Featured Apartment:
New York- One bedroom and luxury studio loft apartments. Great value, fully furnished rooms, dishwashers, new appliances and kitchens. Manhattan's exceptional single occupancy residences, studio units contain new cabinets, granite counter tops, All Stainless Steel appliances. Browse Jackson Heights Apartments -->
About Jackson Heights
Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in north-western portion of the borough of
Queens in New York City, USA. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board
3.
Jackson Heights is an urban melting pot with many ethnic populations, but mainly
consists of Latin Americans, multi-generational European, and Asian Americans.
It is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the United States and the entire
world. The Hispanic American population consists of a various mix of Latinos
from many Latin American countries, mainly Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Mexico,
Argentina and Uruguay who followed the Cuban initial immigrants. There is also
an older population of Europeans of multi-generational Italian, Jewish, Polish,
Irish, and Russian descent that have remained in the area. The surging Asian
American community includes immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China,
Korea, and the Philippines. The commercial section of Jackson Heights known as
"Little India" is located between 37th Avenue and Broadway primarily on 73rd and
74th Streets.
Geography and Transportation
Jackson Heights is also where the IRT Flushing Line (7 <7>) train meets the IND
Queens Boulevard Line (E F G R V) and numerous bus routes at the 74th
Street-Broadway transportation hub, which has recently received a $100+ million
renovation by the MTA. . It includes one of the first green buildings by the
MTA, the new "Victor Moore A. Bus Terminal" that is partially powered by solar
panels built into the roof. It is the largest subway stop in Queens with six
lines(E,F,V,R,7,G) and four buses (Q33, Q19B, Q45 and Q47). The Q33 bus goes to
LaGuardia Airport's main terminals and operates 24 hours a day. The Q47 bus goes
to the Marine Air Terminal. The Long Island Rail Road Woodside station is nearby
on 61th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, which is two stops on #7 train.
The community is bounded by Northern Boulevard to the north, the Brooklyn-Queens
Expressway to the west, Roosevelt Avenue to the south, and Junction Boulevard to
the east. East Elmhurst, the area immediately to the north, from Northern
Boulevard to the Grand Central Parkway, though not part of the original
development, is sometimes regarded as a northward extension of the neighborhood.
The Jackson Heights name comes from Jackson Avenue, the former name for Northern
Boulevard (the Jackson Avenue name is retained by this major road in a short
stretch between Queensboro Plaza and the Queens Midtown Tunnel approaches, in
the Long Island City neighborhood).
History
Most of the neighborhood is a National Register Historic District and about half
is a designated New York City Historic District by the New York City Landmarks
Preservation Commission. It comprises large Garden apartment buildings (the term
was invented for buildings in Jackson Heights) and many groupings of private
homes. It was a planned development laid out by Edward A. MacDougall's
Queensboro Corporation beginning about 1917, and following the arrival of the
No. 7 elevated line between Manhattan and Flushing. The community was initially
planned as a place for middle to upper-middle income workers from Manhattan to
raise their families. The Jackson Heights New York State and National Register
Districts range from parts of 87st Street through part of 76th Street. A former
golf course located between 76th and 78th Streets and 34th and 37th Avenues was
built upon during the 1940s.
Jackson Heights is among the first garden city communities built in the United
States, as part of the international Garden city movement at the turn of the
last century. There are more private parks (historically called gardens by the
residents) within walking distance of each other than in any other city in
America. They 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 one is 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 private gardens help make the historic
part of the neighborhood highly desirable. The Historic District of Jackson
Heights is also tends to be the more affluent part of Jackson Heights.
Education
Jackson Heights has a wide array of school choices within walking distance ( one
of the largest in the country). Students attend P.S. 69 or P.S. 212or several
other primary schools. Middle schools in the neighborhood include I.S. 145 and
I.S. 230. There is also a well-regarded public Charter School (The Renaissance
Charter School) as well as various private schools such as the well-known
preparatory The Garden School and parochial schools such as St Joan of Arc, Our
Lady of Fatima, and Blessed Sacrament School. Hebrew School is also offered at
The Jewish Center of Jackson Heights.
Even though most of the children from Kindergarten to Grade 8 stay in the wide
array of schools in the neighborhood for elementary school , The majority of
older students in Jackson Heights go to high schools through out the five
boroughs primarily in Manhattan & Queens via subway. From public high schools —
such as Stuyvesant High School , Academy of American Studies, Townsend Harris
High School at Queens College, & Bronx High School of Science — to private high
schools, such as Archbishop Molloy High School, Holy Cross High School,
Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School, Xavier High School,and St. Francis
Preparatory School.
Community
Many residents commute to nearby Manhattan, ten to fifteen minutes to 51st
Street and Lexington Avenue via the express E train or 63rd Street and Lexington
via the F train. The main retail thoroughfare is located on 37th Avenue from
72nd Street to Junction Boulevard, with more retail on 82nd,73rd and 74th
Streets on the blocks between 37th and Roosevelt Avenues. Roosevelt Avenue is
also lined with various mainly Latino retail stores. The majority of 35th and
34th Avenues and most side streets between 37th Avenue and Northern Boulevard
are residential.
The community is home to various houses of worship from a wide array of
religions. Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Church is located between 82nd and 83rd
Street on 35th Avenue. The Jackson Heights Jewish Center is located on the
corner of 77th Street and 37th Avenue.
The Jackson Heights Historic District has the largest density of sidewalk trees
and greenery in New York City along its lush residential streets.
The prices of private homes, co-ops, & condos within Jackson Heights have risen
rapidly in recent years given the exodus of young professionals seeking more
affordable homes with easy access to midtown Manhattan, especially within the
Historic Districts.
Jackson Heights is mainly composed of private homes, co-op buildings, and
rentals, with a small number of condominiums. Rentals in the Jackson Heights
Historic District range from about the low $1,000s to the $2,000s depending on
size. Co-ops and condos range from $150,000s for studios to $700,000 and up for
"classic seven" apartments. Houses range from $650,000 to the mid $1,000,000s.
Jackson Heights is known for its wide array of multi-cultural restaurants and
establishments.
There is a greenmarket every Sunday morning during summer at Travers Park, as
well as various family-oriented spring & summer concerts.
The first and only gallery is named Y Gallery located on 85th st and Northern
Blvd, the space was created by community activist, Agusto Yayiko.
Colombian broadcaster RCN TV has its US-American headquarters in the
neighborhood, reflecting the large Colombian population in the area.
The Jackson Heights Beautification Group is a community-based 501(C)3 nonprofit
group with about 500 members. There is no paid staff. Volunteers organize
concerts in Travers Park and an annual children's Halloween parade, clean
graffiti, plant flowers all along 37th Avenue, and otherwise work to continue to
improve the community.
The Western Jackson Heights Alliance is a newer organization focusing on
community issues west of 82nd Street. Traffic congestion, noise, sanitation and
overdevelopment concerns prompted residents to form the group in 2006. The group
has been successful in drawing attention to the lack of city planning and the
absence of local leadership in dealing with these urgent 'quality of life'
issues. The Alliance is committed to bringing city agencies, business interests,
non-profit organizations and elected officials together to form and enact a
coherent plan for Jackson Heights' future survival.
Jackson Heights has followed the general patterns of New York City when it comes
to crime. After spikes in the 1980s into the 1990s, crime has declined
significantly. According to New York City CompStat statistics, measured crime
has declined more than 70% in the last 13 years (1993 to 2006). As of August
2006, the two-year decline was 11% and the one-year decline was 8%.
Jackson Heights has an active LGBT community in New York City.