Jackson Heights, Queens

History

Jackson Heights was laid out in the 1910s and 1920s by the Queensboro Corporation as a planned garden community, marketed to middle-class Manhattanites drawn by its co-op apartment blocks and shared interior courtyards. For decades it stayed a largely white, restricted enclave with little connection to the neighborhood it would later become known for.

That changed after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 removed national-origin quotas and opened the door to skilled South Asian professionals and their families. Electronics retailer Sam & Raj, opened on 74th Street in 1976 by Subhash Kapadia and Nitin Vora, is widely credited as the anchor that drew a wave of Indian-owned sari shops, jewelers, and restaurants to the block through the late 1970s and 1980s.

By 1992, the stretch of 74th Street between Roosevelt and 37th Avenues was formally designated "Little India" by the city. Today the corridor sits inside one of the most ethnically diverse zip codes in the country, sharing blocks with Colombian, Nepali, Tibetan, Bangladeshi, and Mexican businesses, and it remains a first-stop destination for South Asian newcomers to New York.

Known for

• 74th Street's gold jewelry exchanges and sari shops between Roosevelt and 37th Avenues
• Patel Brothers and other South Asian grocers stocking regional produce and spices
• Jackson Diner and other long-running Indian restaurants along 74th Street and 37th Road
• Kabab King and other late-night Pakistani and Bangladeshi kitchens on 73rd Street
• Diversity Plaza, a pedestrian plaza that hosts vigils, rallies, and everyday community life
• The elevated 7 train (Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue station) that anchors foot traffic to the strip
• Bollywood and Punjabi music spilling from storefronts during festival season

Getting there

Take the 7 train to Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue, or the E/F/M/R to the same station; 74th Street's shops start a short walk north of the platform.

Best times to visit

The neighborhood is busiest on weekends year-round, but it peaks around diwali and the India Day parade season in August — expect extended hours, sidewalk vendors, and queues at the sweet shops.