Interview With Mr. Rudolph Greco

The following is an interview with Mr. Rudolph Greco, a lawyer, the 2nd president of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group, as well as a current resident of the Jackson Heights community.

Q:  interviewer(s)
A:  Mr. Greco

Q:  When and why did you come to Jackson Heights?
A:  Well, I was born in Brooklyn and lived there for 10 years.  My parents actually moved to Flushing in 1954; I moved with them and lived there for about 15 years.  I actually came to Jackson Heights in 1972 because one of my best friends had a 2-bedroom apartment…  So I lived there with him for two years until I got married in 1976.  The two of us moved to an apartment on 83rd Street and we lived there until I bought a co-op on 81st Street and 35th Avenue.

Q:    What are the highlights or positive aspects of Jackson Heights?
A:    Oh, everything!  It has great convenience, housing stock, wonderful architecture.  It is the geographic center of New York City.  Practically everything is 20 minutes from here!  Especially since I am a lawyer, it is very handy. Jackson Heights has convenient transportation.  Almost everything is equidistant.  There is also a great variety of races.  Jackson Heights is a gem.  The city is actually getting ready for a new census to try out here because it’s so diverse.  I think it’s the single diverse zip code, 11372.  Jackson Heights is a very diverse place.  It brings out the better part of human nature because you have to live with everybody here.  There is not just one race.  This is a good place. 

Q:    What are the downfalls and/or cons of Jackson Heights?
A:    It’s crowded and it’s NOISY!  It’s very noisy and crowded with cars.  But then again, that’s because it’s successful.  Unfortunately, the good stores are being driven out.  Stores always go out of business because of higher commercial rents.  They are replaced by those who can pay more for them.  That’s not right, but landlords want to make the money. 

Q:    Can you tell us more about the Jackson Heights Beautification Group?
A:    Well, yes, it was founded in 1988 when about 10 people, men and women, got together because of dog waste.  It was basically a problem of a decline in city services and the neighborhood was falling down.  The first president of the group was Mike Crowley.  He was the president for two years…  The next project was for constructing a nine-story building.  The zoning permitted the nine stories, but it was decided to be set back.  However, it was built much differently.  The walls were all mirrors and the building did not fit into the background at all.  A Town Hall meeting was arranged because people were very angry.  I then decided ‘I am going to represent these people,’ since I was already a lawyer at the time.  The people wanted the new building to fit in with the architecture of the neighborhood, not go against it by being all glass and twelve stories high.  So, from 1990 to 1992, I became the second president.  I basically tried to stir up the committees again.  I was actually the one who started our annual Halloween Parade.  Halloween used to be a big crime night.  So, I wanted to give Halloween back to the kids – encourage community pride.  So now, 60 cops come for the parade and it’s probably the safest night!  Oh, I actually came up with the idea to write this book [shows children’s book: Jackson Heights: From Ice Age to Space Age].  I wrote the book in two weeks and everything in the book is from Jackson Heights.  We got students from all schools involved.  Every race, ethnicity, gender and age is represented in this book.  The book is also virtually attractive for kids.  So basically this book is given out to 4th graders and to teachers of all grades.  1500 are given out free.  It took four years to raise the money.  Citibank wrote part of it…  Our next project is to prepare 3000 bags that will be given out at the end of the Halloween Parade.  It consists of raisins, candy bars, and it will include a coloring book.  The theme is “Beautiful Jackson Heights has beautiful….”  And it is going to include people of all races and gender in the book. 

Q:    So why would immigrants come here?
A:    Well, Jackson Heights is America’s real melting pot.  It performs a great service. Queens is the most diverse part of New York City and Jackson Heights is the most diverse part of Queens.  Jackson Heights is the place of immigrants.  For example, P.S. 69 has 2000 kids.  The majority speaks English as a second language…. People came here for a better life and Jackson Heights is truly the land of opportunity.  Kids come for a reverence of education.  Here we give people the opportunity to come make money and move out to other places.  L.A., Miami, and Chicago – they all take immigrants in and transform them to Americans.  It’s just the best thing.  I mean, Jackson Heights isn’t perfect but you have a fighting chance.  Immigrants are the lifeblood of the country; they’re adrenaline for the country…. We need more resources for our schools.  Kids came and then graduated as Americans.  Our system is built on immigrants.  Like I said, they come for opportunity and a better life.  People just want to know what your talent is and if you can perform the job.  The door is open to innovation.  People who come here do hard work and then their kids have a better life. 

Q:    How do you see the neighborhood in the future?
A:    I think it’ll just get better and better.  The housing stock is so good.  New York City has a shortage of houses.  The city hasn’t build affordable homes in 15 years!  It’s actually ironic that this [Jackson Heights] was a restricted neighborhood.  Jackson Heights wasn’t going to sell houses to Jews or people of color.  Now, there’s such a diverse group living here!  However, back then apartments, were meant for two to three people; now there can be up to eight people per apartment.  Also, we have much better architecture.  The brownstones pricing will go up, but our houses are under-priced and of great quality. 
  

  Demographically, what Jackson Heights is today is what the country will look like in the future – it’s a microcosm.  That’s why so many people are interested in Jackson Heights.  The country will be a shade of different colors throughout the country.