Mall 211 is a series of nine traffic medians on 211th Street, between 99th Avenue and Hollis Avenue in the Bellaire section of the

Queens Village Queens Village is a mostly residential middle class neighborhood in the eastern part of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bound by Hollis to the west, Cambria Heights to the south, Bellerose to the east, and Oakland Gardens to the north ...

neighborhood of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. When the Bellaire section was developed in 1907, a wide road connecting to the Bellaire station on the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

was given a green median with nine traffic islands serving as a centerpiece of the planned suburban community. Bellaire Boulevard connected two historic roads that predate the neighborhood’s development,

Jamaica Avenue Jamaica Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York, in the United States. Jamaica Avenue's western end is at Broadway and Fulton Street, as a continuation of East New York Avenue, in Brooklyn's E ...

and Hollis Avenue. Prior to its development as a residential community, the nearly 40 acres around Mall 211 were part of Interstate Park, a

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or shooting sport, competitions. So ...

and casino operated by the National Trapshooting Association. At its annual Grand American tournament, flying birds were released from their cages and shot by trained marksmen. The park held its first tournament in 1900 but declared bankruptcy two years later after the state passed a law prohibiting pigeon-shooting competitions. Interstate Park was sold for residential development in 1906. At the request of developer Parvin Harbaugh, the Interstate Park station was renamed Bellaire and the neighborhood also adopted this name. Bellaire Boulevard was later designated as 211th Street in compliance with the grid laid out across all of Queens. Although the Bellaire station closed in 1972 as a result of low usage, the Bellaire community remains an attractive neighborhood due to its suburban appearance and the half-hour commute to Midtown Manhattan from the nearby Queens Village station.

References

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