East Elmhurst, Queens

East Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the northwest part of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered to the south by Jackson Heights and Corona, to the north and east by Bowery Bay, and to the west by Woodside and Ditmars Steinway. The area also includes LaGuardia Airport, which is located on the shore of Flushing Bay, along with the LaGuardia Landing Lights Fields and Astoria Heights.

East Elmhurst is part of Queens Community District 3 and has ZIP Codes 11369, 11370, and 11371. The neighborhood is watched over by the New York City Police Department's 115th Precinct, while the airport area is patrolled by the Port Authority Police Department. Often, East Elmhurst and its neighbor Corona are mentioned together as "Corona/East Elmhurst".

History

From colonial times to the early 1900s, the area now known as East Elmhurst was a large marsh called Trains Meadow. As New York City grew, there was a need for more homes, leading to changes in the area.

In 1909, a company bought land and named it Jackson Heights. The neighborhood once had an amusement area along Bowery Bay Beach, which included an amusement park and even the East Coast’s first Ferris wheel. Later, this area was turned into LaGuardia Airport, which opened in 1939.

The first houses in East Elmhurst were built in 1905. In the 1960s and 1970s, many African American families moved to the neighborhood. In September 2021, heavy flooding from Hurricane Ida affected East Elmhurst and nearby areas. President Joe Biden visited to see the damage and meet with local leaders.

Geography

East Elmhurst is a neighborhood in Queens, New York City. It is located near LaGuardia Airport. The area’s borders can vary, but it is often described as the space south of the airport. Some people say it stretches from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway to Flushing Bay, with Northern Boulevard to the south. Part of the area west of Junction Boulevard and south of Astoria Boulevard is not usually included in East Elmhurst.

Demographics

East Elmhurst is a neighborhood in Queens, New York. In 2010, about 23,150 people lived there. The neighborhood covers about 443 acres, which means many people live close together.

Most people in East Elmhurst are Hispanic or Latino, making up over 60% of the population. Smaller groups include African American, White, Asian, and people from other backgrounds. By 2020, the number of Hispanic residents was between 20,000 and 30,000, while other groups each had fewer than 5,000 people.

The area is kept safe by the NYPD’s 115th Precinct. Crime has gone down a lot since the 1990s, making East Elmhurst a safer place to live.

Arts and culture

East Elmhurst has been home to many famous people, including musicians, athletes, and leaders. In the 1950s and 1960s, well-known figures such as Malcolm X, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat Adderley, Louis Armstrong, Jimmy Heath, Frankie Lymon, Charlie Shavers, Ella Fitzgerald, and Willie Mays lived there. Later, players from the New York Mets, like Ed Charles and Tommie Agee, also made East Elmhurst their home. The area is also where Eric Holder and Helen Marshall grew up.

A part of East Elmhurst, at the corner of 75th Street and 31st Avenue, was named “Mount Everest Way” in 2019 to honor the Nepali American community. The neighborhood has many places of worship, including Our Lady of Fatima Roman Catholic Church, First Baptist Church, Masjid Abu Huraira, St. Gabriel Roman Catholic Church, The Episcopal Church of Grace and Resurrection, The Korean Church of Queens, and SDMS Shiva Mandir, a Hindu temple for Indo-Caribbean Americans.

Some notable landmarks in East Elmhurst are the Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia Airport, which is a New York City designated landmark, and the Lent Homestead and Cemetery in Astoria Heights.

Parks and recreation

East Elmhurst has several lovely parks and playgrounds for fun and relaxation. Some of these include Louis C. Moser Playground (once called Bulova Park Playground), Gorman Playground, LaGuardia Landing Lights Fields, and Planeview Park. You can also enjoy walks along the Flushing Bay Promenade, now named the Malcolm X Promenade, and visit East Elmhurst Playground.

There is a special spot called One Room Schoolhouse Park, which remembers the last small schoolhouse in Queens. This school stood at Astoria Boulevard and 90th Street from 1879 until 1934. After that, the area became a playground, and later, in 1992, it was turned into a garden.

Government

East Elmhurst is part of several political areas in New York City. It is represented by parts of the 21st, 22nd, and 25th Districts in the New York City Council, with representatives like Francisco Moya, Tiffany Cabán, and Shekar Krishnan.

In the New York State Legislature, East Elmhurst is in District 13 of the State Senate, represented by senator Jessica Ramos. In the State Assembly, it is part of District 34 and District 35, represented by Assemblywomen Jessica González-Rojas and Larinda Hooks.

Education

The New York City Department of Education runs public schools in East Elmhurst, including P.S. 127 Aerospace Science Magnet School for grades PK-8, East Elmhurst Community School for students PK-3, and I.S. 227 Louis Armstrong Middle School for grades 5–8. Some children in a small part of the neighborhood attend different schools in Whitestone.

There are also private schools, such as Our Lady of Fatima School for nursery to 8th grade, Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School, and the Lexington School and Center for the Deaf, which is the oldest and largest school for the deaf in New York.

East Elmhurst is home to Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology. The Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center, part of the Queens Library system, has a large collection of African American art and literature. It is located in nearby Corona. The Black Heritage Reference Center there has many books and materials about Black culture.

Media

The Corona East Elmhurst News started in 1959 by Kenneth and Corien Drew on Astoria Boulevard. It later became known as the Queens Voice and was published until 2002. This weekly newspaper featured many writers who shared news and events important to the African American communities in Corona, East Elmhurst, and all of Queens.

Transportation

Public transit

There are no New York City Subway stations nearby, but several buses serve East Elmhurst, including the Q14, Q19, Q23, Q33, Q47, Q49, Q63, Q66, Q69, Q72, and M60 SBS, operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations.

Roads

East Elmhurst has several important roads and highways. Key highways include the Grand Central Parkway and I-278 (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway). Major boulevards in the area are Ditmars Boulevard, Astoria Boulevard, Northern Boulevard, and 94th Street, which changes to Junction Boulevard south of Northern Boulevard.

There is a pedestrian bridge called the 73rd Street Pedestrian Overpass Bridge that crosses over the Grand Central Parkway. It connects Astoria Boulevard North in Astoria Heights to St. Michael’s Cemetery and a Q19 bus stop. There are also two footbridges by Flushing Bay Promenade, one near 27th Avenue and the other near 31st Drive.

Some streets in East Elmhurst have special names to honor important people. For example, Father Eugene F. Donnelly Corner is at 80th Street and 25th Avenue, named for a priest who served the community for many years. Other named spots include Marcellus Matricciano Way, Mount Everest Way, Emma Brandt Way, Arthur Hayes Way, and Leverich Memorial Church Way.

Airport

LaGuardia Airport is located in East Elmhurst.

Post offices and ZIP codes

East Elmhurst has three ZIP Codes: 11369, 11370, and 11371. The United States Post Office has two post offices in the area:

• East Elmhurst Station – 9107 25th Avenue
• Trainsmeadow Station – 75–77 31st Avenue

Fire safety

East Elmhurst has two fire stations to keep the neighborhood safe. Engine Co. 316 is at 27–12 Kearney Street and helps the eastern part of East Elmhurst. Another station, Engine Co. 307/Ladder Co. 154, is at 81–19 Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights and serves the western part of East Elmhurst.

Health

The New York City Department of Health has a report from 2018 about the health of people living in the Queens Community Board 3 area, which includes East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, and North Corona. In this area, more teenage mothers have babies compared to the rest of the city. Also, many people do not have health insurance — about 28% of residents, which is higher than the city’s average of 12%.

The air in this part of New York has less of a harmful type of pollution than the city average. Fewer people here smoke than in the city overall. However, more people have weight-related health issues, like being obese or having high blood pressure, compared to the city averages. Most people try to eat fruits and vegetables each day, but slightly fewer than in the rest of the city. In 2018, fewer people felt their health was very good compared to the city as a whole.

The nearest large hospital is the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Elmhurst.

The neighborhoods of Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights were strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. These communities reported some of the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases in the city.

Notable people

East Elmhurst has been home to many famous people. Some of them are Harry Belafonte, a singer and actor, and Langston Hughes, a well-known writer. Others include Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the U.S. Congress, and Eric Holder, who served as the United States attorney general. The neighborhood has also been home to musicians, actors, and sports figures over the years.