I am thoroughly distraught by your article about the neighborhood I grew up in and had been living in up until a few months ago. The conclusion you’ve drawn, that diversity in Jackson Heights is just a sham and that there are serious segregation issues, is overly simplistic and based on strange interpretations of the facts you’ve compiled.

Yes, there are “ethnic enclaves,” but to assert that the existence of such enclaves proves that groups are unwilling to integrate is ridiculous. The enclaves you speak of are commercial districts consisting of businesses that are catering to specific populations from within and without the neighborhood. “Little India” in particular is known for drawing South Asian customers from all over the Tri-State area. The fact that there are clusters of ethnic businesses says more about the store-owners’ desires to be situated in an area that is already attracting the consumers they are targeting than the lack of integration between people of diverse cultures living in the neighborhood. These commercial districts are distinct from the residential areas of the community, which are much more relevant to the question of how culturally integrated Jackson Heights is.

Admittedly, I have not done any statistical research on the cultural composition of apartment buildings in Jackson Heights. However, I have lived in two different apartment complexes and have friends and acquaintances in various other complexes in the neighborhood. In my experience, I have seen a huge amount of diversity amongst neighbors within these buildings. Many of these buildings, particularly the Co-ops, have committees where people from many different cultures work together to plan meetings and events that residents of the entire apartment complex are invited to partake in.

Another setting in which integration between cultures is clearly occurring is in the schools of the neighborhood. Because the residential areas are so ethnically mixed, children from incredibly diverse backgrounds are zoned for the same schools. When I was in elementary school at P.S. 69 (which was a while ago, but I can’t imagine things have changed so drastically) I had friends who were Panamanian, Irish, Filipino, Indian, Bolivian, Jewish, Puerto Rican, Korean, Lebanese, etc. The CYO Basketball team I played on at St. Joan of Arc and the Girl Scout troupe I was a member of at Community Methodist Church were both quite diverse as well. There are a large amount of organizations and activities where Jackson Heights children of varying backgrounds can, and do, “integrate.”

As for adults in the neighborhood, they don’t just interact when they live in the same buildings. There a various interest groups that bring grown-ups of various ethnicities together as well. For the past three years, Jackson Heights has hosted an International Food and Film Festival , drawing support from a diverse group of residents. There are also smaller groups, probably many more than I even know about, that celebrate the diversity of Jackson Heights. One group I do know of is the Jackson Heights Food Group, which makes monthly trips to restaurants (or even street carts) that serve varying ethnic cuisines. The members of the group are almost as diverse as the establishments they visit. I am not trying to say that everyone gets along in perfect harmony, but the divisions between people are not so clear-cut and glaring as you make them out to be.

There is more content in your article that I could address, but I’ll stop here. All I want to convey is that Jackson Heights is a truly unique neighborhood. Its ethnic diversity is not mere appearance, but a real part of the residents’ daily lives. Personally, I am so grateful for having grown up in such a special atmosphere. I don’t know that I can put into words, or even completely know, just how important Jackson Heights has been in formulating the way I see the world. What I do know is that this neighborhood is one of a kind and a true example what multiculturalism can strive toward.

I do share your concern about gentrification, and truly hope Jackson Heights’ distinctiveness is not compromised by the real estate market. However, I don’t see yuppies and hipsters, groups of people who are so focused on defining themselves as separate from others, having an easy time “assimilating” to Jackson Heights. Time will tell.

-Erika Pettersen (An Ecuadorian/Irish/Norwegian/Puerto Rican girl from Jackson Heights)