Rego Park is a neighborhood in the
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle ...
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 ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
. Rego Park is bordered to the north by
Elmhurst and
Corona, to the east and south by
Forest Hills, and to the west by
Middle Village. Rego Park's boundaries include
Queens Boulevard
Queens Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Queens connecting Midtown Manhattan, via the Queensboro Bridge, to Jamaica. It is long and forms part of New York State Route 25.
Queens Boulevard runs northwest to ...
, the
Long Island Expressway,
Woodhaven Boulevard, and Yellowstone Boulevard. There is a large
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
population in the neighborhood, which features high-rise apartment buildings and detached houses, as well as a large commercial zone.
Rego Park is located in
Queens Community District 6 and its ZIP Code is 11374.
[ It is patrolled by the ]New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest i ...
's 112th Precinct.[ Politically, Rego Park is represented by the New York City Council's 29th District and a small part of the 24th and 25th Districts.
]
History
Rego Park is built on lands originally part of the Leni Lenape Nation. Possibly inhabited by members of the Canarsee
The Canarsee (also Canarse and Canarsie) were a band of Munsee-speaking Lenape who inhabited the westernmost end of Long Island at the time the Dutch colonized New Amsterdam in the 1620s and 1630s.
They are credited with selling the island of ...
band. By 1653, though, English and Dutch farmers moved into the area and founded a community called Whitepot, which was a part of the Township of Newtown. Whitepot is believed to be so named because Dutch settlers named the area "Whiteput", or "hollow creek"; later, English settlers Anglicized the name.[ The Remsen family created a ]burial ground
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are burial, buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek language, Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifical ...
, which is still located on Alderton Street near Metropolitan Avenue. The colonists also founded the Whitepot School, which operated until the late 19th century.[
The area turned out to be good for farming, the colonists cultivated hay, straw, rye, corn, oats, and vegetables.][ The original Dutch, English, and German farmers sold their produce in Manhattan; by the end of the 19th century, though, Chinese farmers moved in and sold their goods exclusively to Chinatown.][
The settlement was renamed Rego Park after the Real Good Construction Company, which began development of the area in 1925.][ "Rego" comes from the first two letters of the first two words of the company's name. The company built 525 eight-room houses costing $8,000 each. Stores were built in 1926 on ]Queens Boulevard
Queens Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Queens connecting Midtown Manhattan, via the Queensboro Bridge, to Jamaica. It is long and forms part of New York State Route 25.
Queens Boulevard runs northwest to ...
and 63rd Drive, and apartment buildings were built in 1927–1928. In 1930, the Independent Subway System
The Independent Subway System (IND or ISS), formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of th ...
began work on eight IND Queens Boulevard Line stations in the area, at a cost of $5 million. The subway extension was concurrent with the Real Good Construction Company's completion of apartment buildings near Queens Boulevard and one-family homes throughout the rest of the neighborhood.
The short block of 63rd Drive between Austin Street and the Long Island Railroad overpass was the scene of a fire in February 1972 that claimed a row of stores and the neighborhood library.[ The blistering "Rego Park Inferno" reportedly started in the second store on the block from Austin Street, a shoe store, and quickly spread with the gusting winds to neighboring stores, including a television repair shop, toy store, pet shop and a pioneering Indian restaurant, and finally, the library, where row upon row of oily books and wooden shelves sent flames high into the sky and up the embankment of the railroad. Firefighters scrambled to keep the windswept flames from reaching an apartment house behind the stores, a new Key Food supermarket across Austin Street, or the Shell gas station just across the drive. The library caved in before flames could damage the electrical wires lining the railroad. A new library eventually opened across the street (on the former site of the Shell gas station). After the fire, until the new library was built, the community was served by a mobile "]Bookmobile
A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookm ...
" library which parked under the LIRR tracks on 63rd Drive. A similar fire had decimated the same block in 1959.[
]
Demographics
Based on data from the 2010 United States census, the population of Rego Park was 28,260, a decrease of 1,144 (3.9%) from the 29,404 counted in 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
. 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](_blank)
Population Division – New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 46.2% (13,068) White
White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 2.5% (698) African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 0.1% (41) Native American, 31.7% (8,966) Asian, 0.1% (7) Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...
, 0.4% (124) from other races, and 2.4% (674) from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 16.6% (4,682) of the population.[Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010](_blank)
Population Division – New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.
The entirety of Community Board 6, which comprises Rego Park and Forest Hills, had 115,119 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 85.4 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged and elderly adults: 31% are between the ages of 25–44, 28% between 45 and 64, and 19% over 64. The ratio of young and college-aged residents was lower, at 16% and 5% respectively.[
As of 2017, the median ]household income
Household income is a measure of the combined incomes of all people sharing a particular household or place of residence. It includes every form of income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, near cash government transfers like food sta ...
in Community Board 4 was $75,447. In 2018, an estimated 26% of Rego Park and Forest Hills residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in seventeen residents (6%) 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 50% in Rego Park and Forest Hills, lower than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Rego Park and Forest Hills is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the econ ...
.[
]
Ethnic enclaves
Like its neighbor Forest Hills, Rego Park has long had a significant Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
population, most of which have Georgian and Russian Jewish
The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
ancestors, with a number of synagogues and kosher restaurants. Many Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
survivors settled in Rego Park after 1945. In the 1990s, Jewish immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...
from the former Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, especially from Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...
, moved in.[ Most of the residents are Bukharan Jewish,][ and the effect of life in the Soviet Union on the population has led Rego Park to have a Russian feel with many signs in Russian Cyrillic. Most of the Bukharan Jewish immigrants in the neighborhood come from ]Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
and Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
, and there is also Uzbek and Tajik cuisine
Tajik cuisine is a traditional cuisine of Tajikistan, and has much in common with Russian, Afghan, Iranian and Uzbek cuisines. ''Plov'' (pilaf) ( tg, палав, uz, palov), also called ''osh'' ( tg, ош), is the national dish in Tajikistan ...
in many Rego Park restaurants.[
Immigrant populations from ]Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...
, Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
, Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
, Colombia, South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...
, China, Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...
, Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, and South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
are also represented in the neighborhood, as well as many restaurants and stores operated by people of different nationalities.[ In the 2000s and 2010s, many young professionals also moved in, and the average price of residential units in Rego Park increased correspondingly.][
]
Land use
Housing
Many apartment buildings, multi-family, and railroad houses make up the north side of Rego Park. Apartment complexes include The Carol House, Savoy Gardens, Jupiter Court, The Brussels, and LeFrak City.[
However, many houses in southern Rego Park are in the colonial, English, and Tudor styles with slate roofs. There are also two and multi-family townhouses, detached wood-frame houses.] This is especially so in an area called the Crescents, named for its semicircular shaped streets emanating in a concentric pattern from Alderton Street, between Woodhaven Boulevard and the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line. The Crescents contain many Tudor and single-family homes, as well as large lawns and tree plantings on the sidewalks.[ There are also many newer "Fedders houses",][ so called because these newer houses are all cheaply made and uniform-looking, with the names of the ]air conditioner
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
s (usually of the Fedders brand) sticking out of the walls.
Vornado Realty Trust built a 312-unit residential tower on top of Rego Center Phase II, to accommodate a surge in young professionals moving into the area. About 20% of the units are studio apartments, with the rest being one- and two-bedroom apartments. In addition, other new residential projects are also under construction around the neighborhood.
Commerce
Rego Park is home to some of Queens' most popular shopping destinations, including the , 4-floor Rego Center
Rego Center is a shopping mall bordered by the Long Island Expressway, Junction Boulevard, Queens Boulevard, 63rd Drive, and 99th Street in the Rego Park neighborhood of Queens in New York City.
History
The property was originally the only ...
. Phase I has a large Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is an American chain of domestic merchandise retail stores. The chain operates many stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971. It is counted among the Fortune 5 ...
, Marshalls, Burlington Coat Factory
Burlington, formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory, is an American national off-price department store retailer, and a division of Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation with more than 1,000 stores in 40 states and Puerto Rico, with i ...
, and Old Navy
Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...
locations,[ as well as a multilevel parking garage developed by Vornado Realty Trust.][ It contained a small format ]IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been ...
, which opened in 2021 as the first of its type in the U.S. but closed in December 2022.
Phase II opened in 2010 with of retail space on 62nd Drive across from Rego Park Center. It houses Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation ( doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores ( warehouse club). As of 2022, Cost ...
, T.J. Maxx, Panera Bread, and Lenora Furniture, with more stores being built.
Across the Long Island Expressway, in nearby Elmhurst, is the Queens Center Mall
Queens Center Mall is an urban shopping mall in Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, on Queens Boulevard between 57th Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard. Queens Center Mall is the largest mall in Queens. It is currently owned and managed by The Mac ...
.[ Queens Center opened on September 12, 1973, on land previously occupied by Fairyland, a supermarket, and automobile parking. The mall doubled in size from 2002 to 2004.][
The first Trader Joe's in Queens opened in 2007 at 90–30 Metropolitan Avenue, in a building that also has a Staples and a Michaels, and is next to Bob's Discount Furniture, and Home Depot.
The main business thoroughfare of Rego Park is 63rd Drive. The main section extends from Woodhaven Boulevard in the south, to Queens Boulevard in the north, with the central business district of Rego Park nestled between Alderton Street (just south of the Long Island Rail Road overpass), and Queens Boulevard. The stretch south of Alderton is entirely residential. The business district is anchored by The Rego Park School PS 139Q, an elementary school dating from 1928 and Our Saviour Lutheran Church established in 1926 which right across Wetherole Street from PS 139Q. The business district is criss-crossed by four side streets: Saunders, Booth, Wetherole, and Austin Streets. Most of the businesses lining 63rd Drive are the original single story "Taxpayers" dating from the 1930s.
Across Queens Boulevard to the north, 63rd Drive becomes 63rd Road, and its business district continues another three blocks; 63rd Drive actually shifts one block south of 63rd Road. There are many small businesses in this area. Shopping districts with many smaller stores, bakeries, pharmacies and restaurants can be found along 108th Street as well.][
]
Landmarks
The Lost Battalion Hall, on Queens Boulevard, is named after nine companies of the 77th Infantry Division who fought in World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. Now a community center, the structure was erected in 1939 as a hall for Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or ...
and American Legion. It was taken over as a community center by 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 ecolo ...
in 1960, and is still operated as such. While the VFW maintains its offices at the building, the American Legion left in 1962. The site also contains a play area and a New York City Department of Environmental Protection water pumping station.[
The Drake Theater, which opened in 1935 and closed in the 1990s, was used in the 1997 film '' Private Parts''. The theater was damaged in December 1978 after around 500 people, complaining about the theater's sound system threw beer and liquor bottles at the screen and tearing holes in it, smashing seats and the candy counter with fire extinguishers from the walls, and breaking all the glass doors at the entrance.][
]
An AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
telephone building exists at Queens Boulevard and 62nd Drive.[
Our Saviour Lutheran Church, open since the 1920s, conducts its services in English and Chinese.][
The ]art deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
Rego Park Jewish Center, opened in 1939, is notable for an A. Raymond Katz
Alexander Raymond Katz (April 21, 1895 – March 24, 1974) was a Modernism, modernist artist working in painting and illustration. Katz is known for his versatility and his extensive use of contemporary styles, and his many works depicting themes ...
-designed façade
A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means 'frontage' or ' face'.
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...
with Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
scenes and symbols carved into it.[ The building is listed on both the ]New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a U.S. state, state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the List of U.S. ...
and National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
.
The Trylon Theater, an art deco theater built around the time of the 1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Pur ...
, was converted to the home of the Education Center for Russian Jewry in 2006. After local furor over interior refurbishment, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
was considering landmarking the property.[ The theater, which closed in 2009, was repurposed into a synagogue for more than a decade, but in 2013, the synagogue's congregation objected to their new landlord's planned eviction of the synagogue. Largely composed of Russian Jews, the congregation had attempted, but failed, to buy the building in 2012.
]
Notable roads
* 63rd Road and Drive, the commercial artery of Rego Park,[ used to be Remsen's Lane, which was named after the Remsen family who lived along the road.][
* The Crescents were originally composed of streets named Asquith, Boelsen, Cromwell, Dieterle, Elwell and Fitchett. These names were chosen when the Real Good Construction Company developed the area in the 1920s.][
* Horace Harding Expressway was once a turnpike called Nassau Boulevard and went from Elmhurst to Flushing, Bayside, and Little Neck. It was renamed for ]Horace J. Harding
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his '' ...
(1863–1929), a finance magnate who directed the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
and the New York Municipal Railways System; Harding encouraged city planner Robert Moses
Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid 20th century. Despite never being elected to any office, Moses is regarded ...
's system of parkways on New York, and after Harding died, the boulevard—and later, service road to the Long Island Expressway—was renamed after him.
* Queens Boulevard
Queens Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Queens connecting Midtown Manhattan, via the Queensboro Bridge, to Jamaica. It is long and forms part of New York State Route 25.
Queens Boulevard runs northwest to ...
, a wide at-grade highway that stretches from Long Island City
Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to th ...
to Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...
, was formerly composed of two small dirt roads: Old Jamaica Road and Hoffman Boulevard. In the 1910s, it was paved and widened to 12 lanes. It is sometimes called the "Boulevard of Death" because of the high fatality rate of pedestrians trying to cross the 12-lane boulevard.
* Woodhaven Boulevard was known as Trotting Course Lane because it was named when horses were the main mode of transport. The lane dates back to the colonial days, and used to run along Whitepot's border Although it extends to Cross Bay Boulevard in the Rockaways, two small parts of the original lane still exist in Forest Hills.
* Yellowstone Boulevard was one of a few colonial roads in the area. It was named after the area's original name.[
]
Community activism
Rego Park Group, originally hosted on Yahoo! Groups, strived to improving the quality of life in the neighborhood. The Rego Park Green Alliance has also been active in the community planting flowers and trees, arranging the installation of new garbage cans, pushing for the repair of some sidewalks and creating a large mural celebrating the neighborhood under the LIRR overpass on 63rd Drive.
In March 2010, the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty
The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council) is a New York City-based non-profit social services organization. It offers many services to help hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers in need.
History
The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Po ...
, a beneficiary agency of the UJA-Federation of New York, partnered with Masbia
Masbia ( he, משביע, lit., "satiate") is a network of kosher soup kitchens in New York City. Its three locations in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Borough Park and Midwood, as well as the Queens neighborhood of Rego Park, serve over 500 free, ...
in the opening of a kosher soup kitchen
A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, soup ...
on Queens Boulevard. As of August 2010, the free restaurant was serving over 1,500 meals per month to adults, senior citizens, and families.
In addition, there are two opposing proposals for the redevelopment of the abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch, which runs from Rego Park south to Ozone Park. One group
Friends of the Queensway
wants to turn the rail line into parkland. However, another group of transit advocates want the line to be converted into subway or LIRR service.[
]
Police and crime
Rego Park and Forest Hills are patrolled by the 112th Precinct of the NYPD
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
, located at 68-40 Austin Street. The 112th Precinct ranked 6th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. The area's low crime rate is attributed to its seclusion and reputation as a "suburb within the city". , with a non-fatal assault rate of 14 per 100,000 people, Rego Park and Forest Hills's 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 upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the object ...
s per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 102 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.[
The 112th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 91.5% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 0 murders, 18 rapes, 41 robberies, 53 felony assaults, 69 burglaries, 403 grand larcenies, and 37 grand larcenies auto in 2018.
]
Fire safety
There are no fire stations in Rego Park itself, but the surrounding area contains two New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services ...
(FDNY) fire stations:
* Engine Co. 305/Ladder Co. 151 – 111-02 Queens Boulevard, in Forest Hills
* Engine Co. 319 – 78-11 67th Road, in Middle Village
Health
, preterm birth
Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is betwee ...
s and births to teenage mothers are less common in Rego Park and Forest Hills than in other places citywide. In Rego Park and Forest Hills, there were 66 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 4.6 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).[ Rego Park and Forest Hills have a low population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 11%, slightly lower than the citywide rate of 12%.][
The concentration of ]fine particulate matter
Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ter ...
, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Rego Park and Forest Hills is , equal to the city average.[ Ten percent of Rego Park and Forest Hills residents are smokers, which is lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.][ In Rego Park and Forest Hills, 19% of residents are obese, 7% are diabetic, and 20% have ]high blood pressure
Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), 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. Long-term high b ...
—compared to the citywide averages of 20%, 14%, and 24% respectively.[ In addition, 11% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.][
Ninety-three percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 82% of residents described their health as "good," "very good," or "excellent," higher than the city's average of 78%.][ For every supermarket in Rego Park and Forest Hills, there are 5 bodegas.][
The nearest large hospitals are the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Elmhurst and ]Long Island Jewish Forest Hills
Long Island Jewish Forest Hills is a teaching hospital operating under the Northwell Health hospital network. It is located in Forest Hills, Queens, New York. The hospital is affiliated with the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at ...
in Forest Hills.
Post office and ZIP Code
Rego Park is covered by ZIP Code 11374. The United States Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
operates the Rego Park Station at 92-24 Queens Boulevard.
Education
Rego Park and Forest Hills generally have a higher percentage of college-educated residents than the rest of the city . The majority of residents (62%) have a college education or higher, while 8% have less than a high school education and 30% 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 Rego Park and Forest Hills students excelling in math rose from 42% in 2000 to 61% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 48% to 49% during the same time period.]
Rego Park and Forest Hills's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Rego Park and Forest Hills, 10% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...
, lower than the citywide average of 20%.[ Additionally, 91% of high school students in Rego Park and Forest Hills graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.][
]
Public schools
Rego Park's public schools, as are the public schools in all of New York City, 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 (or the New York City Public Schools) is ...
. The following elementary schools serve Rego Park and serve grades PK-5 unless otherwise indicated:
* P.S. 139 (Rego Park School, grades K–5)
* P.S. 174 (William Sidney Mount School)
* P.S. 175 (the Lynn Gross Discovery School)
* P.S. 206 (the Horace Harding School, grades K–5)
* P.S. 220 (Edward Mandel School)
All areas in Rego Park are zoned to J.H.S. 157 Stephen A. Halsey (6–9), in Rego Park, or J.H.S. 190 Russell Sage (7–9) in Forest Hills. Rego Park is not zoned to a high school because all New York City high schools get students by application, though Forest Hills High School is located in nearby Forest Hills.
Private schools
Our Lady of the Angelus, a PK–8 private school operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn
The Diocese of Brooklyn is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. ...
, is located in Rego Park. Resurrection-Ascension School, another PK–8 private school operated by the Diocese of Brooklyn, is also located in Rego Park.
Our Saviour Lutheran School, K-8, is on Woodhaven Boulevard and is a ministry of Our Saviour Lutheran Church on 63rd Drive.
Private institutions include the Rego Park Jewish Center and the Jewish Institute of Queens (also known as the Queens Gymnasia).
Library
The Queens Public Library's Rego Park branch is located at 91-41 63rd Drive. It had 189,000 visitors and a total circulation of 194,000 in 2016. The existing one-story branch, built in 1975, is planned to be replaced with a two-story, building between 2021 and 2024.
Transportation
The IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway has local stations at 63rd Drive 63rd may refer to:
;Metro stations
* Ashland/63rd (CTA station), on the Green Line
* East 63rd-Cottage Grove (CTA), on the Green Line
* 63rd (CTA Red Line), on the Red Line
* 63rd Street station (SEPTA Market–Frankford Line) on the Market-Frankfo ...
and 67th Avenue on the . The line, running under Queens Boulevard
Queens Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Queens connecting Midtown Manhattan, via the Queensboro Bridge, to Jamaica. It is long and forms part of New York State Route 25.
Queens Boulevard runs northwest to ...
, dates from 1935 to 1937.
The local buses serve the neighborhood, as well as the express buses.
The Long Island Rail Road overpass between Austin and Alderton Streets was the location of the Rego Park station until its abandonment in 1962. Though physically part of the Main Line, the station was only served by Rockaway Beach Branch trains. The station was later dismantled, and little can be discerned of its existence now save for the flattened clearing beside the tracks.
In popular culture
*Rego Park was the setting of the 1980s sitcom
A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...
''Dear John'', which centered around the fictional "Rego Park Community Center."
*The CBS sitcom ''The King of Queens
''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the sh ...
'' is set in Rego Park, and sometimes shows clips of the area.
*''What Happened to Anna K.: A Novel '' by Irina Reyn is set in Rego Park. Most of the characters are Bukharan Jews
Bukharan Jews (Bukharian: יהודיאני בוכארא/яҳудиёни Бухоро, ''Yahudiyoni Bukhoro''; he, יהודי בוכרה, ''Yehudey Bukhara''), in modern times also called Bukharian Jews (Bukharian: יהודיאני בוכארי ...
who have emigrated from the Soviet Union.
*'' Brooklyn's Finest'', a 2010 release, was filmed in part in Rego Park.
*A substantial part of Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel '' Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines '' Arcade'' and '' R ...
's graphic novel '' Maus'', a biographical account of his father, a Holocaust survivor, is set in Rego Park.
*The 2013 film '' The Wolf of Wall Street'' was filmed in part in Rego Park, at the now-demolished Shalimar Diner.
*In an episode of '' General Hospital o''riginally aired on May 26, 2015, Denise, an emerging character, claims that she's from Rego Park.
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Rego Park include:
* Kenny Anderson (born 1970), former professional basketball player.
* David Baltimore
David Baltimore (born March 7, 1938) is an American biologist, university administrator, and 1975 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine. He is President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Tech ...
(born 1938), Nobel Prize-winning virologist
* Felix Biederman
''Chapo Trap House'' is an American Left-wing politics, left-wing political podcast founded in March 2016 and hosted by Will Menaker, Matt Christman and Felix Biederman with Amber A'Lee Frost as a recurring co-host. The show is produced by Chris ...
, co-host of Chapo Trap House
* Lili Bosse (née Toren), lived in Rego Park until age 9, mayor of Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
.
* Sid Caesar
Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950� ...
(1922–2014), actor, comedian
* Eddie Egan (1930–1995), New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest i ...
detective
* Vera-Ellen (1921–1981), actress and dancer
* Rosco Gordon (1928–2002), blues singer and songwriter
* June Havoc
June Havoc (born Ellen Evangeline Hovick; November 8, 1912 – March 28, 2010) was a Canadian American actress, dancer, stage director and memoirist.
Havoc was a child vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her mother Rose Thompson Hovick, ...
(1912–2010), actress
* Aram Haigaz (1900–1986), Armenian writer
* Steve Hofstetter (born 1979), comedian, radio personality
* August Howard
August Howard (January 2, 1910 - December 4, 1988) was the founder of the American Polar Society in 1934 and publisher of ''The Polar Times''. In 1948 Cape Howard was named for him.
Biography
He was born on January 2, 1910, as August Horowitz to ...
(1910–1988), founder of the American Polar Society in 1934
* Malika Kalontarova (born 1950), Central Asian dancer known as the "Queen of Eastern Dance" ( People's Artist of USSR)
* Fatima Kuinova (1926–2021), Central Asian singer, one of the leading singers in the Soviet Union (Merited Artist Merited Artist or Honored Artist is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Russian Federation, Union Republics, and autonomous republics, also in some other Eastern Bloc states, as well as in a number of post-Soviet states. Specifically, the term ma ...
of USSR)
* Gypsy Rose Lee (1911–1970), burlesque entertainer
* Robert Lipsyte
Robert Michael Lipsyte (born January 16, 1938) is an American sports journalist and author and former Ombudsman for ESPN. He is a member of the Board of Contributors for '' USA Todays Forum Page, part of the newspaper's Opinion section. He re ...
, sports journalist
* Frank Lorenzo (born 1940), businessman best known for his takeover of Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Ea ...
and his leadership of Texas International Airlines
Texas International Airlines Inc. was a United States airline, known from 1940 until 1947 as Aviation Enterprises, until 1969 as Trans-Texas Airways (TTa), and as Texas International Airlines until 1982, when it merged with Continental Airlines. ...
.
* Joe Nichols
Joseph Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artist. Between 1996 and 2001, he held recording contracts with the Intersound and Giant labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records, now known as Show Dog- ...
(1905–1984), sportswriter for ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.
* Tommy Ramone
Thomas Erdelyi (born Tamás Erdélyi; January 29, 1949 – July 11, 2014), known professionally as Tommy Ramone, was a Hungarian American record producer and musician. He was the drummer for the influential punk rock band the Ramones for t ...
(1949–2014), drummer of The Ramones
* Dave Rubinstein
David Rubinstein, also known as Dave Insurgent (September 5, 1964 – July 3, 1993), was an American singer and co-founder of the New York-based hardcore punk band Reagan Youth. Rubenstein founded the band with guitarist Paul Bakija when both w ...
(1964–1993), singer of Reagan Youth
* Bobby Schayer (born 1966), former drummer of Bad Religion
* Fred Silverman (1937–2020), television producer
* Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel '' Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines '' Arcade'' and '' R ...
, Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic artist who made Rego Park the setting for significant scenes involving his aged father in '' Maus'', his graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
about the Holocaust
* Donald A. Wollheim
Donald Allen Wollheim (October 1, 1914 – November 2, 1990) was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell, Martin Pearso ...
(1914–1990), science fiction editor, publisher and author."Donald A. Wollheim, Publisher, Dies at 76"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', November 3, 1990. Accessed January 30, 2020. "Donald A. Wollheim, a writer, editor and publisher of science fiction, died yesterday at the Jewish Home and Hospital in Manhattan. He was 76 years old and lived in Rego Park, Queens."
References
Notes
Citations
External links
Rego Park, NY History
Queens Community District 6 – New York City Department of City Planning
{{Authority control
Central Asian American culture in New York (state)
Chinese-American culture in New York City
Jewish communities in the United States
Neighborhoods in Queens, New York
Populated places established in 1920
Russian communities in the United States
Russian-American culture in New York City
Russian-Jewish culture in New York City
Tajikistani American
Ukrainian communities in the United States
Ukrainian-Jewish culture in New York City
Uzbekistani-American culture