Queens Library Branches To Close For Renovation

by Rick Archer, Assistant Editor 07/27/2006 for The Queens Chronicle

...Meanwhile, renovations are just being finished at other libraries. The Jackson Heights Library at 35 51 81st St. is due to reopen July 31, and the Maspeth Library at 69 70 Grand Ave. and the Woodside Community Library at 54 22 Skillman Ave. are scheduled to reopen Aug. 7.
All three branches will also incorporate the self checkout system, new young adult areas and expanded collections. The Jackson Heights and Maspeth branches will have additional computers, while the Maspeth branch will also have wireless internet installed, along with expanded bathrooms and a wheelchair accessible children’s bathroom...

Masala Music

The music of Jackson Heights reflects a balance between the homeland and new land
By Sushil Cheema for New York Press

The lyrical, lilting, sing-song sound of female voices speaking Hindi slices through the rattles and honks of passing cars as soon as visitors exit the Roosevelt Avenue subway station at 73rd Street and Broadway in Jackson Heights...

...The music, whether it comes from the stores or from the passing cars, provides a soundtrack to the lives of Jackson Heights’ immigrant community. Evolving from wide-eyed newcomers into bona fide New Yorkers, carried by the beat of a dohl drum, the city becomes richer and more interesting because of one tiny area hidden in Queens.