Writing New York

Imagine this, you finally board your bus, it’s going along on its route, you press the bell to signal your stop but the bus continues on. It makes a few turns causing you to wonder where you are and why the bus driver is being a pain today of all days. Frantic to get to your destination, as you hurriedly exit the bus to start your walk back to your intended stop, you notice the customary orange construction cones.

This was my fortunate discovery while riding the Jamaica bound Q4 down Linden Blvd a few weeks ago. I usually take another bus, but I do take the Q4 bus every now and then because of its frequency. From flyers posted in some Q4 buses, it is stated that from 6AM November 20, 2006 to November 2007, the bus route would be rerouted for a number of its stops to a wide residential street a few blocks away from Linden Blvd.

In Cambria Heights and nearby communities, orange cones dot many quiet, residential as well as busy, main service streets. Over the last few years, Cambria Heights’ residents have been seeing a lot of construction on their streets. Although this is good news to some neighbors, to others it’s a major annoyance and inconvenience.

“All the construction is a good thing for the neighborhood,” said Tiffany Bates, 21-year old resident, “we are getting our tax dollars put to good use in our own community.”

With construction, traffic interruptions are expected and even tolerated to a certain point. However, when open ditches with pipelines exposed are left for weeks at a time, newly paved streets are bumpier than before, and blocked off streets with no relief in sight, and construction vehicles and orange cones are left on residential streets with no construction workers seen for weeks, some residents are seeing red.

“They would not be able to get away with this in white neighborhoods,” said an outraged Angela Webb, a 20-year resident, “cars are being put through the ringer every time drivers are forced to drive down those streets.” Newly paved gravel streets ruin tires on cars, while deep ditches cause unsuspecting drivers to swing out into oncoming traffic. Complaints have been circulating among neighbors for years on the lack of respect and professionalism the construction people have shown.

“They have dug up all of Linden Blvd and will continue to do so in the surrounding areas,” proclaimed Tiffany Bates, “because there is no adequate sewage system in the area.” The accuracy of her statement is questionable, but apparently she and perhaps others feel that all this construction is just another showing of upheavals the neighborhood will continue to have to bear until the city feels that the neighborhood is up to city standards.

Many residents of Cambria Heights remember the 1970s when they were the minority in the neighborhood. The once predominantly white community, has know become a middle class black, mostly Caribbean community.

In this NYTimes article, the writer presents two different views on why Queens is becoming a middle class black borough. Not only have blacks surpassed whites in regards to income, but also West Indian blacks have outshined black Americans in economic status. This is evident with the background of business owners located in Cambria Heights.

One side of the article talks about the substantial impact of the large and continuing migration of whites to Long Island and elsewhere for the approximately the last forty years.

Mrs. Pendleton, a black woman, moved into the neighborhood June of 1969. August of the same year her next-door neighbor moved. One day while in her backyard, she overheard the owner of the house behind hers mention to another neighbor that she had to move before she was “stuck” because of the foreseeable drop in property value. “I have the benefit of being right there without the high property taxes”, stated Mrs. Pendleton. Like Mrs. Pendleton, many blacks either cannot afford to leave Queens or face more opposition by moving into Long Island.

The other side, states that blacks are using the opportunities available, and West Indian blacks especially value them. More blacks are graduating from college and working in professional careers. Angela Webb, an RN and her husband, a business owner came to the US from Jamaica to seek a better life. “Lack of participation and appreciation that black Americans portray in their everyday lives contribute to their failures”, stated Webb. She feels that native blacks have not used the available resources to make their lives productive and successful.

The neighborhood is still changing with the recent sprinkling of Latino, Jewish and Asian residents. Cambria Heights is just another example of the melting pot that makes this country so unique and the continuing change of its demographics.