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City Living: Queens Village

By Kara Warner | Special to amNewYork

October 18, 2007

Blink and you might miss it, but just a 30-minute commuter train ride from Manhattan is Queens Village, a thriving, community-focused, family-oriented residential haven.

Settled by cattle farmers in the 1640s, the area was first known as Little Plains. In 1824, that was changed to Brushville, after an enterprising blacksmith named Tom Brush. Finally, with the arrival of Queens' first railroad station in 1834, the Long Island Rail Road made the last official name switch to Queens Village.

"The thing that brought [the city's first residents] out was the space," followed closely by the transportation, said Jim Driscoll, president of the Queens Historical Society. "It's really fairly easy to get into the city from here."

In the 1920s, Queens Village experienced a population boom during which the majority of the city's Victorian- and Colonial-style homes were built. The original farmers were pushed farther east, and a working middle class started to develop.

Post-World War II saw the arrival of veterans and their families, and some of the city's first minority groups of African and Latin Americans. Nowadays, Queens Village boasts one of the more diverse and accepting populations in the area.

"We're like a League of Nations," 76-year resident Eileen Vogt joked. "My neighbors are Haitian, South American and Guyanese," she said, insisting the diversity didn't change the city and was "an adjustment [that] was easy for me."

For Joe King, owner of Antun's catering, the influx of minority populations has enhanced his business tremendously.

"[It] used to be all you cooked was Italian and Jewish. Now we cook Caribbean, Haitian, Indian, Pakistani, even oxtail," he said with pride.

Find it Located in the east-central part of Queens, Queens Village is bounded by Union Turnpike to the north, Cross Island Parkway to the east, Murdock Avenue to the south and Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west.

The basics
Transportation: Long Island Rail Road: Hempstead Branch to Queens Village. New York City buses: Q1, Q2, Q27, Q36, Q88, Q43, Q76, Q77, Q83 and Q110. MTA Long Island buses: N1, N2, N3, N6, N22, N24 and N26
Police stations: 105th Precinct. 92-08 222nd St., 718-776-9090
Crime: So far this year, the 105th Precinct, which includes Queens Village, has reported seven murders, 23 rapes, 298 robberies and 438 burglaries. During the same period last year, police reported six murders, 33 rapes, 327 robberies and 371 burglaries.
Post office: 209-20 Jamaica Ave., 800-275-8777
Public library: 94-11 217th St., 718-776-6800
Schools: Creedmoor Psych Center School, 80-45 Winchester Blvd.; Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School, 213-10 92nd Ave.; Martin Van Buren High School, 230-17 Hillside Ave.; Merrick Academy-Queens Public School, 207-01 Jamaica Ave.; PS 18 Winchester School, 86-35 235th Ct.; PS 33 Edward M. Funk School, 91-37 222nd St.; PS 34 John Harvard School, 104-12 Springfield Blvd.; Queens College School for Math, 148-20 Reeves Ave.; The Bellaire School, 207-11 89th Ave.

Real estate The Queens Village community and real estate market consists almost entirely of single family, Archie Bunker-style Colonial homes built in the 1920s. In order to make room for eager, first-time home buyers who make up most of the buyer's market, however, developers have taken to converting and renovating the original single-family structures, much to the annoyance of long-time residents.

According to Nick Gomez of ERA Real Estate, the influx of first-time home buyers is due in large part to the county's low property taxes. Gomez says the area also boasts great schools, easy access to Manhattan and an abundance of available parking.

To rent
Renovated basement studio between Hillside and Jamaica avenues: $800