A View Back in Time in Kew Gardens Hills, NY

The personal injury lawyers in Kew Garden Hills, NY at Banville Law encourage you to learn about the area.

Kew Garden Hills

Located within the Queens borough of New York is the neighborhood Kew Garden Hills. The Long Island Expressway provides the north border while the Union Turnpike creates the southern border. Main Street travels through the center of the small corner of the Town of Flushing.

Early History

During the Colonial period, Kew Garden Hills was home to the Spring Hill Farm, owned by Francis Lewis. Lewis was a merchant from Wales that later went on to sign the United States Declaration of Independence.

After a few turns of owners, the property would be owned by the government and turned into a cemetery. Previous owners Cadwallader Colden and Thomas Willet are buried in the cemetery now known as the Mount Hebron Cemetery.

19th Century

During the 19th Century, the area was called Head of the Fly due to Flushing Creek. Fly would be a version of the Dutch translation for a swamp, which is vly. This is also how Vleigh Road and Vleigh Place would get their names. The name Kew Gardens would come about in 1909 after the Royal Botanic Gardens located in Kew, London.

Recent History

Most of the farmland was sold to the golf course that was being built in the 1920s. These golf courses included:

• Spring Hill Golf Course
• Queens Valley Golf Course
• Pomonok Country Club
• Arrowbrook Country Club

When the city added a subway line between Queens Boulevard and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in 1936, the area grew tremendously. This increase allowed developers to break a portion off into the present-day Kew Garden Hills, known initially as Queens Valley.

Some notable landmarks that still give the area its historic charm are:

• 1940 - Main Street Cinemas
• 1941 - the Jewish Center
• 1949 - Queens County Savings Bank
• 1949 - Queens Valley School

Orthodox Jewish Community

Since the Jewish Center was built, the Jewish community began to grow. Other related places were constructed, such as the following:

• the Jewish Center of Torath Emeth
• the Yeshivas Chafetz Chaim
• Ohr Hachaim
• Kesser Torah
• Yeshiva Ketana of Queens
• Yeshiva of Central Queens

People of Interest

The area of Kew Garden Hills has been the home to many notable people. Jerry Seinfeld, Ron Jeremy, and Paul Simon all graduated from Queens College. Some other well-known people that once lived in or were born in include:

• Fran Drescher - actress
• Bob Dylan - musician
• Art Garfunkel - musician
• Paul Stanley - musician

Demographics

The population in Kew Garden Hills was 37,479 in 2010, a 1,427 increase since 2000. The area is home to the largest population of Afghanis in any New York neighborhood but also has a substantial Orthodox Jewish population. The ethnic makeup of the community is as follows:

• 53.9% white
• 7.6% African American
• 14.8% Hispanic or Latino
• 20% Asian
• 0.2% Native American
• 0.1% Pacific Islander
• 0.4% other races
• 3.1% two or more races

The average income per household was $64,005, and approximately 22% of the residents live in poverty.

Learn more about The History of Pomonok, NY in our next article. 

Our Local Office

Let the qualified Kew Garden Hills, NY, personal injury lawyers at Banville Law get you results. Call today for a free consultation.

Banville Law
104-68 Roosevelt Ave.
Queens, NY 11368
(347) 991-9542