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Richmond Hill is a commercial and residential neighborhood located in the southeastern section 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 area borders
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 ...
and Forest Park to the north,
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 ...
and South Jamaica to the east, South Ozone Park to the south, and Woodhaven and Ozone Park to the west. The neighborhood is split between Queens Community Board 9 and 10. Main commercial streets in the neighborhood include
Jamaica Avenue Jamaica Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York, in the United States. Jamaica Avenue's western end is at Fulton Street and Broadway, as a continuation of East New York Avenue, in Brooklyn's ...
, Atlantic Avenue and Liberty Avenue. The portion of the neighborhood south of Atlantic Avenue is also known as South Richmond Hill. 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 ...
provides freight access via the Montauk Branch, which runs diagonally through the neighborhood from northwest to southeast. Many residents own homes, though some also rent within small apartment buildings. South Richmond Hill is known as Little Guyana for its large Indo-Caribbean American (mostly
Indo-Guyanese Indo-Guyanese or Guyanese Indians, are Guyanese nationals of Indian origin who trace their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginning in 1838, a ...
and some Indo-Trinidadians) population.Haller, Vera
"Indo-Caribbean Content, Victorian Style"
, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', January 11, 2013. Accessed April 3, 2022. "Richmond Hill, in southeastern Queens, is the ultimate study in New York diversity. It is a place to eat Caribbean cuisine, shop for Bollywood movies, worship at a Sikh temple and stroll through streets lined with Victorian-era houses, a slice of pure Americana. Extending down the south slope of Forest Park, the neighborhood evolves from the quiet streets just off the park, where the old wood-framed homes are found, to vibrant "Little Guyana" along Liberty Avenue, its southern border with South Ozone Park."
It is also called Little Punjab due to its large Punjabi American (especially Sikh American) population. Richmond Hill is home to a density of
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
,
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,
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
,
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
,
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
,
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 ...
, and
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
places of worship. Richmond Hill is located in Queens Community District 9 and its ZIP Codes are 11418 and 11419. 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 102nd Precinct. Politically, Richmond Hill 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 28th, 30th, and 32nd Districts.


Geography

Richmond Hill is located between
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 ...
and Forest Park to the north,
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 ...
and South Jamaica to the east, South Ozone Park to the south, and Woodhaven and Ozone Park to the west.
Hillside Avenue Hillside may refer to the side of a hill. Places Australia *Hillside mine, a proposed mine on the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia *Hillside, New South Wales *Hillside, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne Canada *Hillside, Nova Scotia United Kingd ...
forms its northern boundary with Kew Gardens east of Lefferts Boulevard, while Forest Park and the right-of-way 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 ...
(LIRR)'s Montauk Branch form its northern edge west of Lefferts. Its western boundary north of Atlantic Avenue is formed by the LIRR's abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch; south of Atlantic, the western border lies between 104th and 107th Streets. The southern border extends to around 103rd Avenue or Liberty Avenue. The Van Wyck Expressway abuts the eastern end of the community. The portion of the neighborhood south of Atlantic Avenue is also known as South Richmond Hill. The area is well known for its large-frame single-family houses, many of which have been preserved since the turn of the 20th century. Many of the Queen Anne Victorian homes of old Richmond Hill still stand in the area today.


History

The hill referred to as Richmond Hill is a
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...
created by debris and rocks collected while glaciers advanced down
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
during the
Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin glaciation, also called the Wisconsin glacial episode, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex, peaking more than 20,000 years ago. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated ...
. Before European colonization the land was occupied by the Rockaway Native American group, for which the Rockaways were named. In 1660, the Welling family purchased land in what was then the western portion of the colonial town of Rustdorp. The land would become the Welling Farm, while Rustdorp would be renamed
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 ...
under British rule in 1664. 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 ...
, one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War, was fought in 1776 along the ridge in present-day Forest Park, near what is now the golf course clubhouse. Protected by its thickly-wooded area, American riflemen used guerrilla warfare tactics to attack and defeat the advancing Hessians. One of the sites that would make up modern Richmond Hill, Lefferts Farm, was said to be the site of a Revolutionary War battle. Clarenceville, a farming community, was established in January 1853 on the south side of Jamaica Avenue between 110th and 112th Streets on land purchased from the Welling estate. Richmond Hill's name was inspired either by a suburban town near
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
or by Edward Richmond, a landscape architect in the mid-19th century who designed much of the neighborhood. In 1868, Albon Platt Man, a successful Manhattan lawyer, purchased the Lefferts, Welling, and Bergen farms along with other plots amounting to 400 acres of land, and hired Richmond to lay out the community. The tract extended as far north as White Pot Road (now Kew Gardens Road) near modern Queens Boulevard. The area reminded Man of the London suburb, where his family resided. Man's sons would later found the nearby
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 ...
neighborhood from the northern portion of the land. Streets, schools, a church, and a railroad were built in Richmond Hill over the next decade, thus making the area one of the earliest residential communities on Long Island. The streets were laid down to match the geography of the area. The development of area was facilitated by the opening of two railroad stations. These were the Clarenceville station on the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad, at Atlantic Avenue and Greenwood Avenue (now 111th Street); and the Richmond Hill station at Park Street (now
Hillside Avenue Hillside may refer to the side of a hill. Places Australia *Hillside mine, a proposed mine on the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia *Hillside, New South Wales *Hillside, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne Canada *Hillside, Nova Scotia United Kingd ...
) near Jamaica and Lefferts Avenues on the Montauk railroad line between Long Island City and eastern Long Island. By 1872, a post office was established in the neighborhood, while the Clarenceville neighborhood was merged into Richmond Hill. Richmond Hill was incorporated as an independent village in 1894, by which time it had also absorbed the Morris Park neighborhood, which had been established in 1885. In 1898, Richmond Hill and the rest of Queens county were 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 ...
. 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 BMT Fulton Street Line was extended east along Liberty Avenue into the area on September 25, 1915, terminating at Lefferts Avenue (now Lefferts Boulevard). It is now the southern terminal of the . The area received further development when the BMT Jamaica Line elevated, now served by the New York City Subway's , was extended east into the neighborhood at Greenwood Avenue (now 111th Street) on May 28, 1917. As the neighborhood's population continued to grow into the 1920s, smaller closely spaced houses and apartment buildings began to replace large private houses.


Demographics

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Richmond Hill was 62,982, a decrease of 3 (0.0%) from the 62,985 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 11.2% (7,078)
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 ...
, 11.1% (6,960)
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 ...
, 1.0% (657) Native American, 27.4% (17,252) Asian, 0.2% (116)
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 ...
, 6.6% (4,139) from other races, and 6.6% (4,136) 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 36.0% (22,644) 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 9, which comprises Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven, had 148,465 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 84.3 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 22% are between the ages of between 0–17, 30% between 25–44, and 27% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 17% and 7% respectively. As of 2017, the median household income in Community Board 9 was $69,916. In 2018, an estimated 22% of Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in twelve residents (8%) 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 55% in Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, higher than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.


Demographic changes

Originally, many European (Italian, Dutch, English, Irish, Scots, Danish, and German) and Jewish families lived in Richmond Hill. In the 1970s, the neighborhood was predominantly
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 ...
. Today, the south side of Richmond Hill consists mostly of
South Asian Americans South Asian Americans are Americans of South Asian ancestry. The term refers to those who can trace back their heritage to South Asia, which includes the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The ...
( Indians,
Pakistanis 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 ...
, and Bangladeshis) and
Indo-Caribbean Americans Indo-Caribbean Americans or Indian-Caribbean Americans or Indo-West Indian American, are Americans who trace their ancestry ultimately to India, though whose recent ancestors lived in the West Indies or Caribbean, where they migrated beginning i ...
(
Indo-Guyanese Indo-Guyanese or Guyanese Indians, are Guyanese nationals of Indian origin who trace their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginning in 1838, a ...
, Indo-Trinidadians,
Indo-Surinamese Indo-Surinamese, Indian-Surinamese, or Hindustani Surinamese are nationals of Suriname who trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent. Their ancestors were indentured labourers brought by the Dutch and the British to the Dutch colony of S ...
, and Indo-Jamaicans), who have steadily emigrated to the United States since the 1960s. A portion of Liberty Avenue has also been officially been renamed Little Guyana. Richmond Hill also has the largest
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
population in the city, and 101st Avenue has evolved into "Little Punjab", or Punjab Avenue, has emerged in Richmond Hill, Queens.


Points of interest

The Triangle Hofbrau, opened as a hotel in 1893 and as a restaurant in 1893, was a restaurant which was frequented by such stars as
Mae West Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...
in the 1920s and 1930s. It sat on the triangular piece of land bordered by
Hillside Avenue Hillside may refer to the side of a hill. Places Australia *Hillside mine, a proposed mine on the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia *Hillside, New South Wales *Hillside, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne Canada *Hillside, Nova Scotia United Kingd ...
,
Jamaica Avenue Jamaica Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York, in the United States. Jamaica Avenue's western end is at Fulton Street and Broadway, as a continuation of East New York Avenue, in Brooklyn's ...
, and
Myrtle Avenue Myrtle Avenue is a street that runs from Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn to Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill, Queens, in New York City, United States. Myrtle is a main thoroughfare through the neighborhoods of Fort Greene, Clinton ...
. The building has since been converted to medical offices. Near the northwest corner of Hillside Avenue and Myrtle Avenue sat an old time ice cream parlor, Jahn's. It closed in late 2007. Between Myrtle Avenue and the Montauk Line railroad is a former movie theatre, RKO Keith's Richmond Hill Theater, opened in 1929, functioning since 1968 as a bingo hall. These and several other landmarks are located in the vicinity of the "Richmond Hill Triangle", bracketed by Jamaica Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, and 117th Street. This was historically the commercial center of Richmond Hill. The intersection of Jamaica and Myrtle Avenues is also known as James J. Creegan Square. The northern edge of Richmond Hill contains the Church of the Resurrection. This Episcopalian church is an 1874 structure and is the oldest house of worship in Richmond Hill. It was placed in 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 ...
in 2003. Also listed on the National Register of Historic Places are Public School 66 and Saint Benedict Joseph Labre Parish.


Police and crime

Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven are patrolled by the 102nd 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 87–34 118th Street. The 102nd Precinct ranked 22nd safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 43 per 100,000 people, Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens'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 345 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole. The 102nd Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 90.2% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 2 murders, 24 rapes, 101 robberies, 184 felony assaults, 104 burglaries, 285 grand larcenies, and 99 grand larcenies auto in 2018.


Fire safety

Richmond Hill contains three
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 Co. 285/Ladder Co. 142 – 103-17 98th Street * Engine Co. 294/Ladder Co. 143 – 101-02 Jamaica Avenue * Squad 270/Division 13 – 91-45 121st Street


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 are more common in Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers are less common. In Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, there were 92 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 15.7 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens 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 Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens is , less than the city average. Eleven percent of Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens residents are smokers, which is lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, 23% of residents are obese, 14% are diabetic, 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, 22% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Eighty-six percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is about the same as the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 78% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", equal to the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, there are 11 bodegas. The nearest major hospitals are Long Island Jewish Forest Hills and Jamaica Hospital.


Post offices and ZIP Codes

Richmond Hill is covered by the ZIP Code 11418 as well as parts of 11416, 11419, and 11421. The United States Post Office operates two post offices nearby: * South Richmond Hill Station – 117-04 101st Avenue * Richmond Hill Station – 122-01 Jamaica Avenue


Parks and recreation

* Forest Park, located at the north edge of the neighborhood. * Jacob Riis Triangle * Lt. Frank McConnell Memorial Park * Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto Park, formerly Smokey Oval Park, at Atlantic Avenue between 125th and 127th Streets. The name "Smokey Oval" referred to the smoke from the adjacent Morris Park Facility 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 ...
. In June 2008 was named after
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
player and broadcaster Phil Rizzuto, who played baseball at nearby Richmond Hill High School.


Education

Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city . While 34% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 22% have less than a high school education and 43% 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 Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens students excelling in math rose from 34% in 2000 to 61% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 39% to 48% during the same time period. Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, 17% 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, 79% of high school students in Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.


Schools


Public schools

Public schools in Richmond Hill are operated by the New York City Department of Education. All of the following public elementary schools serve grades PK-5 unless otherwise noted. * PS 51 (grades PK-1) * PS 54 Hillside Avenue School * PS 55 The Maure School (grades K-5) * PS 56 Harry Eichler School (grades 2–5) * PS 62 Chester Park School * PS 66 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, a New York City Landmark. * PS 90 Horace Mann School * PS 161 Arthur R. Ashe Junior School Residents are zoned to MS 72 and MS 217 in Briarwood, and MS 137 in Ozone Park. Students also attend other middle schools and high schools in the city. Richmond Hill High School is located in the neighborhood. Until June 2012, the city had planned to close the high school. The city had slated the school to close; however, a court ruling prevented the school's closure. Richmond Hill High School is the zoned school for Richmond Hill Residents, while some living towards the east of Richmond Hill has Hillcrest High School as their zoned school.


Private schools

Private schools include: * Bethlehem Christian Academy * Hebrew Academy-West Queens * Holy Child Jesus Academ
Holy Child Jesus School
* Islamic Elementary School * Theatre Street School


Libraries

The Queens Public Library operates two branches in Richmond Hill: * The Richmond Hill branch at 118–14 Hillside Avenue * The Lefferts branch at 103–34 Lefferts Boulevard


Transportation

Richmond Hill is served by several
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 ...
stations. The stops at 121st Street and Jamaica Avenue, and the stops at 111th Street and Jamaica Avenue. The Jamaica–Van Wyck station on the , and the 111th Street and Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard stations on the , are also located in Richmond Hill. There was a
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 ...
station named Richmond Hill on Hillside Avenue and Babbage Street along the Montauk Branch. However, this station was closed in 1998 due to low ridership (this station had just one daily rider at the time of its closure). The station and platform remain, though access via the staircase at Jamaica Avenue is gated off. Today the
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 ...
and Jamaica stations serve the area. The area is also served by
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 ...
routes. These include the local buses, as well as the QM18 express bus 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 ...
.


Notable residents

* Robert Angeloch (1922–2011), artist who was co-founder of the Woodstock School of Art * Joseph Baldi, serial killer known as “The Queens Creeper” * Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr (1831–1919), author of the book ''Jan Vedder's Wife'' and an advocate of
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...
* Gary Barnett (born c. 1956), President and founder of Extell Development Company * Karen Berg (1942–2020), author and founder of the Kabbalah Centre * Sal Butera (born 1952), former professional baseball catcher * Jack Cassidy (1927–1976), Broadway and television actor was born and raised in Richmond Hill * Percy Crosby (1891–1964), creator of the comic '' Skippy'' * Danny Fields (born 1939), music manager, publicist, journalist and author, who was an influential figure in punk rock * Morton Gould (1913–1996), composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist *
Alfred H. Grebe Alfred Henry Grebe, Sr. ( ; 1895–October 24, 1935) was a pioneer in the radio broadcasting field. Early life Grebe was born in 1895 in the Richmond Hill, Queens, Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens, New York City, to Henry Greb, a Horticultu ...
(1895–1935), pioneer in radio broadcasting * Seymour Halpern (1913–1997), politician who represented Queens in 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 1959 to 1973 * William Hickey (1927–1997), actor and voice actor best known for playing Don Corrado Prizzi in the film '' Prizzi's Honor'' * Frank Kameny (1925–2011), LGBT rights activist *
Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...
(1922–1969), novelist and poet who lived in Richmond Hill from 1950 to 1955 * Wilbur Knorr (1945–1997), historian of mathematics and a professor in the departments of philosophy and classics at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
* Jack Lord (1920–1998), actor best known for portraying Lt. Steve McGarrett on '' Hawaii Five-O'' * Jack Maple (1952–2001), former deputy commissioner of
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 ...
and architect of the CompStat system *
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 ...
– Family comedy act * Anaïs Nin (1923–1977), French-Cuban author of ''The Delta of Venus'' and diarist, who lived in Richmond Hill prior to moving to Paris in 1924 * Jacob Riis (1849–1914), documentary journalist/author, photographer and reformer was a Richmond Hill resident * Phil Rizzuto (1917–2007), Yankees Hall of Fame Baseball Player who lived and went to high school in Richmond Hill. Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto Park in the neighborhood is named after him * Bob Sheppard (1910–2010), public address announcer for the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
and
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
* Joe Solomon (1930–2023), West Indian cricketer notable for the Tied Test Match * Robin Tewes (born 1950), painter, born and raised in Richmond Hill * Dick Van Patten (1928–2015), actor, raised in Richmond Hill Rice, Kenny
"Van Patten's interest in racing is no act"
, ''
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
'', October 3, 2001. Accessed August 26, 2018. "Handicapping is no act for Dick Van Patten, who grew up during the Depression in the Richmond Hill section of New York near Aqueduct Race Track."


References


External links


1873 Map of Richmond Hill, Queens

Richmond Hill
at Forgotten New York Official government websites:
2000 Census data for ZIP Code 11418

2000 Census data for ZIP Code 11419


Historical societies:




Richmond Hill Historical Society

Richmond Hill Local News

Queens Historical Society
{{Coord, 40.695, N, 73.83, W, region:US, display=title Former villages in New York City Neighborhoods in Queens, New York Caribbean-American culture in New York City Guyanese diaspora in the United States Indian-American culture in New York City Indo-Caribbean culture Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian culture Trinidadian and Tobagonian-American culture