Bayside

By Patrick Verel | Special to amNewYork

May 3, 2007

Although you'll never see a subway car in this northeast Queens burg, you can find just about everything else you might want. A mall full of chain stores? Check. A quaint strip of mom-and-pop stores within easy walking distance? Check. History? A Civil War-era fort is right around the corner.

Bayside is ringed by highways, but it also claims a golf course and four parks. Little Bay Park, which offers spectacular views of the Long Island Sound, is good for jogging and biking.

One of the biggest selling points for the area, which stretches from the Throgs Neck Bridge to Union Turnpike, is the school district. Anthony Carollo, a broker for Carollo Real Estate, said he recently sold a house in Bayside to a family from Connecticut just so the family's son could play basketball for Cardozo High School.

"You have everything here," he said. "You have condos, co-ops, houses, buildings, apartment rentals. For shopping, Bay Terrace is huge; there are some of the finest restaurants on Bell Boulevard and there is access to every single expressway and highway in the area. It's like the hub of Queens."

The demographics of Bayside are similarly diverse, as the 2000 census found residents of Chinese, Italian, Korean, Irish, Hispanic, Russian, Greek heritage. Peter Orisses, broker and owner of United Realty Associates, said there are a sizable number of young people who live within walking distance of the Long Island Rail Road station, from which one can get to Penn Station in Manhattan in half an hour.

"For people who need to be close to Manhattan but can't afford Manhattan rents, it's a great neighborhood," he said.

Find it
Bayside is bounded by Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west, Cross Island Parkway to the north and east, Union Turnpike to the south.

Transportation
Bus: Q12, 13, 16, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 76, N20, 21

Train: Long Island Rail Road, Bell Boulevard/41st Avenue

Crime
The 111th Precinct, which includes Bayside, has had no murders, two rapes and 21 robberies this year, compared to no murders, zero rapes and 47 robberies at this time last year. For all of last year, there were no murders, four rapes and 135 robberies.

Schools
P.S. 31, 211-45 46th Rd., P.S. 41, 214-43 35th Ave., P.S. 130, 200-01 42nd Ave., P.S. 159, 205-01 33rd Ave., P.S. 169, 18-25 212th St., M.S. 158, 46-35 Oceania St., H.S. 495, 32-24 Corporal Kennedy St.

Post Offices
Bay Terrace, 212-71 26th Ave., Bayside Finance, 212-35 42nd Ave., Fort Totten, 41-29 216th St.

Banks
Astoria Federal, 46-08 Francis Lewis Blvd., Citibank, 39-01 Bell Blvd., 35-31 Francis Lewis Blvd., Chase, 23-98 Bell Blvd., 41-22 Bell Blvd., 43-01 Bell Blvd., Commerce Bank, 216-10 Northern Blvd., North Fork, 211-47 26th Ave., 214-01 Northern Blvd., 41-11 Bell Blvd., Washington Mutual, 38-39 Bell Blvd., 218-14 Northern Blvd

Real estate