Woodside

Woodside
—  Neighborhoods of New York City  —
Little Manila on Roosevelt Avenue
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Queens
Population (2000)
• Total	88,339
Ethnicity
• White	33.0%
• Hispanic	38.0%
• Asian	29.0%
Economics
• Median income	$51,447
ZIP code	11377
Area code(s)	718, 347, 917, 929

Woodside is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered on the south by Maspeth, on the north by Astoria, on the west by Sunnyside and on the east by Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. Some areas are widely residential and very quiet, while others (especially closer to Roosevelt Avenue) are more urban. The neighborhood is located in Queens Community Board 1 and Queens Community Board 2.^[1]

In the 19th century the area was part of the Town of Newtown (now Elmhurst). The adjacent area of Winfield was largely incorporated into the post office serving Woodside and as a consequence Winfield lost much of its identity distinct from Woodside.

With large scale residential development in the 1860s, Woodside became the largest Irish American community in Queens. In the early 1930s, the area was approximately 80% Irish.^[2] Even as the neighborhood has seen growth in ethnic diversity today, the area still retains a strong Irish American presence. There are a number of Irish pubs and restaurants scattered across Woodside.

In the early 1990s, many Asian American families moved into the area, particularly east of the Woodside–61st Street. In 2000, Woodside's population was 30% Asian American. Woodside has a large population of Thai Americans, Korean Americans, Chinese Americans and Filipino Americans (see Koreatown, Chinatown, and Filipinotown), each with their own respective ethnic enclave. There are also South Asian Americans, particularly Indian Americans, Bangladeshi Americans, and Pakistani Americans, as well as a large Latino population.^[3]

Reflecting its longtime diverse foods and drink, the neighborhood is filled with many cultural restaurants and pubs. It is also home to some of the city's most popular Thai, Filipino, Colombian, and Ecuadorian eateries. A "Little Manila" stretches from 63rd-71st Streets at the strip of Roosevelt Avenue, where many Filipino businesses have flocked to serve Woodside's large Filipino American community.

Woodside's diversity lends itself to a number of festivals and street fairs. It commemorates Saint Patrick's Day with a parade prior to the famous celebration in Manhattan. Woodside also hosts several events in the summer, including an Independence Day street fair.

The neighborhood has many places of worship, as well as many schools (including PS 11, PS 12, PS 151, PS 152, PS 229, IS 125, Corpus Christi Elementary School, Saint Sebastian's Elementary School, and Razi School). The parks in the area include Doughboy Park,^[4] Windmueller Park, Big Bush Park,^[5] and Laurel Hill Park. Winfield Reformed Church is also located in Woodside.

History

Settled by farmers in the early 18th Century,^[6] Woodside was first developed on a large scale beginning in 1867 by speculative residential neighborhood builder Benjamin W. Hitchcock, who also founded Corona and Ozone Park, and John Andrew Kelly.^[7] The neighborhood's location about three miles from Hunter's Point on the Long Island Railroad line made it an ideal location for a new suburban community. In 1874, the New York Times described Woodside:

...At Woodside there are now 100 houses erected, chiefly of the villa-cottage order, and thirty trains daily stop at the station, making it, via the Hunter's Point and James Slip Ferry, less than forty-five minutes from the lower part of the city. Woodside is located on sloping ground, having a good elevation, and pleasing, though not very diversified scenery. There is an abundance of good fruit trees in the vicinity...^[8]

Economy

The Bulova Corporation has its headquarters in northern Woodside.^[9]

Transportation

Former trolley car barn

Woodside is easily accessed from the rest of the city. The IRT Flushing Line (7 <7> trains) of the New York City Subway has stations at 52nd (local), 61st (express) and 69th Streets (local) on Roosevelt Avenue; the IND Queens Boulevard Line local services (E M R trains) make stops at Northern Boulevard and 65th Street along Broadway.^[10] The 61st Street station provides a direct connection to the Woodside station of the LIRR. The Q18, Q39, Q47, Q53, Q60 and Q32 buses connect Woodside to the rest of Queens, while the latter two run to Manhattan. The B24 connects Woodside to the Williamsburg and Greenpoint sections of Brooklyn on weekdays. Access by car is provided by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278) and Long Island Expressway (I-495).

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Woodside hosts New York City's only Saint Patrick's Day parade that invites members of New York City's Gay and Lesbian Irish community to march - the St. Pat's For All Parade.^[11]

The parade has attracted such politicians as former NYC mayor Rudolph Giuliani and current NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jason West (former mayor of New Paltz, New York), New York Congressman Joseph Crowley (who represents the district), former United States Senator Hillary Clinton and others.

Notable residents

• Edward Burns, actor
• Francis Ford Coppola, movie director, screenwriter, producer
• Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize - winning author^[12]
• Morton Feldman, 20th Century Composer
• Tony O'Neill, writer
• Edmar Mednis, International Grandmaster of chess
• Chris Gethard, author, comedian, and star of the Comedy Central show Big Lake.
• James Caan, actor, attended p.s.151
• Lynn Samuels, radio host

References

External links

New York City portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Woodside, Queens

Scheff, Jonathan (2006-07-20). "Woodside, Queens: A comfortable life in Queens". Tribune Company (AM New York). http://portlandscw.trb.com/features/am-city0720,0,7011834.story?coll=kwbp-home-1. Retrieved 2008-04-12. ^{[dead link]}

• Forgotten NY Woodside Tour
• Secondat Blog Woodside post
• Queens Library Community History: Woodside
• A Tour through the past present and culture of a historic urban community

v t e Neighborhoods in the New York City Borough of Queens Arverne Astoria Astoria Heights Auburndale Bayside Bayswater Bay Terrace Beechhurst Bellaire Belle Harbor Bellerose Blissville Boulevard Gardens Breezy Point Briarwood Broad Channel Broadway-Flushing Cambria Heights College Point Corona Ditmars Douglaston Dutch Kills East Elmhurst Edgemere Electchester Elmhurst Far Rockaway Floral Park Flushing Flushing Chinatown Forest Hills Forest Hills Gardens Fresh Meadows Fresh Pond Glendale Glen Oaks Hamilton Beach Hammels Hillcrest Hollis Hollis Hills Holliswood Howard Beach Howard Park Hunters Point Jackson Heights Jamaica Jamaica Estates Jamaica Hills Kew Gardens Kew Gardens Hills Laurelton LeFrak City Linden Hill Lindenwood Little Neck Locust Manor Long Island City Malba Maspeth Meadowmere Middle Village Murray Hill Neponsit North Corona North Shore Towers Oakland Gardens Old Howard Beach Ozone Park Pomonok Queensboro Hill Queensbridge Queens Village Ramblersville Ravenswood Rego Park Richmond Hill Ridgewood Rochdale Rockaway Rockaway Beach Rockaway Park Rockwood Park Rosedale Roxbury St. Albans Seaside South Jamaica South Ozone Park Springfield Gardens Sunnyside Sunnyside Gardens Tudor Village Utopia Warnerville Whitestone Willets Point Woodhaven Woodside Wyckoff Heights Community Boards: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Coordinates: 40°44′43″N 73°54′17″W / 40.74526°N 73.90480°W / 40.74526; -73.90480