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City Living: Maspeth

By Kara Warner | Special to amNewYork

November 20, 2007

Maspeth along Grand Ave. (Lane Johnson, amNewYork / November 19, 2007)

Venturing from Manhattan to the quaint Queens neighborhood of Masbeth is like stepping into a time warp. There is an old-fashioned and traditional feel about the place that stands in contrast to other Queens neighborhoods struggling with population growth, traffic, and gentrification.

Resident Lorraine Sakli sums up Maspeth's charms: "It has a small-town feel, you know your neighbors, and you can be in the city in 15 minutes."

Named for the Mespeatches Indians who once inhabited the area, Maspeth sits in the heart of Queens. It is partially split by the Long Island Expressway, which makes for an easy, 15-minute commute to Manhattan by car. There's no direct public transportation, but the M and L trains stop nearby and the Q57 bus runs right to Maspeth's main drag, Grand Avenue.

Today, the neighborhood is predominately Polish and Italian, but has seen a recent increase in German and Irish immigrants. "It's very diverse, made up of Italian and Polish and German folk and a lot of Irish coming in from Ireland," Sakli says. "There are a lot of new immigrants coming in, planting roots."

Sakli adds that part of Maspeth's appeal is that it goes largely unnoticed.

"Nobody knows it's here," she says. "When you hear Maspeth, everyone thinks it's Masapequa on Long Island."

Find it
To the north is Woodside, at 52nd Avenue, to the northeast is Elmhurst at 74th Street, to the east is Middle Village at Eliot Avenue and 69th Street and to the south is Ridgewood, at Metropolitan Avenue.

Basics
Transportation: Maspeth has no railroad or subway stops of its own, but it shares the M station with Middle Village. Also nearby is the L train's Morgan Street stop, from which the Q57 bus goes straight to Grand Avenue.
Police station: 104th police precinct, 718-386-3004
Crime: The 104th Precinct covers areas of Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village and Maspeth. So far this year, it has reported four murders, 12 rapes, 254 robberies, 383 burglaries, compared to two murders, 22 rapes, 265 robberies and 446 burglaries during the same period last year.

Schools
IS 73, The Frank Sansivieri Intermediate School, 70-02 54th Ave.; PS 153, Maspeth School, 60-02 60th Lane; PS 58, The School Of Heroes, 72-50 Grand Ave.; PS 9, Walter Reed School, 58-74 57th St.; Saint Stanislaus Kostka School, 61-17 Grand Ave.
Post office: 55-02 69th St.
Public library: 69-70 Grand Ave., 718-639-5228

Real Estate
Like many neighborhoods in Queens, the real estate market in Maspeth consists mainly of one- and two-family homes. According to Mary Anna Zero of Home Hunters Real Estate, the bulk of potential residents are first-time buyers looking for something comfortable and low maintenance. Zero says that aside from the affordable prices, Maspeth's main draw is that it's a neighborhood where you can feel comfortable. "You can walk down the street and see people that you've known for a long time," Zero says.

To rent
Walk-in studio, 59th Place and Maurice Avenue: $850