Queens

According to a 2001 Claritas study, Queens was the most diverse county in the United States among counties of 100,000+ population.^[102] A 2014 analysis by The Atlantic found Queens County to be the third most racially diverse county-equivalent in the United States—behind Aleutians West Census Area and Aleutians East Borough in Alaska—as well as the most diverse county in New York.^[9] Meanwhile, a 2017 study by Axios found that, although numerous smaller counties in the United States had higher rates of diversity, Queens was the United States' most diverse populous county.^[10]

In Queens, approximately 48.5% of the population was

In 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in Queens was the Diocese of Brooklyn, with 677,520 Roman Catholics worshiping at 100 parishes, followed by an estimated 81,456 Muslims with 57 congregations, 80,000 Orthodox Jews with 110 congregations, 33,325 non-denominational Christian adherents with 129 congregations, 28,085 AME Methodists with 14 congregations, 24,250 Greek Orthodox with 6 congregations, 16,775 Hindus with 18 congregations, 13,989 AoG Pentecostals with 64 congregations, 13,507 Seventh-day Adventists with 45 congregations, and 12,957 Mahayana Buddhists with 26 congregations. Altogether, 49.4% of the population was claimed as members by religious congregations, although members of historically African American denominations were underrepresented due to incomplete information.^[115] In 2014, Queens had 738 religious organizations, the thirteenth most out of all U.S. counties.^[116]

Culture

Queens has been the center of the punk rock movement, particularly in New York; Ramones originated out of Forest Hills,^[117] it has also been the home of such notable artists as Tony Bennett, Francis Ford Coppola, Paul Simon, and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Queens Poet Laureates (generally, 3-year appointments):

• 1997–2001: Stephen Stepanchev (inaugural Poet Laureate)
• 2001–2004: Hal Sirowitz (born 1949)
• 2004–2007: Ishle Yi Park
• 2007–2010: Julio Marzan
• 2010–2014: Paolo Javier
• 2015–2019: Maria Lisella^[118]

Queens has notably fostered

Queens hosts various museums and cultural institutions that serve its diverse communities. They range from the historical (such as the John Bowne House) to the scientific (such as the New York Hall of Science), from conventional art galleries (such as the Noguchi Museum) to unique graffiti exhibits (such as 5 Pointz). Queens's cultural institutions include, but are not limited to:

The travel magazine Lonely Planet also named Queens the top destination in the country for 2015 for its cultural and culinary diversity.^[122] Stating that Queens is "quickly becoming its hippest" but that "most travelers haven't clued in... yet,"^[123] the Lonely Planet stated that "nowhere is the image of New York as the global melting pot truer than Queens."^[124]

Food

The cuisine available in Queens reflects its vast cultural diversity. The cuisine of a particular neighborhood often represents its demographics; for example, Astoria hosts many Greek restaurants, in keeping with its traditionally Greek population.^[125] Jackson Heights is known for its prominent Indian cuisine and also many Latin American eateries.^[126]

The Queens Night Market in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, operating since 2015 on Saturdays from April to October (with a break from late August to mid-September), offers samples of food capped at $6 from dozens of countries with attendance of up to 20,000 a night.^{[127][128][129]}

Economy

Queens has the second-largest economy of New York City's five boroughs, following Manhattan. In 2004, Queens had 15.2% (440,310) of all private-sector jobs in New York City and 8.8% of private-sector wages. In 2012, private-sector employment increased to 486,160.

Education and health services were the next largest sector in Queens and comprised almost 24% of the borough's jobs in 2004; in 2012, transportation and warehousing, and retail were the second largest at 12% each.[130] The manufacturing and construction industries in Queens are among the largest of the city and accounted for nearly 17% of the borough's private sector jobs in 2004. Comprising almost 17% of the jobs in Queens is the information, financial activities, and business and professional services sectors in 2004.

As of 2003^[update], Queens had almost 40,000 business establishments. Small businesses act as an important part of the borough's economic vitality with two-thirds of all businesses employing between one and four people.

Several large companies have their headquarters in Queens, including watchmaker

Long Island City is a major manufacturing and back-office center. Flushing is a major commercial hub for Chinese American and Korean American businesses, while Jamaica is the major civic and transportation hub for the borough.

Sports

Queens is home of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball.^[132] Founded in 1962 as an expansion team, the Mets have won 2 World Series championships and 5 National League pennants. Citi Field is a 41,922-seat stadium opened in April 2009 in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park that is the home ballpark of the Mets.^[133] Shea Stadium, the former home of the Mets and the New York Jets of the National Football League, as well as the temporary home of the New York Yankees and the New York Giants Football Team stood where Citi Field's parking lot is now located, operating from 1964 to 2008.^[134] Queens is the future home of the new stadium for New York City FC of Major League Soccer, which is expected to be completed in 2027.^[135]

The U.S. Open tennis tournament has been played since 1978 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, located just south of Citi Field.^[136] With a capacity of 23,771, Arthur Ashe Stadium is the biggest tennis stadium in the world.^[137] The U.S. Open was formerly played at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills.^[138] South Ozone Park is the home of Aqueduct Racetrack, which is operated by the New York Racing Association, and offers Thoroughbred horse racing from late October/early November through April.^[139] (The Belmont Park racetrack and the adjacent UBS Arena (home of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League) sit entirely in Nassau County, just over the City line; however, small sections of the properties of both venues are in Queens, as is the Belmont Park station of the Long Island Rail Road.)

Government

Since New York City's consolidation in 1898, Queens has been governed by the

Since 1990 the Borough President has acted as an advocate for the borough at the mayoral agencies, the City Council, the New York state government, and corporations. Queens' Borough President is Donovan Richards, elected in November 2020 as a Democrat. Queens Borough Hall is the seat of government and is located in Kew Gardens.

The Democratic Party holds most public offices. Sixty-three percent of registered Queens voters are Democrats. Local party platforms center on affordable housing, education, and economic development. Controversial political issues in Queens include development, noise, and the cost of housing.

Each of the city's five counties has its criminal court system and

Although Queens is heavily Democratic, it is considered a swing county in New York politics.

As of 2024, five Democrats represent Queens in the United States House of Representatives.^[148]

• Floral Park. The district also covers the North Shore of Nassau County.^[148]
• Rockaway Peninsula as well as the southeast Queens neighborhoods of Broad Channel, Cambria Heights, Hollis, Jamaica, Laurelton, Rosedale, Saint Albans, Springfield Gardens, and South Ozone Park. The district also includes John F. Kennedy International Airport.^[148]
• Murray Hill, and Rego Park.^[148]
• Long Island City. The district also covers central and western Brooklyn.^[148]
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (first elected in 2018) represents New York's 14th congressional district, which includes the northwest Queens neighborhoods of Astoria, College Point, Corona, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Woodside, and Elmhurst. The district also covers the East Bronx.^[148]

Housing

The borough's diverse housing ranges from

Elementary and secondary education

Elementary and secondary school education in Queens is provided by a vast number of public and private institutions. Non-charter public schools in the borough are managed by the

• LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
  .
• CUNY's law school. The Queens College Campus is also the home of Townsend Harris High School
  and the Queens College School for Math, Science, and Technology (PS/IS 499).
• Queensborough Community College, originally part of the State University of New York, is in Bayside and is now part of CUNY. It prepares students to attend senior colleges mainly in the CUNY system.
• St. John's University is a private, coeducational Roman Catholic university founded in 1870 by the Vincentian Fathers. With over 19,000 students, St. John's is known for its pharmacy, business and law programs as well as its men's basketball and soccer teams.
• Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology is a private, cutting edge, degree-granting institution located across the Grand Central Parkway from LaGuardia Airport. Its presence underscores the importance of aviation to the Queens economy.
• York College is one of CUNY's leading general-purpose liberal arts colleges, granting bachelor's degrees in more than 40 fields, as well as a combined BS/MS degree in Occupational Therapy. Noted for its Health Sciences Programs York College is also home to the Northeast Regional Office of the Food and Drug Administration
  .

The Queens Public Library is the public library system for the borough and one of three library systems serving New York City. Dating back to the foundation of the first Queens library in Flushing in 1858, the Queens Public Library is one of the largest public library systems in the United States. Separate from the New York Public Library, it is composed of 63 branches throughout the borough. In the fiscal year 2001, the Library achieved a circulation of 16.8 million. The Library has maintained the highest circulation of any city library in the country since 1985 and the highest circulation of any library in the nation since 1987. The Library maintains collections in many languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Haitian Creole, Polish, and six Indic languages, as well as smaller collections in 19 other languages.

Transportation

According to 2011–2015 ACS microdata, 38% of Queens households did not own a car; the citywide rate is 55%.^[157]

Vehicles for hire

As of 2019, the city had about 80,000 for-hire vehicles, of which, two-thirds were

Roundtrip car sharing

Zipcar, and others, entered New York City market in 2002 offering

Citi Bike – a docked-bike and e-bike sharing company had, as of July 2019, 169,000 annual subscribers. In 2021, the Department of Transportation and Citi Bike announced that, as part of its Phase 3 expansion, it was doubling its service area to 70 square miles and tripling the number of bikes to 40,000. The expansion includes 52 new docking stations in Astoria, as well as new stations in Sunnyside and Woodside.^[164]

Non-docked e-

Queens has crucial importance in international and interstate air traffic, with two of the New York metropolitan area's three major airports located there.

JFK is owned by the City of New York and managed, since 1947, by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The airport's runways and six terminals cover an area of 4,930 acres (2,000 ha) on Jamaica Bay in southeastern Queens.^[169] The airport's original official name was New York International Airport, although it was commonly known as Idlewild, with the name changed to Kennedy in December 1963 to honor the assassination of John F. Kennedy, November 22, 1963.^[170]

Queens is served by the New York City Subway, with 81 stations located within the borough.^[173] Two physical lines — the IRT Flushing Line and the IND Queens Boulevard Line — serve as the primary east-west trunk lines in the borough, with all services on the two lines continuing across the East River into Manhattan. Two additional lines are wholly within Queens: the BMT Astoria Line, which serves the neighborhoods of Astoria and Ditmars–Steinway, and the IND Rockaway Line, which provides access to John F. Kennedy International Airport and the Rockaways. In addition, five other New York City Subway lines — the BMT Jamaica Line, BMT Myrtle Avenue Line, BMT/IND Archer Avenue Line, IND Crosstown Line, and IND Fulton Street Line — run between Brooklyn and Queens.

The A, G, J/Z, and M routes connect Queens to Brooklyn without going through Manhattan first. The F, N, and R trains connect Queens and Brooklyn via Manhattan, while the E, W, and 7/<7> trains connect Queens to Manhattan only. The L train briefly enters Queens at Halsey Street, connecting Queens to either Brooklyn or both Brooklyn and Manhattan, depending on the direction.^[173] In addition, the Rockaway Park Shuttle operates strictly in the neighborhoods of Rockaway Park and Broad Channel.^[173]

Long Island Rail Road

The

Sunnyside Yard is used to store Amtrak intercity and NJ Transit commuter trains from Penn Station in Manhattan. The US$11.1 billion East Side Access project, which will bring LIRR trains to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, opened in 2023; this project created a new train tunnel beneath the East River, connecting Long Island City in Queens with the East Side of Manhattan.^[175][176]

JFK AirTrain

The elevated AirTrain people mover system connects JFK International Airport to the New York City Subway and the Long Island Rail Road along the Van Wyck Expressway;^[177] a separate AirTrain system is planned alongside the Grand Central Parkway to connect LaGuardia Airport to these transit systems.^[178][179] Plans were announced in July 2015 to entirely rebuild LaGuardia Airport itself in a multibillion-dollar project to replace its aging facilities, and this project would accommodate the new AirTrain connection.^[166]

MTA buses

2019 bus ridership, citywide, on the MTA system, was 2.2 million per average weekday – about 678 million for the year. In Queens, the

Queens has six state highways that run west–east largely on surface roads. From north to south, they are New York State Route 25A (Northern Boulevard), New York State Route 25B (Hillside Avenue), New York State Route 25 (Queens Boulevard, Hillside Avenue, and Braddock Avenue), New York State Route 24 (Hempstead Avenue), and New York State Route 27 (Conduit Avenue). The only state highway that primarily uses an expressway is New York State Route 878, which uses the Nassau Expressway in southern Queens.^[194]

Streets

The streets of Queens are laid out in a semi-

Queens

Many public figures have grown up or lived in Queens.

• Nas,
• LL Cool J,
• N.O.R.E
  ,
• Nicki Minaj,^[206]
• 50 Cent,
• the Ramones
  ,
• Nina Sky,
• A Tribe Called Quest,
• Ace Frehley of
• KISS,
• Mobb Deep,
• Onyx,
• Ja Rule,
• Lloyd Banks,
• Tony Yayo,
• Run–D.M.C.
  ,
• Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa,^[207]
• Lil Tecca,
• Rich The Kid
  ,
• Action Bronson,
• Nadia Ali,^[208]
• and Tony Bennett.^[209]

Jazz greats

• Professional basketball player Rafer Alston^[219] Basketball players
• Metta World Peace^[c][221]
  were both born in Queens, as were Olympic athletes
• Bob Beamon^[222]
• and Dalilah Muhammad.^[223]

Tennis star

Queens has also served as a setting for various fictional characters, including Peter Parker / Spider-Man from Marvel Comics. He grew up in Forest Hills with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben,^[226] and Archie Bunker of All in the Family, who lived at the fictional 704 Hauser Street in Astoria.^[227]

The Cemetery Belt

Several large cemeteries in Queens –

• List of tallest buildings in Queens
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Queens County, New York
• Queens directories

Notes

References