Interview With The Chan Family

The following is an interview with the Chan family, current residents of Jackson Heights. 

Q:  interviewer(s)
A:  Mr. Chan
B:  Mrs. Chan

Q:  How long have you lived in Jackson Heights?
A:  22 years.

Q:  Why did you choose to live in Jackson Heights?
A:  The price was right.  I opened up a newspaper and there was an ad – an apartment for sale; and it was something that I could afford.  So I took it.  And I went to a broker and when he took us to see the building, it was winter.  And he came with us and I saw that there was nothing wrong with the neighborhood. So I took it as soon as I came here.

Q:  Where did you live before this?
A:  I lived for a short while in Manhattan – a few months.  Before that, we came from Hong Kong. 

Q:  How did it compare to here?
A:  Hong Kong, here, or Manhattan, here?

Q:  Both.
A:  Well, Manhattan is pretty much similar, very much similar.  Compared to Hong Kong, this is a little bit more spacious as far as the interior is concerned.  But then again, there’s more noise living here because the construction is made of wood and because it’s too close to the ground, there’s more traffic noise.  The traffic noise seems to be more intensified. 
B:  Yeah, when you live in a high-rise, you don’t really hear the traffic noise.  When you live in a 30-story building and you’re on the 23rd floor or whatever, you don’t hear the traffic noise.  But living in a six-story building, you do. 

Q:  Why did you decide to leave Manhattan and come here to Jackson Heights?
A:  Well, by coming here, I was able to buy the place. 
B:  Also, when we first moved here, it was all quiet – much quieter than Manhattan. 
A:  Back then it wasn’t as crowded.  Now you can’t find parking.  We have a parking space within the building.  So I don’t have to go around looking for parking.  For the first two years we lived here, we parked outside.  But it was a lot easier in that time.  I can imagine now today I’d have to go around … I guess it must be the rule.  When you see an area where there is a lot of rental and a lot of multiple dwellings, there’s no on-premise parking.  People spread out.  When you have single-family homes, chances are you park within the area where you live.  So the parking doesn’t go onto the streets. 

Q:  How is the transportation?
A:  Allegedly, we can take the bus, as well as the train.  But I never take the bus because it takes too long to go anywhere you want to go.  So I only take the train when I go to work.  If I don’t go to work, I drive. 

Q:  What changes have you noticed from the time you lived here?
A:  There’s a lot more noise.  A lot more children are hanging outside and don’t go home for some reason I don’t understand.  At 11 and 12 o’clock, you have those young teenagers riding those mopeds.  They should be home and go to school the next day.  I don’t understand it… Also we lived next to a church.  At the time that we moved here, we looked out the window, saw the church and thought it’d be quiet.  It was not so.  Whenever there’s any sort of gathering, they parkeverywhere.  They park on the sidewalk; they double-park.  They do anything they want to do.  The church doesn’t help.  They draw a lot more traffic and people don’t go by the traffic laws.

Q:  Has ethnicity changed during the time that you’ve lived here?
A:  The next-door neighbor is Greek. At the end of the corridor is an oriental family.  Other than that, I think all the newcomers are Hispanic.  A similar pattern can be applied to all of the floors.  In general, more than 50% are Hispanic. 

Q:  What are some of the highlights of the neighborhood?
A:  There are two organizations that are organized by the people in Jackson Heights.  One group is the Jackson Heights Beautification Group.  This is a group that gathered information and submitted it to the federal government.  Jackson Heights has been designated as the historic district.  It’s the work done by the group.  That area designated as the historic district, starting from 88th street to the lower 70s, 34th to 37th Avenue.  Usually, if you change the look of the house, they won’t let you.  This is a way they try to preserve the historic district… If your place is designated as a historic landmark, I don’t think you have to pay taxes.  But if you want to change something, you have to get approval.  In thirty years from now, when you look back at the buildings, you’ll be glad that someone took that offer and preserved the house.  There’s a second group that seems to further promote Jackson Heights as a tourist attraction.  In other words, they want Jackson Heights to be “put on the map” so that when someone comes to New York City, they can open up a tourist guidebook and Jackson Heights is part of it.  So you can take the trolley and stop by Jackson Heights.  What’s the benefit of that?  I think that when people come here, they will spend money.  So, in general, it helps. 
B:  Some apartments also have gardens.  About ten or twelve years ago, our garden actually won an award from the beautification group.  There’s a garden in Roosevelt Terrace, around 82nd Street and maybe 34th or 35th Avenue, that got an award many times from the beautification group. 
A:  The beautification group also actually spends time cleaning up graffiti. 
B:  When you look at a detailed look at some of the buildings, the architecture is so good. 
A:    From 34th Avenue along the mid-70s are many nice buildings.  Oh, going back to the beautification group, another thing they do is organize a parade in October for Halloween.  The parade begins in the late afternoon and it is much more organized and better, as in it’s safer, for the children. 

Q:  What are some of the downfalls?
A:  The noise, definitely the noise. 

Q:    Would you recommend others to move here? Why or why not?
B:    Well, it depends.  If a family with one or two little children would like to, I’d say they should because there are many good schools around the neighborhood.