Pomonok, Queens

Last updated March 09, 2024

Electchester Union Building - Local 3 Ibewbuilding.jpg — Electchester Union Building – Local 3

Pomonok is a working class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. This large public housing development^[1] in South Flushing was built in 1949 on the former site of Pomonok Country Club. The name comes from the Algonquian name for Long Island,^[2] and means either "land of tribute" or "land where there is travelling by water".^[3]

History

Map of Pomonok

The Pomonok Country Club was a golf course in Pomonok between 1886 and 1949. The golf course was located between Kissena Boulevard and 164th Street, just to the south of Horace Harding Boulevard (now the Long Island Expressway) and to the east of Queens College.^[5] The club was established in 1886 by members of the Flushing Athletic Club in Flushing and moved to the Kissena Boulevard location in 1921. Devereux Emmet designed the golf course. The golf course hosted the PGA Championship in 1939, which Henry Picard won. The members disbanded and sold the course in 1949. Part of the site today contains the Electchester cooperative housing development, Pomonok public housing and an extension of Parsons Boulevard.^[5]^[6]

In 1992, New York City settled a lawsuit brought on behalf of 100,000 families who claimed that the city had steered all white families applying for public housing into Pomonok and had provided that project with higher standards of care and maintenance than projects inhabited by majority Black and Hispanic families.^[7]

Electchester housing complex

In Pomonok, there is also Electchester, a cooperative housing complex at Jewel Avenue and Parsons Boulevard in Pomonok, which was established by Harry Van Arsdale, Jr. and Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in 1949, when Van Arsdale worked with the Joint Industry Board of the Electrical Industry to purchase 103 acres (0.42 km²) of the former Pomonok Country Club and build apartment buildings. 5,550 people live in about 2,500 units in 38 buildings, many of which are six-story brick structures. It is served by Public School 200, which is on land donated by Electchester. The union provided the majority of the mortgage. New York state offered tax abatements. Electchester was classified as a "limited dividend nonprofit", subject to state regulations. The first families paid $475 per room for equity shares, and carrying charges of $26 per month per room, on apartments ranging from three and a half to five and a half rooms.^[8]

Both housing complexes are patrolled by the NYPD's 107th Precinct. There is also an NYPD PSA-9 Housing Police Unit station located in the Pomonok Houses.

Health

The nearest hospitals are Queens Hospital Center and New York–Presbyterian Hospital Queens.

Education

Nearby are major facilities such as Queens College, St. John's University, Touro College, Rabbinical Seminary of America, and many public and private schools. CUNY Law School, formerly in this area, moved to the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in May 2012.

Queens Public Library has a branch in Pomonok.^[9]

Transportation

MTA Bus Company routes Q25 , Q34 , Q64 and Q65 serve Pomonok. The QM4 and QM44 run express from Pomonok to Midtown.^[10] The Whitestone Expressway connects Flushing north to the Bronx, south to the Van Wyck Expressway to John F. Kennedy International Airport, and to the Grand Central Parkway and LaGuardia Airport. Main Street is a major commercial street, as is Kissena Boulevard.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Pomonok (including the Pomonok and Electchester houses) include:

Gary Ackerman (born 1942), former U.S. Representative from New York, serving from 1983 to 2013.^[11]
Barry Grodenchik (born 1960), council member representing the 23rd District of the New York City Council.^[12]
Michael Simanowitz (1971–2017), member of the New York State Assembly.^[13]
Harry Van Arsdale Jr. (1905-1986), labor, civil rights and community leader in New York City, who was behind the development of Electchester.^[14]
Bob Weinstein (born 1954), film producer.^[15]
Harvey Weinstein (born 1952), film producer.^[15]

Related Research Articles

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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.

Queens Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 43-50 Main Street in Flushing, Queens, New York City. The 39-acre (16 ha) site features rose, bee, herb, wedding, and perennial gardens; an arboretum; an art gallery; and a LEED-certified Visitor & Administration Building. Queens Botanical Garden is located on property owned by the City of New York, and is funded from several public and private sources. It is operated by Queens Botanical Garden Society, Inc.

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.

Kissena Park is a 235-acre (95 ha) park located in the neighborhood of Flushing in Queens, New York City. It is located along the subterranean Kissena Creek, which flows into the Flushing River. It is bordered on the west by Kissena Boulevard; on the north by Rose, Oak, Underhill, and Lithonia Avenues; on the east by Fresh Meadow Lane; and on the south by Booth Memorial Avenue. The park contains the city's only remaining velodrome, a lake of the same name, two war memorials, and various playgrounds and sports fields.

The Flushing River, also known as Flushing Creek, is a waterway that flows northward through the borough of Queens in New York City, mostly within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, emptying into the Flushing Bay and the East River. The river runs through a valley that may have been a larger riverbed before the last Ice Age, and it divides Queens into western and eastern halves. Until the 20th century, the Flushing Creek was fed by three tributaries: Mill Creek and Kissena Creek on the eastern bank, and Horse Brook on the western bank.

The Q27 bus route constitutes a public transit line in Queens, New York City, running primarily along 46th Avenue, Rocky Hill Road and Springfield Boulevard between a major bus-subway hub in Flushing and Cambria Heights. The route is operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations under the New York City Transit brand.

The Queens Community Board 8 is a local government in the New York City borough of Queens, encompassing the neighborhoods of Briarwood, Cunningham Heights, Flushing South, Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest, Hilltop Village, Holliswood, Jamaica Estates, Jamaica Hills, Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, and Utopia. It is delimited by the Long Island Expressway to Hillside Avenue and from the Van Wyck Expressway to the Clearview Expressway.

The Brooklyn–Queens Greenway is a bicycling and pedestrian path connecting parks and roads in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, connecting Coney Island in the south to Fort Totten in the north, on Long Island Sound. The route connects major sites in the two boroughs, such as the New York Aquarium, Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the New York Hall of Science, and Citi Field.

Pomonok Country Club was a country club in the northeastern United States, located in what is now the Pomonok neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. The golf course was located between Kissena Boulevard and 164th Street, just to the south of Horace Harding Boulevard and to the east of Queens College.

Parsons Boulevard is a road in Queens, New York. Its northern end is at Malba Drive in the Malba neighborhood and its southern end is at Archer Avenue in downtown Jamaica.

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.

Michael Simanowitz was a Democratic New York State Assembly member from the borough of Queens.

Kissena Boulevard is a thoroughfare spanning the Flushing and Pomonok neighborhoods of the borough of Queens in New York City, extending from Main Street in the Flushing Chinatown to Parsons Boulevard in Kew Gardens Hills. The road's name is derived from Kissena Lake, a name given by 19th century horticulturist Samuel Bowne Parsons for the Chippewa word meaning, "it is cold". The lake is located in Kissena Park.

Kissena Creek is a buried stream located in the neighborhoods of Flushing, Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest, and Kew Gardens Hills in the New York City borough of Queens. Kissena Creek originates in a now-filled swamp within Kew Gardens Hills and Pomonok in central Queens, flowing east to Hillcrest. The creek then travels mostly north and west, largely flowing beneath Kissena Park Golf Course, Kissena Park, Kissena Corridor Park, and Queens Botanical Garden, before merging with the Flushing River in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park.

The Q25 and Q34 bus routes constitute a public transit line in Queens, New York City. The south-to-north route runs primarily on Parsons Boulevard and Kissena Boulevard, serving two major bus-subway hubs: Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–Jamaica and Flushing–Main Street. The Q25 terminates in College Point, and the Q34 in Whitestone, both in northern Queens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Grodenchik</span> American politician (born 1960)

Barry Grodenchik is an American politician who served in the New York City Council for the 23rd district from 2015 to 2021. He is a Democrat. The district includes portions of Bayside, Queens, Bellerose, Douglaston, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Hollis, Hollis Hills, Holliswood, Jamaica Estates, Little Neck, Oakland Gardens and Queens Village in Queens.

The Q64, QM4 and QM44 bus routes constitute a public transit line in Queens, New York City. The east-to-west Q64 route runs primarily on Jewel Avenue operating between the Forest Hills–71st Avenue subway station in Forest Hills and 164th Street in Electchester. The QM4 route is an express bus route running from Midtown Manhattan to Electchester running via Sixth Avenue in Manhattan and Jewel Avenue in Queens. The QM44 route is an express bus route running from Midtown Manhattan to Electchester via Third Avenue in Manhattan and Jewel Avenue in Queens.

Daniel Rosenthal is an American politician who was a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing District 27 from 2017 to 2023. Rosenthal represents the central and eastern Queens neighborhoods of Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and College Point, and parts of Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, Briarwood, Forest Hills, and Whitestone. On July 14, 2023, Rosenthal resigned to take a position at UJA-Federation of New York.

References

↑ NYCHA Archived 2009-08-23 at the Wayback Machine Pomonok Houses
↑ Bright, William (2004), Native American Placenames of the United States, p. 373
↑ Jackson, Kenneth T.; Keller, Lisa; Flood, Nancy (December 2010). The Encyclopedia of New York City: Second Edition. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18257-6.
↑ Queens Community Board 8
1 2 "Pomonok". Forgotten NY. 7 January 2006. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
↑ Quirin, William L. (2002). America's Linksland: A Century of Long Island Golf. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press. p. 199. ISBN 1-58536-087-2.
↑ Steven Lee Myers (July 5, 1992). "Worlds Apart in Queens". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
↑ Harry Van Arsdale Jr.: Labor's Champion (M.E. Sharpe, 2002)
↑ "Pomonok | Queens Public Library".
↑ "Queens Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
↑ Colangelo, Lisa L. "New documentary on Queens' Pomonok Houses recalls fond memories and 'what worked' in public housing", New York Daily News , June 27, 2015. Accessed September 5, 2017. "Terry Katz and Al Stark spent almost four years interviewing more than 140 current and former residents of the Pomonok Houses, including television weatherman Irv Gikofsky — known as Mr. G — and former U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Queens)."
↑ Barry Grodenchik, New York City Council. Accessed September 5, 2017. "A lifelong Queens resident, Barry grew up in NYCHA’s Pomonok Houses in Flushing, where he developed a deep understanding of the concerns that working and middle class families face in New York."
↑ Taylor, Kate. "Friends Recall Selflessness That Embodied Queens Assemblyman", The New York Times , September 3, 2017. Accessed September 5, 2017. "Mr. Simanowitz grew up in Forest Hills, Queens, and lived in Electchester, a cooperative in Flushing of 38 buildings and roughly 2,500 units built in the mid-20th century by Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers."
↑ Chen, David W. "Electchester Getting Less Electrical; Queens Co-op for Trade Workers Slowly Departs From Its Roots", The New York Times , March 15, 2004. Accessed September 14, 2017. "As recently as perhaps two decades ago, about 90 percent of Electchester's units were occupied by Local 3 members. This percentage far exceeded the one-quarter or one-third that was typical of other union cooperatives, and was due largely to the power of Mr. Van Arsdale, who lived there himself, and the fact that Electchester, privately funded, could choose its residents."
1 2 Weinstein, Bob. "All Thanks to Max", Vanity Fair , February 7, 2011. Accessed September 14, 2017. "They moved to Queens, and my brother was born in 1952; I came along in 1954. We grew up in a small two-bedroom apartment in a lower-middle-class housing development called Elechester[ sic ]."

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[1] NYCHA Archived 2009-08-23 at the Wayback Machine Pomonok Houses

[2] Bright, William (2004), Native American Placenames of the United States, p. 373

[3] Jackson, Kenneth T.; Keller, Lisa; Flood, Nancy (December 2010). The Encyclopedia of New York City: Second Edition. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18257-6.

[4] Queens Community Board 8

[forgotten-5] 1 2 "Pomonok". Forgotten NY. 7 January 2006. Retrieved 2014-10-12.

[6] Quirin, William L. (2002). America's Linksland: A Century of Long Island Golf. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press. p. 199. ISBN 1-58536-087-2.

[7] Steven Lee Myers (July 5, 1992). "Worlds Apart in Queens". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2021.

[8] Harry Van Arsdale Jr.: Labor's Champion (M.E. Sharpe, 2002)

[9] "Pomonok | Queens Public Library".

[10] "Queens Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.

[11] Colangelo, Lisa L. "New documentary on Queens' Pomonok Houses recalls fond memories and 'what worked' in public housing", New York Daily News , June 27, 2015. Accessed September 5, 2017. "Terry Katz and Al Stark spent almost four years interviewing more than 140 current and former residents of the Pomonok Houses, including television weatherman Irv Gikofsky — known as Mr. G — and former U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Queens)."

[12] Barry Grodenchik, New York City Council. Accessed September 5, 2017. "A lifelong Queens resident, Barry grew up in NYCHA’s Pomonok Houses in Flushing, where he developed a deep understanding of the concerns that working and middle class families face in New York."

[13] Taylor, Kate. "Friends Recall Selflessness That Embodied Queens Assemblyman", The New York Times , September 3, 2017. Accessed September 5, 2017. "Mr. Simanowitz grew up in Forest Hills, Queens, and lived in Electchester, a cooperative in Flushing of 38 buildings and roughly 2,500 units built in the mid-20th century by Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers."

[14] Chen, David W. "Electchester Getting Less Electrical; Queens Co-op for Trade Workers Slowly Departs From Its Roots", The New York Times , March 15, 2004. Accessed September 14, 2017. "As recently as perhaps two decades ago, about 90 percent of Electchester's units were occupied by Local 3 members. This percentage far exceeded the one-quarter or one-third that was typical of other union cooperatives, and was due largely to the power of Mr. Van Arsdale, who lived there himself, and the fact that Electchester, privately funded, could choose its residents."

[VFWeinstein-15] 1 2 Weinstein, Bob. "All Thanks to Max", Vanity Fair , February 7, 2011. Accessed September 14, 2017. "They moved to Queens, and my brother was born in 1952; I came along in 1954. We grew up in a small two-bedroom apartment in a lower-middle-class housing development called Elechester[ sic ]."

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