“On a stroll through the busy streets of Jackson Heights, Queens, Sahadev Poudel kept gesturing at the ground with disgust,†Nicholas Hirshon wrote in The New York Times. “He stopped on the sidewalks in front of sari boutiques and Indian grocery stores, pointing out stains that looked like dried blood.â€
At a dollar each, “paan has become a popular after-dinner treat†in Jackson Heights, Mr. Hirshon wrote. Made by “folding dried fruits, nuts and pastes into a betel leaf,†a member of the pepper family, paan “looses its flavor in a matter of minutes,†he wrote.
To the chagrin of Jackson Heights shopkeepers, “some passers-by spit half-chewed betel leaves and saliva onto the sidewalks, just as they did in their native countries,†he wrote.
Spitting in public carries a fine of at least $200, said Alexandra Waldhorn, a spokeswoman for the health d epartment. But shop owners say they have never seen anyone receive a violation.
Once paan spittle hits the sidewalk, the city does not come to wash it away. Kathy Dawkins, a spokeswoman for the Sanitation Department, said it did not remove stains, paan or otherwise, from sidewalks. But she promised that the city would “pay closer attention†to the issue.
The stains regularly set off debates in Jackson Heights, which attracts visitors from a mix of paan-chewing countries like Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. Many are quick to lay the blame for the ubiquitous blemishes on any nationality but their own. Older immigrants privately scold newcomers for clinging to the bad habits of their homeland.
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Is this problem simply a culture clash, or should South Asians stop spitting out paan at home as well? Write to us in the comments section below.
