The Death of Jamaica Avenue Queens. (From the Queens archives.)
Posted by Allen Lloyd on Monday, January 11, 2016
The site of seeing Jamaica Avenue from glamour back in the day to the current state of third world ghetto retail along with constant litter and trash blowing down the Ave is very sad. Even sadder in the video are some of the articles from 1965 and on claiming a "revitalization" and a "sweeping plan" that ended nowhere (Now where have I heard that recently). And seeing the inside of the beautiful Macy's back in the day and knowing that that the god awful Jamaica Colosseum Mall resembles some god awful third world ghetto flea market makes you want to scream.
23 comments:
Can't help but notice all the litter on the streets unlike the old days when litter was not tolerated. Jamaica has become a world class shit hole !
As you watch the video, look for some of the article that are highlighted such as:
From a 1965 article “Report shows “The Promise of South Jamaica” and current woes can be solved. Wow, sounds like the present “Jamaica Now Action Plan”.
From a 1968 article “Sweeping Plan Unveiled to Build South Jamaica.” Still waiting on that one and in fact that area has gotten worse since 1968. I mean the last murder of 2015 took place New Year’s Eve in South Jamaica with the shooting of 16 year old Jihad Jackson.
From a 2013 article “Jamaica Ave May Get First Department Store in Decades”. MAY, being the operative word, since that has never happened, even three years later and probably not even in another three years. Hell, the much anticipated “The Crossing” luxury apartment complex to go up across the LIRR station, which was to break ground in 2015, still has not even happened.
This well made video “The Death of Jamaica Ave” is so very very telling and tells so much of the leadership in this community from back then to present. So while the powers that be celebrate that bogus Street Easy claim of Jamaica being the number one “hot neighborhood” in 2016, we who deal with this community on a daily basis know otherwise. To us, it is the Ghetto Neighborhood of 2016 and “The Death of Jamaica Ave” shows that accurately. Photos and videos do not lie, but elected officials, leaders and real estate rags do.
Nedicks was on the corner of 165 and Jamaica Ave. Nice video but kind of sad. What it was and what it now is. Loved Claytons on 165 before closing I believe it moved to Queens Blvd. Wonder if parking is still used on top of Macys?
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished the National Origins Formula that had been in place in the United States since the Emergency Quota Act of 1921.
The 1921 Act limited immigration to 2 percent, since we already had plenty low wage, cheap labor.
In order to convince the American people of the legislation's merits, its proponents assured voters that passage would not influence significantly America's culture. President Johnson called the bill "not a revolutionary bill. It does not affect the lives of millions",and Senator Ted Kennedy, asserted that the bill would not affect America's demographic mix; these assertions would later prove grossly inaccurate. They Never saw that coming.
Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts promoted it and pushed it through, knowing that if there were not enough uneducated, uninformed, and dependent people, the Democratic Party would lose its majority and power. This was the beginning of open borders.
The current day Jamaica Avenue is the progressives dream for ALL of America.
Get used to it, just wait until the rest of the Syrians get here.
Have you seen Deir ez-Zor lately???
I'm shocked that after decades of Liberal Dem policies Jamaica isn't a blue paradise. How could that of happened?
Anonymous (sarc) said...
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished the National Origins Formula that had been in place in the United States since the Emergency Quota Act of 1921.
The 1921 Act limited immigration to 2 percent, since we already had plenty low wage, cheap labor.
In order to convince the American people of the legislation's merits, its proponents assured voters that passage would not influence significantly America's culture. President Johnson called the bill "not a revolutionary bill. It does not affect the lives of millions",and Senator Ted Kennedy, asserted that the bill would not affect America's demographic mix; these assertions would later prove grossly inaccurate. They Never saw that coming.
Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts promoted it and pushed it through, knowing that if there were not enough uneducated, uninformed, and dependent people, the Democratic Party would lose its majority and power. This was the beginning of open borders.
The current day Jamaica Avenue is the progressives dream for ALL of America.
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Sorry Sarc, the current day of Jamaica Ave has nothing to do with what you stated and everything to do with poor leadership in this area along with lack of enforcement of quality of life issues and the the proper lack of services in said area, not your long history lesson, which is another whole story, but does not relate to Jamaica or Jamaica Avenue.
I'm happy to announce that Senator Ted Kennedy has finally accomplished the goal of total sobriety.
Look how long Dems have let FMCP and the NYS Pavillion rot away ( over 50 years). The same with the old Rockaway LIRR railway (city property abandoned for over 50 years). Likewise with eyesores such as downtown Jamaica, Queens Blvd, and athe Rockaway beachfront. Not to mention the deplorable transportation system throughout Queens and the lack of hospitals. Jamaica will stand as is for the rest of the century, guaranteed.
I was there last week. Reminds me of a third world country. This is what happens when affirmative action is out of control. I went to York College for two semesters and learned the hard way to stay far away from Jamaica. I was constantly threatened with violence by the untreated mentally ill from the Caribbean and York College is for blacks only. Very poor academic standards but they sure know how to work the system for themselves and no other race.
Reasons to stay out of Jamaica: the hostile mentally ill Caribbeans who live and work in the area, the black American drug addicts, the black American drug dealers, the violent teen age black American gang bangers. Depressing. Sad to see what they've done to the neighborhood- another case against Affirmative Action. Jamaica is being destroyed from with in. The Trinidadians are waiting in the wings to take control.
Joe Moretti
You must admit, flooding the country with lots of cheap labor, with limited education, language & skills has hurt the black communities the most.
Not being able to climb up the ladder to success when the flood of legal and illegal immigrants dragging wages down.
As I have stated Economics 101.
To much supply flooding the market, not enough demand, prices drop.
Just got gas for $1.63 in NJ. Amazing how we cannot escape the invisible hand of the free market.
I am not stating that this is the only reason for the wasteland in Jamaica.
However, IMHO, it is a component of the progressive socialist ideology causing this and many other failures.
How is Detroit doing?
But fear not! When Brooklyn Bernie Sanders becomes President of the United States he will fix everything and we will become a true Utopia...
The scenes of 21st century Jamaica ave, with the bags blowing everywhere it almost looks like they're commuting or like tumbleweeds in a Ghost Town, reminded me of the town landscape scenes in the Grapes of Wrath and The Last picture Show. They were still populated but it look stagnant and it gave off an aura of desertion. Like those two movies, the Ave seems just as desolate, the shuttered stores and tacky discount stores looks just as grim and desolate as the businesses and the damaged dried up farms in those films.
The music as it was looped over and over just illustrates Jamaica's terminal stasis. In fact, as the last poster sharply pointed out, the same can be said for all of Southeast Queens. The city and state have treated this area like a leper colony and still do as long as I've been alive here. The only thing that's new here is that Pile of Shit Resorts world and it's contributed to more blight, 2 pawn shops opened up near there and they converted a motel down the blvd into a shelter.
And so it goes.
http://i.imgur.com/JVx1rec.gif
hrmm, i wonder which race is the cause of all this, just like every other once nice neighborhood
Anonymous (sarc) said...
Joe Moretti
You must admit, flooding the country with lots of cheap labor, with limited education, language & skills has hurt the black communities the most.
Not being able to climb up the ladder to success when the flood of legal and illegal immigrants dragging wages down.
---------------------------------------------
But the "flood of illegal immigrants" was not always an issue, so what about before then. Jamaica did not have a flood of illegal immigration in the 70's or 80's.
Illegal immigration had nothing to do with Detroit but big manufacturing pulling out and relocating either out of the country on down South to non-union areas as was the case with many cities and areas across the country beginning in the late 70's, early 80's was the catalyst for the downfall of many places across the country and the decimation of the middle class.
Still Jamaica's big problem was it's leadership and the powers that be who ignored the area for decades. Yes, some blame can go to the people, but not all of it.
It is not race that is the cause of destruction of neighborhoods. It is the lack of enforcement of standards. Flushing, Bayside, Richmond Hill, Jamaica, Sunset Park, Brownsville, etc...all have changed over time, in different ways as different populations have taken over. We all agree that it's not for the better, but where are the people who enforce neighborhood standards? Where are the block associations and police when quality of life issues pop up? How many times have you heard of cops trying to enforce a quality of life standard and then people say "don't they have anything better to do? Why are they worrying about this when there's actual crime to deal with?" Upper east side co-ops aren't better because they attract white people with money---those people have issues too. They have boards that go after people who don't follow the rules. The time to try to enforce rules is when new people start coming in and start doing stupid things like having loud parties or building houses out of character with the area. Instead, those who can, sell and the area goes downhill really fast.
GHETTO LAND!
And it will remain so.
What a wasted effort - great research, great concept, then they put the camera in the hands of a 10 year old.
Why can't Queens do anything right? This could have been a powerful documentary in the hands of even a gifted high schooler, but actually got a bit seasick with the bouncing camera, quick takes, and general slovenly quality - which oddly meshes nicely with the landscape covered.
How ironic. All it does it to demonstrate the utter cluelessness of the borough, and is a great exhibit on why the city is going forward, and no one in the other boroughs wants anything to do with Queens.
The amateurish camera quality and editing, one can argue, adds to the import of the oeuvre.
A veritable cri de coeur of what has transpired.
Watch how Katz sugarcoats what's happening in the real Jamaica tomorrow at her dog and pony State of the Borough. Will she be taking questions from the audience afterwards? I bet she'll high tail her ass out of Colden Auditorium as fast as possible.
Speaking of documentary cinema: Hey Frederick Wiseman, now that you've filmed Jackson Heights (Day), why not turn your lens onto Jamaica (Night) - if you dare.
this area has so muc potential to become the new downtown flushing but with less overcrowding & congestion. It is ruined !!
Jamaica Ave. died decades ago.
They just keep on digging up this corpse and trying to revitalize it with endless supplies of wasted money.
This is a ghetto, pure and simple.
Calling Dr. Frankenstein! Let's rebuild Jamaica.
Jamaica...the Titanic of Queens...has sunk!
It will never be raised. Unless you move the population out, it will remain an outhouse, a privy full of poop.
I agree with a lot of the comments on here about Jamaica Ave being a third world shithole. It's no longer contained to Jamaica Avenue and Jamaica though like it used to be. It's crept into Richmond Hill and Woodhaven as well. Richmond Hill used to be a nice clean quiet neighborhood, now it's full of all sorts of third world people. Destroying as they move through it. Wonderful houses being razed and decent places being turned into garbage. It has died a miserable death. Certainly not even a remnant of what it was.
It is a damned shame to see what is happening to the area. The video is also a good warning to those that are waiting for a "revitalization" or "gentrification" to not hold their breaths. I doubt any of the cosmetic changes taking place now will make much of a difference.
But it is not only Jamaica. A lot of NYC and in fact the country is going downhill. Even Green Acres, once a great place to shop, is now home to a ghetto mall and the environs are as hospitable as a war zone. Went to the Green Acres shopping mall to see how it has changed and couldn't bear to be there more than 20 minutes. This is a place that my family loved in the early 70s.
No wonder so many people are fleeing to Canada and elsewhere. Who wants to live in a dump, AND pay high taxes for the privilege?! Pity. The Jamaica that I once loved and grew up in died a long, long time ago.
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