Jackson Heights, Queens facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jackson Heights
Neighborhood of Queens
Little India on 74th Street in Jackson Heights
Country	United States
State	New York
City	New York City
Borough	Queens
Community District	Queens 3
Population  (2010)
• Total	108,152
Ethnicity
• Hispanic	56.5%
• Asian	22.0
• White	17.2
• Black	2.0
• Other/Multiracial	2.3
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Code	11372 (primary) & 11370 (though often regarded more as part of East Elmhurst)
Area codes	718, 347, 929, and 917
Website	[ link broken ]

Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the borough of Queens in New York City. Jackson Heights is neighbored by North Corona to the east, Elmhurst to the south, Woodside to the west, and today northern Astoria (Ditmars-Steinway) to the northwest, and East Elmhurst to the north and northeast. Jackson Heights has an ethnically diverse community, with half the population having been foreign-born since the 2000s. The New York Times has called it "the most culturally diverse neighborhood in New York, if not on the planet." According to the 2010 United States Census, the neighborhood has a population of 108,152.

The site of Jackson Heights was a vast marsh named Trains Meadow until 1909 when Edward A. MacDougall's Queensboro Corporation bought 325 acres (132 ha) of undeveloped land and farms.

Jackson Heights Advertisement by The Queensboro Corporation

The Queensboro Corporation named the land Jackson Heights after Jackson Avenue, which was in turn named after John C. Jackson, a descendant of one of the original Queens families. He was a respected Queens entrepreneur. Jackson Avenue was the northern border of the ambitious Garden City development of the Queensboro Corporation. Further development arose through the development of transit and "garden apartments". "Garden homes" soon became prevalent in Jackson Heights. During the 1960s, Jackson Heights's white middle-class families began moving to the suburbs, and nonwhite residents began moving in.

Jackson Heights retains much of its residential character. It also has numerous commercial establishments clustered along 37th Avenue, as well as on several side streets served by subway stations. Most of the surviving garden city neighborhood is part of a national historic district called the Jackson Heights Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. A smaller part of the original garden city neighborhood was placed in a New York City historic district of the same name in 1993.

Jackson Heights is in Queens Community District 3 and its ZIP Code is 11372. The zip code 11370 is co-named with East Elmhurst. It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 115th Precinct. Politically, Jackson Heights is represented by the New York City Council's 21st and 25th districts.

History

Early history

The Jackson Heights name comes from Jackson Avenue, the former name for Northern Boulevard, a major thoroughfare that bisects the neighborhood. John C. Jackson built the road across what is now Jackson Heights in 1859. The Jackson Avenue name is retained by this major road in a short stretch between Queens Plaza and Queens–Midtown Tunnel in Long Island City. The place was not particularly high, but the name "heights" showed that the place was originally meant to be exclusive. Until 1916, the area was called "Trains Meadow", but contrary to the name, there were very few trains in the area. It is suspected that it was corrupted from "drain".

The first land purchase of 128 acres (52 ha) was completed in 1910, and Edward A. MacDougall's Queensboro Corporation had bought about 325 acres (132 ha) by 1914. At first, the area could most easily be reached via a ferry from Manhattan or the Brooklyn bridges, but the Queensboro Bridge opened in 1909, followed by the elevated IRT Flushing Line—the present-day 7 train, just 20 minutes from Manhattan—came in 1917, and Fifth Avenue Coach Company double-decker coaches came in 1922.

Development

Jackson Heights was a planned development laid out by the Queensboro Corporation beginning in about 1916, and residents came after the arrival of the Flushing Line into Jackson Heights in 1917. The community was initially planned as a place for middle- to upper-middle income workers from Manhattan to raise their families. The Queensboro Corporation coined the name "garden apartment" to convey the concept of apartments surrounded by a green environment. The apartments, built around private parks during this time, contributed to Jackson Heights' being the first garden city community built in the United States, as part of the international garden city movement at the turn of the 20th century. Most of the buildings in Jackson Heights are the Queensboro Corporation apartments, built within a few blocks of the Flushing Line, which are typically five or six stories tall and are located between Northern Boulevard and 37th Avenue as part of that planned community. Targeted toward the middle class, the Queensboro Corporation-based the new apartments off of similar ones in Berlin. These new apartments were to share garden spaces, have ornate exteriors and features such as fireplaces, parquet floors, sun rooms, and built-in bathtubs with showers; and be cooperatively owned. In addition, the corporation divided the land into blocks and building lots, as well as installed streets, sidewalks, and power, water, and sewage lines. Although land for churches was provided, the apartments themselves were limited to white Anglo-Saxon Protestants, while excluding Jews, Blacks, and perhaps Greeks and Italians.

The Laurel apartment building on 82nd Street at Northern Boulevard was the first of the Queensboro Corporation buildings in Jackson Heights, completed in 1914 with a small courtyard. The Greystones on either side of 80th Street between 37th and 35th Avenues were completed in 1918 with a design by architect George H. Wells. There was leftover unused space, which was converted to parks, gardens, and recreational areas, including a golf course; much of this leftover space, including the golf course, no longer exists. This was followed by the 1919 construction of the Andrew J. Thomas-designed Linden Court, a 10-building complex between 84th Street, 85th Streets, 37th Avenue, and Roosevelt Avenue. The two sets of 5 buildings each, separated by a gated garden with linden trees and two pathways, included parking spaces with single-story garages accessed via narrow driveways, the first Jackson Heights development to do so; gaps at regular intervals in the perimeter wall; a layout that provided light and ventilation to the apartments, as well as fostered a sense of belonging to a community; the area's first co-op; and now-prevalent private gardens surrounded by the building blocks.

The Hampton Gardens, the Château, and the Towers followed in the 1920s. The Château and the Towers, both co-ops on 34th Avenue, had large, airy apartments and were served by elevators. The elegant Château cooperative apartment complex, with twelve buildings surrounding a shared garden, was built in the French Renaissance style and have slate mansard roofs pierced by dormer windows, and diaperwork brick walls. At first purely decorative, the shared gardens in later developments included paved spaces where people could meet or sit. The Queensboro Corporation started the Ivy Court, Cedar Court, and Spanish Gardens projects, all designed by Thomas, in 1924.

The Queensboro Corporation advertised their apartments from 1922 on. On August 28, 1922, the Queensboro Corporation paid $50 to the WEAF radio station to broadcast a ten-minute sales pitch for apartments in Jackson Heights, in what may have been the first "infomercial", opening with a few words about Nathaniel Hawthorne before promoting the corporation's Nathaniel Hawthorne apartments.

Built in 1928, the English Gables line 82nd Street, the main shopping area of Jackson Heights' Hispanic community. There are two developments, called English Gables I and II; they were meant to provide a gateway to the neighborhood for commercial traffic and for passengers from the 82nd Street – Jackson Heights station. A year later, the Robert Morris Apartments, on 37th Avenue between 79th and 80th Streets, were constructed. Named after Robert Morris, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, the apartments have ample green spaces, original high ceilings, and fireplaces, and are relatively expensive.

Decline and ethnic change

Until the Great Depression, these apartments were only half-filled due to the paucity of residents who could pay; after the Depression, the apartments became more affordable. During the Depression, two new buildings were built: Ravenna Court on 37th Avenue between 80th and 81st Streets, built in 1929; and Georgian Court three blocks east, between 83rd and 84th Streets, built in 1930. The Queensboro Corporation began to build on land that until then had been kept open for community use, including the tennis courts, community garden, and the former golf course—located between 76th and 78th Streets and 34th and 37th Avenues—all of which were built upon during the 1940s and 1950s. The corporation also began erecting traditional six-story apartment buildings. Dunolly Gardens, the last garden apartment complex that Thomas built, was an exception, a modernistic building completed in 1939. The corner windows, considered very innovative in the 1930s, gave the apartments a more spacious feeling. After the 1940s, Jackson Heights's real estate was diversified, and more apartment buildings and cooperatives were built with elevators; some new transportation infrastructure were also built.

Primarily during the 1930s, Holmes Airport operated on 220 acres (0.89 km²) adjacent to the community, and later, its land became veterans' housing and the Bulova watch factory site.

By 1930, about 44,500 people lived in Jackson heights, an increase from 3,800 residents in 1910. The community was close-knit. Gay people from Broadway theaters started to move into the area. However, Jewish and black people were still excluded until Jews were allowed to move in by the 1940s and blacks by 1968. Beginning in the 1960s, an influx of newly immigrated residents came into Jackson Heights, at the same time that existing residents were leaving for suburbs due to white flight. Hispanic immigrants moved in by the 1970s. By then, white residents who remained in the neighborhood wished to eliminate the stigma of Jackson Heights being an ethnically diverse neighborhood, often defining its border as Roosevelt Avenue, because crime had started to increase in the area. By the mid-1970s, South American organized crime groups in Jackson Heights, often peddling drugs, gained national attention. A 1978 article in New York Magazine stated that 27 people were killed in Jackson Heights in the three years preceding.

Historic designation

Jackson Heights Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Residential street in Jackson Heights
Location in New York City Show map of New York City Location in New York Show map of New York Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Bounded by Roosevelt Ave., Broadway, Leverich St., 70 St., Northern Blvd., and Junction Blvd., Queens, NYC
Area	300 acres (120 ha)
Architectural style	Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals
NRHP reference No.	99000059
Added to NRHP	January 27, 1999

Most of the original neighborhood, comprising the garden city apartment buildings, was made a National Register Historic District and a New York State Historic Register District. The Jackson Heights New York State and National Register Districts range from 93rd Street through 69th Street between Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue. Some property fronting on Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue, as well as some "cut-outs", are not inside the Register Districts. The national historic district called the Jackson Heights Historic District, includes 2,203 contributing buildings, 19 contributing sites, and three contributing objects. Among the landmarked buildings, over 200 original Queensboro Corporation apartment buildings still exist in Jackson Heights. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

About half of the neighborhood—a rectangle stretching roughly from 76th Street to 88th Street and from Roosevelt Avenue almost up to Northern Boulevard—was designated as a New York City Historic District by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 19, 1993. It comprises large apartment buildings with private communal gardens, as well as many groupings of private homes and many stores on the streets surrounding Roosevelt Avenue. Unlike the State and National Districts, the local designation comes with aesthetic protections.

In addition to the Jackson Heights Historic District, the Lent Homestead and Cemetery and United States Post Office are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Land use

Historic district

Jackson Heights Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Residential street in Jackson Heights
Location	Bounded by Roosevelt Ave., Broadway, Leverich St., 70 St., Northern Blvd., and Junction Blvd., Queens, NYC
Area	300 acres (120 ha)
Architectural style	Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals
NRHP reference No.	99000059
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	January 27, 1999

Most of the original neighborhood, comprising the garden city apartment buildings, was made a National Register Historic District and a New York State Historic Register District. The Jackson Heights New York State and National Register Districts range from 93rd Street through 69th Street between Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue. Some property fronting on Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue, as well as some "cut-outs", are not inside the Register Districts. The national historic district called the Jackson Heights Historic District, includes 2,203 contributing buildings, 19 contributing sites, and three contributing objects. Among the landmarked buildings, over 200 original Queensboro Corporation apartment buildings still exist in Jackson Heights. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Almost 600 buildings in the neighborhood—a rectangle stretching roughly from 76th to 88th Streets and from Roosevelt Avenue almost up to Northern Boulevard—were designated as a New York City Historic District by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 19, 1993. It comprises large apartment buildings with private communal gardens, as well as many groupings of private homes and many stores on the streets surrounding Roosevelt Avenue. Unlike the State and National Districts, the local designation comes with aesthetic protections.

In addition to the Jackson Heights Historic District, the Lent Homestead and Cemetery and Jackson Heights post office are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Business district

The main retail thoroughfare is 37th Avenue from 72nd Street to Junction Boulevard, with more retail on 73rd, 74th, and 82nd streets between 37th and Roosevelt avenues. Stores and restaurants on and near 74th Street tend to cater to the large population from the Indian subcontinent in the neighborhood, with sari and jewelry stores, Indian and Bengali music and movie retailers and many restaurants. 37th Avenue contains a wide mix of retailers, including many grocery stores, and 82nd Street contains many national chain stores located in Tudor-style buildings in the Jackson Heights Historic District. South American retailers and eateries, predominantly from Colombia and Peru dominate Northern Boulevard from 80th Street east to the border of neighboring Corona at Junction Boulevard. Roosevelt Avenue is also lined with various mainly Hispanic retail stores.

Street food

Street vendor in Jackson Heights

Along Roosevelt Avenue from 74th to 108th Streets, street food from all over the world is made and sold at food carts "currently dominated by the Mexican community". Typical cart food includes Bengali fuchka (phuchka), Middle Eastern lamb over rice, Nepalese momo, Colombian chuzos and arepas, Greek souvlaki, Ecuadorian ceviche, Thai steamed chicken over rice, and Mexican elotes (corn on a cob), tacos, homemade tamales filled with meats, cheese, fruits or even chilies, fruit batidos or aguas frescas (smoothies), and South American sweet churros.

In a 2017 episode of his show Parts Unknown, American chef Anthony Bourdain visited several Queens eateries, profiling Evelia Coyotzi, who sells tamales in a street cart on Junction Boulevard, the border between Jackson Heights and Corona. Bourdain learned about Coyotzi, a Mexican immigrant who spoke no English, through the Street Vendor Project, which advocates for New York City street vendors.

Other buildings

Eagle Theater

Most housing units in Jackson Heights are apartments in multi-unit buildings, many of which are five or six stories. Many of these buildings are co-ops, some are rentals, and a few are condominiums. There are also a number of one- to three-family houses, most of which are attached row houses. 34th and 35th avenues, as well as most side streets between 37th Avenue and Northern Boulevard, are residential. A section of 90th Street between 30th Avenue and Northern Boulevard was privately developed separately from the Queensboro Corporation. The structures on that stretch of 90th Street are mostly Tudor buildings.

There were five historic movie theaters in Jackson Heights, which have all been either repurposed or closed. ..... The Colony Theater, on 82nd Street north of Roosevelt Avenue, opened in 1935 and closed in 1991. The Jackson, later an Indian-owned theater called the Jackson Heights Cinema, on 82nd Street south of Roosevelt Avenue, was demolished in March 2017. The Boulevard Theater, on Northern Boulevard and 83rd Street, is now a Latin-American restaurant of the same name.

Demographics

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Jackson Heights was 108,152, a decrease of 5,175 (4.6%) from the 113,327 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 1,101.36 acres (445.70 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 98.2 inhabitants per acre (62,800/sq mi; 24,300/km²). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 17.2% (18,567) White, 2.0% (2,210) African American, 0.1% (145) Native American, 22.0% (23,781) Asian, 0.0% (9) Pacific Islander, 0.5% (583) from other races, and 1.6% (1,736) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 56.5% (61,121) of the population.

The entirety of Queens Community District 3, which comprises Jackson Heights as well as East Elmhurst and North Corona, had 179,844 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 84.7 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 22% are between the ages of 0–17, 32% between 25 and 44, and 24% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 9% and 12% respectively.

As of 2017, the median household income in Community Board 3 was $56,601. In 2018, an estimated 25% of Jackson Heights residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in fourteen residents (7%) were unemployed, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 59% in Jackson Heights, slightly higher than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018^[update], Jackson Heights is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

As of 2017, nearly 11% of households in Jackson Heights were severely overcrowded—defined as households in which there are more than 1.5 household members for each room (excluding bathrooms) in the unit—making it the second most overcrowded neighborhood in the city, behind only Elmhurst.

The 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning showed that there were 54,300 Hispanic residents, 27,600 Asian residents, there were between 10,000 to 19,999 White residents and less than 5000 Black residents.

Culture

Chiva Bus during Colombian Independence celebration

Jackson Heights is among the most diverse neighborhoods in New York City and the nation. Half of the population was foreign-born by the 2000s. It is home to large numbers of South Americans (particularly Colombian, Ecuadorian and Argentinian) and South Asians (Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Tibetans, Nepalese, and Indians). Because of its large and vibrant Tibetan community, it has been called "the second (if unofficial) capital of the exile Tibetan world, after Dharamsala, India." Most businesses are Asian- and Latino-owned, and there are restaurants, bakeries, specialty shops, legal offices, bars, and beauty salons. There is a Little India on 74th Street and a Little Pakistan and Little Bangladesh on 73rd Street. There is also a large concentration of South Americans east of 77th Street, especially a Little Colombia along 37th Avenue.

Jackson Heights was heavily Colombian during the 1980s, but other immigrant groups have settled in the area, notably Mexicans. Many of the displaced Colombians have moved to adjacent areas such as Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Corona, College Point and Flushing. Queens County still has the largest concentration of Colombians in the United States of any county (roughly 135,000).

Scrabble street sign

The 2015 documentary In Jackson Heights portrays Jackson Heights as a microcosm of the American melting pot.

The word game Scrabble was co-invented by former architect Alfred Mosher Butts, who lived in Jackson Heights. There is a street sign at 35th Avenue and 81st Street that is stylized using letters, with their values in Scrabble as a subscript; it was originally erected in 1995, but after the sign disappeared in 2008, a replacement was put up in 2011.

Community organizations

The Jackson Heights Garden City Society is a historical society, whose founders include local historians, the Queens Borough Historian and local activists. They created and oversee the Jackson Heights Garden City Trail and publish a walking guidebook to Jackson Heights. They also collect artifacts of the community. Periodically, the Society testifies before the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on issues of concern to the community.

The 82nd Street Partnership is responsible for the business improvement of the area.

In addition, Colombian broadcaster RCN TV has its US-American headquarters in the neighborhood, reflecting the sizable Colombian population in the area.

There is a year-round greenmarket every Sunday morning at Travers Park, as well as various family-oriented spring and summer concerts.

LGBTQ community

Early history

Senior Citizens marching in the 2018 Queens Pride Parade

In the 1920s, LGBT actors working in the 42nd Street theater scene decided to make their homes in Jackson Heights due to the lack of affordability of Manhattan neighborhoods and the easy accessibility of the 7 train. That was the beginning of what is now the second largest gay community in New York City.

Until the 1990s, LGBT activities in Jackson Heights were usually held surreptitiously and at night due to a constant fear of backlash. As the neighborhood continued to grow, more spaces for the gay community were added. One of those was the Queens Center for Gay Seniors, which was created using grant money and is still the only senior center in Queens serving the LGBT community specifically.

1990s to present

Since the 1990s, the LGBTQ community in Jackson Heights has not only grown in number, but also expanded its diversity and cultures. The Inaugural Queens Lesbian and Gay Parade and Block Party Festival, organized by Daniel Dromm and Maritza Martinez, took place on June 6, 1993, in Jackson Heights, marking a watershed in LGBTQ history. Some 1,000 marchers participated, and thousands of spectators attended. More than a dozen LGBTQ organizations sponsored the event. In 1994 Dromm and activist Wayne Mahlke organized the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens, "the only LGBT independent Democratic club in the Borough of Queens." That same year, the Queens Pride Parade commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. In 1995, Ed Sedarbaum established the SAGE/Queens Clubhouse, the first senior citizens program in Queens to provide outreach to LGBTQ elderly. In 1999, an estimated 40,000 people attend the Queens Pride Parade with some 70 community groups registered.

Daniel Dromm and Jimmy Van Bramer were elected to the New York City Council on November 3, 2009, representing, respectively, the 25th and 26th districts in Queens. Both City Council members are openly gay.

Incidents

On August 15, 2001, Edgar Garzon, a gay man, was murdered in an incident that the Queens district attorney characterized as a "possible hate crime." The murder quickly faded from public attention after the September 11 attacks a month later. In 2006, John L. McGhee was charged with Garzon's murder.

On June 3, 2018, 25-year-old school teacher Brandon Soriano was attacked by two men following the 2018 Pride Parade in what has been deemed a hate crime. Five days later, a Latina transgender woman was allegedly stabbed repeatedly a few blocks away.

Economy

US-Bangla Airlines formerly had its U.S. offices in the Bangladesh Plaza building in Jackson Heights.

Between 2009 and 2018, Jackson Heights experienced a significant economic boom. In 2017, it was reported that taxable business sales increased to $473 million, a 72% increase from 2009. By 2018, there were approximately 3,300 businesses in the neighborhood, a 25% increase from 2009.

Parks and recreation

Travers Park is the main local playground. It has a variety of sports, including basketball, tennis, baseball, soccer, and handball. In recent years, a farmers' market was expanded to a year-round presence. Renovations completed in October 2020 eliminated much of the space previously used for sports, and replaced it with lawn and seating space.

Prior to expansion, the P.S. 69 school yard offered baseball fields, a stickball field, a handball court and three tennis courts. Con Edison sponsored several summer tennis camps at P.S. 69's school yard from 1982 to 1992. In 1998, P.S. 69 built an annex to compensate for the booming population of children in Jackson Heights and the public access to the school yard was removed. On November 30, 2011, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials opened the 200th "Schoolyard to Playground" at P.S. 69 as a part of the PlaNYC initiative to ensure all New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of a park or playground; the program is turning schoolyards into playgrounds in neighborhoods across the city.

Fire safety

Jackson Heights is served by two New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations. Engine Co. 307/Ladder Co. 154 is at 81–19 Northern Boulevard. Another fire station, Engine Co. 316, is at 27–12 Kearney Street in East Elmhurst.

Post offices and ZIP Codes

Jackson Heights is covered by multiple ZIP Codes. The area between Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue is covered by 11372, while the areas north of Northern Boulevard, which are considered primarily part of East Elmhurst, are covered by 11370 west of 85th Street (an area stretching north to Astoria and Rikers Island) and 11369 east of 85th Street. ZIP Code 11371 is assigned to LaGuardia Airport.

The United States Post Office operates three locations in Jackson Heights:

• Jackson Heights Station – 78-02 37th Avenue
• Junction Boulevard Station – 33-23 Junction Boulevard
• Trainsmeadow Station – 75–77 31st Avenue

Education

PS 212

Jackson Heights generally has a lower proportion of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018^[update]. While 27% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 30% have less than a high school education and 47% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 39% of Queens residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of Jackson Heights students excelling in math rose from 41% in 2000 to 65% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 46% to 49% during the same time period.

Jackson Heights's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Jackson Heights, 12% of elementary school students missed 20 or more days per school year, lower than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 78% of high school students in Jackson Heights graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.

Schools

The New York City Department of Education operates public schools. Schools in Jackson Heights include P.S. 69 Jackson Heights School, P.S. 149 Christa McAuliffe School, P.S. 212, P.S 222 FF Christopher A. Santora School, I.S. 145 Joseph Pulitzer School, P.S. 152, and I.S. 230.

Charter schools include the Pre-K–12 school Renaissance Charter School.

Private schools in the neighborhood include Saint Joan of Arc School (Pre-K3 to 8th grade), Our Lady of Fatima School (Pre-K to 8th grade), and Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School, a school in East Elmhurst that became co-ed after the 2012 school year. Garden School, a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) independent school in Jackson Heights, enrolls 300 students from grades Nursery–Grade 12.

82nd Street Academics, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational institution, is housed at the Community United Methodist Church of Jackson Heights. Since 2003, it has been a community-based Universal Pre-Kindergarten provider under contract with the New York City Department of Education.

Library

The Queens Public Library's Jackson Heights branch is at 35–51 81st Street.

Houses of worship

The community is home to various houses of worship from a wide array of religions.

The Community United Methodist Church, between 81st and 82nd streets on 35th Avenue, is the oldest church in Jackson Heights. Founded in 1919, it was dedicated in 1923 as part of Queensboro Corporation's planned development. Originally serving the spiritual needs of European-American Protestant residents, it is now the most diverse church in Queens with Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and English services. Reverend Austin Armistead, who led the church from 1974 to 1995, is credited for the church's racial and cultural change. Prior to his arrival in 1974, the suggestion of the Spanish-speaking service had been rejected. Armistead made the decision to remake the church, with a vision of mirroring the neighborhood and so divided the church into four different ministries; the church also came to serve as "common ground" for a range of community groups, from ethnic associations to LGBTQ organizations to nonprofits like the Jackson Heights Beautification Group.

Satya Narayan Mandir, at the corner of 76 street and Woodside Avenue, is the oldest Hindu-Sikhism combination temple in the United States (and, it claims, the Americas). It was incorporated in 1987.

Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Church, between 82nd and 83rd Street on 35th Avenue, was the first Catholic church to be named in honor of a newly canonized French Saint.

Muhammadi Community Center, at 37–46 72nd Street, has served Jackson Heights's Muslims since 1995. Its head and founder is Imam Qazi Qayyoom.

St. Mark's Episcopal Church, on 34th Avenue between 81st and 82nd streets within the Jackson Heights Historic District, offers bilingual worship. It was established in 1923 as part of Queensboro Corporation's planned development. In 1993, it was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Jackson Heights-Elmhurst Kehillah, on the lower level of the Jackson Heights Jewish Center at 77th Street and 37th Avenue, provides all manner of services for all residents of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and western Queens.

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  Iglesia La Luz Del Mundo

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  Bible Baptist church of Jackson Heights

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  Blessed Sacrament Church

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  Orthodox American Church

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  Iglesia Cristiana De Restauracion Jehova Nisi

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  The Korean Church Of Queens

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  New York Hindu Sanatan Inc

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  Grace Community Church

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  Atonement Lutheran Church & Pre School

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  Our Lady of Fatima Church (East Elmhurst)

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  Evangelistic Church - Our Lord

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  Immanuel Baptist

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  Saint Mark's Espiscopal Church

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  The Salvation Army Queens Temple Corps. Community Center

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  St Joan Of Arc Rc

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  Community United Methodist

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  Ray Of Hope Church

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  Saint Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church

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  Perfect Liberty Church

Transportation

Public transportation

The intersection of 75th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, under the elevated IRT Flushing Line (7 train)

The following New York City Subway stations serve Jackson Heights:

• Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street (7​, E, ​F <F>, ​M, and ​R trains)
• 82nd Street–Jackson Heights (7 train)
• 90th Street–Elmhurst Avenue (7 train)
• Junction Boulevard (7 train)

The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Jackson Heights:

• Q29: to Glendale via Hampton Street
• Q32: to Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan via Roosevelt Avenue and 81st/82nd Streets
• Q33: to East Elmhurst via 82nd/83rd Streets
• Q47: to LaGuardia Marine Air Terminal or Glendale via 73rd/74th Streets
• Q49: to East Elmhurst via 35th Avenue and 89th/90th/92nd Streets
• Q53 SBS: to 61st Street–Woodside (7 <7> trains)/Woodside LIRR or Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street (A S trains) via Roosevelt Avenue and Broadway
• Q66: to Queensboro Plaza (7 <7>​, N, and ​W trains) or Flushing–Main Street (7 <7> trains) via Northern Boulevard
• Q70 SBS: to 61st Street–Woodside (7 <7> trains)/Woodside LIRR or LaGuardia Airport Terminals B/C/D via Roosevelt Avenue, Broadway, and Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
• Q72: to 63rd Drive–Rego Park (M and ​R train) or LaGuardia Airport Terminals B/C/D via Junction Boulevard

The Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street station is a transportation hub where the subway's 7​, E, ​F <F>, ​M, and ​R trains and the Q32, Q33, Q47, Q49. Q53 SBS and Q70 SBS buses converge. The MTA spent over $100 million on renovations to the Jackson Heights bus terminal, which were completed in 2005. It includes one of the first green buildings in the MTA system, the Victor A. Moore Bus Terminal, which is partially powered by solar panels built into the roof along the length of the sheds above the Flushing Line platforms. The terminal, like the Victor Moore Arcade (which it replaced), is named after Jackson Heights resident Victor Moore, a Broadway and film actor from the era of silent film to the 1950s.

Roads

Interstate 278 (Brooklyn Queens Expressway), New York State Route 25A (Northern Boulevard), and the Grand Central Parkway (in the East Elmhurst area) are major roads in the area. LaGuardia Airport, in East Elmhurst, is nearby.

Eleven percent of roads in Jackson Heights have bike lanes, similar to the rate in the city overall. These lanes, part of the city's bikeway system, exist on 34th Avenue, as well as on 74th and 75th streets between 34th Avenue and 37th Road. There is also a short one-block bike lane connector on 37th Road between 74th and 75th streets.

Notable residents

In popular culture

See also

In Spanish: Jackson Heights (Queens) para niños