Overview
Of all five boroughs in New York City, Queens is the largest. It was named to honor the queen consort of Charles II, Catherine of Braganza. The borough is located adjacent to Brooklyn, at the western end of Long Island and Nassau County to its east. It is separated from the boroughs of Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island by water borders. Queens is also the second-largest borough in terms of population.
The high level of diversity in New York City is reflected in Queens as it is one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States. Interestingly, it is also the most diverse among several highly populated counties as well as the most linguistically diverse place on Earth with as many as 800 languages spoken within the whole city. It has no doubt merited the tag, ‘the world’s borough’.
History of Queens
The history of Queens is traceable to the first settlement made by the Dutch near an area called Flushing Bay in 1636, this was followed by the creation of Newton in 1642, Far Rockaway in 1644 and Jamaica in 1656. These establishments later came under English control in 1664 following total surrender to an English Force under the command of the Duke of York.
Later on, in 1683, Queens County was established as one of the 12 counties of the province of New York. It was authorized on May 4, 1897, by a vote of the New York State Legislature after an 1894 referendum on consolidation.
The diversity which is a celebrated feature of Queens today is both natural and engineered through housing and other urban planning policies. As a newly incorporated borough, Queens was attractive to immigrants as well as the working class as a cheap, spacious and suburban place to live and work in. This led to quick-paced urbanization.
Also, the initial settlers created communities that ushered in more communities of diverse cultures like Asians, Jamaicans, Haitian,s, and Afro-Americans. The Chinese who were already settlers attracted more and established their presence quite prominently particularly in Flushing and Elmhurst by ensuring that their culture was seen as part of regular and luxury cuisine.
This migration and influx of culture included the Vietnamese, Korean and Spanish speaking communities. Naturally, they settled in the parts of the borough where their languages were widely spoken. This further promoted the growth of these cultures within the borough and the City at large.
Another major reason for migration to Queens was the overcrowding in other places like Manhattan. The immigrants started restaurants to ensure that in many places in Queens, varieties of food were available. The presence of multiple cultures also meant that there was a high level of lingual diversity which put Queens on the map as the most lingually diverse places on earth.
The structure and history of New York as a whole reflect dynamism and tolerance through its support for immigrants and readiness for change and growth.
Attraction Sites within Queens
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park
It is also referred to as ‘Flushing Meadows’ or ‘Flushing Meadows park’. It is a site in the Northern part of Queens that was transformed from a dumping site for ashes to the amusement park that it is today. Some of its best features include the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the current venue for the US Open tennis tournament; Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets baseball team; the New York Hall of Science; the Queens Museum of Art; the Queen’s Theatre in the Park; the Queens Zoo; the Unisphere; and the New York State Pavilion. It is owned and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
This is also the home of the famous symbol of Queens, the Unisphere. It is a giant globe located within Flushing Meadows Park. The accumulation of all these features makes the Park a hotspot for residents as well as tourists to relax and unwind.
Not too far away from the park, there is the Queens Museum of Art. It is famous for its unique Panorama of New York City. The Panorama has been a highlight for visitors since the World’s Fair in 1964.
The Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden
The Bohemian Hall is an exciting spot for families as well as tourists. It highlights the suburban parts of Queens. It is a beer garden with shady trees, picnic tables, pitchers of icy beer, and varieties of Czech food and barbecue and great music. It is mostly visited during summer weekends.
The Museum of the Moving Image
This is located in Astoria, Queens. It is specially visited for its artistic celebration of history, technology, and art of movies. It accommodates the interests of all ages and in all genres. It also displays classic animations and age-long movie productions from everywhere around the world.
Jackson Heights, an Indian and South Asian Neighborhood
There are a lot of features that reflect the level of diversity present in Queens. Jackson Heights is one of them. It is a fine representation of Indian as well as South Asian culture in the form of food, music, movies, and fashion. It covers curries, tandoori, nan, dosas, kebabs, Indian sweets, and a long list of varieties. It also includes a display of the unique styles of dressing in these cultures like saris, head wraps and highlights bhangra music, Bollywood DVDs, and even a Bollywood movie theatre. It is fondly called Little India and is visited by natives and nonnatives alike.
Some of the academic institutions in Queens include John’s University Queens Campus, Queens College, City University of New York, Queensborough Community College, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Bramson ORT College, CUNY School of Law, Grand Central Academy of Art LaGuardia Community, College Lander for men among several others.
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