Queens is one of the five boroughs (districts) of New York City. With an area of 109 square miles (282 square kilometers), it is the largest of the boroughs. Queens lies northeast of the borough of Brooklyn, at the western end of Long Island. To the north, the East River separates Queens from the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. New York City’s fifth borough, Staten Island, is southwest of Brooklyn. At the time of the 2020 census, Queens had 2,405,464 residents, ranking it second to Brooklyn among the boroughs in population. The borough covers all of Queens County.
Sections.
The borough of Queens has several well-known sections, most of them residential. Astoria, in northwestern Queens, is home to many people of Greek ancestry and descendants of other immigrant groups. Southwest of Astoria lies Long Island City. Long Island City has historically been one of the borough’s most industrialized areas. Since the late 1900’s, however, the area has become home to a number of museums and cultural sites. Long Island City lies just south of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, which connects Queens and Manhattan. The historic Jackson Heights neighborhood is east of Long Island City. It is known for its small private parks and for its large immigrant population. Many people from Latin America and South Asia have settled in this neighborhood.
The Flushing area, in north-central Queens, is the site of La Guardia Airport and Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The park was the site of the New York World’s Fairs of 1939-1940 and 1964-1965. It has several features left from the fairs, including a garden and a science museum. Today, the park is the site of Citi Field, home of baseball’s New York Mets, and the US Open tennis tournament. The Flushing neighborhood, northeast of the park, has a busy shopping area and many large apartment houses. Since the late 1900’s, Flushing has become home to a large number of Asian residents.
Forest Hills lies near the center of Queens. Within this neighborhood is Forest Hills Gardens, a housing and shopping area. Kew Gardens, a residential neighborhood of hills and twisting streets, lies to the southeast of Forest Hills. The Van Wyck Expressway borders Kew Gardens on the east.
Jamaica, in southeastern Queens, is one of the borough’s chief commercial centers. It has large shopping and business areas and both rich and poor residential sections. East of Forest Hills and north of Jamaica lies the main campus of St. John’s University. John F. Kennedy International Airport lies immediately south of Jamaica. Jamaica Bay is south of the airport. Rockaway, a long peninsula, forms the southern border of Jamaica Bay. It has a sandy beachfront, attractive private homes, and modern apartment buildings.
History.
Before European settlement, the Queens area was home to Indian groups who spoke an Algonquian language. The area was settled by the Dutch in 1636. In 1683, Queens became a county and part of the English province of New York. It was named for England’s Catherine of Braganza, wife of King Charles II. During the mid-1800’s, many European immigrants came to Queens. Queens became a separate borough of Greater New York City in 1898.
Population growth exploded after World War I (1914-1918). The New York City subway system had expanded into Queens, and many people who worked in Manhattan bought homes in Queens. By 1930, the borough had a population of more than 1 million. Growth continued after World War II (1939-1945). Since the 1960’s, immigration from various parts of the world has led to further growth and added to the borough’s cultural and ethnic variety.
See also New York City (Queens).
