Thursday, June 19, 2008
Return to Jackson Heights - Two Sides of the Street
Two weeks ago I was in Jackson Heights, where I lived 15 years on 85th St, between Roosevelt Ave and 37th Ave. I lived on the poor side of the street among the Colombian and Korean immigrants - facing us were rich, better-built condominiums full of seniors, mostly second and third generation Americans... I lived in this block of buildings, for two years in cobwebs and dust of the basement, then in a cozier 3rd-floor one bedroom:
I remember one day walking on the rich side of the street, when a woman on her porch made a derogatory comment about 'those people' on the poor side. She assumed I wasn't among them, maybe because I'm white... I told her I lived in those buildings, and she just added 'there's always an exception to the rule...'
I lived at 37-35 85th St, in Apt 33. That address was easy to remember - 37,35,33... This golden number sign reveals that decades ago, they altered and deepened the street number system - it used to be 78 28th St.. The '37' in 37-35 denotes the cross street, 37th Avenue.
The front of my old building. I had a separate key for the front entrance, and that lock was often very 'sticky' and required a lot of 'foreplay' to open up...
Back on the rich side of the street - an oak door, a private garden of trees and flowers behind gates. I remember the year they installed those gates, curtailing my daily walk to admire their landscaping...
Cartoons du Jour:
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