When you think of Queens, often big neighborhoods come to mind. You got places like up north like Flushing, Astoria, Jackson Heights, or even heading down south to the beach like Howard Beach and The Rockaway’s. But nestled in between them all, there’s a quiet little neighborhood to be found.
Located at the border of Southwestern Queens where Brooklyn can be met, there is a neighborhood called Woodhaven. This neighborhood is found by going north of Ozone Park and west of Richmond Hills. The neighborhood itself has a couple of accessibility points. From the long avenue that is Jamaica Ave, stretching out from the neighborhood of East New York all the way to the Nassau County Line. Jamaica Ave is primary the highlight of the neighborhood of Woodhaven. This is due to many of Woodhaven’s commercial locations and business being located alongside Jamaica Ave. As highlighted on the map by the Green color, this is also where a vast majority of the pictures of which I’ve taken have originated from.
In the picture above, you can see one of those photos that were taken. As you can see, this is a flag of the country of Mexico. This store is conveniently located right outside the “75th St Elderts Lane” Train Station that is practically one of the main entry point for most people who come to the neighborhood. As you can see, it proudly shows the flag of Mexico, which serves two purposes. One is first giving people who walk along the avenue an insight of what this establishment may sell. In this case, this establishment is called “La Comadre”, which sells Mexican comfort foods and has become somewhat of a local staple. And secondly, it’s to show off their national pride. Although most fly their fly for the ladder, which you will see examples of below.
Even if these business don’t have a flag to fly proudly outside their business, they still get creative with ways to showcase their culture.
As seen in the image above, this is another Mexican restaurant found alongside the avenue. As shown above, there is a sign. The whiteboard with a geological adaption of the country of Mexico on the window. The white board also states varies traditional Hispanic dishes in big bold pink letters, followed by the choices of meat available for those dishes. With the Hispanic community being a prominent part of the population of Woodhaven, it makes sense to see signs like these in their native language.
According to the U.S 2020 Census , 58.7% of the population identified themselves as Latino/Hispanic on the 2020 edition of the U.S Census. With this in mind, someone can make the inference as to why a majority of stores within Jamaica Ave are mainly Hispanic-Owned Businesses and the choice of language with it being in mainly in Spanish. As you can see, a restaurant in the background that was captured whilst it was raining alongside Jamaica Ave. The restaurant itself is named ‘El Puerto Mexicano’ or ‘The Mexican Port’. The place itself has some notable Hispanic food such as nachos, tacos, or just have a good beer.
Whilst basically a little more than half of the neighborhood’s population are Spanish speakers, there are, of course, people of different ethnicities who do not speak Spanish. This is apparent in the picture above. As you can see, this building has several colorful posters, with a big colorful one in the middle. It has a Spanish phrase in the middle, obviously catering to the Hispanic community. But if you see the windows, there is another poster (the second largest on the top left). In the poster, it advertises an art night. In bold letters, it equally gives a spotlight to English and Spanish. This gives a cater as well to the other community who may not speak Spanish, and yet, they are willing to be inviting to all people.
With the signs in mind, you can tell that it’s really trying to highlight the various businesses that can be located on the avenue. Such as this sign that reads “BARBER SHOP” backwards due to the orientation of the sign at the moment of taking the picture. And, if you look closely, you can observe one of those green signs mentioned in the last two photos. Besides the point, in this picture, the owner of this establishment is trying to attract customers into their shop to drive up revenue. Of course, being a relatively small neighborhood, this means that the potential for a booming business isn’t quite high and this puts a lot of these business, who are mainly family owned in danger. Thankfully, we have a savior for them. Woodhaven BID, or formally known as Woodhaven Business Improvement District, is a company form by these business owners in order to improve the business that Woodhaven can yield. In one section of their website. It showcases practically all of the businesses from Dexter Ct/ Jamaica Ave – All the way to 100th St/ Jamaica Ave.
Speaking of businesses, alongside the avenue, you’ll find various signs that reads “Shop Jamaica Avenue; YOUR WOODHAVEN STRIP”. With a portion that reads “Woodhaven; A Haven To The City”. This one is a relatively clear and colorful signs, mostly due to the train station that sits right above it. This in turns provides a nice and effective way to prevent this sign from suffering the effects of weathering, as the train station takes a big portion of that.
However, signs like these, haven’t been as luckily. This one is the one that is the closest one to me, hence why there is a picture of it. However, unlike the first one shown, this one is a lot less colorful. The look is obviously very tattered and worn out from the effects of rain and the sun constantly coming at it. The reason for such comparison between these two signs is to show how old these signs are. Despite my best attempts at trying to find a source as to the history and purpose of these signs, I was unsuccessful. However, going off the assumption that these two signs that were showcase were placed around the same time as each other. It’s safe to assume that these signs have been here for a while, as well as the effects of nature but those are irreverent to this particular matter.
Obviously, as apparent by the signs in the previous picture, this neighborhood is fairly old. I’m sure from all the pictures, you can make an a good guess that this neighborhood isn’t anything flashy. As shown, this is a store, who the owner of it has put it up to rent to another business. Honestly there can be main speculations as to what could be there reason. And while I may not know the reason as to why the owner of this establishment has done this, one might make the inference that due to the neighborhood not being as flashy, hence leading into a lose of profit for the owner. But thankfully, change is coming.
As shown by this orange sign. Construction been recently going on alongside the neighborhood. Now this, combined with the recent improvements being done to the neighborhood’s train system such as the one below
It showing that as of right now, Woodhaven is going through a modern makeover. From the main roadway to the metro transportation, this quiet little neighborhood is going through a lot right now. Since it has cause inconvenience to yours truly, I do believe that this change is good. While the counter-argument is there for getting rid of that “old-towny” feeling that some people may feel, I do believe change for a more modern and better future is very much needed, especially to put this neighborhood on a potential “TOP 10 BEST PLACES TO VISIT IN NYC!!!”
In conclusion, Woodhaven is, in my option, one of the most underrated neighborhoods in the city. While it may not be the flashiest, nor the most diverse, it is going through a new era of improvement. For our last photo, you can observe the “Woodhaven Blvd” train station being under construction. Though not much to analyze from any signs, it serves as a nice reminder for moving towards a better future.