Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in the middle of the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough of

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. The borders are

Flushing Meadows–Corona Park Flushing Meadows–Corona Park (often referred to as Flushing Meadows Park or simply Flushing Meadows or Corona Park) is a public park in the northern part of Queens in New York City, New York, U.S. It is bounded by Interstate 678 (New York), ...

to the west, the

Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

to the north, Union Turnpike to the south, and Kissena/Parsons Boulevards to the east. The neighborhood is located near several highways including the Long Island Expressway,

Grand Central Parkway The Grand Central Parkway (GCP) is a 14.61-mile (23.51 km) controlled-access parkway that stretches from the Triborough Bridge in New York City to the Queens– Nassau County line on Long Island. At the Nassau County line, it becomes t ...

Van Wyck Expressway A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or p ...

, and the

Jackie Robinson Parkway The Jackie Robinson Parkway (originally the Interboro Parkway) is a controlled-access parkway in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The western terminus of the parkway is at Jamaica Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Ea ...

(Interborough). It is also served by several bus routes. Adjacent neighborhoods include Forest Hills to the west, Hillcrest and Pomonok to the east, Briarwood to the south, and Queensboro Hill to the north. Kew Gardens Hills is located in Queens Community District 8 and its ZIP Code is 11367. It is patrolled by the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

's 107th Precinct. Politically, Kew Gardens Hills is represented by the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

's 24th District.

Geography

Kew Gardens Hills is situated in the southwestern corner of the area historically known as the Town of Flushing, in its 6th district. As neighborhoods in the City of New York are not designated by the city, there are multiple means to determine the geographical boundaries of the area: *General borders: The western boundary of the neighborhood is considered to be

, which is separated from the neighborhood by the

. The southern playground of the park however is east of the

, and is only accessible via an entrance along Park Drive East. Though part of the park, the playground is considered within Kew Gardens Hills. Prior to the building of the

, the IND World's Fair Line ran along this route during the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

. *Postal boundaries: Since 2003, when the United States Postal Services renamed the post office in ZIP Code 11367 to the "Kew Gardens Hills Post Office", the borders of the area for ZIP Code purposes extend from the south at Union Turnpike, to the north at the

Horace Harding Expressway Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC),Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman Lyric poetry, lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Oc ...

and east to

Parsons Boulevard Parsons Boulevard is a road in Queens, New York. The north-south street’s northern end is at Malba Drive in the Malba neighborhood while the southern end is at Archer Avenue in the central-downtown area of the Jamaica neighborhood. Route T ...

. Prior to 2003 this Post office was called the Station C Post Office. Although the post office is named "Kew Gardens Hills", the USPS still designates the city or town for purposes of addressing as "Flushing". KewGardensHills_EruvBoundary

*Other designations: Some areas, east of Parsons Boulevard and west of 164th Street, as well as south of Union Turnpike and north of the Grand Central Parkway are included in Kew Gardens Hills, by the NYC Department of Education, historians, the Kew Gardens Hills

Eruv An ''eruv'' (; , , also transliterated as ''eiruv'' or ''erub'', plural: ''eruvin'' or ''eruvim'') is a ritual ''halakhic'' enclosure made for the purpose of allowing activities which are normally Activities prohibited on Shabbat, prohibited ...

Committee, by residents or businesses themselves, or by real estate brokers.In these extended areas—with the exception of some zig-zag borders—residents north of 73rd Avenue use ZIP 11365, south of 73rd Avenue, ZIP 11366, and south of Union Turnpike, ZIPs 11432 and 11435. These areas include the Pomonok, Electchester, and Parkway Village developments, among others. Despite the ZIP Codes with the first three digits as "114" being originally designated in the postal city of "Jamaica", these areas of Kew Gardens Hills are within the geographical limits of the original Town of Flushing. The present 164th Street runs along the original border between the 4th and 6th districts of the town of Flushing. Adjacent neighborhoods include Forest Hills to the west, Hillcrest and Pomonok to the east, Briarwood to the south, and Queensboro Hill to the north.

History

Early settlement

In the northwestern part of the neighborhood was the location of the Spring Hill Farm. The farm was part of the

Francis Lewis Francis Lewis (March 21, 1713 – December 31, 1802) was an American merchant and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation as a representative of N ...

estate during colonial times. By 1762 the farm was owned by Colonel Thomas Willet, High Sheriff of Flushing, and was sold to

Cadwallader Colden Cadwallader Colden (7 February 1688 – 28 September 1776) was an Irish-born physician, scientist and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New York from 1760 to 1762 and again from 1763 to 1765. Early life Colden was born on 7 F ...

, lieutenant governor for the Province of New York. In 1763 Colden built the Spring Hill House on the property. In 1783 the property was confiscated by the government because Cadwallader's son David was a

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

to the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

. By 1894 the Durkee family owned the property and sold it to the Cedar Grove Cemetery Corporation. The Spring Hill House became the office of the Cedar Grove Cemetery, until the house was later destroyed by a fire. In the 19th century the area of Kew Gardens Hills was known as ''Head of the Fly'', for its location at the headwaters of the Flushing Creek (or Flushing River). Fly or vly, being the Dutch word for swamp. One of the oldest roads through the area was called the Vleigh Road, and still exists today as Vleigh Place. Timothy Jackson operated a horse boarding stable near where the intersection of Park Drive East and Union Turnpike, or the Kew Gardens Interchange is today. On what is now the Jamaica subway yard was previously a horse race course, built by Timothy Jackson, and was known as Whitepot Race & Track. Although the train yard is not in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, it is named Jamaica because the yard feeds the subway lines which begin (or end) in Jamaica. This area was an extension of Timothy Jackson's Willow Glen Farm for which the farmhouse was located south of Union Turnpike in the neighborhood of Jamaica that is now called Briarwood. In the 1750s, William Furman was the owner of the farm he named Willow Glen. Today Willow Lake, at the southern end of

, retains the Willow name. The municipal government of the Town of Flushing, which dated back to colonial times, along with other municipal township governments in Queens County, was incorporated into the Borough of Queens on January 1, 1898. Later, the area, was named after

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

, which in 1909 was renamed after

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The area's earliest modern homes were built in 1917 off Union Turnpike, but in the early 20th century, the area was known as Queens Valley and consisted mostly of farmland. By the 1920s many of the farms were sold to golf clubs or country clubs. The golf courses that made up the area include the Spring Hill Golf Course, Queens Valley Golf Course, Pomonok Country Club, and Arrowbrook Country Club. In 1939, the Arrowbrook Country Club was the home of the "Summer City Hall" of Mayor La Guardia. One road that ran through the area was called Quarrelsome Lane., which ran from Jamaica Road to Fresh Meadow Road; the road is now known as 75th Avenue. Jamaica Road, the most direct route between the villages of Flushing and Jamaica, is now Kissena Boulevard and becomes

at the intersection of Quarrelsome Lane.

Later years

Growth to Kew Gardens Hills came when

Kew Gardens, Queens Kew Gardens is a neighborhood in the central area of the New York City borough of Queens. Kew Gardens is bounded to the north by the Union Turnpike and the Jackie Robinson Parkway, to the east by the Van Wyck Expressway and 131st Street, to ...

, to the south, gained a subway line at

Queens Boulevard Queens Boulevard is a major thoroughfare connecting Midtown Manhattan, via the Queensboro Bridge, to Jamaica in Queens, New York City, United States. It is long and forms part of New York State Route 25. Queens Boulevard runs northwest to ...

in 1936 and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, directly to the northwest of the neighborhood, hosted the

. Early residents were mostly German, Irish and Italian. Many were relocating from Brooklyn and Manhattan. The area was hilly and Kew Gardens was known as a prestigious Queens neighborhood and so developers changed its name from Queens Valley to Kew Gardens Hills. The first Queen of Peace mass took place in 1939. Property along 144th Street, now part of Main Street, was seized by the city to complete the construction of Main Street from northern Flushing. Main Street was paved and bus routes began to serve the area in 1941. The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills was established in 1941. The Queens County Savings Bank opened its branch in 1949 and local school, P.S. 164, also known as the Queens Valley School, also opened its doors that year. Main Street Cinemas—designed by architect Joseph Unger, who also designed the Trylon Theatre—opened in 1940 and operated by Interboro Circuit Inc. The 600 seat single screen theater was built at a cost of $75,000, and was dubbed one of the city's finest. The theater has since been subdivided into a six screen cineplex. The theater closed in September 2022. In 1941, Barney Spiegel bought a part of the Klein Farm at 69th Road and Main Street.Buys Old Farm Tract: Queens Builder Acquires Large Kew Gardens Property
. ''The New York Times''. April 20, 1941. p. RE4. On the land, he built 150 duplexes, designed by architect A. Salkowitz. On July 14, 1965, the neighborhood became infamous when five-year-old Eddie Crimmins Jr. and four-year-old Missy Crimmins vanished from their garden apartment at 150-22 72nd Drive. Missy's body was found the same day in a vacant lot on 71st Avenue at 162nd Street (the area where the 107th Precinct is located today.) Eddie's body was found five days later near 68th Drive and the entrance to the northbound Van Wyck Expressway. The children's mother, Alice Crimmins, was convicted in 1971, and imprisoned, in the death of her children. She was paroled in 1977. On September 16, 2010, an EF1 tornado touched down in

, causing widespread damage to cars and homes in the Kew Gardens Hills area. John Bowne High School—located along Main Street at the edge of the

CUNY Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing, Queens, Flushing. Que ...

campus, directly across from Mt. Hebron Cemetery—was the only New York City public school building to sustain physical damage related to the storm and was closed on the day after the storm.

Demographics

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Kew Gardens Hills was 37,479, an increase of 1,427 (4.0%) from the 36,052 counted in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
Population Division -

Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 53.9% (20,184)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7.6% (2,839)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% (63) Native American, 20.0% (7,500) Asian, 0.1% (20)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.4% (156) from other races, and 3.1% (1,169) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 14.8% (5,548) of the population.Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
Population Division -

Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016. The entirety of Community Board 8, which comprises Kew Gardens Hills as well as Fresh Meadows and Jamaica Hills, had 156,217 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 83.9 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 20% are between the ages of 0–17, 28% between 25–44, and 27% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 10% and 15% respectively. As of 2017, the median

household income Household income is a measure of income received by the household sector. It includes every form of cash income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, investment income and cash transfers from the government. It may include near-cash gover ...

in Community Board 8 was $64,005. In 2018, an estimated 22% of Kew Gardens Hills residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in eleven residents (9%) were unemployed, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 54% in Kew Gardens Hills, slightly higher than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Kew Gardens Hills is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not

gentrifying Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been us ...

. The neighborhood has been described as "a largely

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

area". The neighborhood contains an established Orthodox

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish population and some

Israelis Israelis (; ) are the Israeli citizenship law, citizens and nationals of the Israel, State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Israeli Jews, Jews and Arab citizens of Israel, Arabs, who respectively account for 75 percen ...

and

Bukharan Jews Bukharan Jews, also known as Bukharian Jews, are the Mizrahi Jewish sub-group of Central Asia that dwelt predominantly in what is today Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan. The group's name is derived from the Emirate of Bukh ...

, as well as smaller groups of

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to th ...

Koreans Koreans are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. The majority of Koreans live in the two Korean sovereign states of North and South Korea, which are collectively referred to as Korea. As of 2021, an estimated 7.3 m ...

, Chinese,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

ns,

Afghans Afghans (; ) are the citizens and nationals of Afghanistan, as well as their descendants in the Afghan diaspora. The country is made up of various ethnic groups, of which Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks are the largest. The three main lan ...

and

s. Kew Gardens Hills is home to the largest concentration of Afghanis in the New York metropolitan area. There are several dozen houses of worship in Kew Gardens Hills, many of them Jewish. Established in 1941, the Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills is the only traditional Conservative synagogue located in the heart of Kew Gardens Hills. By the 1950s, the

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

community began to take root. The first orthodox Jewish synagogue was formed in 1950 on Parsons Boulevard and 78th Road when the Jewish Center of Torath Emeth was formed with Rabbi Joel Laks as the spiritual leader. The following year, the

Young Israel The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel (in Hebrew: , ), is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. Young Israel was founded in 1912, in it ...

Congregation of Kew Gardens Hills was founded in 1951 with 15 families. That congregation now consists of 450 families. Congregation Machzikei Hadas formed by Rabbi Yosef Gelernter on 73rd Avenue, is home to the first

mikveh A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or (Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual washing in Judaism#Full-body immersion, ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve Tumah and taharah, ...

in Kew Gardens Hills. In March 1960, the City Council named a small park at Vleigh Place and Main Street as Freedom Square to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...

, founder of present-day Zionism. The Yeshivas Chafetz Chaim, Ohr Hachaim and Kesser Torah are situated in Kew Gardens Hills. Jewish elementary schools include Yeshiva Ketana of Queens and Yeshiva of Central Queens. Other houses of worship include the Roman Catholic Church Queen of Peace, located on Main Street at 77th Road. St. Nicholas of Tolentine is located on Parsons Boulevard behind east of Parkway Village. The Lutheran Church of the Ascension is located on Main Street just south of Union Turnpike. The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, located on 65th Avenue near Parsons Boulevard, is also the facility used by the Korean Grace Community Church. A sizable

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

population exists, most notably on the northern side with several stores catering to that population.

Education

PS 164 Queens Valley School of the Arts 137 St jeh

Kew Gardens Hills generally has a higher ratio of college-educated residents than the rest of the city . Half of residents (50%) have a college education or higher, while 14% have less than a high school education and 37% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 39% of Queens residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of Kew Gardens Hills students excelling in math rose from 51 percent in 2000 to 71 percent in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 56% to 57% during the same time period. Kew Gardens Hills' rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Kew Gardens Hills, 15% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per

school year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classes and do rel ...

, less than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 86% of high school students in Kew Gardens Hills graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.

Public schools

Kew Gardens Hills' public schools are operated by the

New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (more commonly known as New York City Publ ...

. The following elementary and middle schools are located in Kew Gardens Hills, serving grades PK-5 unless otherwise indicated: *PS 154 *PS 219 Paul Klapper *PS 201 The Discovery School for Inquiry and Research *PS 255 (grades PK-5, 8) The following elementary-middle schools are located in Kew Gardens Hills and serve grades PK-8: * PS 164 Queens Valley *PS 165 Edith K. Bergtraum *The Queens College School for Math, Science and Technology *PS/MS 200 – The Pomonok School & STAR Academy The following middle schools are located within Kew Gardens Hills: *I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School (grades 6–8) *The Queens School of Inquiry (grades 6–12) High schools in New York City are not zoned. The following high schools are located within Kew Gardens Hills and serve grades 9–12: * John Bowne High School *Robert F. Kennedy Community High School *

Townsend Harris High School Townsend Harris High School (THHS; often also shortened to Townsend Harris or simply Townsend) is a public high school for the humanities in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located on the campus of Queens College, a public college p ...

serves academically gifted students. *North Queens Community High School, founded in 2007 in the former Queens of Peace school building, which serves troubled New York City youths who wish to obtain their

high school diploma A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...

Colleges and universities

Two university campuses are located in Kew Gardens Hills. Located in the northern portion of Kew Gardens Hills is

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

, a

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

that is part of the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

(CUNY) system. Queens College also serves as an important cultural institution for neighborhood residents with Colden Center for the Performing Arts and the Godwin-Ternbach Museum. Notable graduates of Queens College include native son

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...

, who was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in 1994,

Ron Jeremy Ronald Jeremy Hyatt (born March 12, 1953) is an American former Pornographic film actor, pornographic actor, and actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", Jeremy was ranked by AVN (magazine), ''AVN'' at No. 1 in their "50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" l ...

, and

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

. Lander College, the men's college of

Touro College Touro University is a private Jewish university system headquartered in New York City, with branches throughout the United States as well as one each in Germany, Israel and Russia. It was founded by Bernard Lander in 1971 and named for Isaac a ...

, has a large campus on 150th Street at 75th Road.

Private schools

Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim (76th Road & 147th Street), Lander College for Men (75th Road and 150th Street, a division of

), and

Yeshivas Ohr HaChaim Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim is a Haredi yeshiva located in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, Kew Garden Hills, Queens, New York City. The yeshiva also has a kollel, and operates in conjunction with its high school Mesivta Yesodei Yeshurun which is located next ...

(71st Avenue & Main Street, a division of

) are large

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

s located in Kew Gardens Hills. Other religious schools located in Kew Gardens Hills include St. Nicholas of Tolentine, Shevach High School (Main Street at 75th Road), Mesivta Yesodei Yeshurun
Yeshiva of Central Queens
(70th Road at 150th Street), Yeshiva Ketana (Parsons Boulevard & 78th Road) and Solomon Schechter School of Queens (76-26 Parsons Blvd.)

Public libraries

Queens Public Library The Queens Public Library (QPL), also known as the Queens Borough Public Library and Queens Library (QL), is the public library for the borough of Queens, and one of three public library systems serving New York City. It is one of the largest li ...

operates the Kew Gardens Hills Branch at 72-33 Vleigh Place. From 1954 until 1998 this library was called the Vleigh Branch. In 2012, the section of Vleigh Place between 72nd Drive and 72nd Road, the block of the library building, was renamed Pat Dolan Way. Dolan was the president of the Kew Gardens Hills Homeowners Association until she was killed in a 2011 car crash. She was instrumental in securing funding for expansion of the library. A expansion of the Kew Gardens Hills branch began in March 2013 and the library reopened on September 6, 2017. A temporary library had been opened nearby at 71-34 Main Street during this time period. The new one has been finished and has been in regular use since, except for a temporary closure due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Queens Public Library also operates the nearby Pomonok Branch at 158-21 Jewel Avenue, east of Parsons Boulevard. The Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library, on the Queens College campus, is a depository of U.S. government publications. The library is open to the general public for consultation and on-site use of these collections.

Commerce

The commercial areas of the neighborhood include Main Street, Union Turnpike,

, and Kissena Boulevard. Main Street, in particular, is home to many Jewish-themed stores and Kosher restaurants. Many of the businesses along Main Street in Kew Gardens Hills close for

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

due to the area's large Jewish population. Many businesses along Kissena Boulevard, on the other hand, have closed permanently due to an economic downturn.

Police and crime

Kew Gardens Hills is patrolled by the 107th Precinct of the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

, located at 71-01 Parsons Boulevard. The 107th Precinct ranked 11th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. The low crime rate was attributed primarily to the area's isolation and to local neighborhood patrols. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 22 per 100,000 people, Kew Gardens Hills' rate of

violent crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful Force (law), force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, vio ...

s per capita is lower than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 191 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole. The 107th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 88.8% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 5 murders, 23 rapes, 138 robberies, 131 felony assaults, 149 burglaries, 539 grand larcenies, and 101 grand larcenies auto in 2018.

Fire safety

Kew Gardens Hills is served by the

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...

(FDNY)'s Engine Co. 315/Ladder Co. 125, located at 159-06 Union Turnpike.

Health

preterm birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the Childbirth, birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks Gestational age (obstetrics), gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 ...

s and births to teenage mothers are less common in Kew Gardens Hills than in other places citywide. In Kew Gardens Hills, there were 74 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 6.7 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Kew Gardens Hills has a relatively average population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 11%, which is slightly lower than the citywide rate of 12%. The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of

air pollutant Air pollution is the presence of substances in the air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be gases like ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles like soot and dust. It affects both outdoor ...

, in Kew Gardens Hills is , lower than the citywide and boroughwide averages. Fourteen percent of Kew Gardens Hills residents are smokers, which is equal to the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Kew Gardens Hills, 19% of residents are

obese Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classified as obese when ...

, 11% are

diabetic Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, and 29% have

high blood pressure Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...

—compared to the citywide averages of 20%, 14%, and 24% respectively. In addition, 18% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Eighty-nine percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 79% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", about the same as the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Kew Gardens Hills, there are 5 bodegas. The nearest large hospitals to Kew Gardens Hills are the

Queens Hospital Center Queens Hospital Center (QHC), also known as NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens and originally called Queens General Hospital, is a large public hospital campus in the Jamaica Hills, Queens, Jamaica Hills and Hillcrest, Queens, Hillcrest neighborhoo ...

in Jamaica and NewYork–Presbyterian/Queens in Flushing.

Politics

Except for an area west of Main Street and north of the cemetery which is located within the boundaries of Queens Community Board 7, the remaining areas of Kew Gardens Hills are within Queens Community Board 8. The entire area of Kew Gardens Hills is part of

District 24, represented by Jim Gennaro. Several civic or homeowners associations lobby on behalf of residents of the area. These associations include the Kew Gardens Hills Homeowners Civic Association, the Flushing on the Hill Taxpayers Association, Cedar Grove Civic Homeowners Association, Flushing Suburban Civic Association, Georgetown Mews, and Parkway Village Historical Society. Kew Gardens Hills is split among three districts in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

. These districts are 24: Assemblymember David Weprin; 25: Assemblymember Nily Rozic; and 27: Assemblymember

Sam Berger Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictio ...

. Kew Gardens Hills is also split among three districts in the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

. These districts are 16: Senator

John Liu John Chun Yah Liu (traditional Chinese: 劉醇逸; born January 8, 1967) is an American politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, he is a member of the New York State Senate for the 16th district in northeast Queens. He pr ...

; 14: Senator

Leroy Comrie Leroy George Comrie Jr. (born August 10, 1958) is an American politician from New York City. He represents district 14 in the New York State Senate, which comprises St. Albans, Cambria Heights, Jamaica, Hollis, Rosedale, Laurelton, Kew Gard ...

; and 15: Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. Finally, Kew Gardens Hills is split among two congressional districts in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. These districts are

New York's 5th congressional district New York's 5th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives, represented by United States Democratic Party, Democrat Gregory Meeks. The district is located in Queens. A plurality of the distr ...

and

New York's 6th congressional district New York's 6th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City, located entirely within Queens. It is represented by Democrat Grace Meng. A plurality of the district's popul ...

. Represented by

Gregory Meeks Gregory Weldon Meeks (born September 25, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who has been a U.S. representative from New York since 1998. He is a member of the Democratic Party and chaired the House Committee on Foreign Affairs from 20 ...

and

Grace Meng Grace Meng (Chinese: 孟昭文; born October 1, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 6th congressional district since 2013. Her district is situated within the New York City borough of Q ...

respectively.

Transportation

Main north-south arteries through and around the perimeter of the neighborhood are Main Street, Kissena Boulevard, 164th Street, and Parsons Boulevard. East-west arteries are Jewel Avenue, Union Turnpike, and the

. Highways to and around the neighborhood include the

, and the

(Interboro Parkway), which all intersect at the Kew Gardens Interchange. Local

New York City Bus MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the bus operations division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City. The MTA operates local, limited-stop, express, and Select Bus Service ( bus rapid transit) services across the city ...

routes are the and . The Q74 bus used to serve the neighborhood nearly exclusively until 2010.

MTA Bus MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the bus operations division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City. The MTA operates local, limited-stop, express, and Select Bus Service ( bus rapid transit) services across the city o ...

routes are the and . All express buses from Kew Gardens Hills to Manhattan are also operated under MTA Bus Company. Express routes include the and . However, no

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

stations serve the neighborhood directly, instead being accessible by local bus. Residents were formerly able to access

Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike station Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Kew Gardens, Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Si ...

by foot via the Pat Dolan trail through Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. However, as the 78th Avenue park entrance has been shuttered since 2001, and this portion of the trail neglected by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, this is not presently possible.

Co-named streets

Because of the large Jewish population in Kew Gardens Hills, six streets in the neighborhood were named or co-named after notable Jews: *Freedom Square, named in honor of

's quest for a Jewish homeland *Rabbi Kirshblum Triangle, named for the first Rabbi of the Kew Gardens Hills Jewish Center *Dr. Rabbi H. Joel Laks Way on 78th Road between Parsons Boulevard and 160 Street, named for the founder of the first orthodox synagogue in the area *Rabbi Avraham Schechter Way, named for a prominent resident of the community is located between 147th Street and 150th Street along 72nd Drive *

Haym Salomon Haym Salomon (also Solomon; April 7, 1740 – January 6, 1785) was a Polish-born American merchant best known for his actions during the American Revolution, where he was the prime financier to the Continental Congress. Born in Leszno, Polish– ...

Square (geometrically a triangle), across from the Kew Gardens Hills branch of the Queens Borough Public Library, named for the Revolutionary War financier *Abe Wolfson Triangle, named for an environmental activist and one of the founders of the Queens Historical Society, is located along Kissena Boulevard near 75th Avenue. Other streets named or co-named for non-Jews include: * Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Avenue is the co-name for Jewel Avenue, after the labor leader whose union built Electchester. *Pat Dolan Way, a block of Vleigh Place facing the Kew Gardens Hills Library. It is named after Pat Dolan, a longtime president of the Kew Gardens Hills Civic Association who was killed in 2011 in a car accident. *Pat Dolan Trail: A park trail cut into the marsh in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on the south side of Willow Lake. The trail extends from Mauro Playground in Kew Gardens Hills to the Grand Central Parkway Service road in Forest Hills.

Structures

Kew Gardens Hills is a mixed neighborhood of single-family homes – detached or in rows – as well as three to six-story garden apartment buildings mostly built during the years immediately following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, such as Regency Gardens. These apartments are characterized by their lawns and internal pathways that give the complexes a small-neighborhood feel. There are several homes in Kew Gardens Hills that predate Main Street, whose property was subject to eminent domain in the 1930s to widen 144th Street into the Main Street extension from northern Flushing. A few public housing projects in one part of the neighborhood were also built. Other buildings in that area were built to house employees of certain unions, including the Electchester Co-operative Building, built for electrical employees in 1949 on what used to be the grounds of the Pomonok Country Club, which no longer houses electrical employees exclusively.

Buildings

*The Godwin-Ternbach Museum is located on the grounds of Queens College. Founded in 1981 by art historian Frances Godwin and noted art restorer Joseph Ternbach, the Museum's mission has grown with the changing times from a teaching museum for the benefit of art students to a public museum that reaches out beyond the college campus. *Selma and Max Kupferberg Center for the Visual and Performing Arts is a concert hall located on the campus of Queens College, and provides an accessible and affordable facility to enrich the cultural environment of the region with classical and pop performances for general audiences. *The Queens County Savings Bank building, constructed in 1954, is modeled after Philadelphia's Independence Hall. The building also has a full-size replica of the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American Revolution, American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now know ...

. In 2005, the building was placed on the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior's National Register of Historic Places. * Parkway Village, designed by Leonard Schultze and Associates, between Parsons Boulevard, Union Turnpike, and Grand Central Parkway, was built to house

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

employees in the late 1940s. Some owners are seeking landmark historic status for the co-op. Parkway Village was developed as a rental community with 685 units on of rolling parkland in 1947. Today the buildings are in need of maintenance and upgrading, and the vegetation needs some management. *The Opal, a mid-rise luxury building built on the site of long-time vacant lots, opened in Kew Gardens Hills in November 2004; along with Lander College, it was built on marshland that is the source for Kissena Creek. *Six Spanish-style buildings built about 1908 for the New York Parental School are still in use on the Queens College campus today. These buildings are th
G Building
originally the infirmary for the NY Parental School
Colwin Hall
Delaney Hall
Frese Hall
th
J Building
an
Jefferson Hall
the administration building. The architecture of Jefferson Hall has earned it the description of ''turn of the

0th 0th or zeroth may refer to: Mathematics, science and technology * 0th or zeroth, an ordinal for the number 0 * 0th dimension, a topological space * 0th element, of a data structure in computer science * Zeroth law of thermodynamics, 0th law of The ...

century Central American capitol.'' *Adereth Eliyahu Congregation, built in 1983 and bisecting 147th Street, was awarded the ''Excellence in Design and Civic Value'' by the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

Cemeteries

Cedar Grove Cemetery
The entrance for automobiles is located at the intersection of

and

. A pedestrian entrance is located on Main Street near Gravett Road. Cedar Grove Cemetery was founded in 1894 as a

non-sectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Many North American universities identify themselves as being nonsectarian, such as B ...

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

. A major part of the cemetery was later to become the Mount Hebron Cemetery.
Mount Hebron Cemetery
uses the same roads as Cedar Grove cemetery but since 1909 has operated independently as a

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Halakha, Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' (house of s ...

. As of 2012, over 217,000 burials have taken place at Mount Hebron. *Th
Willett Family Burial Ground
is located just inside the main gate to Mount Hebron Cemetery. Here, members of the Willet and Colden families, former owners of the property, are said to have been laid to rest. The

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

of Elizabeth Willet, dated October 19, 1773 is still standing. Another stone dated 1722 is partially covered but visible. *Colored Cemetery, also known as the Troytown Cemetery, was a private cemetery in the estate of Troy Rantus, and was located on Cravett Place, which today is 149th Street between Melbourne Avenue and Gravett Road. Wilson Rantus, writer, educator, and editor known as "The Anglo African", was an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

instrumental in establishing a weekly black newspaper and a school for black children in

was buried in this cemetery. This private family cemetery was established in 1853, but the land was sold by Troy's descendants in 1915. In 1952, the bodies were removed to Evergreens Cemetery in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. An 1861 gravestone attributed to abolitionist Wilson Rantus was found in a backyard on the site of the cemetery in June 2014.

Parks and playgrounds

The

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

maintains several playgrounds and parks in the Kew Gardens Hills area: Pat_Dolan_Trail_Marker_East_End

Cedar Grove Playground
Located on Main Street at Gravett Road. The playground is next to JHS219.
Electric Playground
Located along 164th Street in the Electchester development.
Emerald Playground
. Located on 164th Street off Jewel Avenue. *

. The southern pedestrian and bicycle entrance to the Park is located on Jewel Avenue just south of Park Drive East. The Albert Mauro Playground near Willow Lake is accessible from Park Drive East near 73rd Terrace. An overpass over the Van Wyck Expressway connects the playground to Willow Lake. In Spring 2013, the NYC Parks Department renamed the trail around Willow Lake, the Pat Dolan Trail. The trail is open to the public during daylight hours.
Freedom Square Playground
Located on Freedom Square at the intersection of Vleigh Place and Main Street. * Judge Moses Weinstein Playground. The playground is located on Vleigh Place, north of Union Turnpike.
Playground 75
Located on 160th Street at 75th Road.
Pomonok Playground
Located on Kissena Boulevard at 65th Avenue, across the street from

.
Queens Valley Playground
Located on 137th Street at 76th Road. The playground is behind PS 164. * Vleigh Playground. Located on 70th Road east of 150th Street, behind PS 165. The playground is located along the route of what was the Vleigh Road.

In popular culture

*The storefront of Stuart Electronics on Parsons Boulevard was featured in Season 14 Episode 14 of ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

''. The real life owner of the store is Peter Guggenheim, father of Law & Order writer Mark Guggenheim. *Scenes from the 2000 movie '' Boiler Room'' were shot in Kew Gardens Hills. Kew Gardens Hills was referenced in the movie as well. *Kew Gardens Hills is home to

Max and Mina's Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ( ...

Ice Cream, named number 1 of the top 10 unique Ice Cream Parlors in America in Everybody Loves Ice Cream, the Whole Scoop on America's favorite treat by Shannos Jackson Arnold, Emmis Books, July 2004. Some Manhattan restaurants offer Max & Mina's Ice Cream on their dessert menus. *The

Trivial Pursuit ''Trivial Pursuit'' is a board game in which winning is determined by a player's ability to answer trivia and popular culture questions. Players move their pieces around a board, the squares they land on determining the subject of a question the ...

20th Anniversary Edition featured the question "What

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

product is served in flavors like

lox Lox is a fillet of brined salmon, which may be smoked. Lox is frequently served on a bagel with cream cheese, and often garnished with tomato, onion, cucumber, and capers. Etymology The American English word ''lox'' is a borrowing of Yiddi ...

corn on the cob Corn on the cob is a culinary term for a cooked ear of sweet corn (maize) eaten directly off the cob. The ear is picked while the endosperm is in the "milk stage" so that the kernels are still tender. Ears of corn are steamed, boiled, or gr ...

, and

horseradish Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes Mustard plant, mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and us ...

, at Max & Mina's in Flushing, New York?" *The 1939 PGA Championship was played at the Pomonok Country Club, now the site of the Pomonok and Electchester housing in the northern section of Kew Gardens Hills.

Henry Picard Henry Gilford Picard (November 28, 1906 – April 30, 1997) was an American professional golfer. Born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Picard learned to play golf while caddying at the Plymouth Country Club. Already a talented player by his early 2 ...

won the championship that year. *Slackwire Sam Johnson's quarter-final act of Season 8 on ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

'' was filmed at Queens College during summer 2013. *Scenes from Still Alice were filmed at Campbell Dome in Queens College. *Scenes from

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's The Leftovers were filmed at Queens Hall. *Scenes from

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

's skit Bern Your Enthusiasm, starring

Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...

as Democrat Presidential Candidate

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

, were filmed in front of Jefferson Hall and the Queens College Student Union buildings. The episode aired on NBC on February 6, 2015. * In the 1985 martial arts / fantasy film ''

The Last Dragon ''The Last Dragon'' (sometimes listed as ''Berry Gordy's'' ''The Last Dragon'') is a 1985 American musical Martial arts film directed by Michael Schultz, written by Louis Venosta, and produced by Rupert Hitzig for Berry Gordy. The film star ...

'', scheming record producer Eddie Arcadian and his girlfriend Angela are both from Kew Gardens.

Notable residents

Notable residents past and present of Kew Gardens Hills include: * Aaron Alexis (1979–2013), gunman in the 2013 Washington Navy Yard shooting, lived on 77th Road. *

Ellen Barkin Ellen Rona Barkin (born April 16, 1954) is an American actress. Her breakthrough role was in the 1982 film ''Diner'', and in the following years, she had starring roles in films such as '' Tender Mercies'' (1983), '' Eddie and the Cruisers'' (1 ...

(born 1954), actress, grew up in Kew Gardens Hills. *

Ralph Bunche Ralph Johnson Bunche ( ; August 7, 1904 – December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist, diplomat, and leading actor in the mid-20th-century decolonization process and US civil rights movement, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Priz ...

(1903–1971), Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1950, lived in Parkway Village. *

Robert Chartoff Robert Irwin Chartoff (August 26, 1933 – June 10, 2015) was an American film producer and philanthropist. Early life and education Chartoff was born on August 26, 1933, in New York City, the son of Bessie and William Chartoff. His family was ...

(1933-2015), film producer, grew up in the neighborhood. *

(1688–1776), Lieutenant Governor for the Province of New York, maintained his summer residence at Spring Hill * Cadwallader David Colden (1769–1834), Politician. Mayor of New York from 1818 to 1821 was born in Spring Hill Farm *

Fran Drescher Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an American actress and trade unionist. She is currently serving as the national president of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). She pla ...

(born 1957), actress, from ''

The Nanny ''The Nanny'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish wikt:fashionista, fashionista from Flushing, Queens, who becomes the nanny of three children ...

''. She lived at 147-49 72nd Avenue, Ambassador Gardens, and then at 150-58 71st Avenue, and worked at the Main Street movie theater as a teenager. *

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

(born 1941), musician, once lived in the neighborhood, near Queens College. * Gilbert Eisner (born c. 1940), former fencer, who won the épée title at the 1962 U.S. Fencing Championships *

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan (; February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book '' The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the s ...

(1921–2006), activist, feminist and writer, lived in Parkway Village in the early 1950s. *

Ashrita Furman Ashrita Furman (born Keith Furman, September 16, 1954) is a ''Guinness World Records'' record-breaker. As of 2017, Furman has set more than 600 official Guinness Records and currently holds over 200 records, thus holding the Guinness world record ...

(born 1954), set more than 160 official Guinness records. *

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainte ...

(born 1941), musician, lived at 136-58 72nd Avenue.Haberman, Clyde.
"NYC; 50-Something, But Feelin' Forever Groovy"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', December 5, 2003. Accessed May 15, 2021. "Quite a few numbers that Mr. Simon wrote, both for Simon and Garfunkel and for himself as a solo performer, are punctuated with New York references. That is only natural, considering that he and Mr. Garfunkel both grew up in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens." *

Lenny Hambro Leonard William Hambro, known as Lenny Hambro (October 16, 1923 – September 26, 1995), was a journeyman jazz musician who played woodwinds, primarily alto saxophone, with a host of bands, orchestras, and jazz notables from the early 1940s thro ...

(1923–1995), jazz musician, lived on 77th Road. *

Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 99th mayor of New Yo ...

(1882–1947), former congressman and mayor of New York City maintained a summer residence in the area. *

Martin Landau Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's '' North by Northwest'' (1959). His career breakthrough c ...

(1928-2017), actor, grew up in Kew Gardens Hills. *

Michael Landon Michael Landon Sr. (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in ''Bonanza'' (1959–1973), Charles Ingalls in ''Little House on th ...

(1936–1991), actor, grew up in Kew Gardens Hills. * Rose Meth (1925–2013), surviving participant in the October 7, 1944 "Sonderkommando uprising" * Mark Olf (1905–1987), Jewish folksinger and recording artist, lived in Kew Gardens Hills. * Daniel Rosenthal (born 1991), politician who has since 2017 represented the 27th District in the

and was the Assembly's youngest member when he took office. * Michael Simanowitz (1971–2017), New York State Assembly Member, lived in the Electchester development. *

(born 1941), singer, songwriter and musician, lived at 137-62 70th Road *

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who was the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss from the band's inception in 1973 to their retireme ...

(born 1952), lead singer of KISS, lived on 75th Road near Main Street * Kalman Topp (born 1972), rabbi, educator and author, lived on 72nd Crescent. * Leroy Watson, rapper, makes his home in Kew Gardens Hills. * Moses M. Weinstein (1912–2007), lawyer and politician, who has a playground named for him. *

Roy Wilkins Roy Ottoway Wilkins (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was an American civil rights leader from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was his leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), ...

(1901–1981), civil rights leader who headed the NAACP. He lived at 147-15 Village Road in Parkway Village. A major park in south Queens now bears his name.

Photo Gallery

File:Greengardenkewgardenshills.jpg, A fruit and vegetable store on Main Street in Kew Gardens Hills, 2008. This particular store has since closed down. File:Mainstreetcinemaskgh.jpg, Shops on Main Street in an outdated photo--''Wasserman's'' has since moved across the street, and ''Eshet Chayil'' has a new awning

References

External links

* {{Authority control Neighborhoods in Queens, New York Orthodox Jewish communities Jewish communities in the United States