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Queens Neighborhoods & History in QNS NYC
August 8, 2025 / Queens Neighborhoods & History NYC / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Buzz NYC.
This section is dedicated to the Neighborhoods & History section on Queens Buzz NYC.
Page Guide
How to Make the Most of This Section
1. The reports at the top of this section represent older renditions we did of the various neighborhoods in Queens.
2. These are followed by a rotation of reports about cultural, community and business organizations and events.
3. The rest is a evolving mix of reports done previously, about things to do, attractions, events, history, restaurants, parades, cultural institutions and shopping. These will evolve over time.
4. The Queens Buzz website provides visitors with current news and a history of what has happened in Queens neighborhoods, generally based on events, issues, locales and sometimes personages. Use the BOOKMARK button at the top of your browser window, to facilitate your weekly visit to find out what's happening in Queens.
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CLICK here to view our Queens Neighborhoods & History NYC section.
Queens Neighborhoods & History
Current & Recent Things to Do & Briefs
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Queens Things to do This Weekend NYC - Weekend Events QNS NYC
Aug 16, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Shopping In Queens - Queens Shops
Sep 05, 2024 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Queens Restaurants
Aug 14, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Queens Parades & Holiday Weekend Events NYC
Aug 08, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Queens Swimming Pools - Free Outdoor Public Swimming Pools In Queens
Jun 22, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
4th of July Fireworks Queens NYC
Jul 05, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Queens Opinions II - Op Eds On Queens Buzz
Aug 03, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Queens Arts Culture & Performing Arts NYC
Aug 14, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Queens Neighborhoods & History QNS NYC
Aug 08, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Queens Neighborhoods
Related Reports & Archives
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Year-End Review of Landmarking Shows Designations Continue to Lag Significantly Under
Adams
January 27, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC History / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Earlier this year, Village Preservation released a first-of-its-kind report cataloging all landmark designations over the course of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission’s (LPC) existence since 1965, and analyzing the differences in activity based upon Mayoral administration and changes in law and policy. Since then, we’ve updated the yearly chronological compendium of all landmarks designations, and have committed to continue doing so moving forward, to allow the public to see what the LPC is (or is not) doing in context of its work over the years. Toward that end, we’ve taken a look at the LPC’s designations for 2024:
The LPC made nine designations in 2024, which is a very slight increase from the extremely sluggish previous pace under Mayor Adams, but remains less than 1/3 the rate of designations under prior Mayors. See first chart above.
The LPC designated 146 buildings in 2024 (a designation may include historic districts, containing multiple buildings), which is also a slight uptick from the prior Adams years, but remains an almost 80% reduction in the number of buildings designated yearly as compared to prior Mayors. See second chart at right.
The LPC designated just one historic district in 2024 (by far the majority of sites landmarked in NYC are designated via historic districts), which is a significant reduction from the already meager rate of historic district designations under the Adams administration, and a 63% reduction from the annual average under prior Mayors. See third chart at right.
The one historic district designated in 2024 was significantly larger than those previously designated under Adams. But even this one district was still about 40% smaller than those designated on average under prior Mayors, and the overall average size of designated historic districts under the Adams Administration remained less than 1/3 the size of those designated by prior Mayors. See fourth and final chart below.
Contributed Report by Andrew Berman of the Village Preservation Society
Received December 20, 2024
Posted January 27, 2025
https://www.villagepreservation.org
* Black History Month in NYC
This is a Look at Some of the Black History Events We've Covered Over the Years
February 17, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC/ 471.
NYC Weather. The temperature high hit 61 degrees on Monday, and will fall to the mid to high 40's for the rest of the week. The temperature lows will range from the mid 30's to the low 40's until Friday, when the temperature drops into the mid 20's. The winds will range from 5 - 10 mph until Friday, when we'll experience a gusty 15 - 20 mph. The humidity will range between 60% - 70% through the week, before dropping to 40% on Friday. Less than a quarter inch of rain is expected on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The image at right is of Langston Hughes, a writer in the 1920's and 1930's of the Harlem Renaissance. It seems like African Americans are continuing the process of asserting their influence in American culture, a process that began going mainstream in the 1920's / 1930's.
Highlighting Black History Month in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens & Staten Island NYC with Reports about African American History and Culture
We've covered a number of interesting theatrical performances and art exhibits exploring African American history and the African American experience in the five boroughs over the years. Some of them feature the African American experience front and center, while others include or reference the African American experience. This is a compendium of most of them, with links to the full stories. Think of this as a work in progress as it is far from complete, and in some measure, reflects how long each of our web magazines has been open / covering events in each of the boroughs. At this time I have not included many of the black and brown events reflecting immigrants' cultures, vis a vis the African American cultural experience.
- CLICK here for our report on the Black history month and African American history in NYC - prior reporting recap / summary.
Astoria Neighborhood
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Astoria Neighborhood - Queens
Jan 29, 2009 at 09:21 am by mikewood
Steinway Mansion
May 28, 2024 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Kaufman Astoria Studios - TV / Film Production In Queens
Aug 23, 2010 at 06:41 pm by mikewood
Over a Century of Railroad History in Sunnyside Yard
Jan 16, 2017 at 04:40 pm by mikewood
Museum Of The Moving Image - Astoria & Queens
Jan 03, 2010 at 07:47 pm by mikewood
The American Museum Of The Moving Image - Astoria - Warhol Films
Nov 04, 2007 at 03:47 pm by mikewood
Governor Hochul Scraps the LGA to Flushing Meadows Corona Park Air Train
Governor Hochul Scraps the Ill Conceived LGA - Willets Point Air Train
Former Governor Cuomo's Air Train Seemed More About Catering to the Whims of the Billionaire Class, than in Streamlining Public Transit
March 15, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
In 2017 I attended a Community Board meeting in Astoria where our urban planners talked about new improvements coming to LaGuardia Airport. Since then a number of those plans have come to fruition. But one of them, what at the time was called the third phase, the Air Train to LGA, has not. Use the link to see the thinking nearly six years ago when the plans had been drafted and the construction was about to begin. I'm happy to say that we flagged and reported to you a number of the issues with the LGA Air Train early on, which we've included in the list below.
The photo at right shows the CTA [Chicago Transit Authority] subway that runs along the Kennedy Expressway from downtown Chicago to O'Hare Airport which vies with Atlanta for the title of the busiest airport in the U.S..
The Former Emperor [Governor Cuomo] had No Clothes [Sound Public Interest Rationale]
On Monday, Governor Hochul announced what was already well known and expected, which was that the Air Train shuttling between LaGuardia Airport and Flushing Meadows Corona Park, would not be built.
There were any number of good reasons why the LGA Air Train should not have been built, such as: 1) the costs of building the train would cost more than five times the original estimated cost of under $500 million to over $2.5 billion, 2) then, implicit in a number of alternatives, there was the idiocy of connecting the LGA Air Train, to the second most trafficked subway line [the #7] in NYC, which was already nearing peak capacity pre-pandemic, 3) the politically and billionaire preferred alternative destination, Willets Point on Flushing Bay, had just been cleaned up after decades of environmental pollution, and would again be threatened again, and to top it all off, 4) the politically and billionaire preferred Willets Point alternative required all of the people traveling to and from LaGuardia on public transit, to travel out to Flushing first, before circling back around to LaGuardia Airport. The billionaires who would have benefitted from this include billionaire real estate developer Stephen Ross and [now minority interest] Mets Club billionaire owners Saul B. Katz and Fred Wilpon. The new Mets baseball team owner, Steve Cohen, is also a billionaire.
CLICK here to read our report on Governor Hochul scraps the LGA to Flushing Meadows Corona Park Air Train.
Rikers Island Closing Queens & Bronx - Neighborhood Jails in Brooklyn Bronx Manhattan Queens & not Staten Island
NEW LINKS
Closure of Rikers Island Moves Another Step Forward
In Oct 2019 NYC Council Designated Neighborhood Jail Locations in Four Boroughs
Community Board One in Astoria Only Approved the Closure of Rikers Island
January 26, 2020 / Bronx Neighborhoods / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Politics / Bronx Politics & Government / Queens Buzz NYC & Bronx Buzz NYC.
A week ago, on Tuesday, January 21st I attended the Community Board One meeting at the Astoria World Manor where the board was asked to approve the closing of the Rikers Island Detention Facility effective sometime before the end of the year 2026.
The photo at right was taken from an airplane while landing at LaGuardia in a prior year. Rikers Island Correctional Facility is a stone's throw away from LGA.
Queens Community Board One in Astoria Votes on Rikers Closure
The presentation consisted of two slides. One highlighted the social / moral blight that Rikers Island had become. The second slide simply proposed the request in very limited terms - the closing of Rikers Island and the conversion of it to a ‘public place’. The presentation to the Committee was done by a team lead by Dana Kaplan, Deputy Director of the NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice.
So please note that the Community Board had no role in the placement of neighborhood jails, nor did they sign off on anything that may become of Rikers Island going forward. They only approved the closing of the Correctional Facility and the allowance of use for it as a "public place".
I spoke with CB1 District Manager Florence Kolouris after the meeting about what exactly that meant. She told me that there isn’t any definition, per se, given for public place – but a couple of examples of prior public places include Lincoln Center, Fort Totten and Queens Borough Hall.
The Community Board approved the measure with a recommendation that CB1 be kept in the loop throughout the closing process, including any demolition. Plenty of questions followed regarding what would become of the 400 acre island. Nothing concrete was proposed at this time, but the audience was assured that any changes would have to come through the Community Board via the ULURP process [Uniform Land Use Review Procedure].
The Bronx & Queens - Rikers Island Community Jurisdiction & Prison Population
It’s worth noting that technically Rikers Island is a part of the Bronx – not Queens – even though the only road traveling onto the island originates in the Astoria / East Elmhurst neighborhoods of Queens. In addition to Queens Community Board One, Bronx Community Board Two, representing the Hunts Point neighborhood, also has influence over the island. Since the Dinkins Administration in the 1990's, there's been a floating barge facility that's docked in Hunts Point, that is considered a part of the Rikers Island Correctional Facility.
Currently there are an estimated 7,000 plus inmates on Rikers Island. At its height, in 1991, Rikers Island held an estimated overcapacity inmate population of nearly 22,000. By the time the facility is to be closed in 2026, the inmate population is expected to have declined to between 3,000 and 4,000.
The photo at right shows the Rikers Island Correctional Facility which will be closed by the end of 2026.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the Rikers Island closing in Queens & the Bronx approved by Community Board One in Astoria / Queens. The designated Rikers replacement jail sites in four of the five boroughs was approved in an October NYC Council meeting.
Long Island City Neighborhood
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LIC / Long Island City Neighborhood
Jan 27, 2009 at 11:04 am by mikewood
LaGuardia Performing Arts Center - LPAC - Dance Theater Performing Arts LIC
LaGuardia Performing Arts Center - LIC
This section contains our coverage of dance, theater and performing arts events at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Long Island City.
laguardia performing arts center lpac LPAC lic dance theater performing arts lic long island city
Sunnyside Yard: Special Section About Sunnyside Yards LIC Astoria Queens
May 29, 2024 at 12:15 am by mikewood
LIC Real Estate Breakfast
What Happened at the LIC Partnership Real Estate Breakfast?
LIC Real Estate Owners, Managers & Tenants Discussed the Current State of the Long Island City Real Estate Market
April 25, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be / Weather coming tomrorrow.
I never thought I would become one of the 'old timers' covering the LIC Partnership Real Estate Breakfast. But I think that perhaps I am. I hadn't covered one of these breakfasts since before the pandemic, so I found myself looking to regain my balance, vis a vis my Queens real estate sea legs.
But some things are like riding a bike, meaning they come back to you quickly, and covering the LIC Real Estate Breakfast seemed to fit that bill. As I sat there listening to the panel assembled to discuss the current state of affairs, I noticed a number of folks from prior gatherings, and while the issues were largely the same, the current state of them is constantly changing.
And I'll provide the update this weekend.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the LIC Real Estate Breakfast of 2023 / real estate in Queens NYC.
Sunnyside / Woodside Neighborhoods
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Sunnyside Neighborhood Woodside Neighborhood
Jan 27, 2009 at 11:09 am by mikewood
Sunnyside Yard: Special Section About Sunnyside Yards LIC Astoria Queens
May 29, 2024 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Zoning Sunnyside & Woodside - Real Estate in Queens
May 30, 2024 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Sunnyside History: Lou Lodati Playground
Nov 20, 2022 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Photos & Video of & from the New Kosciuzko Bridge
September 16, 2019 / Things To Do Queens / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Buzz NYC.
I took a ride across the new Kosciuszko Bridge yesterday evening. It was a pleasurable visual feast.
Jackson Heights & Corona Neighborhoods
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Jackson Heights Neighborhood / Elmhurst Neighborhood
Jan 27, 2009 at 10:51 am by mikewood
Bulova Corporate Center
Jul 13, 2010 at 12:21 pm by mikewood
Lent Riker Homestead Jackson Heights - Colonial Houses Homes in Queens NYC
Apr 14, 2018 at 08:14 pm by mikewood
Worlds Maker Faire at NY Hall of Science Flushing Queens NYC
Sep 25, 2018 at 07:06 pm by mikewood
Louis Armstrong House Museum - Queens Corona NY
Feb 16, 2023 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Flushing & Forest Hills Neighborhoods
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Queens History: Historical Sites In Queens
Aug 12, 2010 at 03:59 pm by mikewood
Flushing Neighborhood / Corona Neighborhood
Jan 27, 2009 at 10:24 am by mikewood
Flushing Historic House Tour - Historic Sites Queens History NYC
Dec 12, 2017 at 12:54 pm by mikewood
New York State Pavilion - Photos & Opening
Apr 22, 2014 at 02:45 pm by mikewood
Flushing Meadows Corona Park - History & Development
Jul 19, 2013 at 04:26 pm by mikewood
Billionaire Public Park Land Grab in Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Public Park Land Grab?
Billionaire Looking to Privatize Queens Parkland?
Bill Pending in Albany Would Enable it
May 10, 2023 / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Real Estate / News Analysis & Opinion / Queens Buzz.
NYS Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubrey has sponsored a bill to allow a billionaire to build a casino on Queens parkland. Why can't the billionaire buy his own land to build the casino? And why has Aubrey supported this public park land grab?
Click here to read the OpEd by the President of a local non-profit explaining the situation - scroll down to May 9, 2023. Billionaire Steve Cohen appears to be making bid to essentially privatize Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens.
- CLICK here to directly to the OpEd on Billionaire Steve Cohen Mets Owner Making a Public Park Land Grab with the help of Jeffrion Aubrey?
Only in Queens
Muslims & Jews Organize Iftar Ramadan Dinner
June 7, 2016 / Forest Hills Neighborhood / Religion & Culture in Queens / Queens Buzz.
Only in Queens. On Thursday June 9th, the Turkish Cultural Center and the Central Queens Y will break bread together at an Iftar Ramadan dinner beginning at sundown [7.30 pm] at the Central Queens Y at 67-09 108th Street in Forest Hills.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim year and the holiest month of the Islamic year. During this time Muslims pay special attention to praying, fasting and reflecting upon their lives. The Islamic Holy Month has similarities to the Christian Lenten season, as well as the Judaic Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.
Islamic cultural traditions are based upon the lunar calendar, so the Ramadan Holy Month moves slightly around the solar calendar, from year to year. This year Ramadan began on June 5th and will end on July 5th. Attendees of all faiths are welcomed, as are families. The intent is to embrace a harmonious understanding of our shared planetary cultural identities, which the framers of the U.S. Constitution had envisioned centuries ago when they founded this nation.
The Iftar Dinner will be a dairy Middle Eastern meal catered by Meal Mart from Kew Gardens Hills. Meal Mart is Glatt Kosher and is under the supervision of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens. The meal costs $15 per adult and children under 12 are $5 each. Reservations may be made by registering online at www.cqy.org/tickets or you can call 718.268.5011 - ext 151, or email pkurtz@cqy.org.
Jamaica & the Rockaways Neighborhoods
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Jamaica Neighborhood
Jan 27, 2009 at 10:57 am by mikewood
The Dutch Origins of Santa Claus in Queens NYC
Dec 14, 2015 at 02:04 pm by mikewood
King Manor
Oct 17, 2011 at 02:03 pm by mikewood
King Manor Museum - Jamaica NY Queens
Nov 04, 2008 at 10:19 pm by mikewood
Queens Neighborhoods Sections
Individual Queens Neighborhood Reports
These sections will take you into our prior reporting of six individual Queens neighborhoods as well as a section dedicated to Queens very interesting history.
Vander Ende Onderdonk House - Gottscheer Hall - Ridgewood NY
May 19, 2012 at 11:39 am by mikewood
Floyd Bennett Field Returns, for Encore, as Gateway to NYC
NYC Mayor Adams & NYS Governor Hochul Receive a Lease Agreement from the U.S. Government to Lease Floyd Bennett Field
August 29, 2023 / Brooklyn Neighborhoods / NYC Issues / Brooklyn BLVD.
Just over a week ago, Governor Hochul announced that she and NYC Mayor Adams had received a lease agreement from the Biden Administration, regarding the terms for leasing the Floyd Bennett Airfield for temporary use as a migrant center. The airfield is expected to be capable of providing temporary shelter for about 2,500 immigrants.
Floyd Bennett Field is a Part of the Gateway National Recreation Area
Floyd Bennett Airfield is located at the south eastern end of Brookyn and is part of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife sanctuary, as you can see from the map at right. The airport became a part of the National Park Service in 1972 when the Gateway National Recreation Area was established to protect important natural resources within / near NYC. Sandy Hook New Jersey is also a part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, while the rest of it is located in Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn, as previously implied.
Floyd Bennett Airfield - NYC's First Airport - Opened 1931
Four years ago, on August 31, 2019, I visited the Floyd Bennett Airfield with the intention of doing a story on it, which - until now - I had not had an opportunity to do. On that visit, I biked the airfield, took photos in both the museum and peeked through the dusty windows of the hangars and warehouses on the airfield, to photographed our recent past.
Given that the airfield is about to be transformed into a sprawling migrant center, I thought folks might want to take a look at it as it was four years ago, before it is repurposed into something quite new. Along with this story, I'll also take you through a brief history ...
... as the Floyd Bennett Airfield was NYC's first airport, predating LaGuardia which according to Wikipedia opened on December 2, 1939 and JFK which opened as New York International Airport [nicknamed Idlewild] in July 1, 1948. Floyd Bennett Airfield opened on May 23, 1931.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report about the history of Floyd Bennett Field which was NYC's first airport and will now become an immigrant center.