Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of 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 Ag ...

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It is adjacent to

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

to the north,

Rego Park Rego Park is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. 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 ...

and

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia *Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre * Glendale, Queensland, ...

to the west,

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China * Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Forest ...

to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast, and

Flushing Meadows–Corona Park Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, often referred to as Flushing Meadows Park, or simply Flushing Meadows, is a public park in the northern part of Queens, New York City. It is bounded by I-678 (Van Wyck Expressway) on the east, Grand Central Pa ...

to the east. The area was originally referred to as "Whitepot".About Forest Hills
at QueensNewYork.com The current name comes from the

Cord Meyer Cord Meyer Jr. (; November 10, 1920 – March 13, 2001) was a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official. After serving in World War II as a Marine officer in the Pacific War, where he was both injured and decorated, he led the United World Fe ...

Development Company, which bought in central Queens in 1906 and renamed it after Forest Park. Further development came in the 1920s and 1930s with the widening of

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 s ...

through the neighborhood, as well as the opening of the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October ...

's Queens Boulevard Line. Forest Hills has a longstanding association with tennis: the Forest Hills Stadium hosted the U.S. Open until 1978 and the

West Side Tennis Club The West Side Tennis Club is a private tennis club located in Forest Hills, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The club has 38 tennis courts in all four surfaces ( clay court, Har-Tru, grass court and hardcourt), a jun ...

offers grass courts for its members. The area's main commercial street, Austin Street, contains many restaurants and chain stores. Forest Hills is located in Queens Community District 6 and its ZIP Code is 11375. 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 Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act i ...

's 112th Precinct. Politically, Forest Hills is represented by the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. 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 model, the performance of ...

's 29th District.

History

Queens Boulevard west of Yellowstone Boulevard

Development

The development of adjacent

, a park on the southern end of Forest Hills, began in 1895. Starting in 1896, the landscape architecture firm of Olmsted, Olmsted & Eliot was contracted to provide a plan for the park. In 1906, the Cord Meyer Development Company, headed by Brooklyn attorney Cord Meyer, bought abutting land made up of six farms (those of Ascan Bakus, Casper Joost-Springsteen, Horatio N. Squire, Abram V. S. Lott, Sarah V. Bolmer, and James Van Siclen). The company then renamed the aggregate "Forest Hills", after Forest Park. Single-family homes, designed by architects such as Robert Tappan and William Patterson, were constructed on these 600 acres. The roads of Forest Hills were laid out by 1910. The present-day Ascan Avenue in Forest Hills is named after Ascan Bakus. Margaret Sage, the founder of the

Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation is an American non-profit organisation established by Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her recently deceased husband, rai ...

, bought of land from the Cord Meyer Development Company in 1908. This land was to be used for "Forest Hills Gardens", a development at the southern side of Forest Hills.

Grosvenor Atterbury Grosvenor Atterbury (July 7, 1869 in Detroit, MI – October 18, 1956 in Southampton, NY) was an American architect, urban planner and writer. He studied at Yale University, where he was an editor of campus humor magazine ''The Yale Record'' After ...

, a renowned architect, was given the commission to design Forest Hills Gardens. The neighborhood was planned on the model of the garden communities of England, with its own inn, garage, and post office. It also included narrow, winding roads to limit through traffic. As a result, there are many

Tudor-style Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architectur ...

homes in Forest Hills. The more sprawling ones are located in Forest Hills Gardens, but most are located in the section loosely bounded by 68th Avenue on the north; 72nd Road on the south; 108th Street on the west; and Grand Central Parkway on the east. The construction of this area used a

prefabricated building A prefabricated building, informally a prefab, is a building that is manufactured and constructed using prefabrication. It consists of factory-made components or units that are transported and assembled on-site to form the complete building. Hist ...

technique. Each house was built from approximately 170 standardized

precast concrete Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples include precast b ...

panels, fabricated off-site and positioned by crane. The houses were mostly constructed between 1910 and 1917. 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, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...

opened a station in Forest Hills in 1911, and the Queens Boulevard trolley line opened two years later. The LIRR station was built with a brick courtyard, a clock tower, and arch-filled underpasses, fitting in with the Forest Hills Gardens section of the neighborhood. Since the railroad and trolley both connected to Manhattan, the presence of these two transportation options spurred development in Forest Hills.

Growth

In 1914, the

moved from

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

to Forest Hills Gardens. They constructed the

Forest Hills Tennis Stadium The West Side Tennis Club is a private tennis club located in Forest Hills, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The club has 38 tennis courts in all four surfaces (clay court, Har-Tru, grass court and hardcourt), a junior O ...

, a stadium with approximately 13,000 seats, in 1923. The U.S. Open and its predecessor national championships were held there until 1978, making Forest Hills synonymous with

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

for generations. Forest Hills also had a

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

ing presence for a short time. The Queens Valley Golf Club started constructing a golf course in the neighborhood in 1922 and it was open by 1924. However, the club was closed in 1938 so that developers could build housing atop the site of the course. Queens Boulevard was widened in the 1920s. Planning for a Queens Boulevard subway line started around this time. There were proposals for two stations in Forest Hills: an express station serving all trains on 71st Avenue, and a local station at 75th Avenue. During the late 1920s, in anticipation of the arrival of the subway, land was bought by developers and was built up. Zoning laws were changed to allow fifteen-story apartment buildings to be built, and made the neighborhood of Forest Hills a more desirable place to live, especially as it was an express stop. Queens Borough President George Harvey predicted that the introduction of the subway to Forest Hills would turn Queens Boulevard into the "

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...

of Queens." Excavation for the line started in 1931, and the two subway stops in Forest Hills opened in 1936 along with six other stations on the Queens Boulevard line. The population nearly doubled in the late 1920s, going from 9,500 residents in 1927 to 18,207 residents three years later. By 1940, after the subway opened, the population had increased to 32,500 residents. By this time, development had largely stopped due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and about 25 empty lots in Forest Hills Gardens were developed after the war. At the same time, the single-family houses in Forest Hills were being razed to create new apartment buildings. The land in Forest Hills Gardens was fully developed by the 1960s, but there would still be empty lots in Forest Hills itself until the mid-1990s.

Later history

In 1972, residents protested against Forest Hills Houses, a proposed

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, de ...

development with three 24-story buildings at 62nd Drive and 108th Street. It was part of Mayor

John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

"scatter-site" plan to construct public housing in neighborhoods that had none (as opposed to concentrating public housing in poor neighborhoods). White middle-class residents believed that the public housing would depreciate the community's

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

because poor residents would move into the housing. Advocates for the project accused residents of racism, since the proposed development's residents would be mostly people of minority races. Lindsay garnered significant opposition due to the controversy surrounding Forest Hills Houses.

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as ...

, a lawyer and the future Governor of New York, was assigned to mediate the dispute and succeeded in halving the size of the project. The

New York City Housing Authority The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a public development corporation which provides public housing in New York City, and is the largest public housing authority in North America. Created in 1934 as the first agency of its kind in the U ...

ultimately implemented a rigorous screening process for prospective residents of Forest Hills Houses, with quotas for elderly and poorer tenants. During the 1970s and 1980s, the neighborhood became more racially diverse. Discriminatory covenants for prospective Forest Hills Gardens residents were lifted, and immigrants from Iran, India, Israel, and the Soviet Union started residing in Forest Hills.

Demographics

Based on data from the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, the population of Forest Hills was 86,364, an increase of 1,318 (1.5%) from the 85,046 counted in 2000. 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 14, 2016. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 58.3% (48,822)

White White is the 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 reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 2.5% (2,086)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1% (63) Native American, 24.2% (20,233) Asian, 0.0% (22)

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 O ...

, 0.4% (373) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.1% (1,719) 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 12.4% (10,410) 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 6, which comprises Forest Hills and Rego Park, 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 45–64, 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 stamp ...

in Community Board 4 was $75,447. In 2018, an estimated 26% of Forest Hills and Rego Park residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in seventeen residents (6%) was 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 Forest Hills and Rego Park, lower than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Forest Hills and Rego Park is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

Land use

Church in the Gardens UCC 50 Ascan Av jeh

The southern part of Forest Hills contains a particularly diverse mixture of upscale housing, ranging from single-family houses, attached townhouses, and both low-rise and high-rise apartment buildings. South of the

, the Forest Hills Gardens area is a private community that features some of the most expensive residential properties in Queens County. Until the 1970s, it was subject to

restrictive covenant A covenant, in its most general sense and historical sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action. Under historical English common law, a covenant was distinguished from an ordinary contract by the presence of a s ...

s which, while containing no explicit economic, social or racial restrictions, effectively excluded "working-class people", as noted by Eric P. Nash in his 2002 ''New York Times'' book review of ''A Modern Arcadia''. Forest Hills Gardens was named "Best Community" in 2007 by '' Cottage Living'' magazine. The adjacent Van Court community also contains a number of detached single-family homes. There are also attached townhouses near the Westside Tennis Center and detached frame houses near Metropolitan Avenue. The north side of Forest Hills is home to the Cord Meyer community, which contains detached single-family homes. Teardowns and their replacement with larger single family residences has had a significant impact on the architectural integrity of the area. However, the

Bukharian Jewish Bukharan Jews ( Bukharian: יהודיאני בוכארא/яҳудиёни Бухоро, ''Yahudiyoni Bukhoro''; he, יהודי בוכרה, ''Yehudey Bukhara''), in modern times also called Bukharian Jews ( Bukharian: יהודיאני בוכאר ...

community, whose members have settled in the area in large numbers since the late 1990s, advocating the changes say the bigger homes are needed for their large extended families. On the northwestern edge of Forest Hills, on 62nd Drive and 108th Street immediately adjacent to 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 me ...

, is the

Forest Hills Co-op Houses The Forest Hills Co-operative Houses are located on an site at 108-03 62nd Drive on the border of the Queens neighborhoods of Forest Hills and Corona in New York City, United States. History Unlike the rest of the surrounding neighborhood, th ...

, a

low-income housing project. Its construction provoked controversy among the residents in the more prestigious areas of Forest Hills when it was constructed in the early 1970s. The southeastern portion of Forest Hills contains Forest Hills South, a complex of 7 Georgian apartment buildings centered around a private English garden, which was formerly a mapped portion of 113th Street prior to the complex's construction in 1939. This enclave was designed by Philip Birnbaum. Philip Birnbaum and

Alfred Kaskel Alfred Kaskel (1901–1968) was an American real estate developer and hotelier, best known for founding Doral Hotels and Resorts, Doral Construction, and Carol Management, which developed, owned, and managed a number of hotels, apartment buildings ...

also designed and constructed numerous apartment buildings scattered throughout Forest Hills. These include the Grover Cleveland, the Van Buren Apartments, the Thomas Jefferson, the Maplewood, the Richard Apartments, the Stephen Apartments, the James Madison, the Cedar Apartments, the Howard Apartments, the James Monroe, the Nathan Hale, the St. Regis, the Roanoke, and the Kennedy House. Birnbaum and Kaskel's buildings largely remain standing, and are distinguished by their spacious lobbies, interior courtyards with fountains, curved brick corner terraces, and sunlit exposures. Other notable high-rise apartment buildings include the Continental (on 108th Street), the Pinnacle, Parker Towers, the Windsor and a 17-story luxury condo building completed in 2014, the Aston.

Points of interest

Forest Hills was once the home of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. The event was held at the

before it moved to the

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a stadium complex within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. It has been the home of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, played every year in August ...

Flushing Meadows Park Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushi ...

, about away. When the Open was played at the tennis stadium, the tournament was commonly referred to merely as ''Forest Hills'', just as All-England Lawn Tennis Association Championships are referred to simply as Wimbledon. In the 2001 motion picture, ''

The Royal Tenenbaums ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. It stars Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wi ...

'',

Luke Wilson Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as ''Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), ''My Dog Skip'' (2000), '' Legally Blonde'' (2001), ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' (2001), ''Id ...

's character plays a tennis match at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills. A pivotal scene in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's 1951 film '' Strangers on a Train'', in which the main character (played by

Farley Granger Farley Earle Granger Jr. (July 1, 1925 – March 27, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his two collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock: ''Rope'' in 1948 and '' Strangers on a Train'' in 1951. Granger was first noticed in a small ...

) is a professional tennis player, features a lengthy championship game at the Club, with distinctive shots of the surrounding community. The Tennis Stadium, which hosted numerous music concerts including The Beatles after the U.S. Open departed for Flushing Meadows, resumed hosting music concerts during the summer of 2013 when the British rock band Mumford & Sons played there to an overflowing crowd. Stadium officials have said they will now host as many as six music or cultural events at the Stadium each season. Austin Street is a busy, modern street with shops, cafes, restaurants, and other stores that acts as the center of Forest Hills. It has become a place people visit from other neighborhoods because of its charm. Two monuments are erected in Forest Hills Gardens: a tribute to the victims of

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, ...

, the "Great War"; and the mast of the ''

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

'', the winner of the

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one ...

yacht races in both 1899 and 1901.

The Church-in-the-Gardens The Church-in-the-Gardens, also known as Community Congregational Christian Church, is a historic Congregational church complex located in Forest Hills, Queens, New York. The complex includes the church (1915), Community House (1926), and Parish H ...

, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, and

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 ...

are listed on the

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 artistic ...

Police and crime

Forest Hills and Rego Park 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, Forest Hills and Rego Park'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 objecti ...

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

Forest Hills contains a

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 station, Engine Co. 305/Ladder Co. 151, at 111-02 Queens Boulevard.

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 Forest Hills and Rego Park than in other places citywide. In Forest Hills and Rego Park, 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). Forest Hills and Rego Park have a low population of residents who are

uninsured Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to Hedge ( ...

. 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 Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...

, in Forest Hills and Rego Park is , equal to the city average. Ten percent of Forest Hills and Rego Park residents are smokers, which is lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Forest Hills and Rego Park, 19% of residents are

obese Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

, 7% are

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, 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 bl ...

—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 Forest Hills and Rego Park, there are 5 bodegas. Long Island Jewish Forest Hills is located in Forest Hills.

Post office and ZIP Code

Forest Hills is covered by ZIP Code 11375. The

operates the Forest Hills Station at 106-28 Queens Boulevard and the Parkside Station at 10119 Metropolitan Avenue.

Education

Forest Hills and Rego Park 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 Forest Hills and Rego Park 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. Forest Hills and Rego Park's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Forest Hills and Rego Park, 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 Forest Hills and Rego Park graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.

K–12 schools

Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Forest Hills jeh

Public schools

Forest Hills contains the following public elementary schools which serve grades PK–5 unless otherwise indicated: * PS 101 School In The Gardens * PS 144 Col. Jeromus Remsen School * PS 174 William Sidney Mount * PS 175 Lynn Gross Discovery School * PS 196 Grand Central Parkway * PS 220 Edward Mandel * PS 303 The Academy for Excellence through the Arts (grades PK–4) The following public middle schools serve Forest Hills: * JHS 157 Stephen A. Halsey (grades 6–9) * MS 167 Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School (grades 6–12) * JHS 190 Russell Sage (grades 6–8) There are no zoned high schools in New York City. The following high schools in Forest Hills serve grades 9–12: * Forest Hills High School * Queens Metropolitan High School

Private schools

Private schools in Forest Hills include two Catholic schools (Our Lady of Mercy and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs) and The Kew-Forest School, an independent school. Also located in Forest Hills is Yeshiva Gedolah Lubavitch, an ultra orthodox

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

high school and branch of

Tomchei Temimim Tomchei Tmimim ( he, תומכי תמימים, "supporters of the complete-wholesome ones") is the central Yeshiva (Talmudical academy) of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. Founded in 1897 in the town of Lubavitch by Rabbi Sholom Do ...

Colleges

Bramson ORT College Bramson ORT College was a nonprofit private two-year college in New York City. Its main campus was located in Forest Hills, Queens, with a satellite campus in Brooklyn. It was affiliated with ORT America, a volunteer organization that is the ...

was an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

college operated by the American branch of the

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 ...

charity

World ORT ORT (russian: Общество Ремесленного Труда, translit=Obshchestvo Remeslenava Truda, translation=Association for the Promotion of Skilled Trades), also known as the Organisation for Rehabilitation through Training, is a gl ...

. Its main campus was in Forest Hills, with a satellite campus in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. It closed in February 2017 after failing to meet standards set by the New York State Education Department Board of Regents and losing its accreditation. Touro College/NYSCAS has a branch location in Forest Hills.

Plaza College Plaza College is a private for-profit college in Forest Hills, New York. It was founded in 1916 and originally located in Long Island City, Queens, before moving to Jackson Heights in 1970, and its current location in 2014. The Jackson Heights f ...

, a small regionally-accredited college offering associates and bachelors degrees, is also located in Forest Hills.

Libraries

The

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 ...

operates two branches in Forest Hills. The Forest Hills branch is located at 108-19 71st Avenue, while the North Forest Park branch is located at 98-27 Metropolitan Avenue.

Transportation

Public transportation

The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Forest Hills: *: to Elmhurst or

Old Howard Beach Howard Beach is a neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered to the north by the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, to the south by Jamaica Bay in Broad Channel, to the east by 10 ...

or Hamilton Beach (via Woodhaven Boulevard) *: to Elmhurst or Howard Beach (via Woodhaven Boulevard) *: to

East Elmhurst East Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the northwest section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded to the south by Jackson Heights and Corona, to the north and east by Bowery Bay, and to the west by Woodside and Ditmar ...

(via 108th Street, Austin Street, and 69th Avenue) *: to

via Middle Village (via 62nd Drive (to Corona), 63rd Road (to Forest Hills), 63rd Drive, Penelope Avenue, Eliot Avenue) *: to Elmhurst or

Arverne Arverne is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, on the Rockaway Peninsula. It was initially developed by Remington Vernam, whose signature "R. Vernam" inspired the name of the neighborhood. Arverne extends from Beach 54th Stree ...

(via Woodhaven/Cross Bay Boulevard) *: to

Woodside Woodside may refer to: Places and buildings Australia * Woodside, South Australia, a town * Woodside, Victoria, a town Canada * Woodside National Historic Site, the boyhood home of William Lyon Mackenzie King *Woodside, Nova Scotia, a neighbo ...

or Rockaway Park (via Woodhaven/Cross Bay Boulevard) *: to

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springf ...

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United ...

(via Metropolitan Avenue) *: to

South Jamaica, Queens South Jamaica (also commonly known as "The Southside") is a residential neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, located south of downtown Jamaica. Although a proper border has not been established, the neighborhood is a subsec ...

or East Midtown, Manhattan (via Queens Boulevard) *: to

Electchester Pomonok is a working class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. This large public housing development in South Flushing was built in 1949 on the former site of Pomonok Country Club. The name comes from a Native American word for ...

(via 69th Road/Jewel Avenue) *: to Elmhurst or Queens Village (via

Horace Harding Expressway 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 '' ...

) *: express to

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

(via 69th Road/Jewel Avenue,

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...

) *: express to

(via LeFrak City, Sixth Avenue) *: express to

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

(via Queens Boulevard, LeFrak City, Water Street, Church Street) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via Yellowstone Boulevard, Sixth Avenue) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via Woodhaven Boulevard, Sixth Avenue) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via Queens Boulevard, Sixth Avenue) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via LeFrak City,

Third Avenue Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Squ ...

) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via Yellowstone Boulevard, Third Avenue) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via 69th Road/Jewel Avenue, Third Avenue) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via Woodhaven Boulevard,

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Str ...

) The following

stations serve Forest Hills: * () * () * () * () The neighborhood also has two

commuter rail stations: the Forest Hills station and the Kew Gardens station.

Road

The main thoroughfare is

. The street's width and complexity have led to a large number of pedestrian deaths, earning it the moniker "Boulevard of Death". Metropolitan Avenue is known for its antique shops. The commercial heart of Forest Hills is a mile-long stretch of Austin Street between Yellowstone Boulevard and Ascan Avenue: the latter thoroughfare was named in 1909 by developer Frederick Backus for his own father, Ascan Backus, II.

Parks and recreation

Forest Hills is bordered by two of the largest parks in Queens managed 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 ...

: the

, which is the site of two World's Fairs (in

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

) and the iconic Unisphere; as well as the

. Within Forest Hills, parks and playgrounds include the Yellowstone Municipal Park – Katzman Playground (located on Yellowstone Boulevard, between 68th Avenue and 68th Road); the Annadale Playground (located on Yellowstone Boulevard, between 64th Road and 65th Avenue); the Willow Lake Playground (located off the Grand Central Parkway, between 71st and 72nd Avenues); the Ehrenreich-Austin Playground (located on Austin Street, between 76th Avenue and 76th Drive); and the Russell Sage Playground (located on 68th Avenue, between Booth and Austin Streets). Access to

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushi ...

is restricted due to the fact that the Grand Central Parkway bisects the neighborhood and the park proper. Pedestrian access exists over the Grand Central Parkway at the Horace Harding Expressway, 64th Avenue, Jewel Avenue, and 72nd Road. A former entrance at 78th Avenue, leading to Willow Lake and providing pedestrian access to

Kew Gardens Hills Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in the middle of the New York City borough of Queens. The borders are Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to the west, the Long Island Expressway to the north, Union Turnpike to the south, and Parsons Boulevard to t ...

has been shuttered since 2001.

In popular culture

Forest Hills was featured as the home setting for the comic book superhero

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...

, where under the alias Peter Parker he grew up at 20 Ingram Street (). In the comics the home was depicted as a modest, two-story boarding house run by his

Aunt May Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...

.Kempton, Sally. "Spiderman's icDilemma: Super-Anti-Hero in Forest Hills", ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'', April 1, 1965.

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

originated in Forest Hills. The band was recognized with the designation in 2017 of Ramones Way at 67th Avenue and 110th Street, in front of Forest Hills High School.

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of ...

both graduated from Forest Hills High School in 1958. The duo performed at Forest Hills Stadium in 1966, 1967, 1968, and two nights in 1970. Paul Simon returned once again to Forest Hills Stadium in 2016 during his Homeward Bound farewell tour.

Billy Eichner Billy Eichner (; born September 18, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is the star, executive producer, and creator of Funny Or Die's ''Billy on the Street'', a comedy game show that aired on truTV. The show ea ...

wrote the parody song "Forest Hills State of Mind" about neighborhood.

Notable people

Jacob Arabo Jacob Arabo (born Yakov Arabov or Jacob Arabov on June 3, 1965; also frequently known as "Jacob the Jeweler") is an American jewelry and watch designer who founded Jacob & Company in 1986 and grew it to become an international luxury brand. He be ...

(born 1965), jewelry and watch designer who founded Jacob & Co. *

Awkwafina Nora Lum (born June 2, 1988), known professionally as Awkwafina, is an American actress, rapper, and comedian who rose to prominence in 2012 when her rap song "My Vag" became popular on YouTube. She then released her debut album, ''Yellow Ra ...

(born 1988), rapper and actress *

Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, ...

(born 1964), actor and

voice artist Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

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 Tec ...

(born 1938), Nobel Prize-winning virologist *

Walter Becker Walter Carl Becker (February 20, 1950 – September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.Russonello, Giovanni,Listen t ...

(1950-2017), half of the musical duo ''

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from liv ...

'' *

Andrew Bergman Andrew Bergman (born February 20, 1945) is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. His best-known films include ''Blazing Saddles'', '' The In-Laws'', '' The Freshman'' and '' Striptease''. Early life Born to a Jewish family, Ber ...

(born 1945), screenwriter (''Blazing Saddles'', ''The In-Laws''), writer/director (''The Freshman'', ''Honeymoon In Vegas''), novelist (Jack LeVine mystery series) and playwright (''Social Security'', ''Honeymoon In Vegas''). *

Jimmy Breslin James Earle Breslin (October 17, 1928 – March 19, 2017) was an American journalist and author. Until the time of his death, he wrote a column for the New York ''Daily News'' Sunday edition.''Current Biography 1942'', pp. 648–51: "Patterson, ...

(1929-2017), journalist * Joseph Bowler (born 1928), artist and illustrator *

Daniel Bukantz Daniel Bukantz (December 4, 1917 – July 26, 2008) was an American four-time individual United States national foil fencing champion, Maccabiah Games individual foil champion, four-time Olympic fencer, fencing referee, and a dentist. He has been ...

(1917–2008), Olympic fencer *

Michael A. Burstein Michael A. Burstein (born 1970) is an American writer of science fiction. Background Michael A. Burstein was born in New York City, and grew up in Forest Hills in the borough of Queens. He attended Hunter College High School in Manhat ...

(born 1970), science fiction writer *

Dale Carnegie Dale Carnegie (; spelled Carnagey until c. 1922; November 24, 1888 – November 1, 1955) was an American writer and lecturer, and the developer of courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal ...

(1888–1955), self-improvement lecturer and author of ''

How to Win Friends and Influence People ''How to Win Friends and Influence People'' is a 1936 self-help book written by Dale Carnegie. Over 30 million copies have been sold worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books of all time. Carnegie had been conducting business educati ...

'' lived at 27 Wendover Rd in Forest Hills. *

David Caruso David Stephen Caruso (born January 7, 1956) is a retired American actor and producer, best known for his roles as Detective John Kelly on the ABC crime drama ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–94) and Lieutenant Horatio Caine on the CBS series ''CSI: Mi ...

(born 1956), actor in ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Detec ...

'', and ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensembl ...

'' * Candy Darling (1944–1974),

Warhol superstar Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by the pop artist Andy Warhol during the 1960s and early 1970s. These personalities appeared in Warhol's artworks and accompanied him in his social life, epitomizing his fam ...

who appeared in a number of his films *

John R. Dilworth John Russell Dilworth (born February 14, 1963) is an American animator, actor, writer, director, storyboard artist, producer and the creator of the animated television series ''Courage the Cowardly Dog''. His work has mainly appeared on PBS, C ...

(born 1963), animator and creator of

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

's ''

Courage the Cowardly Dog ''Courage the Cowardly Dog'' is an American animated comedy horror television series created by John R. Dilworth for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. It was produced by Dilworth's animation studio, Stretch Fil ...

'' *

Sergei Dovlatov Sergei Donatovich Dovlatov (russian: link=no, Сергей Донатович Довлатов; 1941 1990) was a Soviet journalist and writer. Internationally, he is one of the most popular Russian writers of the late 20th century. Biography ...

(1941–1990), Russian short–story writer and novelist; in 2014, the corner of 63rd Drive and 108th Street was given an honorary designation in his name. * Walter Egan (born 1948), singer-songwriter ("

Magnet and Steel "Magnet and Steel" is a hit single written and performed by Walter Egan, released in March 1978. It was the first and biggest hit on Egan's second solo LP, ''Not Shy''. It reached number eight on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number nine i ...

") *

(born 1978), comedian, actor, and host of ''

Billy on the Street ''Billy on the Street with Billy Eichner'' is an American comedy game show hosted by comedian and actor Billy Eichner. During each episode, Eichner goes out to the streets of New York City and asks pedestrians questions about pop culture. Episode ...

'' *

Geraldine Ferraro Geraldine Anne Ferraro (August 26, 1935 March 26, 2011) was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. She served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985, and was the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee ...

(1935–2011), member of U.S. House of Representatives, television personalityClines, Francis X
"In Training for a Run on the Political Stage"
''The New York Times'', February 19, 1997. Accessed July 5, 2016. "She commutes here on alternate weeks for five nights of shows, traveling from Forest Hills, Queens, where she lives with her husband, John A. Zaccaro." *

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 h ...

(born 1941), singer-songwriterMartin, Douglas
"About New York; Just Simon in the Park, to Garfunkel's Disappointment"
''The New York Times'', August 14, 1991; accessed June 2, 2009. "Soon, he and Paul Simon, two sons of Forest Hills, Queens, who became bards of the 60's, would stride to the shimmering center of a vast

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

stage, and a generation growing overweight and apart would for a few fleeting hours feel forever young." *

Ernie Grunfeld Ernest Grunfeld (born April 24, 1955) is a Romanian-American former professional basketball player and former general manager in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In college at the University of Tennessee, he set a new record as the sch ...

(born 1955), former player and general manager of the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

* Alan Hevesi (born 1940), disgraced former Comptroller of New York *

Steve Hofstetter Steven Ira Hofstetter (born September 11, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian and podcast host. , his YouTube channel has accumulated over 709,000 subscribers and 195,000,000 views. Hofstetter starred in the FS1 special ''Finding Babe Ruth'', ...

(born 1979), comedian/radio personality * John V. Hogan (1890–1960), radio pioneer *

John Francis Hylan John Francis Hylan (April 20, 1868January 12, 1936) was the 96th Mayor of New York City (the seventh since the consolidation of the five boroughs), from 1918 to 1925. From rural beginnings in the Catskills, Hylan eventually obtained work in Broo ...

(1848–1936),

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

(1918–1925) *

Ethel D. Jacobs Ethel D. Jacobs (March 18, 1910 - November 9, 2001) was a prominent American Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder who was a three-time leading owner in North America. Married to U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Hirsch Jacobs, Ethel Jacobs use ...

(1910–2001), thoroughbred horse owner and breeder, wife of Hirsch Jacobs * Hirsch Jacobs (1904–1970), thoroughbred jockey, husband of

Donna Karan Donna Karan (, born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabin ...

(born 1948), fashion designer * Helen Keller (1880–1968), lecturer, author, fundraiser, activist *

Alan King Alan King (born Irwin Alan Kniberg; December 26, 1927 – May 9, 2004) was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious a ...

(1927–2004), actor/comedian *

Andrea King Andrea King (born Georgette André Barry; February 1, 1919 – April 22, 2003) was an American stage, film, and television actress, sometimes billed as Georgette McKee. Early life Andrea King was born Georgette André Barry on February 1, 1919, ...

(1919–2003), actress *

David Krumholtz David Krumholtz (born May 15, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He played Mr. Universe in '' Serenity'', Charlie Eppes in the CBS drama series ''Numb3rs'', and starred in the '' Harold & Kumar'' and ''The Santa Clause'' film franchises. ...

(born 1978), actor *

Gary Kurfirst Gary Kurfirst (8 July 1947 – 13 January 2009) was an American music promoter, producer, manager, publisher, and record label executive. Kurfirst founded Radioactive Records, whose acts included Live, Black Grape, Ramones, Big Audio Dynamit ...

(1947–2009), concert promoter and record producer *

Michael Landon Michael Landon (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 the P ...

(1936–1991), actor known for his roles on ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

'' and ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the American Midwest (Wisconsin, Kansas, ...

'' *

Harvey J. Levin Harvey Joshua Levin (July 1, 1924 – April 30, 1992) was an American economist. He was university research professor in the Department of Economics at Hofstra University (1989–92), Augustus B. Weller Professor of Economics at Hofstra (1964� ...

(1924–1992), internationally recognized pioneer of communications economics, holder of Long Island's first professorial chair *

Jack Lew Jacob Joseph Lew (born August 29, 1955) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 76th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as the 25th White House Chief of St ...

(born 1955),

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

from 2013 to 2017 * Trygve Lie (1896–1968), first

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

, serving from 1946 to 1952 *

Carol Lynley Carol Lynley (born Carole Ann Jones; February 13, 1942 – September 3, 2019) was an American actress known for her roles in the films ''Blue Denim'' (1959) and '' The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972). Lynley was born in Manhattan to an Irish ...

(1942–2019), actress best known for her role in '' The Poseidon Adventure'' * Jack McAuliffe (1866–1937), world lightweight boxing champion *

Chieli Minucci Chieli Minucci (born April 17, 1958) is an American guitarist who co-founded the band Special EFX. Career His father, Ulpio Minucci, was a concert pianist and composer who wrote the music to the 1955 song "Domani." Chieli Minucci started Spec ...

(born 1958), jazz musician *

Min Xiao-Fen Min Xiao-Fen () is a Chinese-American pipa player, vocalist, and composer known for her work in traditional Chinese music, contemporary classical music, and jazz. Life Min Xiao-Fen studied with her father, Min Jiqian (闵季骞), a music profes ...

(born 1961),

pipa The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ran ...

player and vocalist * Michele "Big Mike" Miranda (1896–1973),

consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel '' The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a ...

of the

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family, () also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the Ame ...

and one of the most powerful New York gangsters in the 1950s and 1960s *

Lore Noto Lore Noto (June 9, 1923 – July 8, 2002), born Lorenzo Noto, was a Broadway theatrical producer of The Yearling, a commercial artist, actor and play writer, but best known as the producer of the world's longest-running musical in history — The ...

(1923–2002),

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

producer *

Carroll O'Connor John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) was an American actor, producer, and director whose television career spanned over four decades. He became a lifelong member of the Actors Studio in 1971. O'Connor found widespread fame a ...

(1924–2001), actor, best known for his role as

Archie Bunker Archie is a masculine given name, a diminutive of Archibald. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Archie Alexander (1888–1958), African-American mathematician, engineer and governor of the US Virgin Islands * Archie Blake (mathemati ...

on ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' *

Marco Oppedisano Marco Oppedisano (born November 20, 1971 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist and composer whose compositions focus on the innovative use of electric guitar in the genre of electroacoustic music. His musique concrète/ acousmatic musi ...

(born 1971), composer and guitarist *

Rick Overton Richard Overton (born August 10, 1954) is an American screenwriter, actor and comedian. His writing credits include '' Dennis Miller Live'', and his acting credits include ''Beverly Hills Cop'', ''Groundhog Day'' and ''Mrs. Doubtfire''. Life an ...

(born 1954), actor and comedian * Susan Polgar (born 1969), chess grandmaster * The

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

, seminal punk rock band: ** Dee Dee Ramone (1951–2002), bassist and songwriter of the Ramones **

Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American musician, best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. His image, voice, and his tenure with the R ...

(1951–2001), lead singer and songwriter of the Ramones **

Johnny Ramone John William Cummings (October 8, 1948 – September 15, 2004), better known by his stage name Johnny Ramone, was an American musician who was the guitarist and a founding member of the Ramones, a band that helped pioneer the punk movement. ...

(1948–2004), guitarist of the Ramones ** Tommy Ramone (1952–2014), drummer and record producer of the Ramones *

Wilhelm Reich Wilhelm Reich ( , ; 24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was an Austrian doctor of medicine and a psychoanalyst, along with being a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. The author of several influential books, most ...

(1897–1957), psychiatrist known for his theories of

Orgone Orgone () is a pseudoscientific concept variously described as an esoteric energy or hypothetical universal life force. Originally proposed in the 1930s by Wilhelm Reich, and developed by Reich's student Charles Kelley after Reich's death in ...

energy *

Renée Richards Renée Richards (born August 19, 1934) is an American ophthalmologist and former tennis player who competed on the professional circuit in the 1970s, and became widely known following male-to-female sex reassignment surgery, when she fought to ...

(formerly Richard Raskind; born 1934), tennis player *

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

(1881–1965),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

executive *

Thelma Ritter Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American actress, best known for her comedic roles as working-class characters and her strong New York accent. She won the 1958 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and received ...

(1902–1969), actress *

Ray Romano Raymond Albert Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Ray Barone on the CBS sitcom '' Everybody Loves Raymond'', for which he received an Emmy Award, and as t ...

(born 1957), actor-comedian, best known for ''

Everybody Loves Raymond ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American sitcom television series created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch an ...

'' *

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), punk rock musician *

Chris Rush Chris Rush (born Christopher John Mistretta; February 11, 1946 – January 28, 2018) was an American comedian, writer, actor, radio personality and author. He is best known for his stand-up routines and albums, along with having been a writer a ...

(1946–2018), stand-up comedian *

Renato Russo Renato Russo (born Renato Manfredini, Jr., March 27, 1960 – October 11, 1996) was a Brazilian singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the alternative rock band Legião Urbana. A Brazilian film depicting his life and career was rele ...

(1960–1996), Brazilian bandleader *

Joan Shawlee Joan Shawlee (March 5, 1926 – March 22, 1987), nee Joan Fulton (and also credited sometimes under that name, such as in the film noir, Woman On The Run, 1950), was an American film and television actress. She is known for her recurring role i ...

(née Fulton; 1926–1987), actress *

Michael Simanowitz Michael Simanowitz (August 10, 1971 – September 2, 2017) was a Democratic New York State Assembly member from the borough of Queens. Election to New York State Assembly Simanowitz was a resident of the Electchester housing cooperative, ...

(1971–2017), member of the

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. * Todd Strauss-Schulson (born 1980), film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and cinematographer * Debbie Wasserman Schultz (born 1966), member of the U.S. House of Representatives for . *

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

(born 1941), singer-songwriter *

Fred Stone Fred Andrew Stone (August 19, 1873 – March 6, 1959) was an American actor. Stone began his career as a performer in circuses and minstrel shows, went on to act in vaudeville, and became a star on Broadway and in feature films, which earned h ...

(1873–1959), actor *

Tatiana Troyanos Tatiana Troyanos (September 12, 1938 – August 21, 1993) was an American mezzo-soprano of Greek and German descent, remembered as "one of the defining singers of her generation" (''Boston Globe''). Her voice, "a paradoxical voice — larger ...

(1938–1993),

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known for her work at the

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Bob Tufts Robert Malcolm Tufts (November 2, 1955 – October 4, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals between 1981 and 1983. Early life Tufts was born in Medford, Mas ...

(1955-2019), Major League Baseball pitcher * Jeff Wayne (born 1943), musician known for his musical version of ''The War of the Worlds'' *

Katharine Weber Katharine Weber (born November 12, 1955) is an American novelist and nonfiction writer. She has taught fiction and nonfiction writing at Yale University, Goucher College, the Paris Writers Workshop and elsewhere. She held the Visiting Richard L. ...

(born 1955), novelist, author of five novels, including ''Triangle'' and ''True Confections''. *

Leslie West Leslie West (born Leslie Abel Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain. Life and career Early years: 1 ...

(1945–2020), of the hard rock band

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Anthony Weiner Anthony David Weiner (; born September 4, 1964) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 until his resignation in 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he consistently carried the district with at l ...

(born 1964), politician *

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Henry Willson Henry Leroy Willson (July 31, 1911 – November 2, 1978) was an American Hollywood talent agent who played a large role in developing the beefcake craze of the 1950s. He was known for his stable of young, attractive clients, including Rock ...

(1911–1978), Hollywood agent * Jack Wyatt (1917–2008), host of ABC's ''

Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

'';

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priest *

Gideon Yago Gideon Yago (born February 19, 1978) is a writer and former correspondent for MTV News and CBS News though he is most recognized for his contributions to MTV. Background Yago was born in Madison, Wisconsin to a German-born, Roman Catholic mothe ...

(born 1978), journalist, former correspondent at MTV and CBS News *

Manuel Ycaza Manuel Ycaza (born Carlos Manuel De Ycaza; February 1, 1938 – July 16, 2018) was a Panamanian American jockey who led the way for Latin American jockeys in the United States. De Ycaza began riding ponies at age six and by age fourteen was ridin ...

(1938–2018), jockey inducted into the

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Pia Zadora Pia Zadora (born Pia Alfreda Schipani, May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. After working as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film ''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' (1964), she came to national attention ...

(born 1953), actressMitchell, Henry
"Pia"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', March 26, 1983. Accessed April 24, 2022. "'My mother was wardrobe mistress for the New York City Opera, and what with my father a musician too, I was surrounded by classical music through my childhood in Forest Hills and I was supposed to be preparing for a career in opera.'"

Notes

References

External links

Forest Hills Neighborhood Profile

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

{{Authority control Central Asian American culture in New York (state) Jewish communities in the United States Jews and Judaism in Queens, New York Neighborhoods in Queens, New York Russian communities in the United States Russian-American culture in New York City Russian-Jewish culture in New York City Uzbekistani-American culture Russell Sage Foundation