South Asian Community in Jackson Heights , Queens.

 

Introduction:

In the city of New York the borough Queens have the most immigrants and there are many cultures that they portray. The media shows all the different cultures and the diversity but they don’t usually show the struggles that these immigrants have faced to adapt to this American lifestyle. In the neighborhood that I reside in, jacksonheighs , there are many low income people who risk their life to work just because there is not enough to feed their family even in this tough covid time of the pandemic. These families have come to this country with a big dream and just to fulfill their dream they go on to face all these challenges in their daily life and financial challenges are the one that stands out among them. As a immigrant Bengali, I have seen my parents struggle so much when they came to this country. My neighborhood mostly consists of south Asian people and I have heard many of them have struggled to pay their rent because they don’t have a high quality job due to not having a college degree. I have been in this country for seven years and when I came to this neighborhood there were many undeveloped areas which have now become much more urban. Such as the Islamic centers, parks and the groceries have increased in this area in such a short time. I hope to see it become more developed as days pass so that the south Asian community will find more jobs through it. I will explain the relationship between the southasian neighborhood of Jackson heights and its culture. 

 

What is the relationship between the asian community and the Queens borough?

The extraordinary neighborhood of Queens is known for its bilingual ethnic areas. Regularly it appears to be that each outsider gathering in Queens has at any rate one delegate on a solitary square. Be that as it may, the Little India part of the Queens neighborhood of Jackson Heights is unique. 

Seventy-fourth Street between Roosevelt Avenue and 37th Avenue and the encompassing squares are the core of a South Asian area. Indians, Bangladeshis, and Pakistanis call this region home and come here to shop and eat. It’s the spot for probably the greatest Indian food in New York City; South Asian gems, garments and music; Bollywood movies; and regular people-watching. This is an incredible neighborhood for walking and taking everything in.

 

How to go there?

The area is very accessible by train such as (F, E, 7) through the Roosevelt Avenue station. The E and F are express trains and the 7 is the local train which connects the neighborhood with midtown Manhattan. 

A car isn’t the best way to penetrate the jam-packed roads of Jackson Heights. In the event that you demand driving, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and Northern Boulevard are the closest courses. Abstain from exploring (otherwise known as “stalling out”) on Roosevelt Avenue no matter what, and attempt 37th Avenue for stopping.

Business and culture:

Apart from its asian majority the most important part of this neighborhood is the culture that it carries and with culture it creates business opportunities. The neighborhood is full of restaurants from different south asian countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. There are many different types of restaurants which makes the people more interested due to its variety. Some of the famous restaurants are Abdullah sweets, which is full of bangladeshi sweets that are very authentic and famous for its freshness. Dera, which is a indian cuisine that is famous for its various indian dishes like Biryani. The restaurant serves normal northern Indian dishes – curries and tandooris – that are filling yet moderately light, not coasting in an ocean of ghee, the explained spread that is the foundation of much Indian cooking. Sweep the menu cautiously. There are a couple of extraordinary pleasures concealed – like the mustard greens. There are many more stalls which are popular during the night due to the majority of the people coming from work at night and having chill time in the neighborhood.  The most famous stall is the “Tong” which consists of various asian street food like Golgappa and different types of pickles. During an interview with the owner of the Tong he has gone on to say how he proffits 5 thousand dollar on a regular from his stall, which is a lot considering selling street food. This explains the impact the southasian community has in the queens neighborhood. Most of these street food owners only accept cash which makes them pay less taxes.

These restaurants are the main job sources for most of its residence. On an average there are so many new immigrants that come to this neighborhood for job opportunities but the negative side of it is that the employees do not get as much for the amount of hours that they put in. The minimum wage in the city of New York is $15 but most of these restaurants do not give that amount to its employees. Instead they make them work 10/12 hours and give 100-120 cash which is below average. 

Culture And Bollywood:

Jackson Heights is an extraordinary neighborhood for loading up on Bollywood movies and music. Bollywood is the name for the Indian entertainment world and the numerous titles it creates every year. It is the second biggest movie industry on the planet, and its masala-style films perpetually incorporate a lot of routine. 

Begin directly by seeing the component movie at the Palace Theater on 37th Road. Once in the past a blue setting, the pitiful outside shrouds a brilliant nearby auditorium dedicated to Bollywood films. The big screen is the best spot to see the spinning all-singing, all-moving, over-the-top show of the Hindi film masalas. 

In the event that the shows aren’t running during your visit, step directly nearby to the little retail shop Melody Stop, where the hits forge ahead video, DVD, and CD. Try not to let the swarmed, too-thin shop dissuade you from a visit. The tunes are sweet and the costs better. 

For an all the more relaxed peruse, round the corner onto 74th Street and head up the square to Raaga SuperStore with its more extensive choice and a lot more extensive paths. Notwithstanding the film titles, search for its determination of “Bhangra,” the electro-Indian popular music that has sucked a hip-bounce sound into Punjabi society music. On your way to the shop, you’ll have effectively heard the most recent tunes beating the substantial from vehicles creeping their way up 74th Street.

Shopping:

Backtrack a couple of customer facing facades to Butala Emporium, an ideal spot to track down an Indian blessing. Indeed, Ganesh, Durga, Shiva and different gods are there on paper and sculpture structure, alongside incense, garments, stamps and strict charms at respectable costs. In the corner, there’s a very much loaded news rack with South Asian weeklies and monthlies and other printed matter – even comic book interpretations of the Hindu legends close by drama magazines. Further back, the dividers are loaded with English writings on the investigation of the South Asian subcontinent. Ground floor, discover unpredictably cut wooden furniture at great costs. There are likewise Indian instruments of top quality, similar to the tabla drum, dholak, sitar, and harmonium. Butala is where you can spend a quarter or 1,000 dollars and leave with a fortune. 

Walk around 74th Street and different shops call, some splendidly. Pretty much every other retail facade is a gem dealer where 22-karat gold prevails. Not at all like the 14k, this rich gold is a substantial, practically dull shading that compensates for its absence of sparkle with its excellent, thick sheen and flexibility, which considers more complicated, incredible designs.  Sona Jewelry of London and Sona Chandi are normal of the little shops. 

In the event that you do get adornments, you should get all spiffed up. There are a few beauty parlors, like Gulzar Beauty Salon, that element conventional henna inking, called mehndi, and hair evacuation by (ideally effortless) stringing, not the ruthless wax and strip. Would you be able to pull off wearing a sari to go with that gold and henna? It takes a flawless stance. At any rate, look for saris at lofty attire stores like Neena Sari Palace or the ISP (Indian Sari Palace).

These are the Pictures of mosques and malls that have developed in the neighborhood of Queens over the years. 

Struggles:

In conclusion, Apart from the cultural point of view, most of these people are immigrants which makes it very hard fro them to come to this country and make a living. The average immigrants come to this country in their 40s which makes it too latter start studies here so most of them have to do hard jobs to provide food for their family first few years. As an immigrants myself I have seen my family struggle a lot at the start and my mother had to work at a wage which was way lower than average but since she did not have a degree in the United States she had no option. There are many people like this that struggles and they do these to provide a better future for their kids. So the South Asian neighborhood is full of culture but it consist of so much hard work and pain.