to be demand.

On the other hand, 37th avenue doesn't appear to be low volume to my untrained eye and perhaps the dollar stores have a higher profit margin than I might guess.  I've never taken an economics class, but there must be a demand for the rents to remain high and there must be potential profit - at least for some types of stores - for there to be demand.

I have frequently heard the rumor that the commercial rent on 37th Avenue, 73rd and 74th Streets depends on who's asking. For instance, if the person asking is of the same ethnic group as the landlord or knows the landlord's extended family, the rent becomes much lower. I'd love to see an investigative project take this question on.

It makes very little difference to landlords whether a store is leased or not...in Jackson Heights landlords own blocks of stores.  The tax deductions make up for loss in rent from an empty store.

I think this may be at the core of our problem: there are surprisingly few commercial landlords in the nabe, and they're clubby. How many are there? What blocks do they own? I'd love to see some public records.

Union Square is actually open four days a week, not seven.

And it's at a spot with a HUGE amount of foot traffic and office space, which makes weekday use more feasible. not many people find themselves walking down 34th avenue at 11 AM on a Wednesday.

I'd agree that it would be worthwhile to look into expanding to Saturdays, too, but we'd probably have to recruit different vendors, since they do tend to move around from market to market.

that is an intriguing idea....while that's a big space that probably carries a hefty price tag, rents on northern are significantly cheaper than on 37th or roosevelt, and providing a certificate of occupancy would allow for it, it would be cool to have a variety of things under one roof. not sure if actual cooking could go on on the premises, but still....it's interesting.

Ideas are sparking today...

Another idea would be to convert that vacant Mandy's on Northern Bld/78th Street into a space for an indoor Farmer's  market etc...where all sorts of stalls could be set up...permanently...Artisanal/Food/Flea/Craft/Vintage/books/flowers... whatever.

Then that place would serve as a magnet for Jackson Heights folks...once it's established...a bustling atmosphere marketplace...much like they have in Europe...or like the Essex Street markets on the Lower Eastside...

Hey...that could be a viable business venture!

I agree, this is a great idea! It could provide an opportunity for people to start a business in the neighborhood at a lower cost and it could serve as an incubator. If they are successful in the shared space, they may eventually set out on their own elsewhere in the neighborhood. I'm not sure how many stalls could be set up in this space, but I'm sure if the rent were divided amongst them it would be more reasonable than going out on ones own.