The streets are still awake. The lights are still on. You know you’ll find what you need.

In this episode, Pao shares what it feels like to arrive in Jackson Heights after a long workday. The comfort of knowing something will be open. The ease of picking up food. The sense of safety that comes from moving through familiar streets alongside other people heading home.

In this episode, Hernando reflects on Jackson Heights as a place designed for walking, aging with ease, and finding everything you need close to home. A calm, practical kind of love that only comes with time.

English Translation

There is one very important thing for my wife, which is the peace of mind she has from having everything close by. Transportation, grocery stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, hair salons, laundromats. She can walk 15 or 20 minutes from our home and find everything she needs.

That is one of the great virtues of living in Jackson Heights.

We have gone to restaurants, cafés, taken walks, visited museums, attended park events, and I have been very happy here. 34th Avenue is essential for walking, especially for those of us who are older. Roosevelt Avenue, with all its noise and bustle, is also a place where you can find absolutely anything, from a needle to heavy machinery.

But for me, 30th Avenue is the most special. From around 75th Street to 89th or 90th Street, it is a very pleasant, multifunctional place. You can find everything along that avenue.

I am very happy in Jackson Heights with my wife and my daughters.

Jackson Heights feels like an arrival.

In this episode, Francesco Biascheri, visiting from Bologna, describes the first moment he stepped off the subway in Jackson Heights and felt as if he had landed in another country. Or several of them.

Through colors, smells, languages, and food, Francesco reflects on what makes this neighborhood endlessly surprising, especially for visitors who think New York begins and ends in Manhattan.

This episode is in Italian.

An English translation is included below.

Every time my wife Valentina and I come back to New York, we like to visit Jackson Heights because within just a few blocks, everything changes. The language you hear changes. The smells change. The words, the food, the colors.

In the end, it feels incredibly rich. Maybe it’s a bit predictable for an Italian to always talk about food, but honestly one of the best things to do in Jackson Heights is to go and taste cuisines from all over the world.

There’s a place I love called Angel. It’s tiny, really tiny, just four tables, and it serves authentic Indian food that feels like a dream. And there are so many other gems like this.

So if you come to New York, don’t stay only in Manhattan. Come take a walk through Jackson Heights.

Others entertain you.

Jackson Heights does both, often on the same block.

In this episode, Johanna Ramírez shares what has kept her rooted in Jackson Heights since 2007. From Colombian groceries to Korean dinners, from summer DJ sets to music spilling out of local venues, this is a portrait of a neighborhood where variety is not a novelty, it is the baseline.

Johanna speaks about food, music, and the quiet comfort of knowing that whatever mood you are in, Jackson Heights probably has a place for it.

This episode is in Spanish.

An English translation is included below.

What I really like is the diversity of food we have here. One day you want Korean food, another day you want Indian or Bangladeshi food, or Dominican food, and everything is very close by.

Another thing I really love is the music. One of my favorite DJs is DJ Rekha, who plays Desi and Bhangra music, and she performs here in Jackson Heights during the summer. We have all kinds of shows, and places like Terraza 7.

They have music seven days a week, and there are always so many places to discover, like bookstores and libraries. There is always something to do here in Jackson Heights.

In this episode, Russ reflects on his long relationship with Jackson Heights, shaped through family, food, and the quiet intimacy of everyday life. His voice moves between languages and memories, touching on what it means to belong somewhere through the people you love and the meals that stay with you.

English Translation

Mayara talks about the small things that make the neighborhood special to her: the park, walking her dog, and working locally. It’s a reminder that Jackson Heights is built as much from everyday rhythms as it is from big moments.

English Translation

In this episode, Valentina reflects on why Jackson Heights still lives in her heart years after moving away from New York. What she describes is not just diversity, but energy. The feeling of moving through cultures, cuisines, and conversations in the span of a single walk.

From favorite meals to the sense that the world somehow converges here, this is a story about a neighborhood that continues to pull you back.

This episode is in Italian.

An English translation is included below.

There’s a strong energy that comes from having people from so many different cultures. In just one street, you can go from India to Asia almost instantly.

My favorite place is Las Margaritas, where I had exceptional fajitas that stay in my heart every time I come back to New York. Whenever we return to Jackson Heights to visit our friends, we always go there to eat.

Honestly, it’s a place where I would live, because to me it feels like the center of the world.

In this episode, Sibelle talks about growing up around the neighborhood, visiting grandparents, and a recent experience that turned pizza into something much bigger than food. 

Mery talks about learning English, long trips across the city, and a bakery that made Jackson Heights feel like Colombia. Her story is about food, memory, and the quiet comfort of familiarity.

This episode is shared in Spanish.

The full English translation appears below.

One of my memories of Jackson Heights is from when people first arrived here to study and learn English. Around 75th Street and Roosevelt, that was the place for Colombians to come and learn English, with schools nearby around 82nd Street. And there were Colombian restaurants close by. Being there made you feel like you were back in your country. There were many Colombians, and the places were very good. You felt comfortable in those restaurants and Colombian shops that no longer exist.

Many Colombian stores have left Jackson Heights. My favorite place was a bakery called Las Américas, which has since been modernized.

That bakery was one of my favorite spots. We used to travel all the way from Long Island to Las Américas to buy pandebonos and pan de yuca. I do not know if it still exists under the same name, or if it exists in a more modern version, with different food, more Americanized.

But pandebono is something that identifies us as Colombians.
That delicacy.

It finds you.

Diana remembers walking through the neighborhood and repeatedly stumbling into celebrations, performances, and moments of beauty without planning any of it. What starts as a casual walk becomes something much bigger.

This episode is shared in Spanish.

The full English translation appears below.

I remember a few years ago, I was walking with a friend who was new to New York, and we came across bars where people were celebrating the World Cup in Spanish. People were in the street shouting and celebrating, and you could immediately recognize Spanish from many different places.

Then we walked a few blocks more and, without looking for it, we came across a beautiful Bengali performance.

My friend is a dancer, so we stayed to enjoy a concert and watch incredible dancers performing on a stage set up in the middle of the street. We continued walking, had some Indian tea, and ate samosas.

On our way back home, we stopped at a French bakery. We practiced our three words of French, had croissants and coffee, and then went home.

So in Jackson Heights, you can take a tour around the world in 30 minutes.

In this episode, Raphaël talks about Jackson Heights in motion. Running after work. Weekend routines. A stretch of avenue where, in just a few minutes, you pass games, conversations, music, dogs, bikes, and people from everywhere.

What starts as a running group slowly reveals something bigger about how this neighborhood works, and who it makes room for.

This episode is shared in French.

The full English translation appears below.

One of the things I appreciate most about the neighborhood is the pedestrian space along 34th Avenue, especially for running with the Queens Distance group in the evenings after work or on weekends. There are dozens of people who run together regularly several times a week, and sometimes there are activities afterward like pizza, hockey, or going to a bar.

The group reflects the neighborhood very well. There are people of many different nationalities, all ages, and all kinds of professions. Everyone is very friendly and inclusive, and you feel welcome immediately.

Even just moving along 34th Avenue is interesting. In only a few minutes, you see so many different things.

There are people playing cricket. There is soccer. There is basketball. Many people are walking their dogs. There are bikes, scooters, and skateboards. There are even people practicing traditional dances from South America and Central America.

Even for New York, I think it is quite rare to find this much diversity across just two or three kilometers.

And that is what makes the neighborhood truly unique and enjoyable.

It is another to feel recognized there.

In this episode, Dhasan shares what stands out about Jackson Heights after years of living elsewhere. The contrast is simple but profound, and it shows up in everyday life.

This episode is shared in Nepali.

The full English translation appears below.

This place is very special to me. Before coming here, I lived for about five years in other states. In those places, it was very different. You did not see people like yourself, and you did not find familiar food or everyday comforts. Even basic things were difficult. You could not easily find the ingredients you needed, and cooking the food you grew up with was hard.

Here, Jackson Heights feels completely different. What makes this place stand out the most is that you see people from so many backgrounds, from so many countries. Everyone feels important, and everyone belongs.

When I was living in other states while studying and working, finding food from home was a struggle. If you wanted something familiar, you had to drive 20 or 30 miles, sometimes even 40 or 50 miles. It took time, effort, and energy.

But here, in Jackson Heights, everything is close. On almost every block, you can find good food. You walk a little this way and find something delicious. You walk a little that way and find something else. There are places that are affordable, places that feel right.

If you want momos, you do not need to plan a long trip. You just step outside. There are Nepali places, Tibetan places, Gurkha kitchens, and so many others, all nearby.

You do not have to travel far. You do not have to struggle. Everything is here. And because of that, this place feels like home. It feels like a city where people understand each other and where relationships between neighbors matter.

Jackson Heights gathers outside.

In this episode, Juan talks about the moments when the streets themselves become the meeting place. When fútbol spills out onto Northern Boulevard, traffic pauses, and strangers celebrate side by side. He also reflects on quieter rituals like Sunday mornings at the farmers market, where food, culture, and community overlap in everyday ways.

This episode is shared in Spanish.

The full English translation appears below.

One of them is that the community here is largely a Latino community that offers many services to everyone. There are many cultural events from countries across Central America and South America, and the broader U.S. community also comes together to live and share these traditions. Events like Día de las Velitas, alboradas, special holidays like Christmas - moments when some streets are closed so people can watch matches and follow fútbol 100%.

My favorite places depend on when the streets are closed - usually along Northern Boulevard between certain blocks - where everyone gathers when there are Colombia matches, Ecuador matches, or other important games. The whole community comes together to celebrate, to share, to laugh, to jump with joy.

That’s what makes it special: everyone comes together. When the light is red, everyone gathers; when it turns green, cars pass. But then the fútbol brings everyone back together again - as if the street itself were a stadium.

Another wonderful thing is Sundays at the farmers market, where all the residents come to taste and share different experiences - not just food, but the people themselves, many with small businesses trying to move forward.

So we invite you to be part of this community in Jackson Heights, to enjoy this community - this little piece of New York.

Hannah shares a few moments from life in Jackson Heights that stay with her - and explain why this place works the way it does.

You’ll hear people of different ages, backgrounds, and languages talk about what makes this place feel like home to them.

This is a non-commercial, community project. No sponsors. No ads. Just real voices.

If you live in Jackson Heights - or if this neighborhood has ever been part of your story - you’re invited to contribute your own recording.

You can submit a short voice note at:

👉 jhtip.com/sayit