Bayside, Queens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bayside is a middle class[1] suburban neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York in the United States. Bayside is known as one of the most expensive areas to live in, with well kept homes and landscaping. [2] It is one of New York's most ethnically diverse commuter towns, though inside the City limits. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 11.[3]

Bayside has been included in CNN Money's list of Most Expensive Housing Markets,[4] and was also a contender for CNN Money's ranking of Best Places to Live 2005,[5] and Best Places to Retire 2005.[6]

Contents

[edit] History

Bayside's history dates back to 2000 B.C., when the Matinecock Native American tribe first settled there. In the Late 17th century, the area was settled by English colonists. By the middle of the 18th century, early settlers left their homes in Flushing and developed a farming community, Bay Side. During the Revolutionary War, the Bayside-Little Neck area suffered from raids by whaleboatmen from the Connecticut shores. In one of the raids, the Talman house was attacked and the miller was killed.In the 19th century Bayside was still mostly farmland. Middle 20th century urban sprawl, with the help of better roads, suburbanized it. During the 1920s, many actors and actresses, such as Rudolph Valentino, lived in Bayside. It was known as the "it" spot, outside of the city. These wealthy residents had large waterfront estates and mansions, that still exist today.

Bell Boulevard in Bayside, Queens NY.
Bell Boulevard in Bayside, Queens NY.

[edit] Location and boundaries

Bayside is located in northeastern Queens, on the North Shore, and is part of Queens Community Board 11.[7] Its geographical boundaries are: Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west, 233rd Street to the east, Grand Central Parkway to the south,[8] and Cross Island Parkway/Little Neck Bay to the north. Bayside is bordered by neighboring communities Douglaston/Little Neck to the east, Auburndale to the west, Whitestone to the north, and Oakland Gardens to the south.[9]

Bay Terrace is garden apartment community located in the north section of the neighborhood; an adjacent shopping center was named after the community. The northern section of Bay Terrace also has a view of the Throgs Neck Bridge, which leads to The Bronx.

Bayside's major highways include the Long Island Expressway, Clearview Expressway, and the Cross Island Parkway. Bayside is also connected to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan and Long Island by the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch at the Bayside station.

Francis Lewis Boulevard, one of Bayside's main streets
Francis Lewis Boulevard, one of Bayside's main streets

The north end of the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway is in Little Bay Park, under the Throgs Neck Bridge approaches, with convenient connection to the Utopia Parkway bicycle lane. It lies between Cross Island Parkway and Little Neck Bay, connecting Bayside to Douglaston, Queens and Alley Pond Park, and eventually to central Queens and Coney Island.

Francis Lewis Boulevard is a major street notorious for drag racing, which has resulted in several fatalities to drivers and pedestrians over the years.[10]

[edit] Demographics

Bayside is a balance of city and suburb, with well kept homes and landscaping. It is known as one of the more expensive areas to live in. The Bayside population at the time of the 2000 census was 65.6% White/European American with Jewish, Italian, Greek, Irish, and Russian residents. Around the mid 1990's, a significant number of Chinese and Korean families began moving into the area. At the time of the 2000 U.S. census, 22.7% of Bayside residents identified as "Asian alone", mostly Korean and Chinese. 4.5% of Bayside residents was Black or African-American, and .1% as Native Hawaiian of or other Pacific Islanders. An additional .3% identified themselves as some other race alone and 3.2% claimed an ethnic/racial heritage of two or more races. 11.8 of Bayside residents identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino [of any race]. Out of the 29,206 residents of Bayside as of the 2000 census, 65.4% of residents were born in the United States, and 34.6% were foreign-born. The 3 largest foreign born groups in Bayside are Koreans [25%], Chinese [13%], and Greeks [9%]. 52.9% of Bayside households speak English only at home, 10.4 % speak Spanish, 15.2 speak European, and 20.7% speak Asian or Pacific Island language at home. The northern part of Bayside, including Bay Terrace, has a large concentration of Whites/Europeans, particularly people of Jewish and Italian heritage. The southern and eastern portions of Bayside have a more diverse population.[11]

Bayside contains 13,977 housing units. The majority of Bayside residents are part of family households, with an average household size of 2.54 individuals. The median age of Bayside's citizens is 41.5 years, and 18.1% of residents are senior citizens. 86.6% of residents age 25 and over have at least graduated from high school, while 38.4% have a bachelor's degree or higher, making Bayside a more educated community than the average American neighborhood.

Bayside is an Upper middle class neighborhood with many wealthy residents. The estimated median household income as of 2005 is $62,611, and 88% of all households own at least one car.[12]

[edit] Crime

Bayside, along with Forest Hills and nearby Douglaston, is one of the safest neighborhoods in Queens. As of 2007 there were 0 murders, 3 rapes, 20 robberies, 20 assaults, and 200 burglaries committed in 2007.

[edit] Education

[edit] Schools

Bayside is part of the New York City Department of Education's district 26, the highest performing school district for grades K-9 in all of New York City. The district includes 20 elementary schools and 5 middle schools.[9]

Bayside is home to a number of New York City high schools:

as well as a number of parochial schools:

Bayside is also home to the following colleges:

[edit] Libraries

Queens Borough Public Library operates the Bayside and Bay Terrace Branches.

[edit] Parks

  • Alley Pond Park
  • Crocheron Park
  • Cunningham Park
  • Throggs Neck Park
  • John Golden Park
  • Raymond O'Connor Field

[edit] Claims to fame

  • Bayside was the site of alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary to a housewife named Veronica Lueken. The apparitions began in 1970 at St. Robert Bellarmine Church. Lueken died in 1995.
  • The movie Sally of the Sawdust (1925) was filmed in Bayside.[9]
  • Bayside has been included in CNN Money's list of Most Expensive Housing Markets,[14] and was also a contender for CNN Money's ranking of Best Places to Live 2005,[15] and Best Places to Retire 2005.[16]
  • Crocheron Park, in Bayside, once had a hotel, where Boss Tweed hid after his escape from prison in 1875.
  • The character played by Robin Williams in "Good Morning Vietnam" was from Bayside (even though the real life Adrien Cronauer wasn't).
  • The movie The Nanny Diaries was filmed in Bayside, about 2 blocks away from P.S 213.[citation needed]

The movie Frequency (2000) was supposed to have been set in Bayside Queens. Dennis Quaid's character brags that he is from, "Bayside Queens, born and bred!" http://www.truveo.com/FREQUENCY/id/3962038738

[edit] Landmarks

  • Lawrence Cemetery - 216th Street & 42nd Avenue.[17]
  • Fort Totten, New York - A fort built during the Civil War to guard the north entrance to NYC Harbor, along with Fort Schuyler in the Bronx, in 1862.
  • Straiton-Storm Cigar Factory - Built c. 1872, The factory was the largest cigar manufacturer in America. The three story, wood frame building was of the French Second Empire style.
  • All Saints Episcopal Church - The first church in Bayside, built in 1892, contains examples of Louis Comfort Tiffany's work.
  • Cornell-Appleton house at 214-33 33rd Road. Archibald Cornell's wife inherited the 100 acre farm from her father more than 160 years ago. This twelve-room house is thought to be one of the oldest in Bayside. With past and continuing research, it has been traced back to 1852. In 1905, the house was sold to Edward Dale Appleton, of the Appleton Publishing Company. Mrs. Appleton and her sister were passengers aboard the Titanic when it hit an iceberg and sank. Both women were rescued by the ship Carpathia. This is also the second-oldest home in Queens.

[edit] Famous people

Throughout its history, Bayside has been home to several notable people, including:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sengupta, Somini. "Parents in Poor Neighborhoods Wary of Child Welfare Agency", The New York Times, May 31, 2000. Accessed May 19, 2008. "Today, 20 out of every 1,000 children in Bushwick are in the city's protective custody, a rate 10 times as high as it is in the Upper East Side of Manhattan and seven times what it is in solidly middle-class Bayside, Queens, according to city figures."
  2. ^ Bayside - Neighborhood Profile of Bayside, Queens, New York
  3. ^ Queens Community Boards, New York City. Accessed September 3, 2007.
  4. ^ Most Expensive Housing Markets, CNN. Accessed July 15, 2006.
  5. ^ Best Places to Live 2005, CNN. Accessed July 15, 2006.
  6. ^ Best Places to Retire 2005, CNN. Accessed July 15, 2006.
  7. ^ QUEENS COMMUNITY DISTRICT 11 Profile, New York City. Accessed July 15, 2006.
  8. ^ Giuffo, John, "Close-Up on Bayside", The Village Voice, November 2004
  9. ^ a b c Roleke, Krissy. "Bayside, NY: Queens Neighborhood Profile for Bayside", About.com. Accessed July 15, 2006.
  10. ^ Call For Cameras Along Drag Strip Where 2 Were Struck, Queens Gazette, April 14, 2004.
  11. ^ [[1]]
  12. ^ 11361 Zip Code (New York) Detailed Profile - residents and real estate info
  13. ^ BaysideQueens - A Community Web Site
  14. ^ Most Expensive Housing Markets, CNN. Accessed July 15, 2006.
  15. ^ Best Places to Live 2005, CNN. Accessed July 15, 2006.
  16. ^ Best Places to Retire 2005, CNN. Accessed July 15, 2006.
  17. ^ Lawrence Cemetery
  18. ^ Kusmierz, Marvin. "Rolf Armstrong (1889-1960)", Bay-Journal, November 2002. Accessed June 17, 2007. "After his completing his studies in Chicago, Rolf moved to New York where the best opportunities for finding work as an artist. He set up a studio in Manhattan where he was able to earn enough income for a comfortable living. He purchased a home near Little Neck Bay in Bayside."
  19. ^ a b c d Renée, Renee. "They Lived Here", Newsday. Accessed June 17, 2007.
  20. ^ a b c d e Wilson, Claire. "If You're Thinking of Living In/Bayside; Community Spirit and Top-Rated Schools", The New York Times, April 25, 2004. Accessed October 15, 2007. "One of these is said to have belonged to W. C. Fields, who, like Gloria Swanson, Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino and Norma Talmadge, lived in the area when Astoria Studios was in its heyday."
  21. ^ Rather, John. "A High Quality of Life Within the City", The New York Times, August 4, 1996. Accessed October 21, 2007. "James J. (Gentleman Jim) Corbett, the heavyweight boxing champion from 1892 to 1897, lived from 1902 to 1933 in a large three-story home on a street that bears his name."
  22. ^ Morris, Daniel. "Responsible viewing: Charles Simic's Dime-Store Alchemy: The Art of Joseph Cornell", Papers on Language and Literature, Fall 1998. Accessed October 22, 2007. "Lacking formal artistic training, Cornell designed collages in his spare time in the basement of a modest house on Utopia Parkway, Bayside, Queens."
  23. ^ Shpigel, Ben. "Young All-Stars in Alignment", The New York Times, July 11, 2006. Accessed October 13, 2007. "But after games, Reyes retreats to his apartment in Bayside, Queens, where he lives with his parents, and his girlfriend and their 18-month-old daughter, Katerine."

[edit] External links

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Neighborhoods in the New York City Borough of Queens

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