Jackson Heights/Environment

=Parks=

Public parkland is in short supply in Jackson Heights due in part to the many private parks that exist behind the co-op building that dominate the Historic District.

The Green Agenda is the leading environmental initiative in Jackson Heights. It's most recent achievement is the closing of 78th Street, adjacent to Travers Park for the summer of 2010.

Public Parks
Jackson Heights has a number of small parks and playgrounds within or adjacent to the neighborhood.


 * Travers Park is the main public playground serving the south western portion of the neighborhood. It has facilities enabling a variety of sports, including basketball, tennis, softball, soccer, and handball. There is a playground with swings and climbing devices for children. The park is maintained with the assistance of the Friends of Travers Park. A toilet and a water fountain are also available. See park map.


 * Gorman Park serves the north eastern section of the neighborhood. Gorman Park has a playground, handball and basketball courts, and water fountain.


 * LaGuardia Landing Lights Park serves the north west section of the neighborhood. The only formal sports facility in Landing Lights is a baseball field. It is grass covered with a sprinkling of trees.


 * St. Michael's Playground is noted for it baseball field with night lights. A playground, basketball, and handball courts are also available. A toilet and a water fountain are also available.


 * One Room Schoolhouse Park - Once the site of a one room school, and now a tiny park on the northern edge of the neighborhood, One Room is a reminder of different era.

Private Parks
The original plan for what is now called the Jackson Heights Historic district was that it have private parks, situated behind, and generally enclosed by the buildings. There is only one good location where these private parks or perhaps more aptly gardens are visible, that is from 34th Avenue between 79th and 80 Streets. From there one can view portions of the gardens/parks of the Chateau and Towers co-ops.

Historic Park Information
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 1982-1992. 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.

Running Routes
There are no formal running facilities in Jackson Heights. Most such activity takes place on the local streets with some of the more disciplined residents running in Travers or Gorman Parks.

The following routes were suggested by local residents.

The Hills - 2.5 Miles
Start in front of 35-35 75th Street (my home); go North to 35th Avenue; turn left; go straight for about 6 blocks until you pass under the BQE (after a block it's all downhill, a most desirable start). Turn left and go up the hill, cross Broadway and continue a few blocks until you pass Roosevelt Avenue, veering to the left at the V (you can't miss it). Go up the hill and cross Woodside Avenue and then down the hill to Queens Boulevard.

Turn left (East) at Queens Boulevard. Run past the BQE exit, asserting pedestrian rights (i.e., let those cars know that we own the streets - some say it's OK to accidentally bump a car if it's blocking the crosswalk), but don't get killed.

Continue East on Queens Boulevard going under the LIRR railroad overpass. At the next city street (don't go on the BQE) make a left. Go up the hill for a block and 1/2 noting the tiny park on the left - WITH A WATER FOUNTAIN. Stop for a drink. Before drinking, use your finger to partially block the water exit nozzle, directing the water to give the smaller plants a spritz. Take a drink.

Continue up the hill and across the street - careful, crossing Woodside Avenue is perhaps the most dangerous part of the run - and run straight, through the small park at Woodside and 69th Street. Continue North on 69th for one block, making a right at the next corner. Continue for a block or three and make a left to Roosevelt. (There is a cul-de-sac here that you should visit once or twice). Let the flow of traffic guide you across Roosevelt and into Little India. Stop running on 73rd Street 1/2 block North of 37th Road, catch your breath and take in the world.

This takes me about 25 minutes. Barely meets my minimum but the up and down requires some effort. And while there's some guilt associated with taking a short run, it is short. (Route contributed by Thomas Lowenhaupt)

The Chuck Schumer - 2.9 Miles
Start in front of 35-35 75th Street (my home); go North to 34th Avenue; make a hard left and run into traffic while in the bike path. This has three advantages: you can keep your eye on the cars - I've reserved the energy to leap on to a parked car should a moving one head towards me, or so I dream; you can keep your eye on the bikers coming toward you - more on this later; and you get a nice view of the Empire State Building.

Go straight on 34th for 15 blocks, making a left on 59th Street. Here's where it got interesting for me one fall day. I was approaching 39th Avenue when I saw this fellow on a bike peddling very slowly, and as I approached him (running into traffic has its advantages), he started to do this weird turn. He was dressed a bit heavily for the weather, wore a strange hat, and rode a bike with 1950's handlebars. He went into a slow circle, I thought for a minute that he might topple, and he looked over at me as if to say, "You know me, why not say hello." I kept running but thought, "Humm, there's something familiar about that guy." Some months later I was at Cit Council Member Danny Dromm's swearing in and from the dais Chuck Schumer stated that he bikes through our neighborhood. And 1+1 I realized that the weird fellow was Chuck hoping to get into a conversation with a constituent, or perhaps desiring to have a 2.9 mile run named after him on the NYCwiki. Whichever, I sometimes take this route and keep my eye open for Chuck, ready to bend his ear about a favorite initiative. Getting back to the run... Turn left at 39th Avenue and right at 61st Street. You'll be off the bike path, and go straight to Queens Boulevard, about 1/2 mile. (There's a little left ward jog on 61st as crosses Woodside Avenue - as you're making this note the Cookoo's nest, a nice Irish bar with traditional Irish music on Sunday evenings, 4 -8 PM.)

Turn left (East) at Queens Boulevard. Run past the BQE exit, asserting pedestrian rights (i.e., let those cars exiting the BQE know that we own the streets: Note, some say it's OK to accidentally bump a car in the crosswalk), but don't get killed.

Continue East on Queens Boulevard going under the LIRR railroad overpass. At the next city street (make sure you don't go on the BQE) make a left. Go up the hill for a block and 1/2 noting the tiny park on the left - WITH A WATER FOUNTAIN. Stop for a drink. Before drinking, use your finger to partially block the water exit nozzle, directing the water to give the smaller plants a spritz. Take a drink.

Continue up the hill and across the street - careful, crossing Woodside Avenue is perhaps the most dangerous part of the run - and run straight, through the small park at Woodside and 69th Street. Continue North on 69th for one block, making a right at the next corner. Continue for a block or three and make a left to Roosevelt. (There is a cul-de-sac here that you should visit once or twice). Let the flow of traffic guide you across Roosevelt and into Little India. Stop running on 73rd Street 1/2 block North of 37th Road, catch your breath and take in the world.

This takes me about 36 minutes and is a reasonable outing. (Route contributed by Thomas Lowenhaupt)

=Keeping Healthy=

Fresh Food
There is a Greenmarket at Travers Park on 34th Avenue between 77th and 78th Streets, see the video. The market is open year around.

Additionally, there is a farm share project that enables residents to purchase a box of seasonal vegetables, picking them up weekly at St. Marks Church at 82nd Street and 34th Avenue.

Medical Facilities and Services
Elmhurst Hospital, a major city hospital serving north eastern Queens, is one block south of Jackson Heights, with an entrance on 41st Avenue and 80th Street.

Senior Care
A new organization focused on senior care is incubating in Jackson Heights with the goal of creating new social ties between neighborhood residents. Called Neighbor to Neighbor Jackson Heights (N2NJH), the organization will have two guiding principles: Everyone needs a trusted neighbor’s help sometimes, and everyone can do something to help.

But for some, being active and socially connected are challenges. N2NJH will address these challenges by organizing services and activities via neighbor to neighbor exchange networks. These will be hybrid networks that work online, but most importantly, face to face.

The organization hopes to organize some social events this winter that will help everyone meet new people and begin to think about the problem and solutions. Watch for developments on the Jackson Heights Life website. To become more involved or notified about developments, contact Janet at N2NJacksonHeights@gmail.com.

=Safety=

Jackson Heights has followed the general patterns of New York City when it comes to crime. After spikes in the 1980s into the 1990s, crime has declined significantly. According to New York City CompStat statistics, measured crime has declined more than 79% in the last 15 years (1993 to 2008). As of January 2008, the murder rate is down over 82% and grand larceny auto is down 90% from 1990.

What's This
On March 6, 2011 the NYPD lights shown in the photo were present on 37th Avenue and 80th Street. Was there a crime?