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Corona, Queens

Corona is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It borders Flushing and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the east, Jackson Heights to the west, Forest Hills and Rego Park to the south, Elmhurst to the southwest, and East Elmhurst to the north. Corona's main thoroughfares include Corona Avenue, Roosevelt Avenue, Northern Boulevard, Junction Boulevard, and 108th Street.

Corona has a multicultural population with a Latino majority, and is the site of historic African-American and Italian-American communities. After World War II, the majority of the neighborhood's residents were mostly Italian, German, Irish and of other European ancestries. Corona also has a significant Chinese population.

Corona is mostly part of Queens Community District 4. The section north of Roosevelt Avenue, known as North Corona, is the northern section of Corona and is in Community District 3. Corona is patrolled by the 110th and 115th Precincts of the New York City Police Department.

History
The area was originally known as West Flushing, but various theories have arisen for its etymology. One theory is that it was renamed by music producer Benjamin W. Hitchcock, a developer who renamed the area in 1872 and sold off land for residential development. Another theory is that real estate developer Thomas Waite Howard, who became the first postmaster in 1872, petitioned to have the post office name changed to Corona in 1870, suggesting that it was the "crown of Queens County". A third theory is that the name Corona derives from the crown used as an emblem by the Crown Building Company, which is said to have developed the area. The Italian immigrants who moved into the new housing stock referred to the neighborhood by the Italian or Spanish word for "crown", or corona.

Corona was a late-19th-century residential development in the northeastern corner of the old Town of Newtown. Real estate speculators from New York started the community in 1854, the same year that the New York and Flushing Railroad began service to the area largely to serve a newly opened race course. It was at the Fashion Race Course in 1858 that the first games of baseball to charge admission took place. The games, which took place between the All Stars of Brooklyn and the All Stars of New York, are commonly believed to be the first all-star baseball games and in essence the birthplace of professional baseball. A trophy baseball from this tournament sold in 2005 for nearly $500,000.

During the second half of the 1940s through the 1960s, many legendary African-American musicians, civil rights leaders and athletes moved to the neighborhood. In the last half of the 20th century, Corona saw dramatic ethnic successions. In the 1950s, what was predominantly an Italian-American and African-American neighborhood began to give way to an influx of Dominicans. In the late 1990s, Corona saw a new wave of immigrants from Latin America. The area north of Roosevelt Avenue contained the heart of the historic African-American community. The intersection of 108th Street and Corona Avenue is the historic center of the Italian-American community, sometimes referred to as Corona Heights. The majority Hispanic community now consists of Dominicans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Bolivians, Peruvians, Mexicans, Venezuelans, and Chileans. There are also Asian Americans (Chinese, Indians, Koreans, Filipinos, and Japanese) as well as Italian Americans and African Americans.

Structures

Dorie Miller Residential Cooperative, built in 1952, comprises six buildings, containing 300 apartments, with 1,300 rooms in total. The cooperative is named after Doris "Dorie" Miller, a U.S. Naval hero at Pearl Harbor and the first African-American recipient of the Navy Cross. Among its original residents were jazz greats Nat Adderley & Jimmy Heath; Kenneth and Corien Drew, publishers of Queens' first African-American newspaper, The Corona East Elmhurst News, Thelma E. Harris founder of Aburi Press and prominent Queens Judge Henry A. Slaughter. Corona was also the childhood home of Marie Maynard Daly, the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry.

The Louis Armstrong House attracts visitors to the neighborhood and preserves the legacy of musician Louis Armstrong, one of Corona's most prominent historical residents. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The Lemon Ice King of Corona, an ices shop, is located at 52nd Avenue, Corona Avenue, and 108th Street. Founded in 1944 by Peter Benfaremo, it is a neighborhood point of interest. The shop attracts international tourists due to having been featured in the opening credits of the TV show The King of Queens.

Corona used to have three kettle ponds. One of them, Linden Pond, was located a block south of 103rd Street–Corona Plaza station and was the centerpiece of Park of the Americas, located near the original center of Corona. The pond had become a public health hazard by the early 20th century, and was renovated in 1912; it was removed altogether when the park was renovated in 1947. The second was Shady Lake, located at what is now the intersection of 53rd Avenue, Corona Avenue, and 108th Street. The pond, originally used to harvest ice, was drained in the 20th century; the Lemon Ice King of Corona and William F. Moore Park are now located near the site. A third, Backus Lake at 98th Street and 31st Avenue, was also considered a nuisance by the 1900s, and was drained in 1917.

Corona Plaza
Corona Plaza, located at Roosevelt Avenue and National Street, was previously an underutilized lot and truck route that was transformed over the course of several years into a pedestrian plaza for community programming and inclusive living. In the latter half of the 20th century, the area that is now Corona Plaza was a lot that connected the street to a row of mainly immigrant-owned businesses. The neighborhood of Corona had an overflow of immigrants who struggled to find employment which exacerbated illegal trading, much of which would occur through the use of trucks that could park in this unofficial lot. By the early 21st century, Corona Plaza was gradually given more attention and became a community space for the ethnically diverse population of Corona.

In 2005, the nearby Queens Museum began applying for permits to temporarily close off the streets that allowed vehicle access to the plaza and hosted public events (typically art based) that the residents of the community could attend. Seeing the lot's future potential, the Queens Museum partnered with the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC) to develop plans to reuse the space. The partners saw this as an opportunity for grassroots, art-led engagement that would unite residents. The two groups' individual intentions both contributed to the creation of the permanent plaza: the QEDC supports developing local businesses while the Queens Museum creates a stronger presence in the neighborhood for its arts programs,

The space was first transformed in 2012 as a temporary plaza with chairs and tables that prohibited through traffic. It was later made permanent by the Department of Design and Construction, which filled in the lot with concrete, added built-in seating and a performance space, new pedestrian lighting, and plants to reinforce the liveliness. Later added was a drinking fountain, WalkNYC wayfinding signs, bike racks to serve commuters, an automatic pay toilet, and more furniture. Maintenance and technical assistance (including daily cleaning) services for the plaza are funded by the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), which has also partnered with the Queens Museum to bring programming to the newly transformed space. The plaza was fully implemented in early 2018 at a cost of around $5.6 million. Corona Plaza is recognized by urban planning circles as a project that has created a new community space.

Demographics
According to the 2010 census, the total population of Corona was about 110,000. Corona is overwhelmingly Hispanic with all other demographics (Asian, non-Hispanic black, and non-Hispanic white) being definitively below the borough average.

Corona is divided into two neighborhood tabulation areas, Corona (south of Roosevelt Avenue) and North Corona (north of Roosevelt Avenue), which collectively comprise the population of the greater neighborhood.

Corona
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Corona south of Roosevelt Avenue was 57,658, a change of 5,576 (9.7%) from the 52,082 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 462.74 acre, the neighborhood had a population density of 124.6 PD/acre.

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 8.4% (4,851) White, 13.6% (7,845) Black, 0.2% (130) Native American, 12.7% (7,346) Asian, 0% (9) Pacific Islander, 0.5% (280) from other races, and 1.3% (723) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 63.3% (36,474) of the population.

The entirety of Community Board 4, which comprises Corona and Elmhurst, had 135,972 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 85.4 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 17% are between the ages of 0–17, 39% between 25 and 44, and 24% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 8% and 12%, respectively.

As of 2017, the median household income in Community Board 4 was $51,992. In 2018, an estimated 27% of Corona and Elmhurst residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in fourteen residents (7%) 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 62% in Corona and Elmhurst, higher than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51%, respectively. Based on this calculation,, Corona and Elmhurst are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

As according to the 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning, Corona had 51,500 Hispanic residents, there were between 10,000 and 19,999 Asian residents, and 5,000 to 9,000 Black residents, meanwhile the White residents were less than 5000.

North Corona
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of North Corona was 52,037, a change of 4,881 (9.4%) from the 47,156 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 413.24 acre, the neighborhood had a population density of 125.9 PD/acre.

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 1.8% (929) White, 4.9% (2,566) African American, 0.1% (67) Native American, 6.9% (3,597) Asian, 0% (5) Pacific Islander, 0.7% (351) from other races, and 0.5% (259) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 85.1% (44,263) of the population.

The 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning showed North Corona having between 30,000 and 39,999 Hispanic residents, meanwhile each the White, Black, and Asian residents were all each less than 5,000 residents.

Police and crime
Corona is patrolled by the 110th and 115th Precincts of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), located at 94-41 43rd Avenue and 92-15 Northern Boulevard, respectively. The 110th Precinct ranked 15th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 34 per 100,000 people, Corona's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 227 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.

The 110th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 83.2% between 1990 and 2020. The precinct reported four murders, 29 rapes, 270 robberies, 359 felony assaults, 196 burglaries, 485 grand larcenies, and 138 grand larcenies auto in 2020.

Fire safety
Corona is served by two New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations:
 * Engine Co. 324/Satellite 4/Division 14 – 108-01 Horace Harding Expressway
 * Engine Co. 289/Ladder Co. 138 – 97-28 43rd Avenue

Health
, preterm births are less common in Corona and Elmhurst than in other places citywide, but births to teenage mothers are more common. In Corona and Elmhurst, there were 83 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 25.8 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Corona and Elmhurst have a high population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 25%, which is higher than the citywide rate of 12%.

The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Corona and Elmhurst is 0.0077 mg/m3, slightly higher than the city average. Fifteen percent of Corona and Elmhurst residents are smokers, which is equal to the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Corona and Elmhurst, 20% of residents are obese, 9% are diabetic, and 23% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 20%, 14%, and 24%, respectively. In addition, 24% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.

Eighty-eight percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is about the same as the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 68% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", lower than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Corona and Elmhurst, there are 16 bodegas.

The Elmhurst Hospital Center is located in Elmhurst.

Incidents
In 2020, the neighborhoods of Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. , these communities, with a cumulative 303,494 residents, had recorded 12,954 COVID-19 cases and 1,178 deaths. COVID-19 cases in ZIP Codes 11368 and 11369 were the highest of any ZIP Code in New York City.

Post office and ZIP Code
Corona is covered by ZIP Code 11368. The United States Post Office operates two post offices in Corona: the Corona A Station at 103-28 Roosevelt Avenue and the Elmhurst Station at 59-01 Junction Boulevard.

Religion
There are many churches representing diverse denominations. Antioch Baptist Church at 103rd Street and Northern Boulevard is a prominent African American congregation dating to 1936 with a membership of 700. Saint Leo Catholic Church, established in 1903 in what was once Sycamore Avenue and Elm Street, is a Roman Catholic church located at 104 Street and 49th Avenue in South Corona. In North Corona there is Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church at 104th Street and 37th Avenue was built in 1899 largely out of red brick with a nearby convent of the same period. Today it conducts most of its masses in Spanish and attracts large weekend crowds. On January 4, 2015, the church burned; it was rebuilt in 2016. The Congregation Tifereth Israel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Education
Corona and Elmhurst generally have a lower ratio of college-educated residents than the rest of the city. While 28% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 30% have less than a high school education and 42% 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 Corona and Elmhurst students excelling in math rose from 36% in 2000 to 66% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 42% to 49% during the same time period.

Corona and Elmhurst's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Corona and Elmhurst, 11% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, lower than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 81% of high school students in Corona and Elmhurst graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.

Schools
The following public elementary schools are located in Corona and serves grades K–5 unless otherwise indicated:
 * PS 14 Fairview
 * PS 16 the Nancy Debenedittis School
 * PS 19 Marino Jeantet
 * PS 28 Thomas Emanuel Early Childhood Center (grades PK–2)
 * PS 92 Harry T Stewart Sr (grades PK–5)
 * PS 143 Louis Armstrong
 * Pioneer Academy

The following public middle and high schools are located in Corona:
 * IS 61 Leonardo da Vinci (grades 6–8)
 * High School for Arts and Business (grades 9–12)
 * Corona Arts & Sciences Academy (grades 6–8)

Library
The Queens Public Library contains three branches in Corona:
 * The Corona branch, located at 38-23 104th Street
 * The Langston Hughes branch, located at 100-01 Northern Boulevard
 * The LeFrak City branch, located at 98-30 57th Avenue

Black Heritage Reference Center of Queens County
Corona also houses one of the most extensive collections of African-American art and literature in the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center, which serves Queens with reference and circulating collections, totaling approximately 30,000 volumes of materials written about or relating to black culture. The Black Heritage Reference Center of Queens County includes books, periodicals, theses and dissertations, VHS videos, cassettes and CDs, photographs, posters, prints, paintings, and sculpture. Cultural arts programs are scheduled through the center. Meeting space is available to community organizations by application. Special features of the Center include:
 * The Schomburg Clippings File, an extensive microfiche collection of periodicals, magazine clippings, typescripts, broadsides, pamphlets, programs, book reviews, menus and ephemera of all kinds.
 * The UMI Thesis and Dissertation Collection consists of more than 1,000 volumes of doctoral and master dissertations concerning the African and African-American diasporas.
 * The Adele Cohen Music Collection contains most of America's foremost black publications on microfilm. The papers cover 15 states beginning in 1893, and are updated each year with current issues.
 * The Black Heritage Video Collection documents the history and culture of Africans and African-Americans on tape, and in all subject areas including literature, biography, social science, fine arts.

Transportation
The New York City Subway's IRT Flushing Line runs through the neighborhood with stops at Mets–Willets Point, 111th Street, 103rd Street–Corona Plaza, and Junction Boulevard. The buses also serve the neighborhood.

Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Corona include:

 * Cannonball Adderley (1928–1975), jazz alto saxophonist
 * Nat Adderley (1931–2000), jazz cornet and trumpet player
 * Louis Armstrong (1901–1971), jazz trumpeter, whose house is now a museum
 * The Beatnuts, hip-hop artists
 * Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, Pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church
 * Maurice E. Connolly (1881–1935), Queens Borough President from 1911 to 1928
 * Marie Maynard Daly (1921–2003), first African American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry
 * Peter T. Farrell (c. 1901 – 1992), judge who presided over the trial of bank robber Willie Sutton
 * Arnold Friedman (1874–1946) American Modernist painter.
 * Dizzy Gillespie (1917–1993), jazz trumpeter
 * Jimmy Heath (1926–2020), jazz saxophonist
 * Crockett Johnson (1906–1975), cartoonist and author of children's books, lived in Corona from 1912 to 1924.
 * Kool G Rap (born 1968), rapper.
 * Kwamé, rapper/producer aka Kwamé Holland
 * Estée Lauder (1906–2004), founder of the cosmetics company that bears her name
 * Johnny LoBianco (1915–2001), boxing referee
 * Frankie Lymon (1942–1968), jazz musician
 * Madonna (born 1958), singer lived here from 1979 to 1980 as a member of the band Breakfast Club
 * Frankie Manning (1914–2009), popularized the Lindy Hop
 * Helen Marshall, Queens Borough President (2002–2013)
 * Omar Minaya (born 1958), former general manager of the Montreal Expos and New York Mets
 * Bob Moses, a legendary figure in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and later founder of the Algebra Project, lived at 108-63 Ditmars Boulevard in Corona
 * Donna Murphy, actress and singer, born in Corona
 * Noreaga, hip-hop musician
 * Edward Muscare, a.k.a. Uncle Ed or Edarem (1932–2012), radio announcer, television personality, and YouTube star, lived in Queens until 1945
 * Kid 'n Play, hip-hop musician duo
 * Carlos D. Ramirez (1946–1999), publisher of El Diario La Prensa
 * Martin Scorsese (born 1942), American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian who spent part of his childhood in Corona before moving to Little Italy, Manhattan
 * Charlie Shavers (1920–1971), jazz musician
 * Styles P (born 1974), hip-hop musician of The L.O.X.
 * Cecil Taylor (1929–2018), jazz musician
 * Clark Terry (1920–2015), swing trumpeter
 * Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933) had his glass factory and studio in Corona from 1893.
 * Jim Valvano (1946–1993), basketball coach
 * V.I.C. (born 1987), hip-hop musician

In popular culture

 * Books about Corona's history and present include Roger Sanjek's The Future of Us All and Steven Gregory's Black Corona.
 * Chapter 6 of Andrew Morton's biography Madonna describes American pop singer Madonna's brief stint as a Corona resident in the late 1970s and early '80s.
 * F. Scott Fitzgerald referred to the Flushing Meadows–Corona Park dumps as the "valley of ashes" in his novel The Great Gatsby.
 * Paul Simon referred to a fictional character as "Rosie, the queen of Corona" in his 1972 song Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.
 * Lemon Ice King of Corona appears in the opening credits of the TV show The King of Queens.
 * Archie Bunker of All in the Family, at fictional 704 Hauser Street.

title: Corona, Queens


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Elmhurst, Queens

Elmhurst (formerly Newtown) is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Junction Boulevard on the east; and the New York Connecting Railroad on the west.

The village, originally named Middleburgh, was established in 1652 by English Puritans, approximately 7 mi from New Amsterdam. When the British took over New Netherland in 1664, they renamed it New Town, which was eventually simplified to Newtown. It remained a rural community until the late 1890s, when it was renamed Elmhurst and became part of the City of Greater New York. Elmhurst became heavily developed with residential and commercial structures in the early 20th century, and many immigrants started moving in during the latter part of the century.

Elmhurst is located in Queens Community District 4 and its ZIP Code is 11373. It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 110th Precinct. Politically, Elmhurst is represented by the New York City Council's 25th District and small parts of the 21st, 24th, and 29th Districts.

17th and 18th centuries
The village was founded in 1652 in the Dutch colony of New Netherland (Nieuw Nederland) by English Puritans from Connecticut and Massachusetts. They named it Middelburgh ('Middleburgh') after the capital of the Dutch province of Zeeland, which had been a refuge of Puritans fleeing religious persecution in England. The village was located approximately 7 mi from the growing city of New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam) and just east of the settlement at Maspat (now called Maspeth), which had been abandoned following threats and attacks by local Lenape Native Americans. When the British took over New Netherland in 1664, they renamed Middleburgh as Nieuwe Stad (New Town) to maintain a connection to its Dutch heritage. This was eventually simplified to Newtown. In a deed dated July 9, 1666, the settlers took title to the lands of Newtown from the Native American tribes.

A town building, near what is now Broadway and Dongan Street, was erected to serve as both a community and religious building. Use of this building was shared by the different religious denominations in Middleburgh: the Church of England, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Presbyterians, and the Quakers. In 1669, the town planned a new church for all of these denominations, on a plot of land donated by Ralph Hunt near Grand Avenue and Queens Boulevard. According to the town records, the new building was to cost forty pounds, half in corn and half in cattle. The village of Newtown was established as the town seat for the township in 1683, when Queens County was reorganized as a "one county, five towns" model. The Town of Newtown, which had a town hall, jail, tax office, and town clerk's office, was the center of a municipality that comprised the villages that were located north of present-day Forest Park and west of Flushing Meadows.

By 1700, the town had a population of 1,000, including 405 youths under the age of sixteen, 434 adults, and 161 slaves. Among the English settlers in the present Elmhurst section of Newtown was Gershom Moore, who lived at what is now the intersection of Broadway, 45th Avenue, and Elmhurst Avenue. A chance seedling on his farm eventually produced the Newtown Pippin, Colonial America's most famous apple. The St. James Church was founded in 1704, followed by the Reformed Church of Newtown in 1731. The Colonel Bernardus Bloom Farmhouse at 90-11 56th Avenue, which existed from the 17th century to 2015, was one of the oldest surviving farmhouses in Newtown through the 21st century.

19th century
Newtown was also the center of a population of free blacks and slaves by the early 19th century. With the program of gradual abolition and the manumission of some slaves by masters following the American Revolution, the free population increased. In 1828, a year after slavery in New York state was finally abolished under the terms of a 1799 gradual abolition law, landowner James Hunter and his wife deeded 2 acres to the community for a church and parsonage. They had already been using land at Corona Avenue and 90th Street as a burial ground since about 1818. This was associated with the United African Society of Newtown, by 1906 known as St. Mark's A.M.E. Church. By 1886, more than 300 burials had been made in the cemetery. The church moved further east and gradually the burial ground was forgotten until the remains of a woman were discovered in an iron coffin in 2011 during development. The church is hoping to buy the land for preservation.

More concentrated residential development in the area was spurred by the completion of a horsecar line, the Grand Street Line, which reached New Town in 1854. The Long Island Rail Road's Main Line was built through Newtown in 1876, attracting more residents to the neighborhood.

Renaming and incorporation into city
Cord Meyer bought land at Broadway and Whitney Avenue in 1896. He proposed that the town be renamed "Elmhurst", meaning "a grove of elms"; in 1897, one year before Queens County was incorporated in the Greater City of New York, the town was renamed. The renaming was done partially to disassociate the town from nearby Maspeth and the smelly, polluted Newtown Creek, and partially to celebrate the elm trees (Ulmus americana) that abounded in the area.

Elmhurst developed as a fashionable district due to a housing development built by the Cord Meyer Development Company between 1896 and 1910, north of the Port Washington Branch railroad station. Cord Meyer expanded its holdings between 1905 and 1930, including Elmhurst Square, Elmhurst South, Elmhurst Heights, and New Elmhurst. Elmhurst also was the site of the Grand Street LIRR station just west of the current Grand Avenue – Newtown subway station. The Grand Street LIRR station was served by the Main Line and the former Rockaway Beach Branch. In the 1930s, the Independent Subway System's Queens Boulevard line was built through the neighborhood, spurring economic development but also destroying many old buildings.

Prior to World War II, Elmhurst had become an almost exclusively Jewish and Italian neighborhood, made up of early 20th century immigrants and their descendants. Following the war, Elmhurst evolved into what has been considered one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in New York City, as immigrants arrived from new areas. By the 1980s, there were persons from 112 nations in residence in the neighborhood, which has continued to diversify since then. Among the most numerous ethnic groups that have settled in the area are Latinos and Chinese Americans.

For many years, the Elmhurst gas tanks, a pair of large natural gas storage structures built in 1910 and 1921 on 57th Avenue between 74th and 80th Streets, were well-known landmarks, standing 200 feet high. Because the Long Island Expressway frequently became congested in that area, "backup at the Elmhurst Gas Tanks" became a familiar phrase in radio traffic reporting. The gas storage facilities were removed in 2001. The site was redeveloped and opened as Elmhurst Park in 2011.

Land use
Elmhurst contains a variety of zoning districts, including manufacturing, commercial, residential, and mixed-use. Much of the neighborhood is composed of detached or multi-family houses, though there are also rowhouse districts, apartment buildings of up to six or seven stories, and large developments such as LeFrak City. Commercial overlays are located primarily along Queens Boulevard, Broadway, and Grand and Corona Avenues. Several tracts are also zoned for shopping centers, which are occupied by Elmhurst's malls. Light-manufacturing zones are located near the western end of the neighborhood, mainly between the LIRR's Port Washington Branch and 51st Avenue.

Official landmarks
Some buildings in Elmhurst are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and/or are designated New York City Landmarks (NYCL):

 * Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge Number 878 (NRHP, NYCL), built in 1923–1924, once the largest Elks lodge in the Eastern United States
 * First Presbyterian Church of Newtown (NRHP), built in 1895
 * Newtown High School (NYCL), a Flemish Renaissance Revival-style building erected in 1921 and expanded in 1931
 * Reformed Church of Newtown (NRHP, NYCL), one of the oldest wood churches in New York City, first established by Dutch immigrants in 1731
 * St. James Church (NRHP, NYCL), built in 1735 and the oldest surviving Anglican building in the city

The Elmhurst branch of the Jamaica Savings Bank was previously a New York City Landmark, but the designation was removed in 2005.

Demographics
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Elmhurst was 88,427, an increase of 455 (0.5%) from the 87,972 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 750.28 acres, the neighborhood had a population density of 117.9 PD/acre.

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 6.6% (5,870) White, 1.3% (1,140) African American, 0.2% (133) Native American, 43.8% (38,699) Asian, 0.0% (28) Pacific Islander, 0.4% (338) from other races, and 1.6% (1,423) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 46.1% (40,796) of the population. Elmhurst's Latino population is 20.4% South American (9.8% Ecuadorean, 7.2% Colombian, 1.8% Peruvian, 0.4% Argentinean, 0.4% Bolivian, 0.2% Chilean, 0.2% Venezuelan), 11.6% Mexican, 3.1% Dominican, 1.8% Puerto Rican, 1.5% Central American (0.5% Salvadoran, 0.4% Guatemalan, 0.3% Honduran), and 0.7% Cuban.

The entirety of Community Board 4, which comprises Elmhurst and Corona, had 135,972 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 85.4 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 17% are between the ages of 0 and 17, 39% between 25 and 44, and 24% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 8% and 12% respectively.

As of 2017, the median household income in Community Board 4 was $51,992. In 2018, an estimated 27% of Elmhurst and Corona residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in fourteen residents (7%) 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 62% in Elmhurst and Corona, higher than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively.

As of the 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning, Elmhurst is primarily populated by 55,800 Asian residents and 42,600 Hispanic residents, however there were between 5,000 to 9,999 White residents and less than 5000 Black residents.

Chinese enclave

Elmhurst's rapidly growing Chinatown (艾浒 唐人街) is the second largest in Queens, the other Chinatown being located in Flushing. Previously a small area with Chinese shops on Broadway between 81st Street and Cornish Avenue, this newly evolved second Chinatown in Queens has now expanded to 45th Avenue and Whitney Avenue and is developing as a satellite of the Flushing Chinatown.

In Chinese translation, Elmhurst is named 艾浒 (Àihǔ in Standard Chinese). There are also many other Southeast Asian businesses and shops in the area, including Malaysian Chinese, Singaporean Chinese, Indonesian, Thai, and Vietnamese. Hong Kong Supermarket and New York Supermarket serve as the largest Chinese supermarkets selling different food varieties to the Elmhurst Chinatown. The Asia Bank serves as the only Chinese bank and the main financial resource business for the growing enclave, though USA HSBC, Chase, and other banks also are located in Elmhurst along Broadway. Like Flushing's Chinatown, it is also very highly populated by Mandarin speakers, although many also speak other varieties of Chinese.

Since the 2000s, Elmhurst Chinatown has expanded to the neighborhood of Corona, Queens.

Police and crime
Elmhurst and Corona are patrolled by the 110th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 94-41 43rd Avenue. The 110th Precinct ranked 15th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 34 per 100,000 people, Corona and Elmhurst's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 227 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.

The 110th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 83.2% between 1990 and 2020. The precinct reported 4 murders, 29 rapes, 270 robberies, 359 felony assaults, 196 burglaries, 485 grand larcenies, and 138 grand larcenies auto in 2020.

Fire safety
Elmhurst is served by two New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations:
 * Engine Co. 287/Ladder Co. 136/Battalion 46 – 86-53 Grand Avenue
 * Engine Co. 289/Ladder Co. 138 – 97-28 43rd Avenue

FDNY EMS Station 46 is located on the grounds of Elmhurst Hospital Center.

Health
, preterm births are less common in Elmhurst and Corona than in other places citywide, but births to teenage mothers are more common. In Elmhurst and Corona, there were 83 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 25.8 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Elmhurst and Corona have a high population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 25%, which is higher than the citywide rate of 12%.

The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Elmhurst and Corona is 0.0077 mg/m3, slightly higher than the city average. Fifteen percent of Elmhurst and Corona residents are smokers, which is equal to the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Elmhurst and Corona, 20% of residents are obese, 9% are diabetic, and 23% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 20%, 14%, and 24% respectively. In addition, 24% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.

Eighty-eight percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is about the same as the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 68% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", lower than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Elmhurst and Corona, there are 16 bodegas.

The Elmhurst Hospital Center is located in Elmhurst.

Incidents
In March 2020, Elmhurst Hospital became the "center of the center" of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York state as the state itself experienced the most cases in COVID-19 pandemic. The neighborhoods of Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights were most affected by the pandemic in New York City. , these communities, with a cumulative 303,494 residents, had recorded 12,954 COVID-19 cases and 1,178 deaths.

Post office and ZIP Code
Elmhurst is covered by ZIP Code 11373. The United States Post Office operates two post offices in Elmhurst: the Elmhurst A Station at 80-27 Broadway and the Elmhurst Station at 59-01 Junction Boulevard.

Religion
Places of worship include:
 * Ascension Roman Catholic Church (86-13 55th Avenue)
 * Bangladesh Hindu Mandir (94-39 44th Avenue)
 * Christian Testimony Church (87-11 Whitney Avenue). Originally a synagogue—as evidenced by the former presence of the word Mizpah (watchtower) above the front door—the building is now a Christian church with a congregation composed mainly of Chinese people, with services in both English and Mandarin Chinese.
 * Elmhurst Baptist Church (87-37 Whitney Avenue), founded in 1900, built in 1902. The congregation is very diverse and multi-ethnic. The church building is constructed of stone.
 * Elmhurst Islamic Center (EIC) (87-07 55th Avenue)
 * Elmhurst Muslim Center (42-12 79th Street)
 * First Presbyterian Church of Newtown (Queens Boulevard and 54th Avenue) built in 1895, the congregation was established in 1652
 * Geeta Temple Asharam (92-09 Corona Avenue)
 * Jain Center of America (43-11 Ithaca Street), founded in 1973
 * New Life Fellowship Church (82-10 Queens Boulevard) is housed in the building of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge Number 878.
 * The Reformed Church of Newtown (85-15 Broadway), founded in 1731. The original church was built in 1733, with a replacement built in 1831, expanded in 1851, and fitted with stained glass by 1874. The church has a small, historic graveyard on the side facing Corona Avenue.
 * The Rock Church at Elmwood Theatre (57-02 Hoffman Drive), at 57th Avenue and Hoffman Drive, is housed in the former Loews Elmwood Theater. The theater, built in 1928, was formerly one of the largest theaters in the city and currently seats 3,000 people. Its name was a portmanteau word, composed of the names "Elmhurst" and "Woodhaven", the latter alluding to nearby Woodhaven Boulevard. One of the city's last community theaters, it was considered for demolition in 1968 and in 1999; both times, the site was planned as an adjunct for the nearby, now-closed, St. John's Queens Hospital. The theater closed in 2002 and was purchased by the Rock Church, but was temporarily used as a music venue before the church opened in 2006. The theater has a water tower and a huge sign saying "Elmwood" on the roof.
 * Satya Narayan Mandir (75-15 Woodside Avenue)
 * St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church (52-29 83rd Street), founded in 1892
 * St. Bartholomew's Church (43-22 Ithaca Street), founded in 1906, present structure built in 1930. The original church, built in 1910, is at Whitney and 43rd Avenues.
 * St. James Church (originally St. James Episcopal Church, at Broadway and 51st Avenue) is Elmhurst's oldest extant building, having been built in 1734 under the rule of British King George III. In 1848, it became a community center and Sunday school, upon which the church moved to a new building that later burned down. A clock tower atop the original building was destroyed in an 1882 storm. The original church building is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Malls
Elmhurst has two urban shopping malls: Queens Center and the smaller Queens Place Mall.

The 150-store Queens Center, bounded by Queens Boulevard, 57th and 59th Avenues, and 90th and 94th Streets, opened on September 12, 1973, and was renovated and expanded across 92nd Street in 2002–4. With a gross leasable area of 1000000 sqft, the mall has had retail sales per square foot nearly triple the national average. It was built on land previously occupied by a 24-ride children's amusement park named Fairyland, which opened in 1949 and closed in 1968. The site was also formerly a supermarket and automobile parking.

The smaller Queens Place, bounded by Queens Boulevard and by Justice, 55th, and 56th Avenues, is designed in a cylindrical shape and opened in 1965. Originally planned as a traditional rectangular construction designed to replace several blocks of residences, the mall had to be redesigned because the owner of the corner house at 55th Avenue and Queens Boulevard, Mary Sendek, refused to sell what had been her childhood home. The site of the corner home was demolished after Sendek died, and that site is now a small collection of stores.

Streets and street names
57th Avenue was known as the Flushing and Newtown Turnpike. Built in 1801, it connected with present-day Flushing Avenue in Maspeth, and extended all the way to Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The Elks Lodge's name is shared by a local street, Elks Road, a short road in a cluster of 2- and 3-story orange and yellow brick buildings located between Grand Avenue, 79th Street, and Calamus Avenue, that were built in 1930 by Louis Allmendinger for the Matthews Company.

Hoffman Drive is a remnant of the wide Hoffman Boulevard. Hoffman Boulevard was straightened and renamed Queens Boulevard, but a short slip road, Hoffman Drive, leads from 57th Avenue to Woodhaven Boulevard.

Horace Harding Expressway was once a turnpike called Nassau Boulevard, which went from Elmhurst to Flushing, Bayside, and Little Neck. It was renamed for Horace J. Harding (1863–1929), a finance magnate who directed the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and the New York Municipal Railways System; Harding encouraged city planner Robert Moses's system of parkways on New York, and after Harding died, the boulevard—now the service road of the Long Island Expressway—was renamed after him.

Horse Brook Island is a traffic island at the intersection of 90th Street, Justice Avenue, and 56th Avenue. The traffic island is reminiscent of the former Horse Brook, a creek that flowed to the Flushing River from the present-day intersection of Kneeland Avenue and Codwise Place. The space was renovated from 1986 to 1994.

Justice Avenue, an Elmhurst road that has existed since the American colonial period, follows an unusual curved path through Elmhurst due to a now-defunct railroad line immediately to the south.

Queens Boulevard, a wide at-grade highway that stretches from Long Island City to Jamaica, was formerly composed of two small dirt roads: Old Jamaica Road and Hoffman Boulevard. In the 1910s, it was paved and widened to 12 lanes. It is sometimes called the "Boulevard of Death" because of the high fatality rate on Queens Boulevard.

The majority of Whitney Avenue, which stretches from 83rd Street in the west to Roosevelt Avenue and 93rd Street to the northeast, is on a tilted street grid, developed in the early 20th century. The street grid consists of Broadway; Aske, Benham, Case, Denman, Elbertson, Forley, Gleane, Hampton, Ithaca, Judge, Ketcham, Layton, Macnish Streets; Ketcham Place; and Baxter, Pettit, Britton, Vietor, Elmhurst, Whitney, and Lamont Avenues. Whitney Avenue also has the most religious institutions of any street in Elmhurst.

Woodhaven Boulevard was known as Trotting Course Lane because it was named when horses were the main mode of transport. Although it extends to Cross Bay Boulevard in the Rockaways, two small parts of the original lane still exist in Forest Hills.

Parks

Elmhurst Park is on 57th Avenue west of 80th Street. There is a children's playground with slides, swings, and exercise machines, as well as walking paths and a lawn atop a hill. The land for the park was formerly occupied by gas tanks. The park itself was opened in 2011. It includes the Queens Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which was finished in 2019.

Moore Homestead Park is located between Broadway and 45th Avenue. There is a children's playground with slides and swings and there are different sections where people can play basketball, handball, and chess. The park is named after a nearby homestead owned by Clement Clarke Moore, whose ancestor John Moore helped negotiate Newtown's land area with the Native American population there. The park, originally acquired by the Independent Subway System and then turned into a playground, was renovated in the 1990s, and again in the 2020s.

Frank D. O'Connor Playground is located on Broadway between Woodside Avenue and 78th Street. There is also a children playground, basketball and handball area. Opened in 1937 and renovated in 1996, the park is named after former state senator Frank D. O'Connor.

Veterans Grove is located on 43rd Avenue by Judge and Ketcham Streets. It is a small park mainly for younger children. The park's plaque states that it was dedicated "to the memory of those soldiers from Elmhurst who lost their lives serving in World War I." The park land was acquired in 1928, and the park was originally called the Elmhurst Memorial Park. It was renovated in 1994–6.

Horsebrook Island is a small triangular green space at the junction of 56th Avenue, Justice Avenue and 90th Street that was named after a stream that once ran through the Newtown settlement. The creek was buried in the first three decades of the twentieth century.

Libra Triangle is a small triangular green space at the junction of Justice Avenue and Broadway.

Newtown Playground is located on 92nd Street and 56th Avenue. There are two children's playgrounds, chess tables, swings, sprinklers, and a small lawn. The park is named after the original name of Elmhurst given by the English. It is one block away from Queens Center Mall and Newtown High School's athletic field.

Education
Elmhurst and Corona generally have a lower ratio of college-educated residents than the rest of the city. While 28% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 30% have less than a high school education and 42% 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 Elmhurst and Corona students excelling in math rose from 36% in 2000 to 66% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 42% to 49% during the same time period.

Elmhurst and Corona's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Elmhurst and Corona, 11% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, lower than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 81% of high school students in Elmhurst and Corona graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.

Schools
Elmhurst contains the following schools:
 * PS 7 - Louis F. Simeone
 * PS 13 - Clement C Moore
 * PS 89 - Elmhurst
 * PS 102 - Bayview
 * PS 877 - 51st Avenue Academy- now called PS 7 Academy
 * St. Adalbert School
 * St. Bartholomew School
 * IS 5 - The Walter Crowley Intermediate School
 * Newtown High School is located in a Baroque, C. B. J. Snyder-designed building at Corona Avenue and 90th Street that was built in 1897.
 * Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary, the last full-time Roman Catholic high school seminary day school in operation in the United States.
 * The Elmhurst Educational Complex is a renovated spice factory housing multiple educationally robust schools. Opened in 2008, it contains three high schools, an elementary school, and an early childhood center.
 * Central Queens Academy Charter School

Library
The Queens Public Library's Elmhurst branch is located at 86-01 Broadway. The original Elmhurst branch, a Carnegie library constructed in 1906, was closed in 2011 and demolished in 2012 for a complete rebuild that was designed to double the building's original size. Planned to be completed in two years, the reconstruction of the library took more than twice the original expected time and exceeded its $27.8 million budget. The new four-story, 32000 sqft building, which included elements of the original structure, was opened to the public in December 2016 at a cost of $32 million.

Transportation
New York City Subway stations include Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue, Woodhaven Boulevard, Grand Avenue–Newtown, and Elmhurst Avenue, all served by the of the IND Queens Boulevard Line. In addition, the IRT Flushing Line, served by the, runs along Roosevelt Avenue, the north border of Elmhurst, with stations at 74th Street–Broadway, 82nd Street–Jackson Heights, and 90th Street–Elmhurst Avenue.

Local buses include the. Express buses going to and from Manhattan during weekday rush hours include the.

Elmhurst is bounded by the Long Island Expressway to the south and by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to the west. Queens Boulevard, Woodhaven Boulevard, Junction Boulevard, Roosevelt Avenue, and Broadway are major roads in the community. Elmhurst is connected to Manhattan and Jamaica by Queens Boulevard, and is connected to John F. Kennedy International Airport by Woodhaven Boulevard and to LaGuardia Airport by Junction Boulevard.

Notable residents

 * Tommie Agee (1942–2001), baseball player
 * Mose Allison (1927–2016), jazz player
 * Eric B (born 1965), DJ from the hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim
 * Harry Belafonte (born 1927), calypso singer and Grammy winner
 * Julissa Bermudez (born 1983), Dominican-American actress, co-host for countdown show 106 & Park.
 * Brian Brady (born 1962), right fielder who played for the California Angels.
 * William J. Casey (1913–1987), director of CIA, born in Elmhurst
 * Patty Duke (1946–2016), former president of Screen Actor's Guild, recipient of an Academy Award of Merit for her role in the movie The Miracle Worker
 * Joan Hackett (1934–1983), the actress who appeared on television, film and stage.
 * Homeboy Sandman (born 1980), rapper.
 * Bill Kenville (1930–2018), former NBA basketball player.
 * Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, attended P.S. 013 Clement C. Moore elementary school in Elmhurst.
 * Omar Minaya (born 1958), former General Manager of the New York Mets, raised in Elmhurst, Newtown High School alumnus
 * Benjamin Moore (1748–1816), bishop of New York, father of Clement C. Moore
 * Clement Clarke Moore (1779–1863), author of the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas"; the site of his home is now a paved playground at Broadway and 82nd Street
 * John Moore, founder of Elmhurst and the first independent minister allowed in New England
 * Tony Pastor (1832–1908), vaudeville entertainer and theater manager, sometimes called "The Father of [American] Vaudeville"
 * Carroll O'Connor (1924–2001), actor, best known for his role as Archie Bunker on All in the Family
 * Frank D. O'Connor (1909–1992), attorney and judge
 * Smush Parker (born 1981), former NBA basketball player, attended Newtown High School.
 * Lindy Remigino (1931–2018), sprinter who won two gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.
 * Tommy Rettig (1941–1996), who played "Jeff" on the Lassie TV series, attended PS 89
 * Dixie Roberts, vaudeville tap and specialty dancer, who was a featured dancer in the Ziegfeld Follies.
 * Antonin Scalia (1936–2016), former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, attended PS 13
 * Risë Stevens (1913–2013), opera singer, attended Newtown High School
 * Charlie Villanueva (born 1984), Dominican-American NBA power forward for the Detroit Pistons

In popular culture
McDowell's, the fictional restaurant depicted in the 1988 film Coming to America, is located in Elmhurst. For the week-long shot, the filmmakers cosmetically altered an existing Wendy's restaurant, which was closed in May 2013 and was razed by December 2013 to make way for condominiums. Images of surrounding streets were also used in the movie.

The CBS show Blue Bloods filmed for its third season on the residential streets of Elmhurst in 2012.

Part of the Revenge of the Green Dragons was filmed in Elmhurst with cameos from locals.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Elmhurst, Queens


text:
Jackson Heights, Queens

Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the borough of Queens in New York City. Jackson Heights is neighbored by North Corona to the east, Elmhurst to the south, Woodside to the west, and today northern Astoria (Ditmars-Steinway) to the northwest, and East Elmhurst to the north and northeast. Jackson Heights has an ethnically diverse community, with half the population having been foreign-born since the 2000s. The New York Times has called it "the most culturally diverse neighborhood in New York, if not on the planet." According to the 2010 United States Census, the neighborhood has a population of 108,152.

The site of Jackson Heights was a vast marsh named Trains Meadow until 1909 when Edward A. MacDougall's Queensboro Corporation bought 325 acre of undeveloped land and farms. The Queensboro Corporation named the land Jackson Heights after Jackson Avenue, which was in turn named after John C. Jackson, a descendant of one of the original Queens families. He was a respected Queens entrepreneur. Jackson Avenue was the northern border of the ambitious Garden City development of the Queensboro Corporation. Further development arose through the development of transit and "garden apartments". "Garden homes" soon became prevalent in Jackson Heights. During the 1960s, Jackson Heights's white middle-class families began moving to the suburbs, and nonwhite residents began moving in.

Jackson Heights retains much of its residential character. It also has numerous commercial establishments clustered along 37th Avenue, as well as on several side streets served by subway stations. Most of the surviving garden city neighborhood is part of a national historic district called the Jackson Heights Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. A smaller part of the original garden city neighborhood was placed in a New York City historic district of the same name in 1993.

Jackson Heights is in Queens Community District 3 and its ZIP Code is 11372. The zip code 11370 is co-named with East Elmhurst. It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 115th Precinct. Politically, Jackson Heights is represented by the New York City Council's 21st and 25th districts.

Early history
From colonial times to the 1900s, the area now known as Jackson Heights was a vast marsh named Trains Meadow. Urbanization at the turn of the century was creating a New York City housing shortage and urban sprawl. In 1909, Edward A. MacDougall's Queensboro Corporation bought 325 acre of undeveloped land and farms and christened them Jackson Heights after John C. Jackson, a descendant of one of the original Queens families and a respected Queens County entrepreneur.

Northern Boulevard, a main east–west road in the neighborhood, was also originally named Jackson Avenue; that name is retained in a short stretch in Long Island City. Though the land was not known for its elevation, after the land was filled to raise the terrain above the marshes of the Trains Meadow, Jackson Heights attained the highest elevation in the vicinity. The addition of the term "Heights" echoed the prestige of the neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights and indicated that Jackson Heights was meant to be an exclusive neighborhood. At that time the area could most easily be reached by ferry from Manhattan or the Brooklyn Bridge. More direct access came with the Queensboro Bridge in 1909, This was followed by the elevated IRT Flushing Line—the present-day, just 20 minutes from Midtown Manhattan—in 1917, and the Fifth Avenue Coach Company double-decker coaches in 1922.

Development
Jackson Heights was conceived as a planned development for middle- to upper-middle-income workers looking to escape an overcrowded Manhattan. Inspired by Sir Ebenezer Howard's garden city movement, it was laid out by Edward MacDougall's Queensboro Corporation in 1916 and began attracting residents after the arrival of the Flushing Line in 1917. The Queensboro Corporation coined the name "garden apartment" to convey the concept of apartments built around private parks. Although land for churches was provided, the apartments were limited to White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, excluding Jews, Blacks, and perhaps Greeks and Italians.

Several Jackson Heights buildings were built by the Queensboro Corporation as part of a planned community a few blocks from the Flushing Line between Northern Boulevard (then Jackson Avenue) and 37th Avenue, the main commercial corridor of the new development. Targeted at the middle class, these multi-story apartment buildings designed in the Colonial Revival and neo-Tudor styles were based on similar ones in Berlin. They were to share garden spaces, have ornate exteriors and features such as fireplaces, parquet floors, sun rooms, and built-in bathtubs with showers; and be cooperatively owned. In addition, the corporation divided the land into blocks and building lots, as well as installed streets, sidewalks, and power, water, and sewage lines.

The Laurel apartment building on 82nd Street at Northern Boulevard was the first of Jackson Heights's Queensboro Corporation buildings, completed in 1914 with a small courtyard. The Greystones on either side of 80th Street between 37th and 35th avenues were completed in 1918 with a design by architect George H. Wells. Leftover unused space was converted to parks, gardens, and recreational areas, including a golf course; much of this space, including the golf course, no longer exists. This was followed by the 1919 construction of the Andrew J. Thomas–designed Linden Court, a 10-building complex between 84th Street, 85th Street, 37th Avenue, and Roosevelt Avenue. The two sets of five buildings, separated by a gated garden with linden trees and two pathways, included parking spaces with single-story garages accessed via narrow driveways, the first Jackson Heights development to do so; gaps at regular intervals in the perimeter wall; a layout that provided light and ventilation to the apartments and fostered a sense of belonging to a community; the area's first co-op; and now-prevalent private gardens surrounded by the building blocks.

The Hampton Gardens, the Château, and the Towers followed in the 1920s. The Château and the Towers, both co-ops on 34th Avenue, had large, airy apartments and elevators. Until 1922, elevators were required to have attendants and more modest buildings were constructed as walk-ups not exceeding five floors. The elegant Château cooperative apartment complex, with 12 buildings surrounding a shared garden, was built in the French Renaissance style and has slate mansard roofs pierced by dormer windows, and diaperwork brick walls. At first purely decorative, the shared gardens in later developments included paved spaces where people could meet or sit. The Queensboro Corporation started the Ivy Court, Cedar Court, and Spanish Gardens projects, all designed by Thomas, in 1924.

The Queensboro Corporation advertised their apartments from 1922 on. On August 28, 1922, the Queensboro Corporation paid $50 to radio station WEAF to broadcast a ten-minute sales pitch for apartments in Jackson Heights, in what may have been the first "infomercial", opening with a few words about Nathaniel Hawthorne before promoting the corporation's Nathaniel Hawthorne apartments. The ad wanted viewers to:

"seek the recreation and the daily comfort of the home removed from the congested part of the city, right at the boundaries of God's great outdoors, and within a few minutes by subway from the business section of Manhattan ... The cry of the heart is for more living room, more chance to unfold, more opportunity to get near Mother Earth, to play, to romp, to plant and to dig ... Let me enjoin upon you as you value your health and your hopes and your home happiness, get away from the solid masses of brick ... where your children grow up starved for a run over a patch of grass and the sight of a tree ..."

Built in 1928, the English Gables line 82nd Street, the main shopping area of Jackson Heights's Hispanic community. There are two developments, English Gables I and II; they are meant to provide a gateway to the neighborhood for commercial traffic and for passengers from the 82nd Street–Jackson Heights station. A year later, the Robert Morris Apartments, on 37th Avenue between 79th and 80th streets, were constructed. Named after Robert Morris, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, the apartments have ample green spaces, original high ceilings, and fireplaces, and are relatively expensive.

During the Depression, two new buildings were built: Ravenna Court on 37th Avenue between 80th and 81st streets, built in 1929; and Georgian Court three blocks east, between 83rd and 84th streets, built in 1930. The Queensboro Corporation began to build on land that until then had been kept open for community use, including the tennis courts, community garden, and the former golf course—between 76th and 78th streets and 34th and 37th avenues—all of which were built upon during the 1940s and 1950s. The corporation also began erecting traditional six-story apartment buildings. Dunolly Gardens, the last garden apartment Thomas designed, was an exception, a modernistic group of six buildings completed in 1939. The corner windows, considered innovative in the 1930s, gave the apartments a more spacious feel, and the landscaped interior courtyard is one of the historic district's largest. After the 1940s, Jackson Heights's real estate was diversified, with more apartment buildings and cooperatives built with elevators; some new transportation infrastructure was also built.

In 1929, Holmes Airport opened in the northern section of Jackson Heights that is also considered part of East Elmhurst. Bordering St. Michaels Cemetery to the west, the airfield was also called the Grand Central Air Terminal and Grand Central Airport. Holmes Airport shut down in 1940, one year after LaGuardia Airport opened.

Social and demographic shifts
The neighborhood grew steadily from the 1920s to the 1950s, with construction slowing during the Depression and booming back again after World War II. Holmes Airport operated from 1929 to 1940 on 220 acre adjacent to the community. Later, its land became veterans' housing and the Bulova watch factory site.

Ethnic tensions
By 1930, artists from the Manhattan theater district, many of whom were homosexual, had moved into the area, forming the beginnings of the second largest LGBTQ community in New York outside of Manhattan. Jews were allowed to move in by the 1940s. In the 1950s, middle-class businessmen from Colombia, escaping violence and repression in Latin America, brought their financial capital and their families to the community. Following the development of Long Island in the 1960s, Jackson Heights' white middle-class families began moving further out into the suburbs. At the same time the neighborhood experienced an influx of ethnically diverse professionals from Latin America and the Indian subcontinent taking advantage of the 1965 Immigration Reform Act, which allowed them to arrange the immigration of their families. White residents' resistance to integration with African-Americans continued late into the decade, and Junction Boulevard came to be called the "Mason-Dixon Line", as it divided Jackson Heights from the black communities in East Elmhurst and Corona.

Crime increases
By the mid-1970s, Roosevelt Avenue had become the neighborhood's commercial center and also gained national attention as a place for organized crime. A 1993 New York Times article detailed how wire transfer services in Jackson Heights inadvertently enabled Colombian cartels to repatriate, and in the process launder, millions of dollars in drug money to South America alongside customers who used the service to transfer legally earned money. The violence that ensued as a result of the growing Jackson Heights illegal drug trade is described in this excerpt from a 1978 New York magazine article titled "Gunfights in the Cocaine Corral":

"Over the past three years, in this nice, quiet neighborhood, 27 people have been killed and dozens have been injured.... The violence spreads to surround neighborhoods as cops and prosecutors fight a losing battle. Double and triple homicides go unsolved."

By the late 1980s, Jackson Heights had rising real-estate values and a moderate amount of crime compared to other city neighborhoods. Nevertheless, there were still high-profile crimes that reinforced perceptions of the neighborhood as dangerous. In 1990, Julio Rivera, a gay Puerto Rican man, was murdered in a hate crime. His death galvanized the LGBTQ community into protesting his death with a candlelight vigil, the formation of several LGBTQ activist groups, and the foundation of the Queens Pride Parade. Two years later, journalist Manuel de Dios Unanue was murdered after authoring articles in El Diario La Prensa about the proliferation of Colombian cartels embedded within the business community along Roosevelt Avenue. Seeking to distance themselves from the portrayal of Jackson Heights as a crime-ridden neighborhood, some residents argued that de Dios had been murdered in Elmhurst, as the restaurant where he was attacked was on the south side of Roosevelt Avenue.

Following the reduction of crime in New York City during the late 1990s, the market for illicit substances that fed the Colombian cocaine industry in Jackson Heights eventually decreased, leading to a reduction in cartels in the neighborhood.

Revitalization and 21st century
Community leaders responded to negative perceptions of Jackson Heights by seeking to have the neighborhood designated a historic district. In 1988, the Jackson Heights Beautification Group was formed; it organized walking tours as well as beautification activities and commissioned a neighborhood history. Five years later, part of Jackson Heights was made a New York City historic district. The designation, which set architectural guidelines for structures within the designated district, affected both existing buildings and planned new developments within the district.

Starting in the 2000s, Jackson Heights has become once again a desirable destination for professionals and middle-class families. Some of these residents moved to Jackson Heights for the unique architecture of its buildings, while others move for its cultural diversity.

Historic district
Most of the original neighborhood, comprising the garden city apartment buildings, was made a National Register Historic District and a New York State Historic Register District. The Jackson Heights New York State and National Register Districts range from 93rd Street through 69th Street between Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue. Some property fronting on Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue, as well as some "cut-outs", are not inside the Register Districts. The national historic district called the Jackson Heights Historic District, includes 2,203 contributing buildings, 19 contributing sites, and three contributing objects. Among the landmarked buildings, over 200 original Queensboro Corporation apartment buildings still exist in Jackson Heights. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Almost 600 buildings in the neighborhood —a rectangle stretching roughly from 76th to 88th Streets and from Roosevelt Avenue almost up to Northern Boulevard—were designated as a New York City Historic District by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 19, 1993. It comprises large apartment buildings with private communal gardens, as well as many groupings of private homes and many stores on the streets surrounding Roosevelt Avenue. Unlike the State and National Districts, the local designation comes with aesthetic protections.

In addition to the Jackson Heights Historic District, the Lent Homestead and Cemetery and Jackson Heights post office are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Business district
The main retail thoroughfare is 37th Avenue from 72nd Street to Junction Boulevard, with more retail on 73rd, 74th, and 82nd streets between 37th and Roosevelt avenues. Stores and restaurants on and near 74th Street tend to cater to the large population from the Indian subcontinent in the neighborhood, with sari and jewelry stores, Indian and Bengali music and movie retailers and many restaurants. 37th Avenue contains a wide mix of retailers, including many grocery stores, and 82nd Street contains many national chain stores located in Tudor-style buildings in the Jackson Heights Historic District. South American retailers and eateries, predominantly from Colombia and Peru dominate Northern Boulevard from 80th Street east to the border of neighboring Corona at Junction Boulevard. Roosevelt Avenue is also lined with various mainly Hispanic retail stores.

Street food
Along Roosevelt Avenue from 74th to 108th Streets, street food from all over the world is made and sold at food carts "currently dominated by the Mexican community". Typical cart food includes Bengali fuchka (phuchka), Middle Eastern lamb over rice, Nepalese momo, Colombian chuzos and arepas, Greek souvlaki, Ecuadorian ceviche, Thai steamed chicken over rice, and Mexican elotes (corn on a cob), tacos, homemade tamales filled with meats, cheese, fruits or even chilies, fruit batidos or aguas frescas (smoothies), and South American sweet churros.

In a 2017 episode of his show Parts Unknown, American chef Anthony Bourdain visited several Queens eateries, profiling Evelia Coyotzi, who sells tamales in a street cart on Junction Boulevard, the border between Jackson Heights and Corona. Bourdain learned about Coyotzi, a Mexican immigrant who spoke no English, through the Street Vendor Project, which advocates for New York City street vendors.

Other buildings
Most housing units in Jackson Heights are apartments in multi-unit buildings, many of which are five or six stories. Many of these buildings are co-ops, some are rentals, and a few are condominiums. There are also a number of one- to three-family houses, most of which are attached row houses. 34th and 35th avenues, as well as most side streets between 37th Avenue and Northern Boulevard, are residential. A section of 90th Street between 30th Avenue and Northern Boulevard was privately developed separately from the Queensboro Corporation. The structures on that stretch of 90th Street are mostly Tudor buildings.

There were five historic movie theaters in Jackson Heights, which have all been either repurposed or closed. The Art Deco Earle Theater, opened in 1936 on 37th Road between 73rd and 74th streets, was a neighborhood movie theater before becoming a porn theater and then, with the name changed to "Eagle", a Bollywood theater before a strike in the Bollywood industry caused the theater to close permanently in 2009; it is now a food court selling cuisine of the Indian subcontinent. The Fair Theatre, in the area that overlaps with East Elmhurst, opened in 1939 at Astoria Boulevard and 90th Street, became a porn theater. The Polk Theater, on 37th (formerly Polk) Avenue and 93rd Street, opened in 1938 and closed in 2006; it also was a porn theater during its later years, before it was demolished in 2008. The Colony Theater, on 82nd Street north of Roosevelt Avenue, opened in 1935 and closed in 1991. The Jackson, later an Indian-owned theater called the Jackson Heights Cinema, on 82nd Street south of Roosevelt Avenue, was demolished in March 2017. The Boulevard Theater, on Northern Boulevard and 83rd Street, is now a Latin-American restaurant of the same name.

Demographics
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Jackson Heights was 108,152, a decrease of 5,175 (4.6%) from the 113,327 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 1101.36 acres, the neighborhood had a population density of 98.2 PD/acre. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 17.2% (18,567) White, 2.0% (2,210) African American, 0.1% (145) Native American, 22.0% (23,781) Asian, 0.0% (9) Pacific Islander, 0.5% (583) from other races, and 1.6% (1,736) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 56.5% (61,121) of the population.

The entirety of Queens Community District 3, which comprises Jackson Heights as well as East Elmhurst and North Corona, had 179,844 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 84.7 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 22% are between the ages of 0–17, 32% between 25 and 44, and 24% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 9% and 12% respectively.

As of 2017, the median household income in Community Board 3 was $56,601. In 2018, an estimated 25% of Jackson Heights residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in fourteen residents (7%) 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 59% in Jackson Heights, slightly higher than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation,, Jackson Heights is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

As of 2017, nearly 11% of households in Jackson Heights were severely overcrowded—defined as households in which there are more than 1.5 household members for each room (excluding bathrooms) in the unit—making it the second most overcrowded neighborhood in the city, behind only Elmhurst.

The 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning showed that there were 54,300 Hispanic residents, 27,600 Asian residents, there were between 10,000 to 19,999 White residents and less than 5000 Black residents.

Culture
Jackson Heights is among the most diverse neighborhoods in New York City and the nation. Half of the population was foreign-born by the 2000s. It is home to large numbers of South Americans (particularly Colombian, Ecuadorian and Argentinian) and South Asians (Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Tibetans, Nepalese, and Indians). Because of its large and vibrant Tibetan community, it has been called "the second (if unofficial) capital of the exile Tibetan world, after Dharamsala, India." Most businesses are Asian- and Latino-owned, and there are restaurants, bakeries, specialty shops, legal offices, bars, and beauty salons. There is a Little India on 74th Street and a Little Pakistan and Little Bangladesh on 73rd Street. There is also a large concentration of South Americans east of 77th Street, especially a Little Colombia along 37th Avenue.

Jackson Heights was heavily Colombian during the 1980s, but other immigrant groups have settled in the area, notably Mexicans. Many of the displaced Colombians have moved to adjacent areas such as Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Corona, College Point and Flushing. Queens County still has the largest concentration of Colombians in the United States of any county (roughly 135,000).

The 2015 documentary In Jackson Heights portrays Jackson Heights as a microcosm of the American melting pot.

The word game Scrabble was co-invented by former architect Alfred Mosher Butts, who lived in Jackson Heights. There is a street sign at 35th Avenue and 81st Street that is stylized using letters, with their values in Scrabble as a subscript; it was originally erected in 1995, but after the sign disappeared in 2008, a replacement was put up in 2011.

Community organizations
The Jackson Heights Garden City Society is a historical society, whose founders include local historians, the Queens Borough Historian and local activists. They created and oversee the Jackson Heights Garden City Trail and publish a walking guidebook to Jackson Heights. They also collect artifacts of the community. Periodically, the Society testifies before the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on issues of concern to the community.

The 82nd Street Partnership is responsible for the business improvement of the area.

In addition, Colombian broadcaster RCN TV has its US-American headquarters in the neighborhood, reflecting the sizable Colombian population in the area.

There is a year-round greenmarket every Sunday morning at Travers Park, as well as various family-oriented spring and summer concerts.

Early history

In the 1920s, LGBT actors working in the 42nd Street theater scene decided to make their homes in Jackson Heights due to the lack of affordability of Manhattan neighborhoods and the easy accessibility of the 7 train. That was the beginning of what is now the second largest gay community in New York City.

Until the 1990s, LGBT activities in Jackson Heights were usually held surreptitiously and at night due to a constant fear of backlash. As the neighborhood continued to grow, more spaces for the gay community were added. One of those was the Queens Center for Gay Seniors, which was created using grant money and is still the only senior center in Queens serving the LGBT community specifically.

Murder of Julio Rivera
The LGBT community became a movement after the 1990 murder of Julio Rivera, a 29-year-old bartender who worked at the Magic Touch gay bar. Rivera was raised in the Bronx, but tried to avoid the violence of the streets there, and moved to Jackson Heights as a young adult. On the night of July 2, three men cornered Rivera in a schoolyard that was known as a gay cruising area and beat him with a hammer and beer bottle, and then stabbed him. At the beginning of the case, the police department categorized the assault as drug-related, because Rivera had been a longtime cocaine user and they found traces of cocaine on his body. However, after Rivera's friends and relatives advocated for the case to be examined further, the NYPD concluded that Rivera's death had been an anti-gay crime, and the three men involved were charged with murder and manslaughter.

"If it wasn't for Julio the Queens LGBT movement would not have gotten as far as it has gotten. Julio did not die in vain. He changed people's lives." This was the first real standing for justice and honor for the LGBT community in Queens. The resulting activism led to the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, a social services agency that helps monitor any type of criminal acts against the community citywide. Rivera's sister-in-law was elected as the AVP for the LGBT board. Union helped improve the relationship between the Police Department and Jackson Heights's LGBT community and helped with supervision against violence. In 2000, the corner of 78th Street and 37th Avenue, where Rivera was killed, was renamed in his memory and a documentary, Julio of Jackson Heights, was made about his murder.

1990s to present
Since the 1990s, the LGBTQ community in Jackson Heights has not only grown in number, but also expanded its diversity and cultures. The Inaugural Queens Lesbian and Gay Parade and Block Party Festival, organized by Daniel Dromm and Maritza Martinez, took place on June 6, 1993, in Jackson Heights, marking a watershed in LGBTQ history. Some 1,000 marchers participated, and thousands of spectators attended. More than a dozen LGBTQ organizations sponsored the event. In 1994 Dromm and activist Wayne Mahlke organized the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens, "the only LGBT independent Democratic club in the Borough of Queens." That same year, the Queens Pride Parade commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. In 1995, Ed Sedarbaum established the SAGE/Queens Clubhouse, the first senior citizens program in Queens to provide outreach to LGBTQ elderly. In 1999, an estimated 40,000 people attend the Queens Pride Parade with some 70 community groups registered.

Daniel Dromm and Jimmy Van Bramer were elected to the New York City Council on November 3, 2009, representing, respectively, the 25th and 26th districts in Queens. Both City Council members are openly gay.

Incidents
On August 15, 2001, Edgar Garzon, a gay man, was murdered in an incident that the Queens district attorney characterized as a "possible hate crime." The murder quickly faded from public attention after the September 11 attacks a month later. In 2006, John L. McGhee was charged with Garzon's murder.

On June 3, 2018, 25-year-old school teacher Brandon Soriano was attacked by two men following the 2018 Pride Parade in what has been deemed a hate crime. Five days later, a Latina transgender woman was allegedly stabbed repeatedly a few blocks away.

Economy
US-Bangla Airlines formerly had its U.S. offices in the Bangladesh Plaza building in Jackson Heights.

Between 2009 and 2018, Jackson Heights experienced a significant economic boom. In 2017, it was reported that taxable business sales increased to $473 million, a 72% increase from 2009. By 2018, there were approximately 3,300 businesses in the neighborhood, a 25% increase from 2009.

Parks and recreation
Travers Park is the main local playground. It has a variety of sports, including basketball, tennis, baseball, soccer, and handball. In recent years, a farmers' market was expanded to a year-round presence. Renovations completed in October 2020 eliminated much of the space previously used for sports, and replaced it with lawn and seating space.

Prior to expansion, the P.S. 69 school yard offered baseball fields, a stickball field, a handball court and three tennis courts. Con Edison sponsored several summer tennis camps at P.S. 69's school yard from 1982 to 1992. In 1998, P.S. 69 built an annex to compensate for the booming population of children in Jackson Heights and the public access to the school yard was removed. On November 30, 2011, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials opened the 200th "Schoolyard to Playground" at P.S. 69 as a part of the PlaNYC initiative to ensure all New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of a park or playground; the program is turning schoolyards into playgrounds in neighborhoods across the city.

Police and crime
Jackson Heights is patrolled by the 115th Precinct of the NYPD, at 92–15 Northern Boulevard. The 115th Precinct was ranked 20th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. Crime has declined significantly since the late 20th century, when the area was known as the "cocaine capital" of New York City. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 33 per 100,000 people, Jackson Heights's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 342 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.

The 115th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories decreasing by 85% between 1990 and 2019. The precinct reported 11 murders, 42 rapes, 246 robberies, 344 felony assaults, 125 burglaries, 520 grand larcenies, and 128 grand larcenies auto in 2019.

Fire safety
Jackson Heights is served by two New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations. Engine Co. 307/Ladder Co. 154 is at 81–19 Northern Boulevard. Another fire station, Engine Co. 316, is at 27–12 Kearney Street in East Elmhurst.

Health
, preterm births are about the same in Jackson Heights as in other places citywide, but births to teenage mothers are more common. In Jackson Heights, there were 86 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 27.9 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Jackson Heights has a high population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 28%, which is higher than the citywide rate of 12%.

The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Jackson Heights is 0.0073 mg/m3, lower than the city average. Thirteen percent of Jackson Heights residents are smokers, which is slightly lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Jackson Heights, 20% of residents are obese, 13% are diabetic, and 29% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 20%, 14%, and 24% respectively. In addition, 26% 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 slightly lower than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 72% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", lower than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Jackson Heights, there are 17 bodegas. Jackson Heights also has two farmer's markets.

The nearest large hospital in the Jackson Heights area is the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Elmhurst.

Incidents
In 2020, the neighborhoods of Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. , these communities, with a cumulative 303,494 residents, had recorded 12,954 COVID-19 cases and 1,178 deaths. COVID-19 cases in ZIP Code 11372 were among the highest of any ZIP Code in New York City.

Post offices and ZIP Codes
Jackson Heights is covered by multiple ZIP Codes. The area between Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue is covered by 11372, while the areas north of Northern Boulevard, which are considered primarily part of East Elmhurst, are covered by 11370 west of 85th Street (an area stretching north to Astoria and Rikers Island) and 11369 east of 85th Street. ZIP Code 11371 is assigned to LaGuardia Airport.

The United States Post Office operates three locations in Jackson Heights:
 * Jackson Heights Station – 78-02 37th Avenue
 * Junction Boulevard Station – 33-23 Junction Boulevard
 * Trainsmeadow Station – 75–77 31st Avenue

Education
Jackson Heights generally has a lower proportion of college-educated residents than the rest of the city. While 27% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 30% have less than a high school education and 47% 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 Jackson Heights students excelling in math rose from 41% in 2000 to 65% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 46% to 49% during the same time period.

Jackson Heights's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Jackson Heights, 12% of elementary school students missed 20 or more days per school year, lower than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 78% of high school students in Jackson Heights graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.

Schools
The New York City Department of Education operates public schools. Schools in Jackson Heights include P.S. 69 Jackson Heights School, P.S. 149 Christa McAuliffe School, P.S. 212, P.S 222 FF Christopher A. Santora School, I.S. 145 Joseph Pulitzer School, P.S. 152, and I.S. 230.

Charter schools include the Pre-K–12 school Renaissance Charter School.

Private schools in the neighborhood include Saint Joan of Arc School (Pre-K3 to 8th grade), Our Lady of Fatima School (Pre-K to 8th grade), and Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School, a school in East Elmhurst that became co-ed after the 2012 school year. Garden School, a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) independent school in Jackson Heights, enrolls 300 students from grades Nursery–Grade 12.

82nd Street Academics, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational institution, is housed at the Community United Methodist Church of Jackson Heights. Since 2003, it has been a community-based Universal Pre-Kindergarten provider under contract with the New York City Department of Education.

Library
The Queens Public Library's Jackson Heights branch is at 35–51 81st Street.

Houses of worship
The community is home to various houses of worship from a wide array of religions.

The Community United Methodist Church, between 81st and 82nd streets on 35th Avenue, is the oldest church in Jackson Heights. Founded in 1919, it was dedicated in 1923 as part of Queensboro Corporation's planned development. Originally serving the spiritual needs of European-American Protestant residents, it is now the most diverse church in Queens with Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and English services. Reverend Austin Armistead, who led the church from 1974 to 1995, is credited for the church's racial and cultural change. Prior to his arrival in 1974, the suggestion of the Spanish-speaking service had been rejected. Armistead made the decision to remake the church, with a vision of mirroring the neighborhood and so divided the church into four different ministries; the church also came to serve as "common ground" for a range of community groups, from ethnic associations to LGBTQ organizations to nonprofits like the Jackson Heights Beautification Group.

Satya Narayan Mandir, at the corner of 76 street and Woodside Avenue, is the oldest Hindu-Sikhism combination temple in the United States (and, it claims, the Americas). It was incorporated in 1987.

Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Church, between 82nd and 83rd Street on 35th Avenue, was the first Catholic church to be named in honor of a newly canonized French Saint.

Muhammadi Community Center, at 37–46 72nd Street, has served Jackson Heights's Muslims since 1995. Its head and founder is Imam Qazi Qayyoom.

St. Mark's Episcopal Church, on 34th Avenue between 81st and 82nd streets within the Jackson Heights Historic District, offers bilingual worship. It was established in 1923 as part of Queensboro Corporation's planned development. In 1993, it was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Jackson Heights-Elmhurst Kehillah, on the lower level of the Jackson Heights Jewish Center at 77th Street and 37th Avenue, provides all manner of services for all residents of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and western Queens.

Public transportation
The following New York City Subway stations serve Jackson Heights: The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Jackson Heights:
 * Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street
 * 82nd Street–Jackson Heights
 * 90th Street–Elmhurst Avenue
 * Junction Boulevard
 * Q29: to Glendale via Hampton Street
 * Q32: to Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan via Roosevelt Avenue and 81st/82nd Streets
 * Q33: to East Elmhurst via 82nd/83rd Streets
 * Q47: to LaGuardia Marine Air Terminal or Glendale via 73rd/74th Streets
 * Q49: to East Elmhurst via 35th Avenue and 89th/90th/92nd Streets
 * Q53 SBS: to 61st Street–Woodside /Woodside LIRR or Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street via Roosevelt Avenue and Broadway
 * Q66: to Queensboro Plaza or Flushing–Main Street  via Northern Boulevard
 * Q70 SBS: to 61st Street–Woodside /Woodside LIRR or LaGuardia Airport Terminals B/C/D via Roosevelt Avenue, Broadway, and Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
 * Q72: to 63rd Drive–Rego Park or LaGuardia Airport Terminals B/C/D via Junction Boulevard

The Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street station is a transportation hub where the subway's and the Q32, Q33, Q47, Q49. Q53 SBS and Q70 SBS buses converge. The MTA spent over $100 million on renovations to the Jackson Heights bus terminal, which were completed in 2005. It includes one of the first green buildings in the MTA system, the Victor A. Moore Bus Terminal, which is partially powered by solar panels built into the roof along the length of the sheds above the Flushing Line platforms. The terminal, like the Victor Moore Arcade (which it replaced), is named after Jackson Heights resident Victor Moore, a Broadway and film actor from the era of silent film to the 1950s.

Roads
Interstate 278 (Brooklyn Queens Expressway), New York State Route 25A (Northern Boulevard), and the Grand Central Parkway (in the East Elmhurst area) are major roads in the area. LaGuardia Airport, in East Elmhurst, is nearby.

Eleven percent of roads in Jackson Heights have bike lanes, similar to the rate in the city overall. These lanes, part of the city's bikeway system, exist on 34th Avenue, as well as on 74th and 75th streets between 34th Avenue and 37th Road. There is also a short one-block bike lane connector on 37th Road between 74th and 75th streets.

Notable residents

 * Nadia Ali (born 1980), Arab American singer-songwriter.
 * Alene S. Ammond (1933–2019), politician known as "The Terror of Trenton", who served in the New Jersey Senate from the 6th Legislative District from 1974 to 1978.
 * Alfred Mosher Butts (1899–1993), invented Scrabble in 1938, and perfected it at Community Methodist Church.
 * Chester Carlson (1906–1968), invented Xerox copy machine in his Jackson Heights kitchen.
 * Robert P. Casey (1932–2000), Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995.
 * Lady Catiria, (1959–1999), drag performer.
 * Charlie Chaplin (1899–1977), silent film actor
 * Thom Christopher (born 1940), longtime actor on One Life to Live.
 * Eleanor Clift (born 1940), Newsweek contributing editor and regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group.
 * Montgomery Clift (1920–1966), actor, moved to Jackson Heights with his family in 1933 and lived in The Chateau apartments.
 * Ray Dalio (born 1949), founder of Bridgewater Associates.
 * Alan M. Davis (born 1949), professor and author.
 * David Diosa (born 1992), footballer for the Richmond Kickers in USL League One.
 * Edward Djerejian (born 1939), diplomat, former United States Ambassador to Syria and Israel and Assistant Secretary of State.
 * Albert K. Dawson (1885–1967), photojournalist and cinematographer during the First World War, living at 3564, 89th Street, Jackson Heights, between 1928–1967.
 * Kevin Dobson (1943–2020), actor, known for his roles on Kojak and Knots Landing.
 * Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898–1995), photographer, lived in Jackson Heights for many years.
 * Douglas Fairbanks (1883–1939), actor, screenwriter, director, and producer
 * Rima Fakih (born 1985), Miss USA 2010.
 * Calvin Fixx (1906—1950), editor at Time magazine.
 * Dave Fleming (born 1969), MLB pitcher who spent most of his career with the Seattle Mariners.
 * Arthur Googy (born 1961 as Joseph McGuckin), original drummer for the band The Misfits.
 * Bobby Hackett (1915–1976), trumpet player who played with Henry Mancini, Benny Goodman, and Louis Armstrong
 * Ed Hayes (born 1947), influential lawyer, journalist, and memoirist.
 * Helen Kane (1904–1966), singer, known for her baby talk version of I Wanna Be Loved by You and model for Betty Boop.
 * Evelyn Fox Keller (born 1936), physicist, author and feminist, who is Professor Emerita of History and Philosophy of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
 * Richard Kline (born 1944), actor who played Jack's friend Larry on Three's Company.
 * John Leguizamo (born 1964), comedian, actor.
 * Willy Ley (1906–1969), space writer and theorist.
 * Peter Anthony Libasci (born 1951), Tenth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester.
 * Lucy Liu (born 1968), actress.
 * Clive Lythgoe (1927–2006), classical pianist.
 * John McWhorter (born 1965), linguist and author.
 * Victor Moore (1876–1962), actor.
 * Billy Murcia (1954–1972), original drummer for the New York Dolls.
 * Carroll O'Connor (1924—2001), actor, director, producer
 * Colby O'Donis (born 1989), pop and R&B singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer and actor.
 * Jakiw Palij (1923–2019), former Nazi concentration camp guard; emigrated to U.S. in 1949, deported in 2018 aged 95.
 * Les Paul (1915–2009), jazz guitarist and guitar innovator.
 * Duncan Penwarden (1880–1930), actor.
 * Joe Quesada (born 1962), Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics.
 * Tommy Rettig (1941–1996), actor who appeared on the 1950s Lassie television series.
 * Don Rickles (1926–2017), comedian.
 * Robert Tripp Ross (1903–1981), Congressman and former Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1954 to 1957.
 * Mercedes Ruehl (born 1948), actress.
 * Zoe Saldana (born 1978), actress
 * Susan Sarandon (born 1946), actress.
 * Eddie August Schneider (1911–1940), record-setting early aviator.
 * Walter Sear (1930–2010), audio engineer.
 * Gene Simmons (born 1949), of the rock group Kiss.
 * Howard Stern (born 1954), host of The Howard Stern Show.
 * Bruce Sussman (born 1949), songwriter, best known for his work with Barry Manilow.
 * Maria Terrone, poet and writer.
 * Sada Thompson (1927–2011), award-winning actress.
 * Johnny Thunders (1952–1991), of the New York Dolls.
 * Waddy Wachtel (born 1947), session guitarist.
 * Raees Warsi (born 1963), Urdu poet, writer and TV anchor.
 * Helene White (born 1954), federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

In popular culture

 * Much of the Alfred Hitchcock film The Wrong Man (1956) takes place within a few blocks of the intersection of Broadway and 74th Street.
 * The theme song of the TV show Car 54 Where Are You? (1961–63) has a line that goes: "There's a traffic jam in Harlem that's backed up to Jackson Heights".
 * Ingrid Bergman's character Stephanie Dickinson in the movie Cactus Flower (1969) lives in Jackson Heights.
 * In Cagney & Lacey (1988), the fictional character Mary Beth Lacey and her family live in an apartment in Jackson Heights.
 * In Coming to America (1988), the fictional singer Randy Watson is referred to as "Jackson Heights' own".
 * Jackson Heights is mentioned in Del Amitri's song "Surface of the Moon", from the 1992 album Change Everything.
 * Part of The Usual Suspects (1995) was filmed in Jackson Heights around 34th Avenue and 82nd Street.
 * Portions of Random Hearts (1999) were filmed in Jackson Heights on 35th Avenue between 76th and 77th streets.
 * Major portions of the Academy Award–nominated Maria Full of Grace (2004) were filmed on location in Jackson Heights.
 * It is also the setting for the TV show Ugly Betty (2006–10), where Betty and her family live.
 * Parts of director James Gray's We Own the Night (2007) were filmed between 32nd Avenue and 31st Avenue on 84th Street.
 * The eponymous Pakistani drama Jackson Heights is set in this neighborhood and deals with the lives of Pakistanis living in New York City.
 * In season 5 of AMC's Mad Men (2012), Ken Cosgrove and his family reside in Jackson Heights
 * The documentary film In Jackson Heights (2015) by Frederick Wiseman explores the diversity of people in the neighborhood.
 * The HBO series The Night Of (2016) was partially filmed around 37th Avenue and 74rd Street.

title: Jackson Heights, Queens