Jackson Heights
Jackson Heights seems to pulsate with energy even on the slowest summer days. Life never seems to slow down in a community so self sufficient and diverse. Such is life in a neighborhood that has everything it needs in order to operate, grow and thrive. A modest population of about 70,000 residents from various ethnic backgrounds co-exists peacefully enough. (http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&_name=jackson+heights&_state=&_county=jackson+heights&_cityTown=jackson+heights&_zip=&_sse=on&_lang=en&pctxt=fph)
There are many public schools, but three relatively large schools. One is an elementary school and the other two are junior high schools. A catholic high school is tucked away into a peaceful northwestern corner of the neighborhood and a k-12 private school resides above the neighborhood library on 81st. There are many independently owned daycare centers sprinkled throughout the neighborhood. Learning facilities are abundant but still overcrowded as they struggle to accommodate the rapidly growing population of the neighborhood. Just fewer than 70% of Jackson Height’s residents are high school graduates and 23% hold a bachelors degree. (http://www.localschooldirectory.com/city-schools/Jackson-Heights/NY)
Private businesses in the neighborhood have been holding their own for years, determined to hold off chain super stores from moving in. (http://jackson_heights-ny.yellowusa.com/Pharmacies.html) Duane Reade and Key Food have both tried to start up and gradually failed in this town. Ethnic supermarkets like the Indian Bazaar on 74th street provide items that the huge populations of Indian, Bengali and many south Asians are accustomed too. Many small markets provide groceries and products at such a low and competitive price that even chain supermarkets cannot compete. The Chinese Pacific supermarket which is located conveniently above the Roosevelt avenue subway station has seen it’s influx of customers become gradually more varied and diverse. The supermarket provides Asian groceries, and also doubles as the neighborhood fish market. Small pharmacies in the area have been struggling in recent years but have maintained enough of their clientele in order to survive.
Real Estate costs in the area have been steadily increasing as a wave of gentrification has swept through the neighborhood. The gentrification movement has given Jackson Heights a greater variety in terms of style and types of residents whom live in the town. As more and more professionals looking to escape the astronomical costs of living in the city move into Jackson Heights, the cost of living and rent has steadily climbed upwards. The lower priced apartments and houses begin near Roosevelt Avenue; the prices begin to rise as you ascend up the avenues north towards LaGuardia airport and the quieter part of the neighborhood. (http://www.trulia.com/NY/Queens,5141,Jackson_Heights/)
Jackson Heights has about a 12% population ratio of elderly people, and a total population of 70,000 residents. Just fewer than 64% are in the labor force and the average income per household is a modest fifty thousand per year. These statistics reflect the characteristics of the neighborhood, which are overcrowded, hardworking, and modest.