One of my favorite eccentricities of the neighborhood in which I grew up is about to be eradicated in order to “alleviate confusion.” In actual fact, it’s to alleviate racist fears.
I grew up in a neighborhood called Floral Park, which is situated in outer-most Queens – so far east, in fact, that the neighborhood is bisected by New York City’s border with Nassau county. Right on red? Well, if you’re on 258th Street, you’re in the clear, but if you’re on 259th, you’re risking a ticket, unless you’re north of 89th Avenue. Best of all, our southernmost border in Northeastern Queens is called Jamaica Avenue – except when it’s called Jericho Turnpike.
Built in 1809 by the Brooklyn, Jamaica and Flatbush Turnpike Company, Jamaica Avenue is one of the oldest and most central arteries on the island we call Long. In Brooklyn, it’s Empire Blvd before it becomes E. New York Ave. Throughout Queens, it’s always been Jamaica Ave., and in Nassau it becomes Jericho Tpke.
All of these transitions are seamless, except for the two-mile stretch where the avenue serves as the border between the city and suburbia, and is called Jamaica Avenue on one side, and Jericho Turnpike on the other. A few years ago, the business community in Bellerose, one of three neighborhoods split by the road, formed an association to promote business on both sides of the border. The association made an immediate goal of eradicating Jamaica Avenue. The effort was defeated at the time as a clear effort to whitewash the neighborhood. Jamaica is a predominantly black neighborhood in central Queens, Jericho is a name associated with the lily-white suburbs, but both names have equal standing along the two-mile stretch of border. Is the Bellerose business community interested in naming both sides “Jamaica?” Hell, no!
Unfortunately, it now seems that the City Council has given in and will rename the northern side of Jamaica Avenue, Jericho Turnpike. Score one more for a failed society that refuses to build affordable housing and votes down school budgets in the interest of keeping taxes low. Score one more against racial equality and social integration.