JACKSON HEIGHTS CHRONICLES:

A recent neighborhood history

• July 2000 - Jackson Heights Greenmarket opens at Travers Park , the 29th farmers market in New York City, providing fresh produce from local farms. Market operates every Sunday through end of October.
• June 2000 - Construction begins on a new Jackson Heights Jewish Center at the corner of 37th Avenue and 77th Street.
• September 1999 - Under community pressure, Time-Warner agrees to remove more than two dozen concrete and steel Internet/cable boxes that were installed on the streets of Jackson Heights without all the necessary city approvals.
• Spring 1999 - Transit Authority acquires site to build a larger and airy subway and bus complex at 74^th Streets, Jackson Heights’ busiest station. Vollmer Associates of New York City, which designed the highly praised new 42^nd Street subway entrance, is later chosen to design project.
• Fall 1998- Construction starts on two new public schools: an elementary school on 82^nd Street and an intermediate school on 34^th Avenue.
• September 1998 - Two major commercial restorations on 37^th Avenue: La Boina Roja, a Columbian restaurant; Caffe Greco, an Italian cafe and neighborhood arts center.
• August 1997 - A highlight in the neighborhood’s landmark renovations. The opening of two meticulously restored stores, Happy Kitchen, a Japanese restaurant, and Monika Polish Deli..
• November 1996 - Completion of a greenway mall with trees and bike lanes along 34th Avenue that extends nearly all the way to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
• October 1996 - Jackson Heights: From Ice Age to Space Age, a 48-page children’s book published by the Jackson Heights Beautification Group.
• September 1996 - After more than a year of renovation, The Renaissance School - an innovative "New Vision" public school - opens in what had been an old department store.
• December 1995 - After a proposal for a mirrored-glass office building is defeated by community opposition, a brick office building with slate roofs and corner clock towers opens on 37^th Street and 82^nd Street.
• July 1995 - A $450,000 renovation of Travers Park completed. Park is maintained by park workers and Friends of Travers Park, a volunteer corps of 30 neighborhood residents.
• January 1994 - A 36-block area in the heart of Jackson Heights is named a New York City Landmark Historic District - one of the city's larger landmark districts.
• 1994 - Graffiti brought under control largely through the effort of the volunteer anti-graffiti team of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group.
• 1991 - Parents begin work reclaiming Travers Park on 34^th Avenue between 77^th and 78^th Street. Group evolves into Friends of Travers Park, a branch of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group.
• 1990 - Publication of "Jackson Heights: a Garden in the City," by the Jackson Heights Beautification Group, a 193-page book on the history and architecture of Jackson Heights.
• 1988 - Jackson Heights Beautification Group founded to battle graffiti, crime and to preserve the community’s historic integrity.

The Jackson Heights Beautification Group played a major or supporting role in most of these events.

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last revised July 27 2000
by Preserve & Protect, Inc.