ELMHURST, LONG ISLAND

Elmhurst, Long Island

Elmhurst is a neighborhood located in the borough of Queens, Long Island, New York. It is part of Queens Community Board 4. The neighborhood is surrounded by Roosevelt Avenue (Jackson Heights) on the north; Corona to the northeast; Junction Boulevard on the east; Rego Park to the southeast; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Middle Village to the south and southwest; and Maspeth and the New York Connecting Railroad on the west; and Woodside on the northwest.

Elmhurst has a large congregation of communities with roots in different cultures, and the sort of international zone is even larger when one takes in to account the largely ethnic character of Jackson Heights. Elevation is 26 feet.

In 1652, the area was established by the Dutch as Middenburgh (Middleburgh), and was a suburb of New Amsterdam in New Netherland. It was once inhabited by Rockaway Indians. The former and merged names of Elmhurst include Wandowenack and Newtown. Several English colonists moved here after an earlier settlement in Maspeth that was destroyed in Indian raids. Among of them was Gershom Moore, in whose orchard a chance seedling produced the Newtown Pippin, Colonial America's most famous apple. In 1683, Newtown was established as the Town Seat for the Township of the same name. The name of Elmhurst that is current at the time of writing this piece was given by an early 20th century private developer. The area had an almost exclusively Jewish and Italian neighborhood. After World War II, Elmhurst evolved into what has been considered one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in New York City.

Well-known people living in Elmhurst include William Casey (chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission), Ella Fitzgerald (jazz singer), Patty Duke (actress), and Clement Moore (poet). It has also produced a number of NBA basketball players such as Smush Parker (LA Lakers guard) and Charlie Villanueva (Milwaukee Bucks forward). Elmhurst is part of New York City's Department of Education Region 4. There are two urban shopping malls in town that provides resident in all their needs. The recently expanded Queens Center Mall is the most profitable mall per square foot in the U.S. and the recently renovated and expanded Queens Place Mall is a smaller round shopping center originally built as a Macy’s branch. The Mall has more than 75 stores under one roof. Elmhurst also offers decent value for an ordinary people who need to live and work in New York. There is a choice between apartment blocks of just a few floors to climb, and individual homes for single families with very affordable rates.