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When I was a kid in the 1970s, growing up in Forest Hills, Jamaica was known (among us white kids) as a dangerous black area.
Is that no longer true? Or was it never true?
There are parts of Jamaica that are not that safe. Other areas are fine. You also have some neighborhoods next to Jamaica, like Briarwood, that are right on the E/F line and very quiet.
There are several express buses which go straight from Jamaica into the city which makes for a smoother commute than taking the train(s) because most likely you'll live too far to walk to the subway/LIRR and will have to take a bus to the train station. Express buses (forget how much they are, maybe $6 one-way) are a better commuting option.
The express buses run the risk of getting caught in the (frequent) traffic jams on the LIE. You're better off on the subway or LIRR.
Besides, in the portions of Jamaica near the subway lines, there aren't really any express buses anyway. (Off the top of my head, you have the X68 along Hillside Avenue, and the X64 along Liberty Avenue). Near Briarwood, you have some more, but I'd still recommend the subway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinema Cat
When I was a kid in the 1970s, growing up in Forest Hills, Jamaica was known (among us white kids) as a dangerous black area.
Is that no longer true? Or was it never true?
Well, right now, Jamaica proper definitely isn't a black neighborhood. It's a very diverse area with a lot of Hispanics, Bangladeshis, etc (of course, there's still a lot of blacks, but it definitely isn't a black neighborhood). How true it was in the 1970s (and how dangerous it was), I don't know. For what it's worth, the area around Hillside Avenue seems pretty nice, and Jamaica Avenue is definitely busy.
Well, Jamaica Estates was very nice in the 1980s, when I visited the area a few times. And I was often in Briarwood in the late 1970s, and that was nice.
But Jamaica proper, such as where the LIRR has its station, and the E and F trains used to stop, that had a bad rep in the 1970s and 1980s.
Well, Jamaica Estates was very nice in the 1980s, when I visited the area a few times. And I was often in Briarwood in the late 1970s, and that was nice.
But Jamaica proper, such as where the LIRR has its station, and the E and F trains used to stop, that had a bad rep in the 1970s and 1980s.
Still has that rep by the LIRR station. But further up Hillside as other posters noted is OK with a lot of nationalities making that neighborhood home.
The whole are around Jamaica Center, Brairwood and Jamaica Hills are becoming less black and white and more Hispanic and asian with every year that passes.
I recently visited someone who lives a few blocks from 169th St and Hillside Ave in Jamaica and the neighborhood seemed quite mixed -- Puerto Ricans, Haitians, Bengalis, etc. It was quiet and well kept. This was on a Saturday afternoon. I don't know about the rest of Jamaica but that area seemed like a decent place to live.
you likely were in Jamaica hills (north of hillside) and not Jamaica (south of hillside).
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