The neighborhood I am choosing to focus on is Woodhaven, Queens. The estimated population of the neighborhood is roughly 29,000. This population mainly consists of the working and the middle class. Though the neighborhood lacks the bright lights and the skyscrapers that make up the city, Woodhaven still holds some form of excitement and quirks.
Woodhaven’s environment may be a cross between urban and suburban. While the uniform housing development suggests the latter, in just a few blocks, one can easily find oneself surrounded by delis, convenience stores, 99-cent stores, and nail salons under the very noisy railroad of the Jamaica Ave. train station. One block can look entirely different from the next.
These numerous shops and delis resulted from the many small, family-owned businesses in Jamaica Avenue. These businesses create a very diverse community due to Woodhaven’s demographic of mainly Latin Americans and Europeans (i.e. Irish and Italian Americans). These small businesses are also huge sign of the community’s strive to make ends meet in a small neighborhood.
Some of the main issues that Woodhaven’s been dealing with in the past years are noise pollution and illegal conversions of housing units. Noise pollution is not only caused by the railroad right above Jamaica Ave., but also by the ongoing traffic that occurs on the narrow streets. Illegal conversions are mainly caused by large families not being able to afford larger housing units and/or families using housing units to run shops and small businesses.
Woodhaven is not only the place I grew up in, but it’s a neighborhood that is often not talked about enough. I’m very interested in exploring the ethnic and racial diversity that exists in the neighborhood and how it’s affecting not only the businesses around the area, but the relationship between the groups, as well.
Woodhaven is an awesome place! I don’t live far from there. The noise pollution issue is definitely pertinent to the area. Though this has been reported on as a neighborhood issue, I haven’t heard much about possible solutions to the issue. I mean, what can you do about an elevated subway line?
Noise pollution is a strong topic if you can be specific. Conversion of illegal housing units is an even better story if you can get a wide range of sources to talk on the record. Some people may be reluctant to talk. Try to give me more details.
Hello Roxanne,
You are definitely right on one thing, Woodhaven probably isn’t written about enough. I, personally, have never heard of the area. It’s great to know this course will teach me about a new neighborhood through your writing.
I like the idea of illegal housing conversion. It would be great to speak to a family who has done this? People might be reluctant but I’m sure you can find at least one family, if using only their first name or an alias. Try to find out how many people live in the unit? How many bedrooms and bathrooms? What’s the square footage? If the family immigrated from another country, what’s the difference between their current home in Woodhaven and their previous home outside the U.S.?
You could also look at the statistics on illegal conversions. How many accidents/fires/fatalities have their been in your area on legal homes versus illegal conversions? What are the current laws preventing these homes from being converted legally? Are there any introduced or previously introduced laws that could help these families in legal conversions? If so, why hasn’t the law(s) been passed yet?
I look forward to reading more from you soon on your area. Good luck!
I like the illegal housing idea too, but I think it will be hard to get people to divulge that information. Maybe you can talk to a real-estate broker in the neighborhood?