Right. Let’s get this over with. You want the Wikipedia article on Queens, but… enhanced. As if it needed more words to describe a place that’s already drowning in them. Fine. Just try not to expect any sunshine.
Borough and County in New York, United States
Queens
Queens County, New York
Queens. The largest by area of the five boroughs that constitute New York City. It’s also, inconveniently, coextensive with Queens County, a fact that seems to matter more to cartographers than to the people actually living there. Nestled near the western edge of Long Island, it’s a place that’s both intimately connected and frustratingly isolated. It’s bordered by Brooklyn to its south and west, and then, predictably, by Nassau County to its east. Maritime borders? Of course. It shares those with Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island, and even stretches its watery reach to New Jersey.
They say Queens is the most linguistically diverse place on Earth. I suppose that’s one way of putting it. It’s also one of the most ethnically diverse. So, a lot of languages, a lot of faces, a lot of noise. Not exactly my ideal symphony.
As of the 2020 census, the population clocked in at a considerable 2,405,464 souls. That makes it the second most populous county in New York State, trailing only Kings County, which is, of course, Brooklyn. If Queens were its own city, a hypothetical thought that’s unlikely to ever materialize, it would rank as the fourth most populous in the U.S., trailing only the rest of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Its population density is middling, fourth in the borough hierarchy, fourth in the county pecking order. And the foreign-born population? A staggering 47%. Makes sense. People are always looking for a place to land, I suppose.
Originally, in 1683, Queens County was a bit… bigger. It encompassed the area that is now Nassau County. It was one of the original twelve counties of the Province of New York. And the name? Supposedly after Catherine of Braganza, a Portuguese royal princess and English Queen. From 1683 to 1899, the county’s boundaries stretched further east. Then came the consolidation of New York City in 1898, which folded in Long Island City, Newtown, Flushing, Jamaica, and the western part of Hempstead. Most of these places are still considered neighborhoods, clinging to their former identities within the larger sprawl.
Economically, Queens is a bit of a chameleon. It boasts the most diversified economy of all the boroughs. It’s home to both of New York City's major airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. Landmarks? Plenty. Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Citi Field (home of the New York Mets), the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the U.S. Open, Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silvercup Studios, and the Aqueduct Racetrack. Flushing is currently in a state of rapid transformation, thanks to investments from Chinese entities. Long Island City is following suit, its proximity to Manhattan across the East River fueling its gentrification.
History
Colonial and Post-Colonial History
The first European footprints in this region belonged to the Dutch, who established the colony of New Netherland. Settlements began in 1635, followed by a short-lived attempt at Maspeth in 1642, and then the founding of Vlissingen, now Flushing, in 1645. Newtown, now Elmhurst, appeared in 1652, and Jamaica in 1655. Oddly enough, these towns, though under Dutch jurisdiction, were largely populated by English settlers migrating from New England via eastern Long Island (Suffolk County). When the English swooped in and claimed the colony in 1664, renaming it New York, this area, along with all of Long Island, became known as Yorkshire.
The Flushing Remonstrance, signed by colonists in 1657, is often cited as a precursor to the United States Constitution's guarantee of freedom of religion found in the Bill of Rights. It was a protest against the Dutch authorities’ persecution of Quakers within what is now Queens.
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Originally, Queens County included the land that is now Nassau County. It was one of the original twelve counties established in New York State on November 1, 1683. The county's name is widely believed to honor Catherine of Braganza, the queen consort of England at the time. She was the daughter of King John IV of Portugal. It’s worth noting that Kings County (named for her husband, Charles II) and Richmond County (named for his illegitimate son, Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond) were established concurrently. However, the official declaration naming Catherine as the namesake remains elusive, leaving a sliver of doubt. On October 7, 1691, the counties were redefined. Queens gained North and South Brother Islands and Huletts Island, which we now know as Rikers Island. Then, on December 3, 1768, Queens acquired further islands in Long Island Sound that weren't already designated to another county, provided they didn't abut Westchester County (which is now Bronx County).
Queens played a rather minor role in the American Revolution, especially when compared to Brooklyn, where the pivotal Battle of Long Island took place. Like the rest of what would become New York City and Long Island, Queens remained under British occupation following the Battle of Long Island in 1776 and stayed that way for most of the Revolutionary War. Under the terms of the Quartering Act, British soldiers commandeered public inns and vacant buildings belonging to Queens residents for use as barracks. Despite many residents’ disapproval of this unannounced quartering, they generally supported the British crown. The practice of quartering soldiers in private homes, outside of wartime, was later prohibited by the Third Amendment to the United States Constitution. It’s also worth mentioning that Nathan Hale, the famous spy, was captured by the British along the shores of Flushing Bay and subsequently hanged in Manhattan.
From 1683 until 1784, Queens County was divided into five towns: Flushing, Hempstead, Jamaica, Newtown, and Oyster Bay. Then, on April 6, 1784, the Town of North Hempstead was carved out from the northern sections of the Town of Hempstead. The county seat initially resided in Jamaica. However, during the American Revolution, the British dismantled the courthouse to use the materials for barracks. After the war, various buildings in Jamaica served as temporary courthouses and jails until a new building was constructed around 1787, near what was then known as Clowesville, in the area now part of Nassau County.
The 1850 United States census marked the first time the population of the three western towns surpassed that of the three eastern towns that would eventually form Nassau County. Concerns about the deteriorating condition and inconvenient location of the old courthouse were mounting, and multiple sites were being considered for a new one.
In 1870, Long Island City officially separated from the Town of Newtown, incorporating itself as a city. This new entity comprised the village of Astoria and some unincorporated areas within Newtown. Around 1874, the county government’s seat was relocated from Mineola to Long Island City.
On March 1, 1860, the eastern boundary between Queens County (and later Nassau County) and Suffolk County was redefined, though the change itself was not significant. Then, on June 8, 1881, North Brother Island was transferred to New York County. Later, on May 8, 1884, Rikers Island followed suit, also being transferred to New York County.
In 1886, Lloyd's Neck, which was then part of the town of Oyster Bay and had previously been known as Queens Village, was detached from Queens County and annexed to the town of Huntington in Suffolk County. Finally, on April 16, 1964, South Brother Island was ceded to Bronx County.
Incorporation as Borough
The creation of the New York City borough of Queens was greenlit on May 4, 1897, following a referendum on consolidation held in 1894. The eastern 280 square miles (730 km²) of Queens that would eventually become Nassau County were officially partitioned on January 1, 1899. The Borough of Queens itself was established on January 1, 1898.
The consolidation plan annexed the city of Long Island City, the towns of Newtown, Flushing, and Jamaica, along with a specific western portion of the town of Hempstead. This annexation effectively dissolved all former municipal governments, including Long Island City, the county government, all towns, and all villages within the newly formed borough. However, the areas of Queens County not included in this consolidation plan – namely the towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay, and the remaining major part of the Town of Hempstead – remained part of Queens County until they were officially separated to form Nassau County on January 1, 1899. At this point, the boundaries of Queens County and the Borough of Queens became identical. Jamaica was reinstated as the county seat, though county offices have since expanded to nearby Kew Gardens.
In 1899, a land survey conducted by New York City aimed to pinpoint the exact border of Queens between the Rockaways and Lawrence. This proved challenging because the border was defined by the "middle of the channel between Rockaway Beach and Shelter Island" (now Long Beach Island), a channel that had silted up by 1899. Surveyors had to rely on historical data and local knowledge, including the testimony of fishermen and oystermen, to determine the channel's original course.
Between 1905 and 1908, the Long Island Rail Road within Queens underwent electrification. Transportation to and from Manhattan was significantly improved with the completion of the Queensboro Bridge in 1909 and the opening of railway tunnels under the East River in 1910. From 1915 onwards, large sections of Queens became integrated into the New York City Subway system. The construction of the Steinway Tunnel in 1915, carrying the IRT Flushing Line between Queens and Manhattan, coupled with the increasing popularity of the automobile, led to a dramatic population surge in Queens during the 1920s. The population more than doubled, from 469,042 in 1920 to 1,079,129 in 1930.
Queens later became the site for two major international expositions: the 1939 New York World's Fair and the 1964 New York World's Fair. LaGuardia Airport, established on a site that was previously a seaplane base in northern Queens, opened in 1939 and was named in honor of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, who championed the development of a modern airport for the city. Idlewild Airport, situated in southern Queens on the grounds of a former golf course, opened in 1948 and was later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1963. In a tragic turn of events, TWA Flight 800 departed from JFK on July 17, 1996, only to explode in mid-air off the coast of Long Island, resulting in the deaths of all 230 people aboard the Boeing 747. More recently, on November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587 crashed in Belle Harbor shortly after taking off from JFK, killing all 260 on board and five people on the ground. In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage to Breezy Point, where a massive fire destroyed 126 homes, marking the largest residential fire in the history of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY).
Geography
Queens occupies the westernmost portion of Long Island, a geographical fact that seems to define its relationship with the rest of the island. It also includes a scattering of smaller islands, most of which are situated within Jamaica Bay, forming a significant part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, itself a component of the National Parks of New York Harbor. According to the United States Census Bureau, Queens County spans a total area of 178 square miles (460 km²), with 109 square miles (280 km²) of land and a substantial 70 square miles (180 km²) of water, which constitutes 39% of its total area.
To the south and west lies Brooklyn, the only other borough of New York City situated on Long Island. The Newtown Creek, an estuary that empties into the East River, forms a portion of the border. To the west and north, the East River separates Queens from Manhattan and The Bronx, respectively. Nassau County lies to the east, on the remainder of Long Island. Staten Island is found southwest of Brooklyn, sharing only a brief, three-mile water border with Queens in the Outer Bay. The northern edge of Queens is defined by Flushing Bay and the Flushing River, which connect to the East River and, subsequently, to Long Island Sound. The central part of Queens is bisected by the Long Island straddling terminal moraine, a geological feature sculpted by the Wisconsin Glacier. The Rockaway Peninsula, the southernmost stretch of land in Queens, is nestled between Jamaica Bay and the vast Atlantic Ocean, boasting seven miles of beaches.
Climate
Queens experiences a humid subtropical climate (classified as Cfa under the Köppen climate classification), with a tendency to transition towards a humid continental climate (Dfa) due to the moderating influences of the Atlantic Ocean and some shielding from the Appalachian Mountains. Precipitation is distributed throughout the year, averaging around 44.8 inches (114 cm) annually, with approximately 44 days experiencing moderate to heavy rainfall.
Winters typically bring about 22 days with some snowfall, nine of which see at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) accumulating. Summers are generally hot, humid, and wet, with an average of 17 days reaching or exceeding 90°F (32°C). On average, there are 14 days per year where the temperature fails to climb above 32°F (0°C) for the entire day. Spring and autumn can present a wide range of temperatures, from chilly to quite warm.
The highest temperature ever recorded at LaGuardia Airport was a scorching 107°F (42°C) on July 3, 1966. John F. Kennedy International Airport recorded its highest temperature on the same date, reaching 104°F (40°C). LaGuardia's record low is a frigid −7°F (−22°C) set on February 15, 1943, a day marked by a significant shortage of heating oil and coal. JFK’s record low is −2°F (−19°C), observed on February 8, 1963, and again on January 21, 1985. The heaviest snowfall recorded in Queens was 30.5 inches (77 cm) on January 24, 2016.
Tornadoes are a rarity in Queens. The most recent recorded instance was an EF0 tornado that touched down in College Point on August 3, 2018, causing minor damage. Prior to that, a tornado touched down in Breezy Point on September 8, 2012, damaging some roofs, and an EF1 tornado struck Flushing on September 26, 2010.
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