The Complexities of Diversity

From The Peopling of New York City

When studying representations of Jackson Heights, it is crucial to examine that which is often overlooked. While the media and real estate market emphasize Jackson Heights' diversity, the promotion of its cultural diversity ignores the political economy of the neighborhood. Although Jackson Heights is racially diverse, it is not socially integrated. Rather, the neighborhood is composed of “boundaries” that divide it into separate communities (Jones-Correa, 25).

Our walking tour of the neighborhood provided us with evidence of the ethnic boundaries present. We found a predominantly Latino section of the neighborhood on Roosevelt Avenue, composed of mainly Latino pedestrians, bodegas, restaurants, and businesses. In contrast, many of the streets on and around 74th Street between Roosevelt Avenue and 35th Avenue are home to numerous South Asian businesses. Instead of a conglomeration of Hispanic and South Asian stores, there are separate, distinct geographic areas in which these cultures are represented. In addition, there is little to no diffusion between these various regions of Jackson Heights. In fact, each section even has a name that further separates one from the other. The Latino section is often called Little Colombia and the South Asian area has been dubbed Little India.

To fully understand these ethnic boundaries, we analyzed the cognitive maps drawn by various residents of Jackson Heights. The first map, on the right, was drawn by Ayub, a store-clerk of a Latino deli; the second, on the left, by Sanjeev Verma, an Indian jeweler; and the last one by Mahendra Patel, brother of the owner of Patel Brothers (a major Jackson Heights Indian grocery store).

Ayub's map is a perfect example of an isolated ethnic community: as a Latino immigrant, his Jackson Heights consists only of Roosevelt Avenue. His home, restaurants, and job revolve around his own Latino community. Mr. Patel's map parallels Ayub's map, but on a different plane: Mr. Patel's Jackson Heights is limited only to the vicinity of his store, Patel Brothers. While he did name the streets surrounding his store, it is clear that he views his store in Little India as his neighborhood's center. Mr. Verma's map, however, shows a bit of integration, as he did include most parts of the neighborhood: Roosevelt Ave, 37th Ave, and 74th St, but his focus is clearly Little India. He emphasizes the center of his map, 74th St, as only "Asian" -- "the gold and commerce center." The tendency of all three of these businessmen to center their neighborhoods around their jobs is significant: this demonstrates that the economics of the neighborhood helped carve out the ethnic niches seen today. The broader the targeted consumer base of their stores became the more extensive their maps were.

While all three residents stated that they have no problems with the other ethnic communities, it is obvious each is more comfortable in his own niche in Jackson Heights, and thus keep contact with other ethnic regions to a minimum. While most do not come out and say it outright, their cognitive maps speak for themselves, proving how deceptive the "diversity" of Jackson Heights really is.

Although Jackson Heights is a truly diverse neighborhood, it is a more segregated form of diversity than that which is advertised. These separations were not just arbitrarily drawn up: the institutional and economic politics of Jackson Heights greatly affect the struggle over space in the neighborhood's commercial sectors. Before those factors can be assessed, however, it is helpful to explore the establishment of the neighborhood, the influx of ethnic groups therein, and the socioeconomic and political isolation and tension that resulted. This exploration occurs in the next section.

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