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What happened to Southeast Queens is a combination of many things. But the hugest contributing factor leading to SE Queens going down hill through the years is the influx of migrants from other boroughs (i.e., Brooklyn), those supposedly wanting a better life by moving to a more suburban-like neighborhood, bringing their ghetto urban attitudes with them. I just do not get it, if you want to move to a better neighborhood, and want to blast your music to 3 am and have parties all the time, not cut your grass, rent illegal apartments in 4 family homes, why even move? If this is the case just stay where you are, because the commute into Manhattan from this part of the city is not all that easy unless you take the LIRR or the express bus, which are expensive. This mentality has caused the older and original middle class residents of SE Queens to move away. On my mother's block there is a family that lives in a 4 family house that literally had a party 3 to 4 times a week this past summer. One night I went to my mother's house on a weekday and they were sitting on their terrace in the a.m. hours smoking marijuana. Can you see how this would make old-time residents of Queens move away? Especially when they come home late at night and can't find a parking space because the guy across the street has rented his basement and his attic out to families with 2 and 3 cars...
A few years back I used to work in a real estate office that was building the duplex homes off the Belt Parkway on the South Conduit. Rarely ever did you see someone in there that was originally from Southeast Queens, as many people from Southeast Queens (Springfield Gardens, Laurelton, Rosdale, etc.) have frowned down upon these multi-dwellings. They bring some of the most undesirable people to our neighborhood, cause parking nightmares and most of these homes are no thicker than cardboard. For us Queens people who witnessed them being built, we know many of the sides of these houses is nothing more than sheetrock and vinyl siding.
I am myself actually at a crossroad, where my fiance is finishing up her degree in December, and after she gets a job we are anticipating finally being able to move away. This is not good, when upwardly mobile college educated people are moving away, but this seems to be the pattern of Southeast Queens, with the exceptions of some neighborhoods like Addesleigh Park and Laurelton by the 225th Street side.
The other factors are: (1) the schools are underserving the community. Many residents have found a way to send their children to school in Northeast Queens/Nassau County or they send them to private school; (2) the necessary amenities are non-existent. Most people have to go to Nassau County to find decent supermarkets and/or stores (especially stores with a decent return policy); (3) the commute is one of the most undesirable ones. Some folks far out in New Jersey and on Long Island have shorter commutes than we do; and (4) the middle-class base of residents are dying off and moving far away to places like Washington, D.C., Texas, North Carolina and other places.
Rochdale Village is another subject all in itself. It used to be one of the most thriving black middle class communites in the city. As of late, it has become like the projects. The infrastructure is detoriating to the point bricks are falling off of buildings. Rochdale calls this an aging infrastucture problem. I see it as a lack of preventative maintenance. It is still middle class, nonetheless, but it is facing a serious financial crisis and severe in-fighting amongst its Board of Directors. Many of the directors are using their seats for political gain and career advancement. Some even think their is favortism and corruption with the Board and the management company. Public Safety is doing a horrible job at keeping the place safe and the teens are destroying the place more and more each day. The loitering problem has become so huge, that you frequently see teenagers just hanging out with nothing to do being rowdy and loud, especially in the summer. Some of these teenagers are the ones that you would not want to run into in an alley. They would curse you to your face and knock you down.
Lol first of all me and you are 2 different people, I don't really pay attention to stops unless I don't know where I'm going. All I know is Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Wood-something (is that the 7 train one?) and thats about it. Whenever I took the LIRR it seemed to make all the stops. My commute was 2 buses (an hour+ each way ) the Q85 & the Q44, so I didn't take the LIRR during rush hour.
Haha I'd still be incorrect, I'm telling you it's not 28 minutes but whatever. I'm no train conductor.
The MTA schedules also state that the Q85 is supposed to come every 2-3 minutes during rush hours, lmao yeah right. Try 7-15 minutes or more. But buses are different. I'm telling you it's not 28 minutes lol.
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You both are correct to a certain extent. On a good day it is no less than 28 minutes. Typically these days the trains have been delayed and connections have been late. Depending on what train you catch, your commute can be anywhere from 28 minutes to 35 minutes, give or take. Trains in the pm rush hour headed east are slower than trains in the am rush hour headed west, because getting track space in Jamaica heading out to the Island is sometimes limited, therefore not allowing trains and their connecting trains track space to arrive on. My 9:26 a.m. west-bound train always gets into Penn Station at 9:55 to 9:57 a.m. If you are lucky, its gets there on time at 9:52 a.m., but it rarely ever does. Same thing with my 7:05 p.m. east-bound out of Penn, it always leaves Penn late and then when you get into the Jamaica, the connection that is supposed to leave at 7:27 is always 2 minutes behind, so that commute is never 28 minutes or less.
The statement that people take the LIRR because it is convenient over it being more reliable than the Q85 and E train is so true. The LIRR is not as reliable as people think it is; however, it is very convenient. When it is good it is good, when it is bad it is bad. I've had delays on LIRR that would make you wish you waited for the Q85 and E train.
I lived back and forth there from 77-2001. Longer than you've probably been alive.
When Key Food was Gouz.
The Shootouts
Before Rochdale day was a Rochdale day
Before Continental Fashion Started Selling Wigs
Before they put that stupid bird cage in the mall
When that luncheonette was a Korean Deli
WHen the Q85 was called the Q5A
When Dollar Vans were really Dollar Vans
When the Mc Donalds was a Vacant Lot
Before Walgreens and Rite Aid
When the barbershop was where the MRI place is today
When we had skelly tournaments between building 6 and 7.. and Hot water fights using recycled detergent bottles
The door used to beep and we had to press a button that looked like a triangle to exit the buildings
The old white push button intercoms
THree elevator refurbishments
When you had the yellow and black top loading washing machines, that you put quarters in
I could go on young sir...
My parents lived back in Rochdale in the late 60's/early 70's and have always told me Rochdale is/was no gem. They lived in Building 18 in circle 5 and circle 5 is still one of the worst circles in all of Rochdale. Infamous has a good point about circle 4 being better than circle 5. I have even known youth from circle 5 that were killed on Guy R. Brewer Blvd. All of the things you remember about Rochdale, though valid, have nothing to do with anything that makes circle 4 inferior to circle 5, because it is not. Yeah it has drug problems, but circle 5 has way more because of its proximity to the boulevard. As far as eating off the floor in building 11, if you visited Rochdale in the morning that is the reason why, maintenance cleans first-thing in the a.m. Wait until it gets late at night and on the week-ends when the maintenance dept. has not cleaned the floors and the trash of Rochdale starts leaving their trash; you wouldn't want to eat anything off those floors. Though you've been around longer, does not mean that his (Infamous) views should be discounted because he is younger. And just to be square on the fact that circle 4 is safer than circle 5 (not that circle 4 is by any means safe) I have been told this by NYPD, not Rochdale Public Safety. Hence the reason why NYPD had a skybox in the playground of circle 5 a few years back.
Let's not even talk about Public Safety, or better yet, lack of. They could have 100 patrols, but that still doesn't mean they would make the place safer. I see them mostly as cowards who run away from real crime (I've seen them get punked way too many times), instigators who harass good tenants from petty bogus complaints (i.e. noise) by known complaining as* neighboring tenants instead of fighting real crime, and as a bunch perverts trying to sleep with any female cooperator who will show them her hiney. Actually many of the male workers here in Rochdale are trying to woo the female cooperators.
I had forgotten that I posted this thread. thanks for all the replies, it's really giving me a clear idea of what happened in my old neighborhoods. I want to go out there and see the house I grew up in (even though it would make me a bit depressed with both my parents gone at this point ) But its something I have to do before I leave this city (which I plan to in a year or so). I used to so love growing up there, but its good to hear that some pockets are still good. Thanks!
09-28-2010, 05:43 PM
grant516
n/a posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by BklynGirl45
I was born and raised in Jamaica Queens. I am 46. I moved to Brooklyn at 25 and pretty much never returned to QUeens after that. I reside in CLinton Hills now which, like all parts of downtown Brooklyn, has become more upscale. I recently drove out to Long Beach and took a tour of my old neighborhoods specifically, Jamaica (Around Rochdale Village), Green Acres Mall(In Nassau) and Far Rockaway. Those places looked run down and awful. Doesnt seem to be alot of development either since I left 20 years ago.
IT seems everywhere I look in Brooklyn is coming up and certain parts of QUeens look like they are going down. Any ideas?
I'm shocked that in 21 years you've never traveled the 20 miles to where you used to live.
alright, but on 10/16/2010 there was a shootin of one of my homeboys..he got shot on kissena and 71st in flushing in the pomonok houses..yea pomonok is real frickin safe...
I'm very familiar with modern day (2000's) Rochdale. Rochdale sucks (for lack of a better term), it has grass & trees and the apartments are nicer than project apartments imo (still old and could do A LOT better) but it's still like the projects. Like every element that's in the projects is in Rochdale (people, drug dealers, fights, gun shots, etc.). On a "project scale" of 1-10 (1 being the Chelsea Projects/Pomonok and 10 being The Pink Houses) I'd say Rochdale is around a 7.8. As for management it is corrupt, they kicked a few people out a year or two ago. The rent is constantly rising year after year (some people are paying twice as much as they used to). A lot of the security guards are just annoying but they're among the first to run when it's something serious. I like that it's in a far corner of NYC and not included in the core of the city, I like that the LIRR is right there. But I was always a more Long Islander than a NYCer, I've only been to Queens Center like 2 or 3 times (Roosevelt Field ftw lol).
South Jamaica sucks as a whole neighborhood too, it just ruins my vibe whenever I go there so imagine living there, but it's still where I'm from and will always be a part of me (just tucked away until it's necessary to bring it out lol), I'm a 90's/00's South Jamaica resident so I'm very familiar with how it is now and a little of how it used to be (sucks both ways lol). It has nothing going for itself, no improvements what so ever it's just the same, really Green Acres & Jamaica Ave, or "the city" omg I think I might faint. Thank God we had a car. Far Rockaway could really be something since it's on the beach, it has the LIRR and the subway, but it has sour areas.
Imo the city should invest in these areas and turn them into gems, everything revolves around Manhattan. There could be some nice non-urban neighborhoods that can add to NYC.
Im a Rochdale resident since 1971 and you are exactly right. Suppose to be a middle class development but a whole lot of low lifes are living here now. Legally as well as illegally. I hate to say it but since Rochdale has been accepting section 8 the place has gone down. The few decent folks that live here are steady trying to improve the place but it aint happening. But I refused to be chased away from my home F these people I see them and dont see them and go on about my business.
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) the Q85 & the Q44, so I didn't take the LIRR during rush hour.
) But its something I have to do before I leave this city (which I plan to in a year or so). I used to so love growing up there, but its good to hear that some pockets are still good. Thanks!
Doesnt seem to be alot of development either since I left 20 years ago. 
