Jackson Heights

Pros - close to Manhattan if, decent access to trains. OK access to buses, lots of restaurants, historic architecture, high level of diversity.

Cons - low park space, dangerous drivers, relatively frequent fatalities, expensive parking, little parking at any price, dirty streets, expensive rental costs, lots of poop on the streets, just no way to change that aspect of the neighborhood so far.

Jackson Heights is an incredibly diverse neighborhood in Queens, with a pretty even mixture of South Asian and Hispanic residents. The variety of food here is absolutely incredible; I could write an entire review just on the restaurants in Jackson Heights. Visit Little India for fantastic Indian food, Pio Pio for the world's best Peruvian chicken, Tawa's Nepali Hut for Nepalese street food, or Cannelle Patisserie for some awesome desserts. There are plenty of options for shopping too - particularly on 82nd street. As a previous reviewer stated, nearly every subway line runs through this neighborhood. There are also several bus routes that go through the area, so public transportation options are definitely very diverse. However, this is not a town in which you want to own a car. Parking is hard, particularly on the main streets where most of the restaurants and shops are located. While there are a few major highways nearby, the traffic on those roads is usually awful. The landmarked garden community area is a source of pride for residents. The co-ops and homes here are lovely, but getting permission to repair/renovate in this area can be time consuming. Jackson Heights is a great choice for people who are looking for affordability and convenience.

Jackson Heights is an ethnically diverse and vibrant neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Queens. Jackson Heights is bounded by the Brooklyn Queens Expressway on the West, Junction Boulevard on the East, Roosevelt Avenue on the South and Northern Boulevard on the north.
Not only is Jackson Heights well known for its cultural diversity, it also has within its bowels, the historic Garden City district which stretches between Roosevelt Avenue and Northern Boulevard, from 76th to 88th Street. Developed in the 1920’s by Edward A MacDougall’s Queensboro Corporation, this area was part of the global Garden City movement.
Hence the Garden City district of Jackson Heights consists of many picturesque co-op buildings and homes which are exponents of various forms of architecture such as Romanesque, Neo- classical, and Tudor. Most of these buildings have well tended gardens some of which are the size of Gramercy Park . Additionally many of the buildings located here have typical English names like Buckingham Hall, Windsor, Carlton, and Warwick in keeping with the Garden City movement which had its origins in England.
The co-op apartments of these buildings are mostly ownership properties and access to the building's gardens is also restricted to the owners of the apartments. Once a year the gardens are thrown open to the public by the Jackson Heights Beautification group, a local organization committed to the upkeep and preservation of the district. There are sign boards on lamp posts located all along the Garden City district trail that point out the unique and noteworthy individual features of the various buildings.
Jackson Heights has over the decades has largely been inhabited by New York’s Latin American and South Asian communities though the district also is home to smaller Russian, Polish and Irish populations however today this historic Garden district is also becoming popular with young families and professionals who are being priced out of Manhattan.
The restaurants and stores which are located within Jackson Heights reflect the ethnic makeup of the locality. Along 74th street and Roosevelt Avenue are stores that cater to almost all the needs of the South Asian community of New York. Supermarkets like Patel Brothers, Apna Bazar, Sabzi Mandi carry vast varieties of South Asian spices, nuts, vegetables, frozen and prepared foods, toiletries and magazines and newspapers which are imported from the subcontinent.

Trade Fair on 37th Avenue caters to the Latin American community while New York Hap Chong Market which is a Korean Supermarket located on Broadway caters to the needs of the area’s Korean community. Along 73rd street is the little Bangladesh area of Jackson Heights which has stores that sell fruits, vegetables, condiments, spices, and ‘Halal’ meat. Near 72nd street and Broadway is the little Pakistan section of Jackson Heights which has some wonderful Pakistani restaurants like Shaheen and Kebab King which are famous for their succulent kebabs.

The Latino Flavor of the neighborhood can be experienced at restaurants such as Pio Pio which is located on Northern Boulevard and serves Peruvian cuisine, La Porteña which is located at 37th Avenue and serves typical Argentinean Fare. Other popular Latin American restaurants located here include joints like Novo and La Nueva.

Jackson Heights is also well equipped with great schooling opportunities and the district has within it a number of top ranked public, private and parochial schools. The Renaissance Charter School is an excellent school located within Jackson Heights while some of the other public schools that are located here like the P.S.69, P.S.2, I.S 230 and I.S 145 all offer gifted programs. The Garden School is a good private pre-K-12 school of the neighborhood while Saint Joan of Arc, Our Lady of Fatima and Blessed Sacrament are some of the good parochial schools that are also located here.

Jackson Heights is well served by a plethora of subway lines and bus routes. In fact six subway lines( E,F, R, V, G and 7 trains) come into the area’s main Jackson Heights station which is located at 74street and Roosevelt Avenue. The E and F trains which run express from this station provide convenient links with Manhattan while the G train runs local and connects the area with Brooklyn.

I lived in Astoria right before I moved here. And I was wondering all along --- can there possibly having more green compare to what I got now. Well, when you see those parks are right at your backyard, that speaks a lot.
This is a area with the most diverse ethnic, and that carries along with an abundant types of restaurants you can pick out from. Indian cuisine kind of rare and hard to find in the city, but here you got a lot of choice – although one of my India friend suggest that this is not that althentic compare to her homemade dish.
Also, under Roosevelt avenue you can visit a lot of different shops and commercial activities, noise can blow you away during the weekend. 7 trains constant vibrated above your head but you just got to get used to it.
This is the hub of queens, every train except N has to go through this junction. It’s a 5 level station, not as labyrinth as Time Saure but can be quite an exercise to just transfer the train.
Walking on 37th avenue is very pleasant with its wide sidewalk, I believe its wider than the car lane. On this avenue, you can fulfill your need, restaurant, post office, salon, grocery, supermarket …. Even has a new Starbucks from last year makes you feel like you are not that unconnected from the globalization.
Another important thing to check out during you visit is to pay attention to those post /prewar coop apartment. It is proof the old building with motar and brick stand still aged nicely are sometimes even better than those new constructed ones. These building got detials, and the red/ brown brick looks relax to me than the new glass wall you see everywhere now. To dig in this might be another big story I suggest you to go on wikipedia to touch basic.
35th avenue can be a charming area for a cyclist like me, again with tall and wide canopy trees, this road is very pleasant to ride – although some area need some repair work. Seems this is a area pet friendly cause many coop accept the pet in the building not like some other places don’t. The sidewalk is in pretty good shape and very easy to find the place you want to go. I find it quite easy to get along with people here and eveyone kind of laid back a bit to live in a much slower pace than in the city.
Some annoying thing did happened here. It is quite nosiy – especially in summer- from time to time at night. 100% contribute from the nouty drivers. Although there is this sign said - no honk or penalty, I don’t see much police here for addressing this particular issue. If this get fix, there is not so much I can complain about this interesting neighborhood.
I would say if you are an outgoing, socialize individual / couple young profession like me, you will find the dynamic in this neighborhood can quite entertain you.

Jackson Heights is a northwestern neighborhood in Queens and is known as an urban melting pot that is rich in ethnic diversity. Most of the neighborhood is a National Register Historic District, and approximately half of the area is noted as being a New York City Historic District. The area is comprised of mainly large garden apartment buildings and many private home groupings.

Jackson Heights was the first garden community built in the United States, as part of the international Garden City movement at the turn of the last century. As a result, there are more private parks within walking distance of each other than in any other city in America. The parks or gardens are tucked in the mid-blocks, mostly hidden from view by the buildings surrounding them. Several approach the size of Gramercy Park, in Manhattan, and others are slightly larger. As befits private parks, unless given an invitation, the key to gain entry is to own a co-op around its perimeter. The basis for the private ownership of the parks of Jackson Heights is derived from its founding principle--as a privately owned little garden city, built largely under the oversight of one person. The gardens of the co-ops help make the historic part of the neighborhood highly desirable.

Jackson Heights has more school choices within walking distance than any other city America, except for some sections of Manhattan. Students attend P.S. 69 or P.S. 212 for primary school. Middle schools in the neighborhood include I.S. 145 and I.S. 230. There are also other private schools and parochial private schools.

The community is also home to many houses of worship from a wide array of religions, due in part to the rich diversity this community holds.

Jackson Heights has the highest density of trees and greenery in New York City along its residential streets. The trees provide not only shade during those hot New York summers, but also a great look for its residents.

While growing up in Queens one gets very used to things. When things began to change in Jackson Heights, it needed a bit of getting used to. Well, get used to it we all did very quickly.

Authentic Hispanic stores started springing up all along the El train. Everything was there for the picking and you could learn to cook Spanish food - not to mention enjoying food in a small Hispanic restaurant - MMMMMMM I could still taste the food.

New York is a melting pot alright - of people and of food!!!