QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, November 11, 2021 Page 8
C M ANN page 8 Y K 43rd Anniversary Edition
The mosaic that is Jackson Heights Diverse community faces challenges and keeps evolving by Mark Lord
decade later. The Beautification Group was formed in 1988, rekindling commu“We’re a vibrant, visually interest- nity spirit through walking tours and various activities aimed at improving ing community,” said Petra Gelbart, a longtime resident of Jackson the neighborhood. Since the early 2000s, the area has Heights. “It’s like visiting 20 differbeen a desirable destination, attractent countries.” In fact, the neighborhood is the ing residents with a wide variety of most diverse community in the backgrounds. Among them was Gelbart, a whole world, according to Councilman Danny Dromm, who said that native of the Czech Republic who no fewer than 167 different languag- moved into the neighborhood in 2008. A college professor and music es are spoken there. Quite an accomplishment for a therapist, Gelbart is the mother of piece of land that never even three children, now 16, 14 and 5 years old. appeared on a map of Queens Coun“We wanted a diverse neighborty prior to 1900. Back then, it was a vast marshland, with the first build- hood,” she said in a recent telephone i nter v iew,” ings not going up explaining how until around 1911. she wound up livAnd those ing in Jackson buildings consistHeights. ed of approxi“It was an affordable option,” she mately two dozen two-story row houses, erected just north of Roos- said, adding, “I really liked the evelt Avenue, according to Daniel strong arts program” at one of the Karatzas, author of “Jackson area schools. And her husband, referred to by Heights: A Garden in the City,” and board member of the Jackson Gelbart as a “foodie,” was further drawn to the neighborhood by the Heights Beautification Group. By around 1920, full-scale devel- wide variety of international edibles opment began, which caused land readily available there. Gelbart’s family is now in the provalue to appreciate and rents to skyrocket. Of course, the stock market cess of moving to a new apartment. crash and Depression put a halt to all “We have no interest in leaving” the area, though she admits that it that, leading to a period of financial difficulties that lasted until after doesn’t always live up to her “idealistic notion that all groups were World War II. Things began looking up for a friends.” Instead, she said, “I found quickly while, with demands for housing in Jackson Heights on the rise. Then a that we’re living next to each other new setback occurred — the New but not together. People tend to stick York City fiscal crisis of the 1970s, a to their own culture groups.” Finding it difficult sometimes to time also marked by soaring crime feel a part of the community as a rates in the area. Another reversal happened a whole, she decided to do something Chronicle Contributor
For the latest news visit qchron.com 43RD ANNIVERSARY EDITION • 2021
JACKSON HEIGHTS
Marching in Jackson Heights’ first LGBT Pride Parade in 1993 are Maritza PHOTO COURTESY NYC COUNCIL Martinez, left, Daniel Dromm and Brendan Fay.
to encourage more integration. The result was “Music Brains,” a program she started in the spring that found her teaching music in Travers Park, welcoming area residents “from all walks of life, regardless of their ability to pay.” She also plans to begin teaching intercultural classes in the science of music. “As a neighborhood, we’re diverse but there is a good bit of segregation that goes on,” she said. “Plenty of people for years have been trying community-building efforts. We need to get people to talk to each other in the same space.” Overall, though, she’s content enough to tell people “if they don’t come to Jackson Heights, they’re making a huge mistake.” Dromm, who has lived in the area for 29 years, would likely agree. In a recent telephone interview, he highlighted a few of the reasons. “You walk down the street and you bump into someone you know,” he said. “It’s a small town in a big city. People are kind, giving, talkative. I’ve always found acceptance.” It wasn’t always that way. Among the area’s early attractions were the garden apartments that were built around private parks, appealing to city dwellers in search of little green spaces to call their own. According to an article by freelance journalist Manmeet Sahni, they were restricted to include only members of the white middle class. Jews and African Americans were banned until the mid-20th century, when the previous residents began to move to the suburbs. Beginning in the late 1970s, the area saw an influx of immigrants from South and Central America and Southeast Asia. Located in the northwest region of the borough, and bordered by North Corona to the east, Elmhurst to the south, Woodside to the west, northern Astoria to the northwest and East Elmhurst to the northeast, the neighborhood was home to a population of just over 108,000 in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Today, members of the earlier immigrant communities — Italian, Jewish, Irish — live in relative harmony with the newer arrivals, from countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tibet, Nepal and Thailand. “You can see the immigration patterns by looking at the shops,” Dromm said. “There are very few
Among the happenings in Jackson Heights’ Travers Park are music therapist Petra Gelbart’s Music Brains events for kids. Joining her here at one are, clockwise from top right, her sons Patrik on the viola and Niklo on ukulele, her daughter, Julie, and other participants including Daniel, Ezekiel and TifPHOTO BY HELENA SAFAROVA fany Van-Dien. storefront vacancies,” suggesting these newer arrivals are hoping to live the American dream. Karatzas indicated in a recent telephone interview that Jackson Heights has “no major touristic sites,” but he is proud of how well it functions as a neighborhood.” He also pointed with pride to the area’s Historic District, which was established in 1993, between 76th and 88th streets, Roosevelt Avenue and Northern Boulevard. The district was listed on the national Register of Historic Places in 1999. Another area of interest is Diversity Plaza, a public space that opened in 2012 at 37th Road between 73rd and 74th streets. It serves as a town square, where cultural celebrations are held, as well as rallies, protests, music performances, art exhibits and
gatherings for civic activism. The spot is sometimes referred to as “the mecca of immigrant communities.” In fact, according to Dromm, it has been “a huge success bringing together diverse communities within the South Asian community. Folks in their homeland might be at war with each other, but here they interact with each other.” Named after John C. Jackson, a descendant of one of the original Queens families and an entrepreneur, Jackson Heights has had some headline-making moments. One involved the expansion of the local Travers Park. According to Dromm, the area was sorely lacking in park space. “I purchased the Garden School’s playground and I closed continued on page 17
