Laurelton is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is now a largely African American and West Indian middle-class to upper-middle class neighborhood. In the 1930s through 1970s and beyond, the neighborhood was populated by many Jewish Americans, but succeeding generations have been made up of new migrants. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 13.[1] Laurelton is part of the former town of Jamaica. It's better known today as part of the larger community of Jamaica, Queens. Merrick Boulevard, which bisects the community in a generally east-west direction, forms its commercial spine.
The area of Laurelton closest to Rosedale and Cambria Heights is mostly made up of single-family homes. The area abutting Springfield Gardens contains many two-family homes. The area south of Merrick Boulevard contains many large, individually designed houses while many of the blocks to the north, running westward from Francis Lewis Boulevard, have attached, Tudor style rowhouses. The eastern part of Laurelton contains a series of streets with planted center malls [1].
The area derives its name from the Laurelton station on the Long Island Rail Road, which was named for the laurels that grew there over 100 years ago. The station is located at 225th Street and 141st Road and offers service to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan by both the Far Rockaway and Long Beach branches. The zip code of Laurelton is 11413.
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Demographics
According to the school's website, the demographics are 97% African American, 2.67% Asian, .33% White. A vast majority of the people living in Laurelton are of African-American or West Indian decent, however up until the 1970's, Laurelton was a predominately Jewish community.
Road connections
The Belt Parkway's exits 24 A-B, 23A, and 22 all service Laurelton. The section known as the Laurelton Parkway was the subject of a master plan as part of the city's emerging system of greenways and bikeways. This restoration of this 1.5 mile link was completed in 2006.
Boundaries
- Springfield Boulevard to Laurelton Parkway
- 121 Avenue to Conduit Avenue
Notable residents
- David Bergman (1950-), gay writer/academic.
- Sam DeLuca, NY Jets, right guard, 1970s.
- Hettie Jones (1934-), poet/memoirist and former wife of writer Amiri Baraka.
- Bernard Madoff (1938-), former NASDAQ chairman, convicted of the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.[2]
- Elliot Sperling (1951-), expert on Tibetan history and the Tibet-China conflict and chair of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University.
References
- ^ Queens Community Boards, New York City. Accessed September 3, 2007.
- ^ Segal, David; and Cowan, Alison leigh. "Madoffs Shared Much; Question Is How Much", The New York Times, January 14, 2009. Accessed February 9, 2009.
External links
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