Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the central portion of the

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south,

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

to the southeast and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park and Kew Gardens Hills to the east. The area was originally referred to as "Whitepot".About Forest Hills
at QueensNewYork.com The current name comes from the Cord Meyer Development Company, which bought in central Queens in 1906 and renamed it after Forest Park. Further development came in the 1920s and 1930s with the widening of Queens Boulevard through the neighborhood, as well as the opening of 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 Queens Boulevard Line. Forest Hills has a longstanding association with tennis: the Forest Hills Stadium hosted the U.S. Open from 1915 through 1977 and the West Side Tennis Club offers grass courts for its members. The area's main commercial street, Austin Street, contains many restaurants and chain stores. Forest Hills is located in Queens Community District 6 and its ZIP Code is 11375. It is patrolled by the

New York City Police Department The 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 112th Precinct. Politically, Forest Hills is represented by the

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

's 29th District. It is located within .

History

Development

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

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

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

Architecture

Grosvenor Atterbury, a renowned architect, along with his associate architect and Forest Hills resident, John Almy Tompkins II, was given the commission to design Forest Hills Gardens. The neighborhood was planned on the model of the garden communities of England, with its own inn, garage, and post office. It also included narrow, winding roads to limit through-traffic. There are many Tudor Revival homes in Forest Hills, often featuring

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

walls and red Ludowici clay tile roofs. The most expansive buildings are in Forest Hills Gardens, but many are located in the area loosely bounded by 68th Avenue on the north; 72nd Road on the south; 108th Street on the west; and Grand Central Parkway on the east. The construction of this area used a prefabricated building technique. Each house was built from approximately 170 standardized

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

panels, fabricated off-site and positioned by crane. The houses were mostly constructed between 1910 and 1917.

Growth and expansion

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 ...

opened a station in Forest Hills in 1911, and the Queens Boulevard trolley line opened two years later. The LIRR station was built with a brick courtyard, a clock tower, and arch-filled underpasses, fitting in with the Forest Hills Gardens section of the neighborhood. Since the railroad and trolley both connected to Manhattan, the presence of these two transportation options spurred development in Forest Hills. In 1914, the West Side Tennis Club moved from

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 ...

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

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

for generations. Forest Hills also had a

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

ing presence for a short time. The Queens Valley Golf Club started constructing a golf course in the neighborhood in 1922 and it was open by 1924. However, the club was closed in 1938 so that developers could build housing atop the site of the course. Queens Boulevard west of Yellowstone Boulevard

Queens Boulevard west of Yellowstone Boulevard

Queens Boulevard was widened in the 1920s. Planning for a Queens Boulevard subway line started around this time. There were proposals for two stations in Forest Hills: an express station serving all trains on 71st Avenue, and a local station at 75th Avenue. During the late 1920s, in anticipation of the arrival of the subway, land was bought by developers and was built up. Zoning laws were changed to allow fifteen-story apartment buildings to be built, and made the neighborhood of Forest Hills a more desirable place to live, especially as it was an express stop. Queens Borough President George Harvey predicted that the introduction of the subway to Forest Hills would turn Queens Boulevard into the "

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

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

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

Later history

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

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

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

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

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

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

because poor residents would move into the housing. Advocates for the project accused residents of racism, since the proposed development's residents would be mostly people of minority races. Lindsay garnered significant opposition due to the controversy surrounding Forest Hills Houses. Mario Cuomo, a lawyer and the future Governor of New York, was assigned to mediate the dispute and succeeded in halving the size of the project. The New York City Housing Authority ultimately implemented a rigorous screening process for prospective residents of Forest Hills Houses, with quotas for elderly and poorer tenants. During the 1970s and 1980s, the neighborhood became more racially diverse. Discriminatory covenants for prospective Forest Hills Gardens residents were lifted, and immigrants from Iran, India, Israel, and the Soviet Union started residing in Forest Hills.

Demographics

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Forest Hills was 86,364, an increase of 1,318 (1.5%) from the 85,046 counted in 2000. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
Population Division –

Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 14, 2016. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 58.3% (48,822)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no 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 ...

, 2.5% (2,086)

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

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

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

, 0.4% (373) from other races, and 2.1% (1,719) 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 12.4% (10,410) of the population.Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
Population Division –

Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016. The entirety of Community Board 6, which comprises Forest Hills and Rego Park, had 115,119 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 85.4 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. The plurality of inhabitants are middle-aged and elderly adults: 31% are between the ages of 25–44, 28% between 45–64, and 19% over 64. The ratio of young and college-aged residents was lower, at 16% and 5% respectively. As of 2017, the median household income in Community Board 4 was $75,447. In 2018, an estimated 16% of Forest Hills and Rego Park residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in seventeen residents (6%) was unemployed, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 50% in Forest Hills and Rego Park, lower than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Forest Hills and Rego Park is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

Land use

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

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

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

s which, while containing no explicit economic, social or racial restrictions, effectively excluded "working-class people", as noted by Eric P. Nash in his 2002 ''New York Times'' book review of ''A Modern Arcadia''. Forest Hills Gardens was named "Best Community" in 2007 by ''

Cottage Living ''Cottage Living'' was an American culture, American Lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle and decorative arts, decorating magazine published by Southern Progress Corporation, a subsidiary of the Time Inc. History and profile ''Cottage Living'' was s ...

'' magazine. The adjacent Van Court community also contains a number of detached single-family homes. There are also attached townhouses near the Westside Tennis Center and detached frame houses near Metropolitan Avenue. The north side of Forest Hills is home to the Cord Meyer community, which contains detached single-family homes. Teardowns and their replacement with larger single family residences has had a significant impact on the architectural integrity of the area. However, the Bukharian Jewish community, whose members have settled in the area in large numbers since the late 1990s, advocating the changes say the bigger homes are needed for their large extended families. On the northwestern edge of Forest Hills, on 62nd Drive and 108th Street immediately adjacent to the Long Island Expressway, is the Forest Hills Co-op Houses, a New York City Housing Authority low-income housing project. Its construction provoked controversy among the residents in the more prestigious areas of Forest Hills when it was constructed in the early 1970s. The southeastern portion of Forest Hills contains Forest Hills South, a complex of 7 Georgian apartment buildings centered around a private English garden, which was formerly a mapped portion of 113th Street prior to the complex's construction in 1939. This enclave was designed by Philip Birnbaum. Philip Birnbaum and Alfred Kaskel also designed and constructed numerous apartment buildings scattered throughout Forest Hills. These include the Grover Cleveland, the Van Buren Apartments, the Thomas Jefferson, the Maplewood, the Richard Apartments, the Stephen Apartments, the James Madison, the Cedar Apartments, the Howard Apartments, the James Monroe, the Nathan Hale, the St. Regis, the Roanoke, and the Kennedy House. Birnbaum and Kaskel's buildings largely remain standing, and are distinguished by their spacious lobbies, interior courtyards with fountains, curved brick corner terraces, and sunlit exposures. Other notable high-rise apartment buildings include the Continental (on 108th Street), the Pinnacle, Parker Towers, the Windsor and a 17-story luxury condo building completed in 2014, the Aston.

Points of interest

Austin Street is a busy, modern street with shops, cafes, restaurants, and other stores that acts as the center of Forest Hills. It has become a place people visit from other neighborhoods because of its charm. Two monuments are erected in Forest Hills Gardens: One is a tribute to the victims of World War I, and the other is the mast of the '' Columbia'', the winner of the America's Cup yacht races in both 1899 and 1901. The Church-in-the-Gardens, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, and United States Post Office are listed on the

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 ...

Police and crime

Forest Hills and Rego Park are patrolled by the 112th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 68-40 Austin Street. The 112th Precinct ranked 6th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. The area's low crime rate is attributed to its seclusion and reputation as a "suburb within the city". , with a non-fatal assault rate of 14 per 100,000 people, Forest Hills and Rego Park's rate of

violent crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful Force (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 102 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole. The 112th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 91.5% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 0 murders, 18 rapes, 41 robberies, 53 felony assaults, 69 burglaries, 403 grand larcenies, and 37 grand larcenies auto in 2018.

Fire safety

Forest Hills contains a

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is 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 station, Engine Co. 305/Ladder Co. 151, at 111-02 Queens Boulevard.

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 Forest Hills and Rego Park than in other places citywide. In Forest Hills and Rego Park, there were 66 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 4.6 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Forest Hills and Rego Park have a low population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 11%, slightly lower than the citywide rate of 12%. The concentration of fine particulate matter, 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 Forest Hills and Rego Park is , equal to the city average. Ten percent of Forest Hills and Rego Park residents are smokers, which is lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Forest Hills and Rego Park, 19% of residents are obese, 7% are diabetic, and 20% have

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

—compared to the citywide averages of 20%, 14%, and 24% respectively. In addition, 11% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Ninety-three percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 82% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", higher than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Forest Hills and Rego Park, there are 5 bodegas. Long Island Jewish Forest Hills is located in Forest Hills.

Post office and ZIP Code

Forest Hills is covered by ZIP Code 11375. The United States Post Office operates the Forest Hills Station at 106-28 Queens Boulevard and the Parkside Station at 10119 Metropolitan Avenue.

Education

Forest Hills and Rego Park generally have a higher percentage of college-educated residents than the rest of the city . The majority of residents (62%) have a college education or higher, while 8% have less than a high school education and 30% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 39% of Queens residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of Forest Hills and Rego Park students excelling in math rose from 42% in 2000 to 61% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 48% to 49% during the same time period. Forest Hills and Rego Park's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Forest Hills and Rego Park, 10% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per

school year 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, 91% of high school students in Forest Hills and Rego Park graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%. Queens Community House provides free English classes to immigrants.

K–12 schools

Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Forest Hills jeh

Public schools

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

Private schools

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

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

high school and branch of Tomchei Temimim.

Colleges

Bramson ORT College was an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

college operated by the American branch of the

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 ...

charity

World ORT ORT (), also known as the Organisation for Rehabilitation through Training, is a global education network driven by Jewish values. It promotes education and training in communities worldwide. Its activities throughout its history have spanned mor ...

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

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

. It closed in February 2017 after failing to meet standards set by the New York State Education Department Board of Regents and losing its accreditation. Touro College/NYSCAS has a branch location in Forest Hills. Plaza College, a small regionally-accredited college offering associates and bachelors degrees, is also located in Forest Hills.

Libraries

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

Transportation

Public transportation

The following

MTA Regional Bus Operations 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 Forest Hills: *: to Elmhurst or Old Howard Beach or Hamilton Beach (via Woodhaven Boulevard) *: to Elmhurst or Howard Beach (via Woodhaven Boulevard) *: to East Elmhurst (via 108th Street, Austin Street, and 69th Avenue) *: to Corona via Middle Village (via 62nd Drive (to Corona), 63rd Road (to Forest Hills), 63rd Drive, Penelope Avenue, Eliot Avenue) *: to Elmhurst or Arverne (via Woodhaven/Cross Bay Boulevard) *: to Woodside or Rockaway Park (via Woodhaven/Cross Bay Boulevard) *: to Jamaica, Queens or Williamsburg, Brooklyn (via Metropolitan Avenue) *: to South Jamaica, Queens or East Midtown, Manhattan (via Queens Boulevard) *: to Electchester (via 69th Road/Jewel Avenue) *: to Elmhurst or Queens Village (via Horace Harding Expressway) *: express 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 ...

(via 69th Road/Jewel Avenue,

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Americas, is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The avenue is commercial for much of its length, and traffic runs northbound, or uptown. Sixth Avenue begins four blocks b ...

) *: express to

(via

LeFrak City LeFrak City (originally spelled Lefrak and pronounced ) is a 4,605-apartment development in the southernmost region of Corona, Queens, Corona and the easternmost part of Elmhurst, Queens, Elmhurst, a neighborhood in the New York City borough (New ...

, Sixth Avenue) *: express to

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

(via Queens Boulevard, LeFrak City, Water Street, Church Street) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via Yellowstone Boulevard, Sixth Avenue) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via Woodhaven Boulevard, Sixth Avenue) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via Queens Boulevard, Sixth Avenue) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via LeFrak City, Third Avenue) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via Yellowstone Boulevard, Third Avenue) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via 69th Road/Jewel Avenue, Third Avenue) *: express to Midtown Manhattan (via Woodhaven Boulevard,

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

) The following

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

commuter rail station: the Forest Hills station. The southern part of the neighborhood is also close to the Kew Gardens station in neighboring Kew Gardens.

Road

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

Parks and recreation

Forest Hills is bordered by two of the largest parks in Queens managed by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation: the Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, which is the site of two World's Fairs (in

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

and 1964) and the iconic Unisphere; as well as the Forest Park. Within Forest Hills, parks and playgrounds include the Yellowstone Municipal Park – Katzman Playground (located on Yellowstone Boulevard, between 68th Avenue and 68th Road); the Annadale Playground (located on Yellowstone Boulevard, between 64th Road and 65th Avenue); the Willow Lake Playground (located off the Grand Central Parkway, between 71st and 72nd Avenues); the Ehrenreich-Austin Playground (located on Austin Street, between 76th Avenue and 76th Drive); and the Russell Sage Playground (located on 68th Avenue, between Booth and Austin Streets). Access to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is restricted due to the fact that the Grand Central Parkway bisects the neighborhood and the park proper. Pedestrian access exists over the Grand Central Parkway at the Horace Harding Expressway, 64th Avenue, Jewel Avenue, and 72nd Road. A shuttered entrance at 78th Avenue, which previously lead to Willow Lake and provided pedestrian access to neighboring Kew Gardens Hills has been closed since 2001.

In popular culture

Sports

The U.S. Open tennis tournament was first held at the West Side Tennis Club from 1915 until 1977, when it was relocated to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, about away. When the Open was played at the tennis stadium, the tournament was commonly referred to merely as Forest Hills, just as All-England Lawn Tennis Association Championships are referred to simply as Wimbledon.

Film

A pivotal scene in

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

's 1951 film '' Strangers on a Train'', in which Farley Granger's character is a professional tennis player, features a lengthy championship game at the West Side Tennis Club. In the 2001 movie ''

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

'', Luke Wilson's character plays a tennis match at the club.

Literature

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

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

, where under the alias Peter Parker he grew up at 20 Ingram Street (). In the comics the home was depicted as a modest, two-story boarding house run by his Aunt May.Kempton, Sally. "Spiderman's icDilemma: Super-Anti-Hero in Forest Hills", ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'', April 1, 1965.

Music

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

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

both graduated from Forest Hills High School in 1958. The duo performed at Forest Hills Stadium in 1966, 1967, 1968, and two nights in 1970. Paul Simon returned once again to Forest Hills Stadium in 2016 during his Homeward Bound farewell tour. Billy Eichner wrote the parody song "Forest Hills State of Mind" about the neighborhood.

Notable people

* Jacob Arabo (born 1965), jewelry and watch designer who founded Jacob & Co. * Awkwafina (born 1988), rapper and actress * Hank Azaria (born 1964), actor and voice artist *

David Baltimore David Baltimore (born March 7, 1938) is an American biologist, university administrator, and 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine. He is a professor of biology at the California Institute of Tech ...

(born 1938), Nobel Prize-winning virologist * Remy Banks (born ?), rapper * Walter Becker (1950-2017), half of the musical duo '' Steely Dan'' * Andrew Bergman (born 1945), screenwriter (''Blazing Saddles'', ''The In-Laws''), writer/director (''The Freshman'', ''Honeymoon In Vegas''), novelist (Jack LeVine mystery series) and playwright (''Social Security'', ''Honeymoon In Vegas''). * Jimmy Breslin (1929-2017), journalist * Joseph Bowler (1928–2016), artist and illustrator * Daniel Bukantz (1917–2008), Olympic fencer * Michael A. Burstein (born 1970), science fiction writer * Dale Carnegie (1888–1955), self-improvement lecturer and author of '' How to Win Friends and Influence People'' lived at 27 Wendover Rd in Forest Hills. * David Caruso (born 1956), actor in '' CSI: Miami'', and ''

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

'' * Candy Darling (1944–1974), Warhol superstar who appeared in a number of his films * John R. Dilworth (born 1963), animator and creator of

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

's '' Courage the Cowardly Dog'' * Sergei Dovlatov (1941–1990), Russian short–story writer and novelist; in 2014, the corner of 63rd Drive and 108th Street was given an honorary designation in his name. * Walter Egan (born 1948), singer-songwriter (" Magnet and Steel") * Billy Eichner (born 1978), comedian, actor, and host of '' Billy on the Street'' * Geraldine Ferraro (1935–2011), member of U.S. House of Representatives, television personalityClines, Francis X
"In Training for a Run on the Political Stage"
''The New York Times'', February 19, 1997. Accessed July 5, 2016. "She commutes here on alternate weeks for five nights of shows, traveling from Forest Hills, Queens, where she lives with her husband, John A. Zaccaro." *

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

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

Central Park Central Park is an urban park 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 ...

stage, and a generation growing overweight and apart would for a few fleeting hours feel forever young." * Ernie Grunfeld (born 1955), former player and general manager of the Washington Wizards * Alan Hevesi (1940–2023), disgraced former Comptroller of New York * Steve Hofstetter (born 1979), comedian/radio personality * John V. Hogan (1890–1960), radio pioneer * John Francis Hylan (1848–1936),

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

(1918–1925) * Ethel D. Jacobs (1910–2001), thoroughbred horse owner and breeder, wife of Hirsch Jacobs * Hirsch Jacobs (1904–1970), thoroughbred jockey, husband of Ethel D. Jacobs * Donna Karan (born 1948), fashion designer * Helen Keller (1880–1968), lecturer, author, fundraiser, activist * Alan King (1927–2004), actor/comedian * Andrea King (1919–2003), actress * David Krumholtz (born 1978), actor * Gary Kurfirst (1947–2009), concert promoter and record producer *

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

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

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' and ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...

'' * Harvey J. Levin (1924–1992), internationally recognized pioneer of communications economics, holder of Long Island's first professorial chair * Jack Lew (born 1955),

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

from 2013 to 2017 *

Trygve Lie Trygve Halvdan Lie ( , ; 16 July 1896 – 30 December 1968) was a Norwegians, Norwegian politician, labour leader, government official and author. He served as Norwegian foreign minister during the critical years of the Nygaardsvold's Cabinet, N ...

(1896–1968), first

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

, serving from 1946 to 1952 * Carol Lynley (1942–2019), actress best known for her role in '' The Poseidon Adventure'' * Jack McAuliffe (1866–1937), world lightweight boxing champion * Chieli Minucci (born 1958), jazz musician * Min Xiao-Fen (born 1961),

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

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

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

and one of the most powerful New York gangsters in the 1950s and 1960s * Lore Noto (1923–2002),

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

producer * Carroll O'Connor (1924–2001), actor, best known for his role as Archie Bunker on ''

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 ...

'' * Marco Oppedisano (born 1971), composer and guitarist * Rick Overton (born 1954), actor and comedian * Susan Polgar (born 1969), chess grandmaster * The

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

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

Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American singer, songwriter, and the lead vocalist and founding member of the punk rock band Ramones, with Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone. His ...

(1951–2001), lead singer and songwriter of the Ramones ** Johnny Ramone (1948–2004), guitarist of the Ramones ** Tommy Ramone (1952–2014), drummer and record producer of the Ramones * Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957), psychiatrist known for his theories of Orgone energy * Renée Richards (formerly Richard Raskind; born 1934), tennis player * Branch Rickey (1881–1965),

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 ...

executive * Thelma Ritter (1902–1969), actress * Ray Romano (born 1957), actor-comedian, best known for '' Everybody Loves Raymond'' * Dave Rubinstein (1964–1993),

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

musician * Chris Rush (1946–2018), stand-up comedian * Renato Russo (1960–1996), Brazilian bandleader * Joan Shawlee (née Fulton; 1926–1987), actress * Michael Simanowitz (1971–2017), member of the

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

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

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

(born 1941), singer-songwriter * Fred Stone (1873–1959), actor * Tatiana Troyanos (1938–1993),

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

known for her work at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

* Bob Tufts (1955-2019), Major League Baseball pitcher * Jeff Wayne (born 1943), musician known for his musical version of ''The War of the Worlds'' * Katharine Weber (born 1955), novelist, author of five novels, including ''Triangle'' and ''True Confections''. * Leslie West (1945–2020), of the hard rock band

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

* Anthony Weiner (born 1964), politician * Adolph Alexander Weinman (1870–1952), sculptor * Henry Willson (1911–1978), Hollywood agent * Jack Wyatt (1917–2008), host of ABC's '' Confession''; Episcopalian priest * Gideon Yago (born 1978), journalist, former correspondent at MTV and CBS News * Manuel Ycaza (1938–2018), jockey inducted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

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

(born 1954), actressMitchell, Henry
"Pia"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

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

Notes

References

External links

Forest Hills Neighborhood Profile
,

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

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