The eyesore that is Diversity Plaza

[pipman]

Took a walk through the neighborhood in New Year's Day--34th Avenue not too busy, then down to Diversity Plaza which gets dirtier and uglier--from the shanties that were set up by a few restaurants to having more trash receptacles than trees.  Then approaching Roosevelt Avenue is a bird-poop laden sidewalk.  Some of our community leaders hailed Diversity Plaza as a nice space for our neighborhood--and are now pushing for Open Streets on 34th Avenue.  Would be great to have funds to keep Diversity Plaza clean--it is one of the main entries into our neighborhood.  There are congested areas in Manhattan and elsewhere that can keep open spaces clean and welcoming. Any thoughts on how this area can be improved.

[dssjh]

. Any thoughts on how this area can be improved.

Starting points? Vaccinations. mask wearing. hand sanitizing. no need for "shanties" if restaurants can be open. Tree planting would be a great idea, but they're not cheap. hopefully, we can get a few planted.

[abcdefghijk]

I remember that area before Diversity Plaza.

It was far, far worse.

[Ms. Jackson]

I'm sad to hear this. My last walk through there a few weeks ago, I was surprised how much cleaner it seemed since my commuting days. I guess I caught it on a good day. The pigeon mess under the subway station on the other side of Roosevelt!!! Seems like a health hazard. So disgusting. The trees will never survive the soil being as compacted as it is from so much foot traffic not staying on sidewalks/pathways.

[dssjh]

I remember that area before Diversity Plaza.

It was far, far worse.

absolutely agree. thank you.

[hum@njukebox1]

"The pigeon mess under the subway station on the other side of Roosevelt!!! Seems like a health hazard.  So disgusting"  Yes!  And don't forget the pigeon mess INSIDE the subway station.  A health hazard as well......and even more disgusting.

Diversity Plaza will never be nice until the businesses in that area are nice.  As of now, it is wasted potential and a complete mess.

[80JHer]

The diversity plaza subway entrance area  has be top 10 most vile subway experienceS in nyc.  So many unwashed men, red spit, garbage, homeless everywhere.  Has it been cleaned since March?

A wonderful first impression of the neighborhood

If we can raise 20k overnight for a community fridge. Let’s focus our energy and get the subway station cleaned for the first time in a year.   Hello community politicians ...

[itsit]

  We tell people coming to JH to avoid the 74th st subway stop! It's been filthy for years and all the money that was spent raising the street to the curb? was a huge waste. If the community wants open space for gatherings, there are quiet streets across Roosevelt where EID prayers have been held, for example, that function much better than leaving Diversity Plaza as a open and unstructured space. It's got a population that is mostly men (90-95%) and lots of drinking and trash even though it's cleaned fairly often. The flowers are beautiful but don't seem the right match for this plaza and the level of traffic it receives. Feel sorry for people that live nearby really because it is a depressing place to walk through.

  Diversity Plaza is not working in it's current state and we should advocate for change here and by example, proceed slowly with 34th Ave, if the Open Streets continues, so we don't have issues there over time also. Look at some of the community projects in Manhattan, like on Broadway, that slowly change and upgrade but are a real asset to the area. Let's make it inviting please!

[ClydeM]

Diversity Plaza is a symptom of the neighborhood in general. If we want to change the condition of Diversity Plaza, we will also need to do something about Roosevelt Ave, and 82nd Street. This will involve not accepting, or rationalizing, most of the degenerative behavior that contributes to many of the problems in the neighborhood. We need to come together and constantly complain loudly about the gangs, drug dealers, prostitutes, overcrowding, spitting on the street, etc (and before anyone starts telling me to move back to Ohio, I was born here, in Jackson Heights and never left NYC).

A good start would be to pressure, en masse, a clean sweep of Roosevelt starting with shutting down all of the bars on Roosevelt between 75th and Junction. We all know what these places are like. In short, if a bar or restaurant is attracting a clientele that requires security, it should be shut down.

We also need to crack down on the groups of drunks who have started populating various street corners. They harass women, start fights, and are generally not contributing anything to the community.

We can be in control. We just need to be willing to take action and pressure our elected officials who tend to be overly sympathetic to the people who are contributing to the poor quality of life in our corner of the world.

[jhlifer]

Indeed, all of our elected officials should be continuously held accountable for issues that negatively affect our quality of life.  This year presents us with the perfect opportunity to ask ALL of those running for City Council precisely what they will be willing to do to address the chronic problems - drugs, prostitution/sex trafficking, public intoxication, etc. - that have plagued Roosevelt Avenue for DECADES.  The problems have been staring all of us in the face for years, and little seems to be done.

[jh35]

Indeed, all of our elected officials should be continuously held accountable for issues that negatively affect our quality of life.  This year presents us with the perfect opportunity to ask ALL of those running for City Council precisely what they will be willing to do to address the chronic problems - drugs, prostitution/sex trafficking, public intoxication, etc. - that have plagued Roosevelt Avenue for DECADES.  The problems have been staring all of us in the face for years, and little seems to be done.

When officials try to fix these problems they are called racists and bigots.

It was predictable that Diversity Plaza would be a mess but 3 millions dollars was wasted there, with community approval and encouragement.

People focus on their favorite "problem", like a car dealership on Northern Blvd but ignore the real, larger problems.
(Millions of dollars were spent to improve the park and instead of thanking the politicians who did it, they were attacked.)

Roosevelt Ave will get worse now that there is a push to make prostitution legal.

Politicians tried to make Roosevelt Ave better when they stopped allowing double parking. The neighborhood objected loudly.

When we tried to get a Target store and affordable housing, we were called bigots for not favoring immigrant stores and slums.

How can anything get done, improved, if the louder people in the neighborhood object to everything.

Now we have the 34th avenue changes but ignore 37th avenue. Nothing is being done to improve the neighborhood along with the open streets changes, like building a large parking structure. (Of course, all of the available land is being used for new schools since we have more people living in the neighborhood than it was designed for.) 

[abcdefghijk]

I wasn't around in the old days.

But from my reading about the neighborhood... Jackson Heights was the cocaine center for NYC, right? 1970's to 1990's?

At least we're in a better position than in days gone by.

[dssjh]

I wasn't around in the old days.

But from my reading about the neighborhood... Jackson Heights was the cocaine center for NYC, right? 1970's to 1990's?

At least we're in a better position than in days gone by.

best cocaine in the borough. Lower East Side had a more prevalent presence for coke and heroin as well. as times changed, hard drugs moved to the suburbs and phone delivery services.

[KGDHP]

Diversity Plaza is a symptom of the neighborhood in general. If we want to change the condition of Diversity Plaza, we will also need to do something about Roosevelt Ave, and 82nd Street. This will involve not accepting, or rationalizing, most of the degenerative behavior that contributes to many of the problems in the neighborhood. We need to come together and constantly complain loudly about the gangs, drug dealers, prostitutes, overcrowding, spitting on the street, etc (and before anyone starts telling me to move back to Ohio, I was born here, in Jackson Heights and never left NYC).

A good start would be to pressure, en masse, a clean sweep of Roosevelt starting with shutting down all of the bars on Roosevelt between 75th and Junction. We all know what these places are like. In short, if a bar or restaurant is attracting a clientele that requires security, it should be shut down.

We also need to crack down on the groups of drunks who have started populating various street corners. They harass women, start fights, and are generally not contributing anything to the community.

We can be in control. We just need to be willing to take action and pressure our elected officials who tend to be overly sympathetic to the people who are contributing to the poor quality of life in our corner of the world.

I 1000% agree. Since moving here years ago (and yes, I am a native New Yorker too), Roosevelt Avenue has been one of the biggest disappointments to the neighborhood. A BID would have gone a long way, but apparently that was heavily contested too. Go figure.

Diversity Plaza to me is just plain meh. It could be a heck of a lot nicer (it's never going to be a beauty) if it wasn't so crowded and dirty all the time. I have personally called and complained every which way from Sunday to Danny Dromm and the other elected officials about these issues and have not gotten much of a response. I think if we were to call, en masse, with a united message, it could have more weight (versus one person).

Recently, I have been spending more time outside of the city (NOT, btw, in an affluent suburb) and have seen first-hand how people who invest in and care for a community can really transform it for the better. How common courtesy amongst citizens, business owners who are deeply rooted to/invested in the community, community-oriented policies, and active public services make a huge impact. We need active community members across all walks of life who care about quality of life issues to come together.  That includes: speaking up at town halls, attending community board meetings, writing consistently to local elected officials/city council.

For example, I agree, it is BEYOND ME how CB3 always approves new liquor licenses on Roosevelt. Does our CB even live in the neighborhood? Are they aware of the major issues on the avenue?

[ClydeM]

Diversity Plaza is a symptom of the neighborhood in general. If we want to change the condition of Diversity Plaza, we will also need to do something about Roosevelt Ave, and 82nd Street. This will involve not accepting, or rationalizing, most of the degenerative behavior that contributes to many of the problems in the neighborhood. We need to come together and constantly complain loudly about the gangs, drug dealers, prostitutes, overcrowding, spitting on the street, etc (and before anyone starts telling me to move back to Ohio, I was born here, in Jackson Heights and never left NYC).

A good start would be to pressure, en masse, a clean sweep of Roosevelt starting with shutting down all of the bars on Roosevelt between 75th and Junction. We all know what these places are like. In short, if a bar or restaurant is attracting a clientele that requires security, it should be shut down.

We also need to crack down on the groups of drunks who have started populating various street corners. They harass women, start fights, and are generally not contributing anything to the community.

We can be in control. We just need to be willing to take action and pressure our elected officials who tend to be overly sympathetic to the people who are contributing to the poor quality of life in our corner of the world.

I 1000% agree. Since moving here years ago (and yes, I am a native New Yorker too), Roosevelt Avenue has been one of the biggest disappointments to the neighborhood. A BID would have gone a long way, but apparently that was heavily contested too. Go figure.

Diversity Plaza to me is just plain meh. It could be a heck of a lot nicer (it's never going to be a beauty) if it wasn't so crowded and dirty all the time. I have personally called and complained every which way from Sunday to Danny Dromm and the other elected officials about these issues and have not gotten much of a response. I think if we were to call, en masse, with a united message, it could have more weight (versus one person).

Recently, I have been spending more time outside of the city (NOT, btw, in an affluent suburb) and have seen first-hand how people who invest in and care for a community can really transform it for the better. How common courtesy amongst citizens, business owners who are deeply rooted to/invested in the community, community-oriented policies, and active public services make a huge impact. We need active community members across all walks of life who care about quality of life issues to come together.  That includes: speaking up at town halls, attending community board meetings, writing consistently to local elected officials/city council.

For example, I agree, it is BEYOND ME how CB3 always approves new liquor licenses on Roosevelt. Does our CB even live in the neighborhood? Are they aware of the major issues on the avenue?

I'm convinced that CB3 and quite probably the 115th are being paid off. Calling 311 relentlessly, en masse, is useful. Eventually someone, somewhere will take notice and light a fire under someone's but to fix the problem. I don't want to give details, but the residents in my co-op were able to solve a problem that was happening on our block by doing just that after the 115th and our NCOs ignored our complaints for years. Needless to say, our block is much better as a result.