Hillcrest is in southern Fresh Meadows. Its name derives from its location on the hills between Jamaica and Flushing. The neighborhood runs from Union Turnpike to the LI Expressway, between Utopia Parkway and 164th Street. Union Turnpike is its main commercial strip. It is part of Queens Community Board 8. The ZIP Codes for the neighborhood are 11365 and 11366. It neighbors are Jamaica Hills and Jamaica Estates to the south, Briarwood and Kew Gardens Hills to the west, and Pomonok, Utopia, and FreshMeadows to the north and east. It is mostly made up of single-family homes, is in a relatively well-off public school districts, and has a low crime rate according to the NYPD 107th Pct.
As with many neighborhoods in the city, the perception of boundaries is quite different from what ever official or unofficial maps exist, especially in Queens, where there were many towns and villages. Most folks in the northeastern part of Hillcrest self-identify as being in Fresh Meadow,s as does everyone living in the nearby “Utopia” area. Others tend to identify with neighborhoods that surround them. There is a small group in the center of the Hillcrest area that identify exclusively with it. Hillcrest is home to an Orthodox Jewish community.