Queens
- This is about the New York City borough. For the monarchs, see queen.
Queens is the largest of the five boroughs of New York City in area. It is coterminous with Queens County in the U.S. state of New York and is located on western Long Island. It is the most ethnically diverse county in the United States.
Established on November 1, 1683, it was named for the then-queen consort, Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II. As of 2000, the population is 2,229,379. Its county seat is the district of JamaicaTemplate:GR, a neighborhood of New York City. The United States Postal Service divides the borough into four "towns": Long Island City, Jamaica, Flushing, and Far Rockaway; mail addressed to a residence or business in Queens includes the name of the applicable neighborhood (such as Ozone Park) on the next line below the street address—rather than "Queens, New York"—followed by the ZIP Code. Note that these ZIP codes do not necessarily accurately determine neighborhood names and boundaries, as "East Elmhurst" was largely coined by the United States Postal Service. Most neighborhoods have no solid boundaries and at times residents are left guessing to what neighborhood they belong.
Queens is a particularly interesting piece of material because of the diversity of suburban and urban areas. Neighborhoods in the eastern part of the borough are similar to towns in western Nassau County, having a more suburban look, while neighborhoods in the western and central sections loosely resemble The Bronx (particularly the eastern Bronx) and Brooklyn (particularly northeastern Brooklyn, which borders Queens), having more urban characteristics. Queens' characterization as a suburb is thus inccurate, or has been so since the 1960s.
Geography
Queens County is in the western part of Long Island and includes a few smaller islands, most of which are in Jamaica Bay and form part of Gateway National Recreation Area.
The tallest tree in the New York metropolitan area, called the Queens Giant, is also the oldest living thing in the New York metro area. It is located in northeastern Queens, and is 450 years old and 134 feet tall as of 2005.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 461.7 km² (178.3 mi²). 282.9 km² (109.2 mi²) of it is land and 178.8 km² (69.0 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 38.73% water.
History
The borough of Queens was originally named after Queen Catherine of Braganza, the Portuguese wife of King Charles II of England. Originally, Queens County included the adjacent area now comprising Nassau County. It was an original county of New York State, one of twelve created in 1683. By 1870 Queens County consisted of six towns: Newtown, Flushing, Jamaica, North Hempstead, Hempstead, and Oyster Bay. In 1870, the city of Long Island City was incorporated, consisting of what had been the Village of Astoria and some unincorporated areas in the Town of Newtown. Long Island City, Newtown, Flushing, Jamaica, and the Rockaway Peninsula of the Town of Hempstead became the borough of Queens in Greater New York on January 1, 1898. The part of Queens County that was not annexed to New York City, consisting of the towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay and all of the Town of Hempstead except the Rockaway Peninsula, was constituted as the new Nassau County in 1899.
Neighborhoods
The borough of Queens is a patchwork quilt of dozens of unique neighborhoods, each with its own distinct identity. Residents of Queens have been known to identify more with their neighborhood than with the borough as a whole. Howard Beach and Middle Village are home to large Italian-American populations, Rockaway Beach has a large Irish-American population, Astoria, in the northwest, is traditionally home to one of the largest Greek populations outside of Greece, and is home to a growing population of young professionals from Manhattan, and nearby Long Island City, in the southwest, is a major manufacturing and commercial center, as well as being the location of the Queensbridge housing project, with its infamous Hip Hop history and large proportion of famous rappers; Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona make up an enormous conglomeration of Hispanic and Asian communities; Flushing, in the north-central part of the borough, is a major commercial hub for Chinese and Korean businesses; Richmond Hill, in the south, has the largest population of Indian Sikhs outside of India; Forest Hills and Kew Gardens, in central Queens, have traditionally large Jewish populations as well as large Hispanic populations while Jamaica is a major business and transportation hub for the borough, and also home to large African-American and Caribbean populations. There are also middle class African-American, Filipino, Latino and Caribbean neighborhoods such as Saint Albans, Cambria Heights, Queens Village, Rosedale and Laurelton along East and Southeast Queens.Together, these neighborhoods comprise the most diverse county in the US, and easily provide the richest cultural experience found anywhere in the world. Some Queens neighborhoods, such as Ozone Park, Bayside, Maspeth and Woodside are home to a very diverse mix of many different nationalities.
ZIP Codes in Queens range from 11351 to 11499 and from 11101 to 11120.
The borough is politically divided into 14 community boards :
- 1 : Astoria, Long Island City, Queensbridge, Ditmars, Ravenswood, Steinway, and Woodside
- 2 : Long Island City, Woodside, and Sunnyside
- 3 : Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst
- 4 : Elmhurst, Corona, Lefrak City, Flushing Meadows
- 5 : Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth
- 6 : Forest Hills and Rego Park
- 7 : Flushing, Bay Terrace, College Point, Whitestone, Malba, Beechhurst, Queensboro Hill and Willets Point
- 8 : Fresh Meadows, Cunningham Heights, Hilltop Village, Pomonak Houses, Jamaica Estates, Holliswood, Utopia, Kew Gardens Hills, and Briarwood
- 9 : Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, Ozone Park, and Kew Gardens
- 10 : Howard Beach, South Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Tudor Village, and Lindenwood
- 11 : Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck, Auburndale, East Flushing, Oakland Gardens, and Hollis Hills
- 12 : Jamaica, Hollis, Saint Albans, Springfield Gardens, Rochdale Village, and South Jamaica
- 13 : Queens Village, Glen Oaks, New Hyde Park, Bellerose, Cambria Heights, Laurelton, Rosedale, Floral Park, and Brookville
- 14 : Breezy Point, Belle Harbor, Neponsit, Arverne, Bayswater, Edgemere, Rockaway Park, Rockaway and Far Rockaway
See: List of Queens neighborhoods
Economy
The economy of Queens is based on tourism, industry, and trade. Queens has two of the busiest airports in the world, John F. Kennedy International Airport, located in Jamaica, and La Guardia Airport, in Flushing. Queens is increasingly attracting film studios — a return of an industry that had departed decades earlier — notably the Kaufman Studios in Astoria, where a number of television shows are made. Western Queens is becoming an artistic hub, including the Noguchi Museum, Socrates Sculpture Park, Museum for African Art, and the American Museum of the Moving Image. The current poet laureate of Queens is Ishle Yi Park.
The Queens Museum of Art and the New York Hall of Science are further east, in Flushing Meadows Park — site of both the 1939 New York World's Fair, the 1964 New York World's Fair and the annual US Open tennis tournament. Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets baseball team, is just north of the park.
Several large companies have their headquarters in Queens. They include Bulova, Glacéau, JetBlue and Steinway & Sons.
Law, government, and politics
| Party | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 62,94 | 62,52 | 62,85 | 62,79 | 62,99 | 62,52 | 62,30 | 62,27 | 62,28 | 62,33 |
| Republican | 14,60 | 14,66 | 14,97 | 15,04 | 15,28 | 15,69 | 16,47 | 16,74 | 16,93 | 17,20 |
| No affiliation | 18,58 | 18,89 | 18,24 | 18,31 | 18,36 | 18,49 | 18,13 | 17,79 | 17,77 | 17,69 |
| Other | 3,88 | 3,93 | 3,94 | 3,86 | 3,37 | 3,30 | 3,10 | 3,20 | 3,02 | 2,78 |
| Year | GOP | Dems |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 27.4% 165,954 | 71.7% 433,835 |
| 2000 | 22.0% 122,052 | 75.0% 416,967 |
| 1996 | 21.1% 107,650 | 72.9% 372,925 |
| 1992 | 28.3% 157,561 | 62.9% 349,520 |
| 1988 | 39.7% 217,049 | 59.5% 325,147 |
| 1984 | 46.4% 285,477 | 53.3% 328,379 |
| 1980 | 44.8% 251,333 | 48.0% 269,147 |
| 1976 | 38.9% 244,396 | 60.5% 379,907 |
| 1972 | 56.3% 426,015 | 43.4% 328,316 |
| 1968 | 40.0% 306,620 | 53.6% 410,546 |
| 1964 | 33.6% 274,351 | 66.3% 541,418 |
| 1960 | 45.1% 367,688 | 54.7% 446,348 |
| 1956 | Details unknown | Details unknwon |
Queens is a borough of New York City. The current borough president is Democrat Helen Marshall.
Queens is considered a volatile swing county in New York politics. Although it is heavily Democratic, Republicans who do well in Queens usually win statewide or citywide, like former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, current Mayor Michael Bloomberg and current New York Governor George Pataki.
Despite being largely liberal, Queens is the home of State Senator Serphin Maltese, a conservative Republican who represents a huge chunk of central and southern Queens
Hence, Queens residents voted for Michael Bloomberg for Mayor in 2001 by 210,432 votes to 163,528 to his Democratic opponent Mark Green. In 2002, they voted against George Pataki for Governor with a slim 45.01% (155,599) to 46.50% (160,746) for its democratic opponent Carl McCall.
Queens residents voted for Senator Kerry for President in 2004 by 71.7% (433,835) to 21.4% (165,954) for President Bush. However, apart from Staten Island, Queens is the last borough in heavily Democratic New York City in which a majority voted Republican in a presidential election : in 1972 when Queens went for Richard Nixon.
Indeed, even if Queens votes now overwhemingly democratic in Presidential election, this trend is pretty new. Until the late 80s, although being clearly a Democratic area, the borough was still a competitive one.
Transportation
The Borough of Queens has crucial importance in international and interstate air traffic. LaGuardia Airport, which handles plenty of the interstate air traffic, is located on the northern shores of Queens.
Along the southern shores of Queens is where John F. Kennedy International Airport is located.
Cutting through the borough is the Long Island Expressway, which serves as the main artery for traffic between the New York City and Long Island.
Demographics
| Queens Population by decade | |
|---|---|
| 1900 | 152,999 |
| 1910 | 284,041 |
| 1920 | 469,042 |
| 1930 | 1,079,129 |
| 1940 | 1,297,634 |
| 1950 | 1,550,849 |
| 1960 | 1,809,578 |
| 1970 | 1,987,174 |
| 1980 | 1,891,325 |
| 1990 | 1,951,598 |
| 2000 | 2,229,379 |
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 2,229,379 people, 782,664 households, and 537,690 families residing in the county. The population density is 7,879.6/km² (20,409.0/mi²). There are 817,250 housing units at an average density of 2,888.5/km² (7,481.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 44.08% White, 20.01% Black or African American, 0.50% Native American, 17.56% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 11.68% from other races, and 6.11% from two or more races. 24.97% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Some main European ancestry in Queens, 2000 :
According to the Census Bureau, the population increased to 2,237,216 in 2004.
There are 782,664 households out of which 31.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% are married couples living together, 16.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% are non-families. 25.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.81 and the average family size is 3.39.
In the county the population is spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.6 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $42,439, and the median income for a family is $48,608. Males have a median income of $35,576 versus $31,628 for females. The per capita income for the county is $19,222. 14.6% of the population and 11.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 18.8% of those under the age of 18 and 13.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Famous people from Queens
- Kenny Anderson
- Susan Anspach
- Anthrax
- Tichina Arnold
- Ron Artest
- Hank Azaria - Forest Hills
- Tony Bennett - Astoria
- Adrien Brody
- David Caruso
- Cormega
- Mario Cuomo - Forest Hills
- Rodney Dangerfield
- Drea de Matteo - Whitestone
- Fran Drescher - Flushing
- Jimmy Durante
- Ron Eldard
- Erik Estrada
- Richard Feynman - Far Rockaway
- John Frusciante
- Art Garfunkel
- John Gotti
- Stephen Jay Gould
- Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
- June Havoc
- Goldie Hawn
- Carl Icahn
- Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson - Jamaica
- Jam Master Jay
- Ja Rule
- Ron Jeremy
- Jin
- Al Jolson
- Donna Karan
- Moira Kelly
- LL Cool J - St. Albans
- Cyndi Lauper - Ozone Park
- Lynn Lavner
- John Leguizamo - Jackson Heights
- Lucy Liu - Jackson Heights
- John McEnroe - Douglaston
- Ethel Merman
- Mobb Deep
- Nas
- N.O.R.E.
- Carroll O'Connor - Forest Hills
- Lamar Odom
- Bernadette Peters
- Lou Pearlman
- Joey Ramone
- Nancy Reagan
- Don Rickles
- Phil Rizzuto
- Ginger Rogers
- Ray Romano - Forest Hills
- Al Roker
- Mercedes Reuhl
- Run-DMC - Hollis
- Susan Sarandon
- Martin Scorsese
- Gene Simmons
- Russell Simmons
- Paul Simon
- Nina Sky
- Paul Stanley
- Jerry Stiller
- Cecil Taylor
- George Tenet
- A Tribe Called Quest
- Donald Trump - Jamaica Estates
- Christopher Walken
- Debra Wilson - Ozone Park
- Steven Weber
- John Zorn
Fictional characters include Archie Bunker, Edith Bunker, George Costanza, Fran Fine, Doug Heffernan, Vincent Chase and his friends on the HBO series Entourage, Mr. Met, and Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man.
Sports and other attractions
Queens is the home of the New York Mets baseball team, the US Open tennis tournament, and Aqueduct Racetrack. Just over the Queens line (in Nassau County) is Belmont Park Race Track, the home of the Belmont Stakes. Queens is also home to York College (New York), Queens College, Queensborough Community College and Saint John's University, which is renowned for its men's basketball and men's soccer teams.
