Queens, New York City, New York
Queens is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located in the eastern part of the city and known for being the largest borough by area and the second-most populous, with a population of approximately 2.25 million as of 2023. Historically inhabited by the Lenape Native American tribe, the area was first settled by Europeans in the mid-17th century, initially as a Dutch colony before coming under British control. Queens became part of New York City in the late 19th century and has since evolved into a vibrant urban center celebrated for its remarkable ethnic diversity, regarded as the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world.
Today, Queens is home to neighborhoods such as Astoria, Flushing, and Jackson Heights, each contributing to the borough's rich cultural tapestry. Flushing features New York City's second-largest Chinatown, while Jackson Heights is known for its thriving South Asian community. The borough also boasts significant landmarks, including Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the Unisphere, and the Museum of the Moving Image. Economically, Queens has a diverse economy with key industries such as construction, healthcare, and film production. The borough's cultural and linguistic diversity, with over 800 spoken languages, reflects its dynamic population and ongoing migration patterns.
Queens, New York City, New York
Along with Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, Queens is one of the five boroughs that combine to make up New York City. The easternmost of the metropolis's five boroughs, Queens is also the largest in total area. It is situated in western Long Island, just east of Brooklyn. According to US Census Bureau estimates dating to 2023, Queens is also New York City's second-most populous borough, trailing only Brooklyn.
Inhabited by indigenous Native American peoples prior to the colonial era, the area that is now Queens was first settled by Europeans during the first half of the seventeenth century. Initially a Dutch colony, Queens passed to British control and was incorporated into New York City during the latter years of the nineteenth century. According to the official website of the State of New York, Queens has gone on to become the world's most ethnically diverse urbanized area.
Brief History
Prior to the arrival of European settlers in North America, the land that now makes up the borough of Queens was the traditional territory of the Lenape Native American tribe. British and Dutch colonists first arrived in the mid-1630s, and by the 1640s, the Dutch had incorporated the area into their New Netherlands colony. In 1664, the British took colonial control of the New Netherlands colony after the unpopular Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant failed to unite its citizens to resist an attacking British naval unit. The British captured New Amsterdam, the administrative center of New Netherlands, and renamed it New York.
British administrators formally established the Queens County subdivision of the New York colony in 1683. The county was continuously occupied by British forces during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and it was the scene of some of the events that took place during the 1776 Battle of Long Island. Following American independence, Queens County primarily functioned as an agricultural hub. It became increasingly urbanized over the course of the nineteenth century. Most of this urban development was concentrated in the county's western end, closest to Manhattan Island. This eventually culminated in an 1898 distinction between Queens County and the New York City borough of Queens; the new borough was made up of the urban areas in western Queens County, while the rest of the county was split off from the city. The following year, the split-off section of Queens County was renamed Nassau County, and the geographic term Queens became exclusive to the New York City district.
During the early part of the twentieth century, Queens was dramatically reshaped by major transportation infrastructure development projects, including the Queensborough Bridge, the East River Tunnels, and the IRT Flushing subway that connected the rapidly growing borough to the Manhattan heart of New York City. Queens then went on to capture international attention as the site of two New York World's Fairs, held in 1939 and 1964–65, respectively.
Topic Today
US Census Bureau 2023 estimates put the population of Queens at 2,252,196. This represents a 6.4 percent decrease from the 2020 population of 2,252,196. This trend was reflected by New York City as a whole, which had a 6.2 population decrease from 2020 to 2023. The US Census Bureau statistics also noted an overall increase in net domestic migration outflow of 342,449 people in New York City in 2022, largely because of the COVID-19 global pandemic. This number was more than triple its annual losses from 2010 to 2020. However, Queens was affected by the influx of migrants into New York City, with more than 39,000 settlingin Queens.
As of 2022, Queens had a total of thirteen officially designated historic districts, including Addisleigh Park, Cambria Heights-222nd Street, Cambria Heights-227th Street, Central Ridgewood, Douglaston, Douglaston Hill, Fort Totten, Hunters Point, Jackson Heights, Ridgewood North, Ridgewood South, Stockholm Street, and Sunnyside Gardens.
The Unisphere, a giant steel globe, is an iconic symbol of Queens that is located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which is one of its best-known and most popular attractions. Queens is also home to the world-renowned Museum of the Moving Image as well as the PS 1 Contemporary Art Center, a satellite extension of Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art. The Aqueduct Racetrack and Kaufman Astoria Studios, a major film and television production center, are also famous Queens landmarks.
Some noteworthy Queens neighborhoods include Astoria, Flushing, Jackson Heights, and Queens Village. Flushing is home to New York City's second-largest Chinatown, and Jackson Heights has a very large and flourishing South Asian community. Queens Village has a highly diverse population, which was reported in 2022 as being composed of approximately 90 percent non-white residents and 44 percent foreign-born residents. These are three of the most prominent examples of the borough's celebrated and wide-ranging ethnic diversity. According to the Endangered Language Alliance, Queens also has the highest level of linguistic diversity of any urban area in the world. Overall, New York City residents are believed to speak approximately eight hundred different languages.
Economically, Queens has the second-largest economy of New York City's five boroughs. According to the State of New York's website, the Queens economy is also the most diversified of any in the New York City metropolitan area. Major industries include construction; film and television production; health care; importing and exporting; manufacturing; retail trade; and transportation. Small business is also a major driver of the Queens economy and continues to be a critical component of its overall financial health.
Prominent Queens natives and residents include New York governor Andrew Cuomo, disgraced financier Bernie Madoff, actor Christopher Walken, rap musician 50 Cent (born Curtis James Jackson), filmmaker Martin Scorsese, and US president Donald Trump.
Bibliography
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"Queens." State of New York, www.ny.gov/counties/queens. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.
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