Author Topic: Can we make Jackson Heights more attractive, classy and Trendy? (Read 36450 times)

ECG · « **Reply #90 on:** January 28, 2013, 08:50:07 PM »

"If you've been reading this forum since the beginning, you will know that this topic comes up with great regularity. A different topic title, but same stuff.

JH is what it is. The changes will come gradually.

If anyone knows some investors who want to open a pub, restaurant, bookstore, wine bar, gym, social meeting center - and I almost forgot - movie theater, then bring them over to check out JH. If you know someone like Julie and Afzal of E77, have them talk to them. Their fine place was ground-breaking. Table Wine & Inner Peace were also examples of enterprising individuals who took a chance on 11372.

But don't bitch about what we don't have, thanks, but we've all heard it before."

Posted January 2nd.

Di_11372 · « **Reply #91 on:** January 28, 2013, 08:50:53 PM »

I am writing to 'Blueroom' hope to help you out a little.

I want to share a few special places with you. My husband and I have been here for 6 yrs now, we are both professionals, have done a lot of traveling, have lived in Manhatten & Brookly. We adore speciality, ethnic foods . I understand your frustrations in JH, but there may be some places you have overlooked, and I highly recommend to venture to Northern Boulevard, it is worth the walk.

Good Quality cuts of meat: you must visit a Carniceria( Butcher store) South Americans are very particular about their meat, there are a few on 37th, one on a corner, On 90 or 91, Had one of the best skirt steaks ever, brought to a party in Shelter Island last yr, my husband grilled it, everyone raves, and still talks about that cut of meat!

Gourmet European Deli: The Polish Deli on 37 th avenue 80th, good european cheeses, cookies, jams, etc, etc.

Gourmet Spanish Food Store: Despana, 86-17 Northern blvd, I have to plead with my husband to stop going here sometimes! Offers an array of cheese and sausages from Spain, they carry many Spanish Olive Oils, and other unique spanish food & treats. Small place, They actually supply many of NYC's wine bars with their cheeses and jamons...They also have a store on Broome st.

Best Bar, lovely atmosphere, is Amaru, 84-13 Northern Blvd. Best time to visit is during the week, not crowded, but weekends it turns more in to a club after 10:00. Early on weekends is fine. Their specialty is Piscos, they actually make them using an Artisanal method, it is one of the best cocktails I have ever had. The also serve some nice h'orderves, good ceviche. Next store is a pretty new gourmet pizza restaurant Pagliaccio, delicious.

Best of luck, I hope you enjoy some of these suggestions:)

blueroom · « **Reply #92 on:** January 28, 2013, 09:26:13 PM »

Quote from: Di_11372 on January 28, 2013, 08:50:53 PM

I am writing to 'Blueroom' hope to help you out a little.

I want to share a few special places with you. My husband and I have been here for 6 yrs now, we are both professionals, have done a lot of traveling, have lived in Manhatten & Brookly. We adore speciality, ethnic foods . I understand your frustrations in JH, but there may be some places you have overlooked, and I highly recommend to venture to Northern Boulevard, it is worth the walk.

Good Quality cuts of meat: you must visit a Carniceria( Butcher store) South Americans are very particular about their meat, there are a few on 37th, one on a corner, On 90 or 91, Had one of the best skirt steaks ever, brought to a party in Shelter Island last yr, my husband grilled it, everyone raves, and still talks about that cut of meat!

Gourmet European Deli: The Polish Deli on 37 th avenue 80th, good european cheeses, cookies, jams, etc, etc.

Gourmet Spanish Food Store: Despana, 86-17 Northern blvd, I have to plead with my husband to stop going here sometimes! Offers an array of cheese and sausages from Spain, they carry many Spanish Olive Oils, and other unique spanish food & treats. Small place, They actually supply many of NYC's wine bars with their cheeses and jamons...They also have a store on Broome st.

Best Bar, lovely atmosphere, is Amaru, 84-13 Northern Blvd. Best time to visit is during the week, not crowded, but weekends it turns more in to a club after 10:00. Early on weekends is fine. Their specialty is Piscos, they actually make them using an Artisanal method, it is one of the best cocktails I have ever had. The also serve some nice h'orderves, good ceviche. Next store is a pretty new gourmet pizza restaurant Pagliaccio, delicious.

Best of luck, I hope you enjoy some of these suggestions:)

hi there,
Thanks SO much for these suggestions. I look forward to trying them out! I really appreciate it. And you're right--I do think I've missed certain spots. It's hard to know where to go. VERY excited to check out the Spanish olive oils. I've never even heard of Amaru--I'll definitely go. Thanks again!

Dudley · « **Reply #93 on:** January 29, 2013, 08:49:03 AM »

There's also Terraza, which is a cool little bar on Gleane street, a tiny bit south of Roosevelt on 83rd street. It's a small bar, but it has a lot going for it:

- Very diverse crowd
- Several draft beers (!!!)
- Really eclectic and interesting lineup of events on most nights, ranging from movie screenings to poetry nights (1st Tuesday of every month) to a huge variety of really good bands playing all kinds of music
- A unique space, it has to be seen to be believed (that suspended stage...)

It's the kind of bar I would go to even if it wasn't just about the only place in our neighborhood with draft beer and a nice crowd.

theplanesland · « **Reply #94 on:** January 29, 2013, 10:52:26 AM »

Quote from: blueroom on January 28, 2013, 08:44:46 PM

I'm not entirely sure what your final conclusion would be. Should people who don't have children move away from here?

Young singles interested in immediately accessible nightlife probably shouldn't move here in the first place. Different neighborhoods tend to cater to different kinds of people. For instance, I don't know a lot of families who live in Northside Williamsburg, LIC, or SoHo. These neighborhoods definitely all used to be more demographically diverse, but there's been a pretty aggressive sorting going on of the past 20 years between "play" neighborhoods full of bustling fun for 20-somethings and "family" neighborhoods with cheap groceries and decent schools. There are plenty of older people without kids in my building, but they live quieter lifestyles.

Quote

I think it's possible for a neighborhood to serve everyone's needs, especially as diverse a neighborhood as this. I don't think this is about being single versus having children--it's about having a neighborhood with reasonable amenities for all. A gym is not too much to ask for.

But restaurants like Bareburger aren't "reasonable amenities." They're poncy hipster food for pretentious yuppies. They're very niche, a specific niche. Think of it as a kind of ethnic food. A gym, yes, that I'll give you, but one neighborhood can't fulfill every possible ethnic food niche. We do pretty well in JH, but that's why we live in NYC as a whole - because we can travel across the city and see *all* niches fulfilled. I like hipster burgers as much as anyone, but I'm happy to travel for them, much as I'm happy to travel for Persian or Ethiopian. Do all neighborhoods have to be hipster neighborhoods?

Gyms, on the other hand, I agree that everybody goes to gyms. Isn't there one on Northern, like, in the low 70s?

Quote

As for those bars, I've been to a couple of them you mention, and I don't see me and female friends going there. I think finding bars here to occasionally go to with friends is a lot easier if you're a guy.

I am being genuine here, so don't dismiss: what is actually wrong with Novo in that vein? Or E77's evenings where they have beer and wine? Legends is definitely an old-school sports-watching bar, but a lot of the women I know tend to go to Novo. I also had forgotten about Amaru, another good idea.

joopy86 · « **Reply #95 on:** January 29, 2013, 11:27:59 AM »

theplanesland, I think you are being unnecessarily judgmental and putting forth a very black and white viewpoint. Most of us do not fit neatly into the categories of "single and wants to party hardy" and "has kids and content with cheap groceries." I am in my 20s and born and raised in Queens and I moved to Jackson Heights because I love Queens, wanted to be close-ish to Astoria where I am from originally, and was attracted by the ability to live like an adult here instead of living the 'lifestyle' of 5 drunk roommates. Also, as a minority myself I love how diverse it is. I love all that it affords me and actually my immediate wishes for the neighborhood don't concern retail as much as it concerns a more respectful living space with residents that respect public areas and more crackdown on the illegal activity that takes place in our neighborhood like the street office furniture sales, ob/gyns that operate with 3 suspended licenses, illegally zoned businesses in residential spaces.

That said, there is a huge difference between wishing for ONE centrally located bar/food place, like Sparrow in Astoria on 37 ave than turning this place into 20something Vomit City like WBurg. Last I checked Sparrow has not spawned a thousand little "Sparrows" and it has not put the beer garden in Astoria out of business nor pushed the Chinese take out and pizza places that have been on 24th avenue forever. It is simply a nice place for people to hang out, from parents with strollers and Greek teenagers to the big actor community that lives there. Anyway, my most immediate desire isn't even for a cafe or whatever. I even think our grocery stores are great and I only wish there were a greek-style butcher/fish monger as I don't eat beef but love lamb and fish. The farmer's market meat is good but as you know it is VERY pricy. I'd like to have a good medium between the super pricy organic meats and the factory assembly stuff you see at the supermarket.

Also, for the record, Novo is okay but but unexpectedly on some night turns into a reggaeton club. Which for a woman that goes in when its quiet enjoying a glass of wine it's a bit weird.

theplanesland · « **Reply #96 on:** January 29, 2013, 12:35:38 PM »

Quote from: joopy86 on January 29, 2013, 11:27:59 AM

My immediate wishes for the neighborhood don't concern retail as much as it concerns a more respectful living space with residents that respect public areas and more crackdown on the illegal activity that takes place in our neighborhood like the street office furniture sales, ob/gyns that operate with 3 suspended licenses, illegally zoned businesses in residential spaces.

I agree 100%. I agree 1000%. I've been calling 311, writing Danny Dromm's office, et al for years about things like the illegal awnings and signs, when the meat market on 73rd was dumping meat in the street, etc. There's no conflict between having a diverse, bustling neighborhood and an orderly one.

Quote

Also, for the record, Novo is okay but but unexpectedly on some night turns into a reggaeton club. Which for a woman that goes in when its quiet enjoying a glass of wine it's a bit weird.

That is really weird. I guess they decided that they can't sustain a 7-day business of people coming in for the bar ...

daisy · « **Reply #97 on:** January 30, 2013, 09:51:36 AM »

Novo turns into a club usually about once a weeknight and on the weekends. It's about the only place open after 10pm on 37th Avenue though when walking home from the train on that particular stretch of avenue.

Just wanted to pipe in and thank those of you who made some great suggestions.. We're a very diverse group of people here and this board reflects that. I don't think a real gym, less crime, clean streets, and a few more places to go to with friends after 10pm that aren't strip clubs and caberet joints is too much to ask for, lol. Believe me, I do very much appreciate what we do have. Thanks to those with suggestions - they've been great!

Run2020 · « **Reply #98 on:** January 31, 2013, 10:00:17 AM »

Hey People,
I was talking to a couple of officers on 37th about moving into a coop near Roosevelt. They gave me a discouraging "I wouldn't not recommend it" (foot patrol officer), while officers in a vehicle told me they wouldn't recommend it, and there is high crime in the area. Since we are the eyes and ears of the neighborhood and many of us look like to be from different generations and living in the area for years , what kind of crime do we see or hear about? Curious...

Do we all feel safe during the day? Night?

dssjh · « **Reply #99 on:** January 31, 2013, 10:41:21 AM »

here's a site with precinct by precinct stats, with JH being the 115th
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/crime_prevention/crime_statistics.shtml

i feel totally safe coming home -- i live on 35th at 77th and walk from the roosevelt station at all hours (well, post 2 AM, i usually take a cab, more from being tired) and don't see any problems.

i don't spend a lot of time on roosevelt at night, but during daytime walks, it's fine -- although the guys trying to sell fake social security cards do get annoying. stretches of the avenue itself in the mid to upper 90s can be sketchy, but i'm guessing youre not talking that far up?

in my experience, in every new york neighborhood i've lived in -- Jackson Heights, Astoria, Greenpoint, Lower East Side, Flatbush and Bed-Stuy -- cops have antipathy for the place. some of that is understandable; they spend FAR more time with the negative elements of society than with the average resident.

unfortunately, many of them also genuinely dislike the city -- which is why so few of them live in it, and fight so hard to make sure they don't have to. some are racist, some just naturally gravitate to suburban life -- which i've never experienced, as a city dweller since birth.

but i'd say there should be no issues.

Run2020 · « **Reply #100 on:** January 31, 2013, 11:47:58 AM »

I think day time is completely fine. As discussed on this topic of attractive/ classy, etc. it still has some way to go but I love the best of both worlds. Night time though I'm skeptical about since some of the bars on Roosevelt attract a few unsavory characters. We were looking at a coop on 80th and 37th.

I agree completely with many cops having antipathy for the places since they do spend Far more time with the negative elements. And of course many are out of touch with any type of neighborhood like JH in comparison to where they are from. Crime has reduced and NYC in general has improved in almost all aspects of standard of life since 20 years back, but Im still indecisive!

joopy86 · « **Reply #101 on:** January 31, 2013, 03:16:11 PM »

I think dssjh hit the nail on the head. Cops tend be a certain 'type' and as being that they deal primarily with the underbelly of any given neighborhood they patrol in most of them won't have many positive things to say about any neighborhood of NYC unless it is VERY high income and homogeneous, such as the UES/UWS or Tribeca. I went to the big pride parade 2 years ago and literally witnessed a cop weeping in the corner and hiding in a nail salon because he was so upset by the 'displays' going on outside. <eye roll>

So, on the Jackson Heights fan spectrum I'm pretty even keeled, I appreciate the neighborhood and I also see that it has some problems. BUT I will say (and I hope I don't regret saying this and get jumped tonight) that the majority of the crime seems to be insular - if you aren't a South American gang member or the owner of a South Asian brothel (which apparently is a big issue in the neighborhood - a friend getting her public health masters @ Columbia recently did a project on this very subject in JH), then you have nothing to worry about. It sucks because we do SEE it and we feel the seediness, but we're not of that world.

Having lived in NYC all my life and being an Astoria native I am actually pretty ashamed to admit that the amount of petty crime in Astoria seems to be substantially greater than the amount of petty crime in Jackson Heights. Now, that COULD be because my parents own a house, but we've been subject to break in attempts, as a child I've gotten my bike stolen several times, friends have had their cars broken into, during the hurricane someone broke into my parents garage and siphoned gas from my dad's SUV, etc. And we own in a very very nice part of Astoria - the Ditmars proper area where home owners have beautiful well kept front yards and nice bay windows and very tidy rows of houses (not apartments) within blocks of the Q train. This past year, I've had 3 friends in Brooklyn who had their apts broken into (Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, and Bushwick) and I had 2 friends get mugged (Washington Heights, Harlem). In a way, I think Jackson Height's lack of substantial income disparity insulates it from the type of crime that you as a middle-income person would be subjected to. Unlike those areas in BK and even Astoria, JH is not a gentrified pocket surrounded by very poor projects.

Asides from that, as a young woman, while I don't feel immediate danger there is a substantial lonely male immigrant population here that lends itself to annoying catcalls and creepy stares. I got followed home once but luckily the brightly lit 24 hour Trade Fair is a good safe zone near my apt to duck into. I never walk on Roosevelt and avoid it like the plague - I even strategically pick an exit on the 74th street stop that deposits me right on 74 away from Roosevelt to get on the train.

daisy · « **Reply #102 on:** January 31, 2013, 03:19:54 PM »

I'll be straight with you. As a female, I don't feel safe walking home alone along any stretch of Roosevelt late at night, especially weekends. There's a reason we've got a lot of police paddy wagons in the area at night. I also don't love the desolate walk home on 37th Avenue - most places close at 10pm so your walk home is super quiet. Drunk dudes have followed me home twice. (My boyfriend gets hit on as well so this is not strictly a girl thing.) That being said, this happens in Manhattan too and in Astoria. I don't think Jackson Heights is unique in this regard, but I will say it's the Amsterdam of New York - plenty of underground or plain out in the open prostitution, strip clubs, caberet clubs, sports bars, etc. This is I'm sure what the police deal with every night. And then, like Amsterdam, you go down one avenue and it's beautiful. Landscaped gardens, amazing architecture. Night and day. Do I feel unsafe? Well - if you tend to just avoid Roosevelt late nights - then the area is fine. I live on the block you've mentioned and it's quite nice here. Just get off the train and walk away from Roosevelt.

theplanesland · « **Reply #103 on:** January 31, 2013, 04:17:40 PM »

Streets under an El are crappy. Els make streets much less pleasant. Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside escapes because QB is so darn wide that the El doesn't shade it and cover it with bird poop, but Roosevelt Avenue is basically doomed by the 7, 31st Street is the least pleasant street in Astoria, and for that matter the avenues covered by Els in Brooklyn (unless they're super-wide) aren't lovely places to be either.

But as others have said just above, the El effect never seems to spread to the surrounding neighborhood. I find this in Jackson Heights: Roosevelt Avenue is icky, pretty much perpetually in shade, noisy and guano-covered, and then even a building or two north everything's much better. It's very limited to that one avenue.

Colombia · « **Reply #104 on:** February 04, 2013, 12:39:06 AM »

Guys are you enjoying seeing the plywood door at the train station. I finally see some big progress I think it's better than grand central doors...I'm enjoying the bird dropping from that beautiful glass canopy...I'm proud to be living in Jacko Heights.

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Author Topic: Can we make Jackson Heights more attractive, classy and Trendy? (Read 36450 times)

ECG

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Di_11372

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blueroom

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Dudley

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theplanesland

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joopy86

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theplanesland

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daisy

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Run2020

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dssjh

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Run2020

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joopy86

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daisy

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theplanesland

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Colombia

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