Briarwood | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 40°43′N73°49′W / 40.71°N 73.81°W | |
Country | United States |
State | New York |
City | New York City |
County/Borough | Queens |
Community District | Queens 8 |
Named for | Briarwood Land Company |
Elevation | 11 m (36 ft) |
Population (2000) | |
• Total | 53,877 |
Race/Ethnicity | |
• White | 26.7% |
• Black | 33.3% |
• Hispanic | 29.3% |
• Asian | 14.4% |
• Other/Multiracial | 16.8% |
Economics | |
• Median income | $50,157 |
ZIP Code | 11435 |
Area code(s) | 718, 347, 929, and 917 |
Briarwood is a middle-class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by the Van Wyck Expressway to the west, Parsons Boulevard to the east, Union Turnpike to the north, and Hillside Avenue to the south.
Briarwood is named for the Briarwood Land Company, headed by Herbert A. O'Brien, who started around 1905 developing the heavily wooded area that gave the neighborhood its name; O'Brien's efforts ended in bankruptcy and development in the area finally started in the 1920s. [2] [3] Today, Briarwood contains a diverse community of Asian-American, white American, Hispanic/Latino, and African American and Afro-Caribbean residents. It is part of Queens Community Board 8. [4]
Briarwood, located northwest of downtown Jamaica, contains one of the highest points in Queens. It is located approximately between the Van Wyck Expressway (Interstate 678) to the west, Union Turnpike to the north, Parsons Boulevard to the east, and Hillside Avenue (NY 25) to the south. [5]
Briarwood is a diverse community, according to 2010 census data that groups Briarwood with neighboring Jamaica Hills, the population consists of Asian-Americans (14.4%), White (26.7%), Hispanics (29.3%), and African Americans (33.3%). [6] This is a marked change from the post-World War II period (1950s–1980s) when the neighborhood was almost exclusively white, with a large and active Jewish community. Economic activity is mostly confined to small restaurants, delis, markets, and other small businesses.
The neighborhood contains housing for middle-class families.
Briarwood is home to the Catholic Archbishop Molloy High School, which moved to Briarwood from the Upper East Side in 1957. Some of the school's more famous alumni are New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, actor David Caruso, former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, NBA professional basketball players Kenny Smith and Kenny Anderson and professional wrestler Colin Cassady. Also the infamous Serrao brothers from Richmond Hill, Queens. The school is named in honor of Archbishop Thomas Molloy. It has about 1,550 students.
Also located in Briarwood is Robert A. Van Wyck M.S. 217Q, a middle school of 1,300 students in grades 6–8. The school was established in 1955 and was named after the first mayor of the Greater City of New York, Robert A. Van Wyck, a Tammany Hall lawyer. [7]
The neighborhood is served by the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway at the Briarwood station ( E , F , and <F> trains). In that subway station, there were many paintings done by the students of Archbishop Molloy High School, M.S. 217Q, and P.S.117Q during the mid-1980s. They are titled, "Beautifying Briarwood". The paintings were removed during a renovation of the station in 2014. The New York City Bus routes serving the neighborhood are the Q20A , Q20B , Q25 , Q34 , Q44 SBS and Q60.
The neighborhood is named for the Briarwood Land Company, headed by Herbert A. O'Brien, which built housing there around 1905 or 1907. [8] [9] O'Brien decided on the name Briarwood because of the brambles in its thick woods. [8] [9] The Ottilie Orphan Home was built on 148th Street in 1906. [9] The Briarwood Land Company went bankrupt soon afterward, however, and the area was largely empty until 1924 when it was divided and sold at auction. Land went for $300 each for inside residential lots to $2,800 for lots along Queens Boulevard. [10] Over the next four years, several single-family homes were built on the land. [8] [10] Briarwood's first school, P.S. 117, was built in 1927. [9] Additional land was auctioned in 1928. [10]
On May 30, 1928, about 500 members of the Klansmen of Queens assembled in the forest of Briarwood. [11] They burned a 50-foot cross, sang songs, and gave speeches. [11] When police officers arrived, the group's leader, Major Emmett J. Smith, said that they had the right to assemble and speak on the land, because they had signed a lease to the land the previous day. [11] The group soon left the area, without any physical violence or arrests having taken place. [11]
In 1936, a company called Briarwood Estates, owned by Leon, Morty and A. B. Wolosoff, started building Colonial and old English-style homes north of 84th Drive and west of Main Street. [9] [12] The homes sold for about $5,000, the equivalent to $110,000in 2023. [13] After World War II ended, other developers built houses closer to Parsons Boulevard. [9]
The United Nations built Parkway Village, a 670-unit development, as housing for its employees around 1947. [14] The development is along Union Turnpike, between Main Street and Parsons Boulevard. [14] Parkway Village is now a co-op and no longer connected to the United Nations. [14]
On November 23, 1954, Main Street's extension south to Queens Boulevard opened, and apartments were built in the neighborhood around the same time. [9] [15]
Notable residents of Briarwood have included:
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfield Gardens, Rochdale Village to the southeast; South Jamaica to the south; Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park to the west; Briarwood to the northwest; and Kew Gardens Hills, Jamaica Hills, and Jamaica Estates to the north.
Kew Gardens is a neighborhood in the central area of the New York City borough of Queens. Kew Gardens is bounded to the north by the Union Turnpike and the Jackie Robinson Parkway, to the east by the Van Wyck Expressway and 131st Street, to the south by Hillside Avenue, and to the west by Park Lane, Abingdon Road, and 118th Street. Forest Park is to the west and the neighborhood of Forest Hills to the north-west, Flushing Meadows–Corona Park north, Richmond Hill south, Briarwood southeast, and Kew Gardens Hills east.
Interstate 495 (I-495) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in southeastern New York state. It is jointly maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), MTA Bridges and Tunnels (TBTA), and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). East of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel, I-495 is known as the Long Island Expressway (LIE).
Jamaica Hills is a small middle class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is surrounded by Hillcrest, Jamaica Estates, Jamaica, and Briarwood. It is centered on the terminal moraine that runs the length of Long Island. Originally populated with people who left neighborhoods under ethnic transition, Jamaica Hills started to become more ethnically diverse after 1964. The population today is very mixed with a large South Asian population and smaller populations from the Caribbean, Central America, and China. Because of the opening of a Greek Orthodox church in the 1960s, many Greek immigrants also live in the area. Jamaica Hills is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 107th Precinct.
Queens Boulevard is a major thoroughfare connecting Midtown Manhattan, via the Queensboro Bridge, to Jamaica in Queens, New York City, United States. It is 7.5 miles (12.1 km) long and forms part of New York State Route 25.
Fresh Meadows is a neighborhood in the northeastern section of the New York City borough of Queens. Fresh Meadows used to be part of the broader town of Flushing and is bordered to the north by the Horace Harding Expressway and Auburndale; to the west by Pomonok, St. John's University, Hillcrest, and Utopia; to the east by Cunningham Park and the Clearview Expressway; and to the south by the Grand Central Parkway.
Interstate 678 (I-678) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that extends for 14 miles (23 km) through two boroughs of New York City. The route begins at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jamaica Bay and travels north through Queens and across the East River to the Bruckner Interchange in the Bronx, where I-678 ends and the Hutchinson River Parkway begins.
The IND Queens Boulevard Line, sometimes abbreviated as QBL, is a line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City, United States. The line, which is underground throughout its entire route, contains 23 stations. The core section between 50th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, and 169th Street in Jamaica, Queens, was built by the Independent Subway System (IND) in stages between 1933 and 1940, with the Jamaica–179th Street terminus opening in 1950. As of 2015, it is among the system's busiest lines, with a weekday ridership of over 460,000 people.
The Archer Avenue lines are two rapid transit lines of the New York City Subway, mostly running under Archer Avenue in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens. The two lines are built on separate levels: trains from the IND Queens Boulevard Line serve the upper level, and trains from the BMT Jamaica Line serve the lower.
The Briarwood station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 84th Drive, Main Street, Queens Boulevard, and the Van Wyck Expressway, in Briarwood, Queens, bordering Kew Gardens, it is served by the F train at all times, the E train at all times except rush hours and middays, and the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction.
The Jamaica–Van Wyck station is a station on the IND Archer Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located on the west side of the Van Wyck Expressway between Metropolitan Avenue and 89th Avenue on the border of Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill, Queens. It is served by the E train at all times.
Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in the middle of the New York City borough of Queens. The borders are Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to the west, the Long Island Expressway to the north, Union Turnpike to the south, and Parsons Boulevard to the east.
The Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike station is an express station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at Union Turnpike and Queens Boulevard on the border of Kew Gardens and Forest Hills, Queens, it is served by the E and F trains at all times, and the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction. Despite the station's name, Union Turnpike forms the border between Kew Gardens and Forest Hills, and the station straddles that border, with multiple entrances located in each neighborhood.
The Parsons Boulevard station is an express station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Parsons Boulevard and Hillside Avenue in Queens, it is served by the F train at all times, the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction, and a few rush-hour E trains.
The 169th Street station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 169th Street and Hillside Avenue in Queens, it is served by the F train at all times, the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction, and a few rush-hour E trains to Jamaica–179th Street during p.m. rush hours.
The Sutphin Boulevard station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at Sutphin Boulevard and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, it is served by the F train at all times, the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction, and a few rush-hour E trains to Jamaica–179th Street during p.m. rush hours.
Union Turnpike is a thoroughfare stretching across part of Long Island in southern New York state, mostly within central and eastern Queens in New York City. It runs from Myrtle Avenue in Glendale, Queens, to Marcus Avenue in North New Hyde Park, Nassau County, about 1 mile (1.6 km) outside the New York City border.
The Kew Gardens Interchange is a complex interchange in Kew Gardens, in the center of the New York City borough of Queens serving nearly 600,000 vehicles daily.
Main Street is a major north–south street in the borough of Queens in New York City, extending from Queens Boulevard in Briarwood to Northern Boulevard in Flushing. Created in the 17th century as one of Flushing's main roads, Main Street has been lengthened at various points in its existence.
Utopia Parkway is a major street in the New York City borough of Queens. Starting in the neighborhood of Beechhurst and ending in the Jamaica Estates neighborhood, the street connects Cross Island Parkway and Northern Boulevard in the north to Union Turnpike, Grand Central Parkway and Hillside Avenue in the south.