Okay, so imagine that you're on Family Feud -- and the question is "Name something you'd usually find on Jamaica Avenue!"  Some answers come easier than others.  Obviously, the El Train would be at the top of the list.  And so would the shoppers that walk up and down the avenue. 

But how many of you -- when thinking of all of the cement and the bricks and metal and asphalt -- would think of giving "Trees" as your answer?  Not too many, we'd wager.  It certainly wouldn't be at the top of our list -- but we're giving that a second thought today.  The other day we were down near 85th and  Jamaica, talking to a friend, and looking east we noticed a few trees -- we'd passed them so many times before without really taking note.  And we began to wonder just how many trees were there on Jamaica Avenue.

So, off we were with our camera.  We started down near Elderts Lane and worked our way down towards 100th Street.  Before you scroll down, through the pictures on your way to the bottom, take a quick guess how many trees we found.  See how close you come.

Below, at left, is our first, located at 75th and Jamaica, right near those small apartment buildings that were built but never occupied.  As you can see, the leaves and branches reach out towards the sunlight, away from the shade of the El.  Moving along, on 77th Street, there's another one outside of the Acapulco Bar & Restaurant.  Incredibly, it looks like some genius painted the trunk of this tree white.  Here's a little piece of information -- paint is a chemical and not good for trees.  I guess they don't remember what happened to the girl in "Goldfinger."  In any event, that's two we found so far. 

Below, at left, there's another one in front of Empare Food Market (which was, in recent years, known as Liberty Produce and then Met Foodmarkets).  This one was a little more full than the previous ones.  Below, at right, is a skinny little tree around 80th Street, right near where -- on weekends -- you can buy used books on the sidewalk.  We're actually already pretty familiar with this tree -- quite often, on a sunny day, while looking through an old book trying to decide whether or not to buy it, we'd wander down for some shade while flipping through its' pages.  Okay, so that's four of `em we found so far.

Directly, across the street there's another one -- right in front of the Rainbow shop.  Rainbow doesn't have any apartments above, so this guy gets lots of sun.  We're guessing this one needs lots of trimming so it doesn't get clipped by the J Train.  That's six.     

Over on 84th, there's two more -- one on each side of the avenue.  So that makes eight so far. 

Here's a closer look at the tree in front of the medical center on the South side of Jamaica Avenue.  Judging by the awning outside of the apartment windows, we're guessing they get a big of sun on that side of the street.  You don't see many awnings like that over windows on the avenue anymore.

We were wondering when these trees were planted.  We don't recall seeing many trees on the avenue in the 1941 Tax Photos.  In fact, off the top of our heads, we don't recall any.  For example, here's the lot where the medical center sits today -- long before that tree was ever planted.

Moving along, between 89th and 90th Streets, there are two more trees.  One, a few feet down from Ohlert-Ruggiere (below, left).  And another in front of Payless Shoes.  So that makes ten.  Thus far, every tree but one was planted in front of a building without apartments above (the lone exception being the tree near 80th Street, where they sell the used books).    

From there, you need to cross the Woodhaven Boulevard and go all the way to 95th Street before you see any more trees -- and then you get three in one block!  These three were planted in front of buildings with apartments above, but over here the sidewalk is a lot wider, giving them plenty of access to the sun.  There weren't any trees here when I was a youngster, and I know that because I grew up on this stretch of the avenue -- living in the apartment above what is now Jeebo's Pizza.  I used to ride my Big Wheel down that sidewalk.  Anyway, that makes 13 trees with just a few blocks to go.  

There are two more trees, around 97th and 98th Streets, on the North Side of the Avenue, bringing us up to 15.   

And directly across the street, we have our final two trees, bringing us to a grand total of 17, a few more than we would have guessed.  How did you do with your guess?

Woodhaven is renowned for its' tree-lined streets, so it's only natural that we'd have trees lining our Avenue.  We're really lucky they're in such good shape -- considering the fact that they're living in the shade of the El, having to fight for their share of the sun, and breathing in the exhaust fumes of the cars and the buses and the trucks that pass by day after day.  So, if you're passing by and you see a bit of litter at the base of one of our trees, do all of us -- and them -- a favor and pick it up.     

If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.  

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