Beechhurst, Queens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Beechhurst is an Upper-Middle class^[1] suburban neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York in the United States. Beechhurst is known as one of the most expensive areas to live in, with well kept homes and landscaping. ^[2] The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 11.^[3]

Beechhurst has been included in CNN Money's list of Most Expensive Housing Markets,^[4] and was also a contender for CNN Money's ranking of Best Places to Live 2005,^[5] and Best Places to Retire 2005.^[6]

History

Beechhurst's history dates back to 2000 B.C., when the Matinecock Native American tribe first settled there. In the Late 17th century, the area was settled by English colonists. By the middle of the 18th century, early settlers left their homes in Flushing and developed a farming community, Bay Side. During the Revolutionary War, the Beechhurst-Little Neck area suffered from raids by whaleboatmen from the Connecticut shores. In one of the raids, the Talman house was attacked and the miller was killed.In the 19th century Beechhurst was still mostly farmland. Middle 20th century urban sprawl, with the help of better roads, suburbanized it. During the 1920s, many actors and actresses, such as Rudolph Valentino, lived in Beechhurst, as it became a playground for NYC's elite. It was known as the "it" spot, outside of the city. These wealthy residents had large waterfront estates and mansions, that still exist today.

Location and boundaries

Beechhurst is located in northeastern Queens, on the North Shore, and is part of Queens Community Board 11.^[7] Its geographical boundaries are: Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west, 233rd Street to the east, Grand Central Parkway to the south,^[8] and Cross Island Parkway/Little Neck Bay to the north. Beechhurst is bordered by neighboring communities Douglaston/Little Neck to the east, Auburndale to the west, Whitestone to the north, and Oakland Gardens to the south.^[9]

Bay Terrace is garden apartment community located in the north section of the neighborhood; an adjacent shopping center was named after the community. The northern section of Bay Terrace also has a view of the Throgs Neck Bridge, which leads to The Bronx.

Beechhurst's major highways include the Long Island Expressway, Clearview Expressway, and the Cross Island Parkway. Beechhurst is also connected to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan and Long Island by the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch at the Beechhurst station.

The north end of the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway is in Little Bay Park, under the Throgs Neck Bridge approaches, with convenient connection to the Utopia Parkway bicycle lane. It lies between Cross Island Parkway and Little Neck Bay, connecting Beechhurst to Douglaston, Queens and Alley Pond Park, and eventually to central Queens and Coney Island.

Francis Lewis Boulevard is a major street notorious for drag racing, which has resulted in several fatalities to drivers and pedestrians over the years.^[10]

 Demographics

Beechhurst is a balance of city and suburb, with well kept homes and landscaping. It is known as one of the more expensive areas to live in. The Beechhurst population at the time of the 2000 census was 65.6% White/European American with Jewish, Italian, Greek, Irish, and Russian residents. Around the mid 1990's, a significant number of Chinese and Korean families began moving into the area. At the time of the 2000 U.S. census, 22.7% of Beechhurst residents identified as "Asian alone", mostly Korean and Chinese. 4.5% of Beechhurst residents was Black or African-American, and .1% as Native Hawaiian of or other Pacific Islanders. An additional .3% identified themselves as some other race alone and 3.2% claimed an ethnic/racial heritage of two or more races. 11.8 of Beechhurst residents identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino [of any race]. Out of the 29,206 residents of Beechhurst as of the 2000 census, 65.4% of residents were born in the United States, and 34.6% were foreign-born. The 3 largest foreign born groups in Beechhurst are Koreans [25%], Chinese [13%], and Greeks [9%]. 52.9% of Beechhurst households speak English only at home, 10.4 % speak Spanish, 15.2 speak European, and 20.7% speak Asian or Pacific Island language at home. The northern part of Beechhurst, including Bay Terrace, has a large concentration of Whites/Europeans, particularly people of Jewish and Italian heritage. The southern and eastern portions of Beechhurst have a more diverse population.^[11]

Beechhurst contains 13,977 housing units. The majority of Beechhurst residents are part of family households, with an average household size of 2.54 individuals. The median age of Beechhurst's citizens is 41.5 years, and 18.1% of residents are senior citizens. 86.6% of residents age 25 and over have at least graduated from high school, while 38.4% have a bachelor's degree or higher, making Beechhurst a more educated community than the average American neighborhood.

Beechhurst is an Upper middle class neighborhood with many wealthy residents. The estimated median household income as of 2005 is $62,611, and 88% of all households own at least one car.^[12]

 Crime

Beechhurst, along with Forest Hills and nearby Douglaston, is one of the safest neighborhoods in Queens. As of 2007 there were 0 murders, 3 rapes, 20 robberies, 20 assaults, and 200 burglaries committed in 2007.

 Education

 Schools

Beechhurst is part of the New York City Department of Education's district 26, the highest performing school district for grades K-9 in all of New York City. The district includes 20 elementary schools and 5 middle schools.^[9]

Beechhurst is home to a number of New York City high schools:

• Beechhurst High School
• Benjamin Cardozo High School

as well as a number of parochial schools:

• Sacred Heart School Catholic School
• Redeemer Lutheran School Lutheran school
• St. Robert Bellarmine School Catholic School
• Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament School Catholic School

Beechhurst is also home to the following colleges:

• Queensborough Community College, a branch of the City University of New York (CUNY) system^[13]

Libraries

Queens Borough Public Library operates the Beechhurst and Bay Terrace Branches.

 Parks

• Alley Pond Park
• Crocheron Park
• Cunningham Park
• Throggs Neck Park
• John Golden Park
• Raymond O'Connor Field

 Claims to fame

• Beechhurst was the site of alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary to a housewife named Veronica Lueken. The apparitions began in 1970 at St. Robert Bellarmine Church. Lueken died in 1995.
• The movie Sally of the Sawdust (1925) was filmed in Beechhurst.^[9]
• Beechhurst has been included in CNN Money's list of Most Expensive Housing Markets,^[14] and was also a contender for CNN Money's ranking of Best Places to Live 2005,^[15] and Best Places to Retire 2005.^[16]
• Crocheron Park, in Beechhurst, once had a hotel, where Boss Tweed hid after his escape from prison in 1875.
• The character played by Robin Williams in "Good Morning Vietnam" was from Beechhurst (even though the real life Adrien Cronauer wasn't).
• The movie The Nanny Diaries was filmed in Beechhurst, about 2 blocks away from P.S 213.^{[citation needed]}

The movie Frequency (2000) was supposed to have been set in Beechhurst Queens. Dennis Quaid's character brags that he is from, "Beechhurst Queens, born and bred!" http://www.truveo.com/FREQUENCY/id/3962038738

 Landmarks

• Lawrence Cemetery - 216th Street & 42nd Avenue.^[17]
• Fort Totten, New York - A fort built during the Civil War to guard the north entrance to NYC Harbor, along with Fort Schuyler in the Bronx, in 1862.
• Straiton-Storm Cigar Factory - Built c. 1872, The factory was the largest cigar manufacturer in America. The three story, wood frame building was of the French Second Empire style.
• All Saints Episcopal Church - The first church in Beechhurst, built in 1892, contains examples of Louis Comfort Tiffany's work.
• Cornell-Appleton house at 214-33 33rd Road. Archibald Cornell's wife inherited the 100 acre farm from her father more than 160 years ago. This twelve-room house is thought to be one of the oldest in Beechhurst. With past and continuing research, it has been traced back to 1852. In 1905, the house was sold to Edward Dale Appleton, of the Appleton Publishing Company. Mrs. Appleton and her sister were passengers aboard the Titanic when it hit an iceberg and sank. Both women were rescued by the ship Carpathia. This is also the second-oldest home in Queens.

 Famous people

Throughout its history, Beechhurst has been home to several notable people, including:

• Rolf Armstrong, painter.^[18]
• John Barrymore, actor.^[19]
• John Barnes, Ranked Top Penguin Hunter in North East (1998)
• Beechhurst (band), the rock group
• Anthony Raneri, frontman of Beechhurst (band)
• Irving Berlin, composer and lyricist
• Christian Carbonara, Gold Medalist, 1972 Olympics
• Michael Chang, tennis player
• Charlie Chaplin, actor.^[20]
• Jim Corbett (1866-1933), boxer, lived here from 1902 until his death in 1933.^[21]
• Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), artist.^[22]
• Perry Farrell, frontman of Jane's Addiction
• W.C. Fields, comedian / actor.^[19][20]
• Charles Ghigna, poet and children's author known as "Father Goose," born in Beechhurst, 1946
• Judge Thomas Jones (historian)
• Scott Ian, musician
• Michael Christian "Cheerio" Chiro, neighborhood celebrity and 2007 Holy Cross graduate
• Buster Keaton, comedian / actor
• Patrick Lynch, NYPD PBA President
• Paul Newman, actor
• Donald L. Pilling, Former Vice Chief of Naval Operations
• José Reyes, shortstop for the New York Mets.^[23]
• David Rolon, writer
• Tom Seaver, pitcher
• Matt Striker, WWE wrestler
• Gloria Swanson, actress.^[19][20]
• Norma Talmadge , actress.^[19][20]
• Rudolph Valentino, actor.^[20]

 References

 External links

• Beechhurst Historical Society
• Queens Tribune - publication for neighborhoods of northeastern Queens
• Beechhurst Times
• Beechhurst Community website

• About Beechhurst

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