Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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
...
of
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue at its core is the third-busiest in New York City, behind
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
and Herald Square.
Flushing was established as a settlement of
New Netherland
New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...
on October 10, 1645, on the eastern bank of Flushing Creek. It was named Vlissingen, after the Dutch city of
Vlissingen
Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...
. The English took control of New Amsterdam in 1664, and when Queens County was established in 1683, the Town of Flushing was one of the original five towns of Queens. In 1898, Flushing was consolidated into the
City of Greater New York
The City of Greater New York was the Merger (politics), consolidation of the New York City, City of New York
with Brooklyn, western Queens County, and Staten Island, which took effect on January 1, 1898. New York had already annexed the Bronx ...
. Development came in the early 20th century with the construction of bridges and public transportation. An immigrant population, composed mostly of Chinese, Indians, and
Koreans
Koreans are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. The majority of Koreans live in the two Korean sovereign states of North and South Korea, which are collectively referred to as Korea. As of 2021, an estimated 7.3 m ...
, settled in Flushing in the late 20th century.
Flushing contains numerous residential subsections, and its diversity is reflected by the numerous ethnic groups that reside there. Flushing is served by several stations on the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
New York City Police Department
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
's 109th Precinct.
History
Precolonial and colonial history
Flushing was originally inhabited by the
Lenape
The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada.
The Lenape's historica ...
Indians prior to colonization and European settlement.
Dutch colony
On October 10, 1645, Flushing was established on the eastern bank of Flushing Creek under charter of the
Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...
and was part of the
New Netherland
New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...
colony that was governed from New Amsterdam (Lower Manhattan). The settlement was named Vlissingen, after the city of
Vlissingen
Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...
, which was the European base of the Dutch West India company. By 1657, the residents called the place "Vlishing". Eventually, the formal traditional English name for the Dutch town, "Flushing", would be settled upon (despite being a Dutch colony, many of the local early settlers were
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
, who trickled down from nearby
Connecticut colony
The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritans, Puritan congregation o ...
).
Unlike all other towns in the region, the charter of Flushing allowed residents
freedom of religion
Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
as practiced in Holland "without the disturbance of any magistrate or ecclesiastical minister". However, in 1656, New Amsterdam Director-General Peter Stuyvesant issued an edict prohibiting the harboring of
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
s. On December 27, 1657, the inhabitants of Flushing approved a protest known as The
Flushing Remonstrance
The Flushing Remonstrance was a 1657 petition to Director-General of New Netherland Peter Stuyvesant, in which some thirty residents of the small settlement at Flushing, Queens, Flushing requested an exemption to his ban on Religious Society of ...
. This petition contained religious arguments even mentioning freedom for "Jews, Turks, and Egyptians," but ended with a forceful declaration that any infringement of the town charter would not be tolerated. Subsequently, a farmer named John Bowne held Quaker meetings in his home and was arrested for this and deported to Holland. Eventually he persuaded the Dutch West India Company to allow Quakers and others to worship freely. As such, Flushing is claimed to be a birthplace of religious freedom in the New World.
Landmarks remaining from the Dutch period in Flushing include the John Bowne House (c. 1661) on Bowne Street and the Old Quaker Meeting House (1694) on Northern Boulevard. The Remonstrance was signed at a house on the site of the former State Armory, now a police facility, on the south side Northern Boulevard between Linden Place and Union Street.
English colony
In 1664, the English took control of
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
, ending Dutch control of the New Netherland colony, and renamed it the
Province of New York
The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...
. When Queens County was established in 1683, the "Town of Flushing" was one of the original five
towns
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
which comprised the county. Many historical references to Flushing are to this town, bounded from Newtown on the west by Flushing Creek (now Flushing River), from
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
on the south by the watershed, and from Hempstead on the east by what later became the Nassau County line. The town was dissolved in 1898 when Queens became a borough of New York City, and the term "Flushing" today usually refers to a much smaller area, for example the former Village of Flushing.
Flushing was a seat of power as the
Province of New York
The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...
up to the American Revolution was led by Governor Cadwallader Colden, based at his Spring Hill estate.
Flushing was the site of the first commercial tree nurseries in North America, the most prominent being the
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
, Bloodgood, and Parsons nurseries. A tract of Parsons's exotic specimens was preserved on the north side of Kissena Park. The nurseries are also commemorated in the names of west–east avenues that intersect Kissena Boulevard; the streets are named after plants and ordered alphabetically from Ash Avenue in the north to Rose Avenue in the south. Flushing also supplied trees to the ''Greensward Project'', now known as
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
in Manhattan. Well into the 20th century, Flushing contained many horticultural establishments and greenhouses.
During the American Revolution, Flushing, along with most settlements in present-day Queens County, favored the British and quartered British troops, though one battalion of Scottish Highlanders is known to have been stationed at Flushing during the war. Following the
Battle of Long Island
The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at and near the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn ...
, Zackary Perrine, an officer in the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...
, was apprehended near Flushing Bay while on what was probably an intelligence gathering mission and was later hanged.
The 1785 Kingsland Homestead, originally the residence of a wealthy
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
During the 19th century, as New York City continued to grow in population and economic vitality, so did Flushing. Its proximity to
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
was critical in its transformation into a fashionable
residential area
A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas.
Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...
. On April 15, 1837, the
Village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
of Flushing was incorporated within the Town of Flushing. The official seal was merely the words, "Village of Flushing", surrounded by nondescript flowers. No other emblem or flag is known to have been used. The Village of Flushing included the neighbourhoods of Flushing Highlands, Bowne Park, Murray Hill, Ingleside, and Flushing Park.
The Flushing and North Side Railroad opened its Port Washington Branch to Flushing in 1854, providing access to Hunters Point on the
East River
The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...
shore. By the mid-1860s, Queens County had 30,429 residents. The Village of College Point was incorporated in 1867, and the Village of Whitestone was incorporated in 1868. The first free public high school in what is now New York City was established in Flushing in 1875. Flushing, then a small village, established a library in 1858, the oldest in Queens County and only slightly younger than the library of the
City of Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
(built in 1852).
In 1898, although opposed to the proposal, the Town of Flushing (along with two other towns and other land of Queens County) was consolidated into the City of New York to form the new
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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
...
of Queens. All towns, villages, and cities within the new borough were dissolved.
Local farmland continued to be subdivided and developed transforming Flushing into a densely populated neighborhood of New York City. A major factor in this was the Halleran real estate agency. From the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
to the end of the 1930s its slogan "Ask Mr. Halleran!" could be seen in ads all over Long Island, and the phrase from its maps "So This Is Flushing" became a catchphrase.
20th-century development
The continued construction of bridges over the Flushing River and the development of other roads increased the volume of vehicular traffic into Flushing. In 1909, the Queensboro Bridge over the East River opened, connecting Queens County to
midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
. With the opening of Pennsylvania Station the next year, the Port Washington Branch, now part of the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
, started running to midtown Manhattan. Broadway, a main roadway through Flushing, was widened and renamed Northern Boulevard. The Roosevelt Avenue Bridge over the Flushing River, which carries four lanes of traffic and the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
's elevated Flushing Line (), was the largest trunnion bascule bridge in the world when it was completed in 1927. The next year, the Main Street terminal of the Flushing subway line opened in downtown Flushing, giving the neighborhood direct subway access.
Flushing was a forerunner of Hollywood, when the young American film industry was still based on the U.S. East Coast and
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Decades later, the RKO Keith's movie palace would host
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
acts and appearances by the likes of
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
, the
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...
and
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
.
Asian communities
In the 1970s, immigrants from Taiwan established a foothold in Flushing, whose demographic constituency had been predominantly non-Hispanic white, interspersed with a small Japanese community. Additionally, a large South Korean population also called Flushing home. The Taiwanese immigrants were the first wave of Chinese-speaking immigrants who spoke Mandarin (Taiwanese also spoken) rather than Cantonese to arrive in New York City. Many Taiwanese immigrants were additionally
Hokkien
Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
and had relatives or connections to
Fujian
Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...
province in China, which led to large influxes of Fuzhounese Americans.
Over the years, many new non-Cantonese ethnic Chinese immigrants from different regions and
provinces of China
Provinces ( zh, c=省, p=Shěng) are the most numerous type of province-level divisions of China, province-level divisions in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). There are currently 22 provinces administered by the PRC and one prov ...
started to arrive in New York City and settled in Flushing through word of mouth. This wave of immigrants spoke Mandarin and various regional/provincial dialects. The early 1990s and 2000s brought a wave of Fuzhounese Americans and
Wenzhounese
Wenzhounese ( zh, t=溫州話, s=温州话, p= Wēnzhōuhuà, Wenzhounese: ), also known as Oujiang ( zh, t=甌江話, s=瓯江话, p=Ōujiānghuà, labels=no), Tong Au ( zh, t=東甌片, s=东瓯片, p=Dōng'ōupiàn, labels=no) or Au Nyü ( z ...
immigrants, who mostly spoke Mandarin, and who settled in Flushing as well as Elmhurst. Flushing's Chinese population became diverse over the next few decades as people from different provinces started to arrive. Due to loosened emigration restrictions in mainland China, there has been a growing Northern Chinese population in Flushing. The regional food cuisines have led to Flushing being considered the "food mecca" for Chinese regional cuisine outside of Asia.
21st-century transformation
In the 21st century, Flushing has cemented its status as an international "
melting pot
A melting pot is a Monoculturalism, monocultural metaphor for a wiktionary:heterogeneous, heterogeneous society becoming more wiktionary:homogeneous, homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative bei ...
", predominantly attracting immigrants from Asia, particularly from throughout the various
provinces of China
Provinces ( zh, c=省, p=Shěng) are the most numerous type of province-level divisions of China, province-level divisions in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). There are currently 22 provinces administered by the PRC and one prov ...
, but including newcomers from all over the world. Flushing Chinatown is centered around Main Street and the area to its west, most prominently along Roosevelt Avenue, which have become the primary nexus of Flushing Chinatown. However, Chinatown continues to expand southeastward along Kissena Boulevard and northward beyond Northern Boulevard. The Flushing Chinatown houses over 30,000 individuals born in China alone, the largest Chinatown by this metric outside Asia and one of the largest and fastest-growing Chinatowns in the world. In January 2019, the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative
daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' named Flushing as New York City's "most dynamic outer-borough neighborhood". Flushing is undergoing rapid
gentrification
Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
by Chinese transnational entities.
Streetscape
Demographics
Based on data from the 2010 United States census, the population of Flushing was 72,008, an increase of 2,646 (3.8%) from the 69,362 counted in
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010 , Population Division –
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 69.2% (49,830) Asian, 9.5% (6,831)
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 4.2% (3,016)
black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.2% (172) from other races, and 1.8% (1,303) from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 14.9% (10,723) 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 –
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.
The entirety of Community Board 7, which comprises Flushing, College Point, and Whitestone, had 263,039 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 84.3 years. This is longer than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged and elderly: 22% are between the ages of between 25 and 44, 30% between 45 and 64, and 18% over 65. The ratio of youth and college-aged residents was lower, at 17% and 7%, respectively.
As of 2017, the median
household income
Household income is a measure of income received by the household sector. It includes every form of cash income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, investment income and cash transfers from the government. It may include near-cash gover ...
in Community Board 7 was $51,284. In 2018, an estimated 25% of Flushing and Whitestone 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 57% in Flushing and Whitestone, higher than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Flushing and Whitestone are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.
Cultural enclaves
Diverse Chinese communities
Flushing Chinatown, or Mandarin Town is the world's largest and one of the fastest-growing Chinatowns, known as the "Chinese
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
" or the "Chinese
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
". In
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
, Flushing is known as "Falasheng" (). The Chinatown of Flushing is centered around the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, and many of the area's Chinese businesses are located on the blocks around, or west of, Main Street. However, Chinatown continues to expand southeastward along Kissena Boulevard and northward beyond Northern Boulevard.
In the 1970s, a Chinese community established a foothold in the neighborhood of Flushing, whose demographic constituency had been predominantly non-Hispanic white. Taiwanese began the surge of immigration, followed by other groups of Chinese. A 1986 estimate by the Flushing Chinese Business Association approximated 60,000 Chinese in Flushing alone. By 1990, Asians constituted 41% of the population of the core area of Flushing, with Chinese in turn representing 41% of the Asian population. However, ethnic Chinese are constituting an increasingly dominant proportion of the Asian population as well as of the overall population in Flushing and its Chinatown. High rates of both legal and illegal immigration from
Mainland China
"Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
continue to spur the ongoing rise of the ethnic Chinese population in Flushing. According to a '' Daily News'' article in 2011, Flushing's Chinatown ranked as New York City's second largest Chinese community with 33,526 Chinese, surpassed only by the Brooklyn Chinatown (布鲁克林華埠), and larger than Manhattan's Chinatown. The growth of the business activity at the core of Downtown Flushing, dominated by the Flushing Chinatown, has continued to flourish despite the Covid-19 pandemic.Flushing now rivals Manhattan's Chinatown as a center of
Chinese culture
Chinese culture () is one of the Cradle of civilization#Ancient China, world's earliest cultures, said to originate five thousand years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia called the Sinosphere as a whole ...
. The
Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar ye ...
Parade has become a growing annual celebration of
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...
Page in Chinese ) World Journal. Retrieved on 2014-03-10. "New York Headquarters 141-07 20th Ave. Whitestone, NY 11357" Numerous other Chinese- and English-language publications are available in Flushing, including SinoVision, one of North America's largest Chinese language television networks.
The popular styles of
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...
are ubiquitously accessible in Flushing, including
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
Shanghainese
The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the city of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan langua ...
Cantonese
Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
Xinjiang
Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
Northeast China
Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...
is now available in Flushing, as well as
Mongolian cuisine
Mongolian cuisine predominantly consists of dairy products, meat, and animal fats. The most common rural dish is cooked mutton. In the city, steamed dumplings filled with meat—" buuz"— are popular.
The extreme continental climate of Mon ...
and
Uyghur cuisine
Uyghur cuisine (, ; zh, s=維吾爾菜, p=wéiwú'ěr cài) is the cuisine of the Uyghur people, which are mainly situated in the autonomous region of Xinjiang.
The cuisine is characterized by ingredients like roasted mutton and beef, as we ...
. Varieties of Chinese spoken in Flushing include
Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...
,
Fuzhou dialect
The Fuzhou language ( zh, t=福州話, s=福州话, p=Fúzhōuhuà; FR: ), also Foochow, Hokchew, Hok-chiu, or Fuzhounese, is the prestige variety of the Eastern Min branch of Min Chinese spoken mainly in the Mindong region of Eastern Fujian ...
,
Min Nan
Southern Min (), Minnan ( Mandarin pronunciation: ) or Banlam (), is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Chinese languages that form a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Fujian (especially the Minnan region), most of Taiwan ...
(
Hokkien
Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
),
Wu Chinese
, region = Shanghai, Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu, parts of Anhui and Jiangxi provinces; overseas and migrant communities
, ethnicity = Wu
, speakers = million
, date = 2021
, ref = e27
, fa ...
(
Wenzhounese
Wenzhounese ( zh, t=溫州話, s=温州话, p= Wēnzhōuhuà, Wenzhounese: ), also known as Oujiang ( zh, t=甌江話, s=瓯江话, p=Ōujiānghuà, labels=no), Tong Au ( zh, t=東甌片, s=东瓯片, p=Dōng'ōupiàn, labels=no) or Au Nyü ( z ...
,
Shanghainese
The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the city of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan langua ...
,
Suzhou dialect
Suzhounese (Suzhounese: ; ), also known as the Suzhou Language, is the language belonging to the Sinitic Language Family traditionally spoken in the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu, China. Suzhounese is a dialect of Wu Chinese, and was tradition ...
Cantonese
Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
; in addition, the
Mongolian language
Mongolian is the Prestige (sociolinguistics), principal language of the Mongolic languages, Mongolic language family that originated in the Mongolian Plateau. It is spoken by ethnic Mongols and other closely related Mongolic peoples who are nati ...
is now emerging. Given its rapidly growing status, the Flushing Chinatown has surpassed in size and population the original New York City Chinatown in the borough of Manhattan and this substantial growth has resulted in a commensurate rise in this Chinatown's cultural status.
In accompaniment with its rapid growth, Flushing in particular has witnessed the proliferation of highly competitive businesses touted as educational centers as well as non-profit organizations declaring the intent to educate the community. Some entities offer education in
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
, the most spoken Chinese variety in mainland China. A diverse array of social services geared toward assisting recent as well as established Chinese immigrants is readily available in Flushing. As of the 2020s, about 3/4 of the Asian population in the area are of Chinese descent making them the majority of the Asian population.
Korean community
There is a Koreatown that originated in Flushing, but has since spread eastward to Murray Hill, Bayside, Douglaston, and Little Neck in Queens, and also into Nassau County. The Koreatown has historically been centered around Union Street, with the later growth being concentrated around Northern Boulevard east of Union Street. As of the 2010 United States census, the Korean population of Queens was 64,107.
In the 1980s, a continuous stream of Korean immigrants emerged into Flushing, many of whom began as workers in the medical field or Korean
international student
International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own.
In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...
s who had moved to New York City to find or initiate
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...
or
entrepreneurial
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones.
An entrepreneu ...
positions. They established a foothold on Union Street in Flushing between 35th and 41st Avenues, featuring restaurants and karaoke ('' noraebang'') bars, grocery markets, education centers and bookstores, banking institutions, offices,
consumer electronics
Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...
vendors,
apparel
Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...
boutique
A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...
s, and other commercial enterprises. As the community grew in wealth and population and rose in
socioeconomic status
Socioeconomic status (SES) is a measurement used by economics, economists and sociology, sociologsts. The measurement combines a person's work experience and their or their family's access to economic resources and social position in relation t ...
, Koreans expanded their presence eastward along Northern Boulevard, buying homes in more affluent and less dense neighborhoods in Queens and Nassau County. This expansion has led to the creation of an American ''Meokjagolmok'', or Korean ''Restaurant Street'', around the Murray Hill station. The eastward pressure to expand was also created by the inability to move westward due to the Flushing Chinatown on Main Street. Per the 2010 United States census, the Korean population of Queens was 64,107, representing the largest municipality in the United States with a density of at least 500 Korean Americans per square mile. The
Korean American
Korean Americans () are Americans of full or partial Korean ethnic descent. While the broader term Overseas Korean in America () may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Korean American impli ...
population, consisting of 218,764 individuals in the
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...
, is the second largest population of ethnic Koreans outside Korea.
''
The Korea Times
''The Korea Times'' () is a daily English-language newspaper in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the ''Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language, Korean-language daily.
It is the oldest active daily English-language newspaper in South Korea. ...
'', a news organization based in Seoul, carries a significant presence in the Long Island Koreatown. The Long Island Koreatown features numerous restaurants that serve both traditional and/or regional Korean cuisine. Korean is spoken frequently alongside English and Chinese varieties, and retail signs employing the
Hangul
The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...
alphabet are ubiquitous. A significant array of social services toward assisting recent and established Korean immigrants is available in Koreatown. There is also a significant population of Korean-Chinese or Chinese-Koreans in Flushing who can speak Mandarin, Korean, and English.
Other ethnic communities
The neighborhood of East Flushing, technically within Greater Flushing, also houses a substantial Chinese community along with most of Downtown Flushing. However, East Flushing also substantially includes Irish,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
ns, and
Hispanics
The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term.
The term commonly appli ...
, mostly
Colombians
Colombians () are people identified with the country of Colombia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Colombians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their bein ...
and
Salvadorans
Salvadorans (), also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly in the United States, with smalle ...
. This neighborhood tends to be more diverse visibly than Downtown Flushing because of the more even distribution of the ethnicities of East Flushing residents resulting in more ethnic businesses catering to each community rather than the dominance of Chinese and to a lesser extent Korean businesses in Downtown Flushing.
The northeastern section of Flushing near Bayside continues to maintain large Italian and Greek presences that are reflected in its many Italian and Greek bakeries, grocery stores and restaurants. The northwest is a mix of
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
,
Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
, and
Italians
Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
. Most of central Flushing is an ethnic mix of
Whites
White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view.
De ...
,
Hispanic Americans
Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spaniards, Spanish or Latin Americans, Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino (demonym), ...
, and
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants).
Although this term had historically been used fo ...
s.
An area south of Franklin Avenue houses a concentration of Indian,
Pakistani
Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...
Bangladeshi
Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay.
Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...
markets. This concentration of Indian American and other South Asian American businesses south of Franklin Avenue has existed since the late 1970s, one of the oldest
Little India
Little India (also known as Indian Street, India Bazaar, or India Town) is an Indian people, Indian or South Asian sociocultural environment outside India or the Indian subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with a significant concentra ...
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
: श्री महावल्लभ गणपति देवस्थानम्,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
: ஸ்ரீ மகா வல்லப கணபதி தேவஸ்தானம்) at 45–57 Bowne Street in Flushing was the very first of the traditional
Hindu temple
A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...
organized in North America. However, Indians are migrating eastward into neighborhoods in northeastern Queens and into Nassau County, as with many Chinese and Korean immigrants.
residential area
A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas.
Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...
with many large homes. The name refers to the area served by the "Broadway" station of the Long Island Rail Road. The Broadway station is located immediately east of the location where the LIRR's Port Washington Branch crosses Northern Boulevard, which when the station was opened in 1866 was called "Broadway". Part of this area has been designated a State and Federal historic district due to the elegant, park-like character of the neighborhood. Much of the area has been rezoned by the City of New York to preserve the low density, residential quality of the neighborhood. Broadway-Flushing is approximately bounded by 29th Avenue to the north, Northern Boulevard and Crocheron Avenue to the south, 155th Street to the west, and 172nd Streets to the east.
Linden Hill
Linden Hill is bound by 25th Avenue to Willets Point Boulevard to the north, 154th Street to the east, Northern Boulevard to the south and the Whitestone Expressway to the west.
Linden Hill was originally a rural estate owned by the Mitchell family. Ernest Mitchell owned an adjacent area to the west known as Breezy Hill and his father owned the area now called Linden Hill. The two areas are sometimes referred to as the Mitchell-Linden neighborhood. A major change in the rural nature of Linden Hill occurred in the early 1950s. Neisloss Brothers with architect Benjamin Braunstein envisioned a cooperative project to be set on Linden Hill and landfill on the adjacent swamp to the west which would provide middle-income housing to veterans of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
. The construction was carried out under Section 213 of the Federal Housing Act of 1950 which provided mortgage insurance for non-subsidized projects. Gerace and Castagna with architects Samuel Paul and Seymour Jarmul subsequently developed the larger Linden Towers several years after this. Paul was additionally the architect of Embassy Arms. In total, 41 six-story buildings containing 3,146 apartments comprising the Linden Hill, Mitchell Gardens, Linden Towers, and Embassy Arms cooperatives were erected.
Once a primarily European-American neighborhood, Linden Hill is now a diverse mix of European-Americans,
Asian-Americans
Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants).
Although this term had historically been used for ...
and Latino-Americans. The Asian-American population has expanded markedly in the southern part of Linden Hill in the past decade (as it has throughout Flushing) and the Latino-American population has also grown noticeably. Conversely, the European-American population has lessened somewhat, though European-Americans still remain in great numbers north of Bayside Avenue, west of 149th Street.
Murray Hill
Murray Hill is bounded by 150th Street to the west and 160th Street to the east and straddles ZIP Codes 11354, 11355, and 11358. Traditionally the home of families of Irish and Italian immigrants, many Korean and Chinese immigrants have moved into Murray Hill in recent years. Murray Hill within Flushing is often confused with the larger Murray Hill neighborhood on the East Side of
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
.
The
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
's Murray Hill and Broadway stations serve the area.
Before the area was developed for residential housing in 1889, Murray Hill was the location of several large nurseries owned by the King, Murray, and Parsons families. The Kingsland Homestead has been preserved as the home of the Queens Historical Society. The Voelker Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary and Victorian Garden is also located in Murray Hill.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
Queensboro Hill in southern Flushing is bordered to the west by College Point Boulevard, to the north by Kissena Park and Kissena Corridor Park, to the south by Reeves Avenue and the Long Island Expressway, and to the east by Kissena Boulevard. Queensboro Hill is a part of ZIP Codes 11355 and 11367 and contains the NewYork–Presbyterian/Queens hospital. One of the leading churches is the Queensboro Hill Community Church, a multi-racial congregation of the Reformed Church in America. Turtle Playground serves the residents of this section of Flushing. This area is often referred to as South Flushing.
Pomonok
Pomonok is a neighborhood in South Flushing. This large public housing development was built in 1949 on the former site of Pomonok Country Club. The name comes from an Algonquian word for eastern Long Island, and means either "land of tribute" or "land where there is travelling by water".
In Pomonok, there is also Electchester, a
cooperative housing
A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity which owns real estate consisting of one or more residential buildings. The entity is usually a cooperative or a corporation and constitutes a form of housing tenure. Typically hou ...
complex at Jewel Avenue and Parsons Boulevard in Pomonok, which was established by Harry Van Arsdale, Jr. and Local 3 of the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a trade union, labor union that represents approximately 820,000 workers and retirees in the electricity, electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico, an ...
in 1949, when Van Arsdale worked with the Joint Industry Board of the Electrical Industry to purchase of the former Pomonok Country Club and build apartment buildings. 5,550 people live in about 2,500 units in 38 buildings, many of which are six-story brick structures. It is served by Public School 200, which is on land donated by Electchester. The union provided the majority of the mortgage. New York state offered tax abatements. Electchester was classified as a "limited dividend nonprofit", subject to state regulations. The first families paid $475 per room for equity shares, and carrying charges of $26 per month per room, on apartments ranging from three-and-a-half to five-and-a-half rooms.
Both housing complexes are patrolled by the N.Y.P.D.'s 107th Precinct. There is also an N.Y.P.D. P.S.A.-9 Housing Police Unit station located in the Pomonok Houses.
Pomonok is part of Queens Community District 8.
Waldheim
The Waldheim neighborhood, an estate subdivision in Flushing constructed primarily between 1875 and 1925, is bound by Sanford and Franklin Avenues on the north, 45th Avenue on the south, Bowne Street on the west and Parsons Boulevard on the east. The area is immediately southeast of the downtown Flushing commercial core, and adjacent to Kissena Park. a small district of upscale "in-town" suburban architecture. Waldheim, German for "home in the woods", is known for its large homes of varying architectural styles and is laid out in an unusual street pattern.
Waldheim was the home of some of Flushing's wealthiest residents until the 1960s. Notable residents include the Helmann family of condiment fame, the Steinway piano-making family, as well as A. Douglas Nash, who managed a nearby Tiffany glass plant. Starting in the 1980s, homes in Waldheim were destroyed by the Korean American Presbyterian Church of Queens, one of the area's largest land owners. In 2008, the city rezoned the neighborhood to help preserve the low-density, residential character of the neighborhood. As with the Broadway neighborhood, preservationists have been unable to secure designation as an Historic District by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, and , structures in Waldheim were still being torn down.
Points of interest
Houses of worship
Flushing is a religiously diverse community. Houses of worship in Flushing include the Dutch colonial epoch Quaker Meeting House, the historic Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Queens, St. Andrew Avellino Roman Catholic Church, St. George's Episcopal Church, the Free Synagogue of Flushing, the Congregation of Georgian Jews, St. Mel Roman Catholic Church, St. Michael's Catholic Church, St. Nicholas
Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...
Shrine Church, Holy Annunciation Russian Orthodox Church, St. John's Lutheran Church, Queensboro Hill Community Church, Hindu Temple Society of North America, and the Muslim Center of New York.
There are more than 200 houses of worship in Flushing.
In 1657, while Flushing was still a Dutch settlement, a document known as the
Flushing Remonstrance
The Flushing Remonstrance was a 1657 petition to Director-General of New Netherland Peter Stuyvesant, in which some thirty residents of the small settlement at Flushing, Queens, Flushing requested an exemption to his ban on Religious Society of ...
was created by Edward Hart, the town clerk, where some thirty ordinary citizens protested a ban imposed by Peter Stuyvesant, the director general of New Amsterdam, forbidding the harboring of Quakers. The
Remonstrants
The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his or ...
cited the Flushing Town charter of 1645, which promised liberty of conscience.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. Several city landmarks are located on the Queens Historical Society's Freedom Mile. Flushing Town Hall on Northern Boulevard is the headquarters of the Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts, an affiliate of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
United States Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
The Queens Botanical Garden is located on between College Point Boulevard and Main Street. It has been in operation continuously since its opening as an exhibit at the
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...
, and has been at its current location since 1963. The Botanical Garden carries on Flushing's horticultural tradition that dates back to the area's 18th-century tree nurseries and seed farms.
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, an park, is the largest park in Queens. The site hosted two World's Fairs, in 1939–1940 and 1964–1965, and the park infrastructure reflects the construction undertaken for the Fairs. The northern part of the park contains
Citi Field
Citi Field is a baseball park, baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, in the Boroughs of New York, borough of Queens, New York City, United States. Opened in 2009, Citi Field is the home of Major League Baseball's New York M ...
, home of the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
; the field, opened in 2009, replaced the former
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.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, New York. It has been the home of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, played every year in August and ...
which is the home of the US Tennis Open.
Several attractions were originally developed for the World's Fairs in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. One of the most prominent is the Unisphere, the iconic 12-story-high stainless steel globe that served as the centerpiece for the 1964 New York World's Fair, which was made a city landmark. Additionally, there is a stone marker for the two 5,000-year Westinghouse Time Capsules made of special
alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metal, metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have prop ...
s buried in the park, chronicling 20th-century life in the United States, dedicated both in 1938 and 1965. Also in the park are the
Queens Museum of Art
The Queens Museum (formerly the Queens Museum of Art) is an art museum and educational center at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. Established in 1972, the museum includes the '' Panorama of the City of Ne ...
* Kissena Park is a park with a lake as a centerpiece.
* Kissena Corridor Park is a park which connects two separate corridors, adjoining Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to Kissena Park. It contains a baseball field and a playground called Rachel Carson Playground.
* Bowne Park is an park developed on the former estate of New York City Mayor Walter Bowne.
* Flushing Fields is a greenbelt that includes the home athletic field of Flushing High School.
Malls
* Queens Crossing, at 39th Avenue and 136th Street, which opened in 2017.
* New World Mall, at Roosevelt Avenue east of Main Street
* One Fulton Square, at 39th Avenue and Prince Street, which opened in 2014.
* The Shops at Skyview Center, at College Point Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue, which opened in 2010. The mall also contains a condominium development atop it.
* Flushing Commons, at 39th Avenue and Union Street, which opened its first phase in 2017. This is a multi-phase retail and housing development project.
* Tangram, at 39th Avenue and 133rd Street, which first opened in 2022. It houses a food hall, children's swim school, and the first 4DX movie theater in Queens.
Police and crime
Flushing, College Point, and Whitestone are patrolled by the 109th Precinct of the
NYPD
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
, located at 3705 Union Street. The 109th Precinct ranked 9th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 17 per 100,000 people, Flushing and Whitestone'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 (law), force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, vio ...
s per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 145 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.
The 109th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 83.7% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 6 murders, 30 rapes, 202 robberies, 219 felony assaults, 324 burglaries, 970 grand larcenies, and 126 grand larcenies auto in 2018.
Fire safety
Flushing contains the following
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...
(FDNY) fire stations:
* Engine Company 273/Ladder Company 129 – 4018 Union Street
* Engine Company 274/Battalion 52 – 4120 Murray Street
* Engine Company 320/Ladder Company 167 – 3618 Francis Lewis Boulevard
In addition, FDNY EMS Station 52 is located at 135–16 38th Avenue.
Health
,
preterm birth
Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the Childbirth, birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks Gestational age (obstetrics), gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 ...
s and births to teenage mothers are less common in Flushing and Whitestone than in other places citywide. In Flushing and Whitestone, there were 63 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 8 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Flushing and Whitestone have a higher than average population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 14%, slightly higher than the citywide rate of 12%.
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of
air pollutant
Air pollution is the presence of substances in the air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be gases like ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles like soot and dust. It affects both outdoor ...
, in Flushing and Whitestone is , less than the city average. Thirteen percent of Flushing and Whitestone residents are smokers, which is lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Flushing and Whitestone, 13% of residents are obese, 8% are
diabetic
Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
, and 22% have
high blood pressure
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...
—compared to the citywide averages of 22%, 8%, and 23% respectively. In addition, 15% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.
Ninety-five percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 71% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", lower than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Flushing and Whitestone, there are 6 bodegas.
The nearest major hospitals are NewYork–Presbyterian/Queens and
Flushing Hospital Medical Center
Flushing Hospital Medical Center (also known as Flushing Hospital) is one of the oldest hospitals in New York City. It survived a 1999 Chapter 11, bankruptcy and subsequently affiliated first with the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York Pr ...
. NewYork–Presbyterian/Queens serves Flushing as well as surrounding communities with comprehensive medical care services. Numerous tertiary medical clinics also serve the residents of Flushing.
Post offices and ZIP Codes
Flushing is covered by multiple ZIP Codes. Downtown Flushing and western Murray Hill is covered by 11354; south Flushing, including Queensboro Hill and Waldheim, is included in 11355; and eastern Murray Hill and Broadway-Flushing fall within 11358. ZIP Codes 11356 and 11357, which are part of College Point and Whitestone respectively, also cover small parts of northern Flushing and Linden Hill. The
United States Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...
operates three post offices nearby:
* Flushing Station – 41–65 Main Street
* Linden Hill Station – 29–50 Union Street
* Station A – 40–03 164th Street
ZIP Codes prefixed with 113 are administered from a sectional center at the Flushing Post Office. The 113-prefixed area extends west to Elmhurst and Jackson Heights; southwest to Ridgewood; south to Forest Hills; southeast to Fresh Meadows; and east to Bayside and Little Neck.
Education
Flushing and Whitestone generally have a similar rate of college-educated residents to the rest of the city . While 37% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 23% have less than a high school education and 40% 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 Flushing and Whitestone students excelling in math rose from 55% in 2000 to 78% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 57% to 59% during the same time period.
Flushing and Whitestone's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Flushing and Whitestone, 9% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per
school year
An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classes and do rel ...
, lower than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 86% of high school students in Flushing and Whitestone graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.
Public schools
Flushing's public schools are operated by the New York City Department of Education. Flushing contains the following public elementary schools, which serve grades PK-5 unless otherwise indicated:
* PS 20 John Bowne
* PS 21 Edward Hart
* PS 22 Thomas Jefferson
* PS 24 Andrew Jackson (grades K-5)
* PS 32 State Street
* PS 107 Thomas A. Dooley
* PS 120
* PS 163 Flushing Heights
* PS 214 Cadwallader Colden
* PS 242 Leonard P Stavisky Early Childhood School (grades PK-3)
* PS 244 The Active Learning Elementary School (grades PK-3)
Public middle schools include:
* IS 25 Adrien Block
* JHS 185 Edward Bleeker
* JHS 189 Daniel Carter Beard
* IS 237 Rachel Carson
* East-West School of International Studies (grades 6–12). Located in the same building as I.S. 237
The eight
public high school
A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...
Townsend Harris High School
Townsend Harris High School (THHS; often also shortened to Townsend Harris or simply Townsend) is a public high school for the humanities in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located on the campus of Queens College, a public college p ...
, a selective high school located on the Queens College campus, was once ranked by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the best public high schools in the United States.
*
The Flushing International High School
Flushing International High School is a New York City public high school that opened in September 2004 in Flushing, Queens, Flushing, New York. Students come from over 30 countries and speak over twenty native languages. Flushing Internation ...
* Flushing High School, the oldest free public high school (1875) in what is now New York City. It is housed in a distinctive
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
building built between 1912 and 1915 and declared a NYC Landmark in 1991.
* The Queens School of Inquiry
* Queens Academy High School
Jamaica Estates, Queens
Jamaica Estates is a neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Queens. Jamaica Estates is part of Queens Community Board 8, Queens Community District 8 and located in the northern portion of Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica. ...
Newsday
''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...
''. November 12, 1986. News, Start Page 31. Retrieved on January 9, 2012. near Flushing. In 1991, the school moved to
Yonkers
Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...
in
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...
, before moving to
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
in 1992.
As a result of the high number of Chinese and Korean immigrants with (
Confucius
Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...
) educationally orientated outlooks, there is a large number of
cram school
A cram school (colloquially: crammer, test prep, tuition center, or exam factory) is a specialized school that trains its students to achieve particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schools or university, univer ...
s ( Buxiban and hagwon) located not only in Flushing, but also following Northern Blvd. west into Nassau County.
Higher education
Queens College, founded in 1937, is a senior college of the
City University of New York
The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
(CUNY), and is commonly misconstrued to be within Flushing neighborhood limits due to its Flushing mailing address. It is actually located in the nearby neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills on Kissena Boulevard near the Long Island Expressway. The
City University of New York School of Law
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
was founded in 1983 adjacent to the Queens College campus, and was located at 65–21 Main Street in Kew Gardens Hills until 2012. It moved to Long Island City for the Fall 2012 Semester. The Law School operates Main Street Legal Services Corp., a legal services clinic.
Libraries
Flushing contained the first public library in Queens, founded in 1858. Today, Queens Public Library contains five libraries in Flushing.
The largest of the libraries is the Flushing branch, located at the intersection of Kissena Boulevard and Main Street in Flushing's central business district. It is the busiest branch of the Queens Public Library, the highest-circulation system in the United States. This library has an auditorium for public events. The current building, designed by Polshek Partnership Architects, is the third to be built on the site—the first was a Carnegie library, built through a gift of
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
.
The other branches are:
* East Flushing – 19636 Northern Boulevard
* McGoldrick – 15506 Roosevelt Avenue
* Mitchell-Linden – 3132 Union Street
* Queensboro Hill – 6005 Main Street
In addition, the Auburndale, Hillcrest, and Pomonok libraries carry Flushing addresses but are not located in Flushing proper.
Transportation
Public transportation
The following
MTA Regional Bus Operations
MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the Public transport bus service, bus operations division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City. The MTA operates local, limited-stop, express, and Select Bus Service (bus rapid transit ...
bus routes serve Flushing:
* Q12: to Little Neck via Sanford Avenue and Northern Boulevard
* Q13: to Fort Totten via Northern Boulevard
* Q15 and Q15A: to Beechhurst via 41st Avenue and 150th Street
* Q16: to Fort Totten via Union Street and Bayside Avenue
* Q17: to
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
via Kissena Boulevard
* Q19: to Astoria via Northern Boulevard
* Q20A/B: to
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
or College Point via Main Street and Union Street
* Q25: to () or College Point via Kissena Boulevard, Main Street, and Linden Place
* Q26: to Fresh Meadows via Parsons Boulevard and 46th Avenue
* Q27: to Cambria Heights via Kissena Boulevard, Holly Avenue and 46th Avenue
* Q28: to Bay Terrace via Northern Boulevard and Crocheron Avenue
* Q34: to () or Linden Hill via Kissena Boulevard, Main Street, Linden Place, and 28th Avenue
* Q44 SBS: to
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...
via Roosevelt Avenue
* Q50: to Co-op City, Bronx via Linden Place and Whitestone Expressway
* Q58: to () via College Point Boulevard
* Q65: to () via Bowne Street and 45th Avenue
* Q66: to () via Northern Boulevard
The n20GNassau Inter-County Express (NICE) bus route to Great Neck, which runs along Sanford Avenue and Northern Boulevard, terminates in Flushing. The n20x NICE bus route to Roslyn Clock Tower, which follows the n20G route that goes between Flushing and Great Neck, and the n20H that goes between Great Neck and Hicksville.
There is one
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
station in Flushing, the Flushing–Main Street station at Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, served by the . It is one of the busiest stations in the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
system .
The
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
New York State Route 25A
New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York (state), New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, running ...
) extends from the Queensboro Bridge in Long Island City through Flushing into Nassau County. The Roosevelt Avenue Bridge over Flushing Creek was the largest fixed trunnion bascule type in the world when opened in 1927. However, it was decommissioned as a moving bridge when marine navigation was eliminated in the late 1930s.
Political representation
The political stature of Flushing appears to be increasing significantly, with many Chinese from Flushing becoming New York City Council members.
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...
member representing District 20, which includes Flushing and other northern Queens neighborhoods, was elected New York City Comptroller in November 2009. In 2018, Liu defeated incumbent Tony Avella to become the first of two Asian Americans in the
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...
.
At the same time,
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
-born Peter Koo was elected to succeed Liu to assume this council membership seat. Additionally, in 2012 Flushing resident Grace Meng, a State Assembly Member, was elected to
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
as the first Asian-American member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
from the eastern United States.
In popular culture
* The first series of
Charmin
Charmin ( ) is an American brand of toilet paper that was launched in 1928, and it is currently owned by Procter & Gamble.
History
The Charmin name was first created on April 19, 1928, by the Hoberg Paper Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1950 ...
toilet paper commercials featuring Mr. Whipple ( Dick Wilson) were filmed in Flushing at the Trade Rite supermarket on Bowne Street and Roosevelt Avenue.
* The rock band
KISS
A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
first played at the Coventry Club on Queens Boulevard in 1973, and is said to have derived its name from Kissena Boulevard in Flushing.
* Joel Fleischman, the fictional character from the 1990s comedic drama ''
Northern Exposure
''Northern Exposure'' is an American comedy-drama television series about the eccentric residents in the fictitious town of Cicely, Alaska, that originally aired on CBS from July 12, 1990, to July 26, 1995, with a total of 110 episodes. It rec ...
'', was said to have relocated from Flushing. Often, references were made to actual locations around Main Street, Flushing.
* The eponymous celebration in Taiwanese director
Ang Lee
Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...
Fran Fine
''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired on CBS from 1993 to 1999, starring Fran Drescher as #Fran Fine, Fran Fine, a fashion queen from Flushing, New York who becomes the nanny of three children from the New York/Brit ...
on the TV show ''
The Nanny
''The Nanny'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish wikt:fashionista, fashionista from Flushing, Queens, who becomes the nanny of three children ...
'', was said to have been raised in Flushing, where her family still lived. Drescher was born in Flushing Hospital.
* Flushing was the location of the Stark Industries (later Stark International) munitions plant in
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
' original ''
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
'' series. In the movie '' Iron Man 2'', the Stark Expo is located in Flushing.
* On the
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...
-produced TV show ''
All in the Family
''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...
'', in the episode when Edith Bunker was arrested for
shoplifting
Shoplifting (also known as shop theft, shop fraud, retail theft, or retail fraud) is the theft of goods from a retail establishment during business hours. The terms ''shoplifting'' and ''shoplifter'' are not usually defined in law, and genera ...
, she mentions the names of a few long-gone stores that were in downtown Flushing. The Bunkers also mention having lived on Union Street in Flushing.
* The main characters of '' The Black Stallion'' series resided in Flushing and many of Flushing's streets and landmarks in the 1940s were mentioned in the first book.
* In the musical ''
Hair
Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals.
The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...
'', the character Claude Bukowski is from Flushing.
* In episode seven of the TV show White Collar, main characters Neal Caffrey and FBI Special Agent Tim Burke investigate a crime that takes place in Chinatown, though part of the episode is actually filmed in Flushing.
* In ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' episode " The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson", Homer, after having drunk a large quantity of crab juice and unable to find a restroom, sees a bus going to Flushing Meadows and imagines it to be a field full of toilets.
* The 2014 novel '' Preparation for the Next Life'' by Atticus Lish takes place largely in Flushing and surrounding neighborhoods. The novel depicts the unlikely romance between an
Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
The Great Gatsby
''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...
'' alludes to Flushing: "About half way between West Egg ( Great Neck) and New York, the motor road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile."
Notable people
* Judd Apatow (born 1967), stand-up comedian, director, producer, actor, screenwriter
* Annet Artani (born 1976), singer-songwriter and international pop star
* Yak Ballz (born 1982), rapper, born Yashar Zadeh
* Daniel Carter Beard (1850–1941), founder of the
Boy Scouts of America
Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
Black Sheep
In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...
, rap group
* James A. Bland (1854–1911), singer and composer
*
Arthur Blank
Arthur Morris Blank (born September 27, 1942) is an American Businessperson, businessman. He is best known for being a co-founder of the home improvement retailer Home Depot, The Home Depot.
Blank owns three professional sports teams based in At ...
(born 1942), co-founder of
The Home Depot
The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...
and the owner of the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
and
Atlanta United
Atlanta United FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won o ...
* Joe Bolton (1910–1986), host of the WPIX show "Clubhouse Gang" and "The Three Stooges Funhouse" as Officer Joe Bolton
*
Action Bronson
Ariyan Arslani (born December 2, 1983), professionally known as Action Bronson, is an American rapper and television presenter. Born and raised in Queens, he released his debut mixtape ''Bon Appetit ..... Bitch!!!!!'' in January 2011 and indepe ...
(born 1983), rapper
*
Godfrey Cambridge
Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge (February 26, 1933 – November 29, 1976) was an American stand-up comic and actor. Alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell, he was acclaimed by ''Time'' in 1965 as "one of the country's foremost cel ...
Province of New York
The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...
. Estate was at Springhill, now the location of Mount Hebron Cemetery.
* Glenn Consor, American-Israeli NBA and NCAA basketball analyst, who played collegiate and pro basketball.
* Joseph Cornell (1903–1972), artist
* Manuel De Peppe (born 1970), actor, singer, musician, arranger, music producer, songwriter
* Harris Doran (born 1978), writer, director, actor, producer
* Fran Drescher (born 1957), actress, author, politician/humanitarian, cancer survivor, activist (known for ''
The Nanny
''The Nanny'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish wikt:fashionista, fashionista from Flushing, Queens, who becomes the nanny of three children ...
'' as Fran Fine)
* Thomas Duane (born 1955), first openly gay member of the New York State Senate
*
Jimmy Durante
James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...
(1893–1980), singer, pianist, comedian and actor
*
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
Al Greenwood
Alan Greenwood (born October 20, 1951) is an American rock musician who was a founding member and keyboardist of the rock band Foreigner from 1976 to 1980. He performed on the albums '' Foreigner'' (1977), '' Double Vision'' (1978) and '' He ...
(born 1951), former keyboardist of ''Foreigner''
*
Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. He is one of a handful of people to win Emmy Awards, Emmy, Grammy Awards, Grammy, Academy Awards, Oscar, and Tony Awards, Tony awards, a feat ...
(1944–2012), composer
* Han Hee-jun (born 1989), ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'' contestant
* Mark Hurd (1957–2019), former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and former CEO of Oracle Corp
* Dan Ingram (1934–2018), retired radio disc jockey
* Sarah Jones (born 1973), Tony Award-winning stage actress and poet
*
Marilyn Kagan
Marilyn Kagan (June 12, 1951 – September 10, 2020) was an American psychotherapy, psychotherapist and actress. She was best known for her role in Adrian Lyne's 1980 film ''Foxes (film), Foxes''.
Biography
Kagan was born in Flushing, Queens in ...
Martin Lawrence
Martin Fitzgerald LawrenceStated in interview on '' Inside the Actors Studio'' (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor and comedian. Lawrence began his career doing comedy shows, including in '' The Improv''. After his first acting role in t ...
(born 1965), actor and comedian
* Sandra Lee, "Dr Pimple Popper", TV and YouTube reality host
* Paul Martin Lester (1953–2023), author and educator
* Ken Levine (born 1966), Creator of Bioshock Series, CEO of Irrational Games
*
Gene Mayer
Gene Mayer (born May 11, 1956) is a former tennis player from the United States who won 14 professional singles titles during his career.
Mayer was born in Flushing, Queens
Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the Ne ...
(born 1956), tennis player
*
Sandy Mayer
Alexander Mayer (born April 5, 1952) is a former tennis player from the United States. He won twelve titles in singles and twenty-four titles in doubles in his professional career, and was part of the winning tennis squad at Stanford University ...
(born 1952), tennis player
* Nettie Mayersohn (1924–2020), New York Assemblywoman from 1983 to 2011
* Charles Momsen (1896–1967), vice admiral who organized rescue of USS Squalus
*
Robert Moog
Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthe ...
(1934–2005), inventor of the
Moog synthesizer
The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...
* Rick Moonen, executive chef of RM Seafood and R Bar Café at Mandalay Bay
*
Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a ...
(1895–1990), architecture critic and historian
* Tito Muñoz (born 1983), conductor and is music director of the Phoenix Symphony
* Richard Outcault (1863–1928), creator of Buster Brown, The Yellow Kid, and Hogan's Alley
* Jason Patric (Jason Miller, Jr.), (born 1966), film, television and stage actor.
* Samuel Parsons (1844–1923), landscape architect
* L. Bradford Prince (1840–1922), politician who was governor of
New Mexico Territory
The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomi ...
*
Amy Ryan
Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski (born May 3, 1968), known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress. She began her professional stage career in 1987 and made her Broadway debut in 1993 as a replacement in the original production of Wendy W ...
(born 1968), actress
*
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan.
Reagan was born in ...
(1921–2016), actress and former First Lady
*
Richard Riordan
Richard Joseph Riordan (May 1, 1930 – April 19, 2023) was an American businessman, investor, military commander, philanthropist, and politician. A decorated Korean War veteran and a member of the Republican Party, Riordan served as the 39th ...
(1930–2023), Los Angeles mayor
* Peter Rosenthal (1941–2024), mathematician and lawyer
* Royal Flush (born 1975), rapper
*
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...
(born 1942), Oscar winning movie director
*
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director, and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Pri ...
(born 1966), actor, comedian, director and producer
* John Seery, artist
* Kasey Smith (born 1990), Danger Danger keyboardist
*
Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who was the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss from the band's inception in 1973 to their retireme ...
(born 1952), member of the band ''KISS''
* Beau Starr (born 1944), actor
* Mike Starr (born 1950), actor
* Henry E. Steinway (1797–1871), founder of Steinway & Sons piano company
* Jeannie Suk, professor of law / Harvard Law School
*
Himanshu Suri
Himanshu Kumar Suri (born July 6, 1985), better known by his stage name Heems, is an American rapping, rapper. Suri came to prominence as a member of the alternative hip hop group Das Racist, with whom he released two mixtapes and one album. Sur ...
Bill Viola
William John Viola Jr. ( , ; January 25, 1951 – July 12, 2024) was an American video artist whose artistic expression depended upon electronic, sound, and image technology in new media. His works focus on the ideas behind fundamental human ...
(1951–2024), video artist
* Tommy Victor (born 1966), rock singer, guitarist, songwriter
* John Vinocur (1940–2022), journalist
* Harvey (born 1952) and
Bob Weinstein
Robert Weinstein (born October 18, 1954) is an American film producer. He is the founder and head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Miramax Films and The Weinstein Company (TWC), all of which he co-founded with his older brother, H ...
(born 1954), founders of Miramax and the Weinstein Company
* Suzanne Weyn, children's author
*
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
, March 6, 2018. Accessed December 7, 2020. "The son of a CBS radio orchestra percussionist, Mr. Williams was born in Flushing in 1932 and started studying piano at the age of 6."
* Susan Wu Rathbone (1921–2019), a community leader in New York City, founder and head of the Chinese Immigrants Service and the Queens Chinese Women's Association
* Najibullah Zazi (born 1985), convicted al-Qaeda member