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Elmhurst Park, once an eyesore and traffic landmark, opened to the public in 2011 as a magnificent community greenspace. The site of Elmhurst Park was once the location of two KeySpan Newtown gas holders, a highway landmark popularly known as the “Elmhurst gas tanks.” With the support of the community, the site was sold by KeySpan to the City of Read more...
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Leo Ehrenreich (1882-1962) played a supporting role in Queens civic life and was instrumental in the creation of this playground. His father, Moses, owned Ehrenreich Bros. Coal Yards and was a successful real estate developer. Leo attended New York City public schools and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School. On June 7, 1923, he married Minnie Manasse and within months, Read more...
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Emerald Playground’s name was inspired by its location on Jewel Avenue. The roadway was given its name because streets north of what is now Queens Boulevard were at one time given names in alphabetical order. Jewel Avenue, formerly known as Jewel Street, ran next to Kelvin Road, now 69th Road, which ran through a swamp in Flushing, over a stone Read more...
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Electric Playground takes its name from Electchester Homes, a housing development opened from 1951 to 1954 through the efforts of Harry Van Arsdale (1903-1986), head of Local 3 of the Brotherhood of Electric Workers. The 38-building community was built in response to the housing shortage faced by city residents after World War II. Electchester homes rest on the former grounds Read more...
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This playground’s name is derived from its position in relation to nearby Springfield Boulevard. Originally part of the St. Albans community, Cambria Heights had been included in a 1655 land grant from the Director General of the New Netherland colony, Peter Stuyvesant (1610-1672). Consisting largely of marshlands, forests, and farms, the area remained a relatively rural well into the 20th Read more...
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This parkland draws its name from the nearby Cemetery of the Evergreens, which was founded in 1849. The Cemetery of the Evergreens, located along Bushwick Avenue on the Brooklyn-Queens border, is one of the many cemeteries that sprung up in Queens County in the 19th century. After a decades-long struggle to eradicate yellow fever from Manhattan, city officials targeted filth Read more...
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The name of this park combines the names of the adjacent neighborhoods in northwestern Queens – Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. Jackson Heights was primarily farmland until the opening of the Queensboro Bridge in 1909 brought a population boom. The area takes its name from John C. Jackson (1809-1889), the former President of the Hunter’s Point, Newtown and Flushing Turnpike Company. Read more...
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The 450 members of the Quercus genus make up the trees that are commonly known as oaks. The genus is found mainly in the North Temperate Zone and higher altitudes of the tropics. The species of oak most prevalent in North America are the pin oak (Q. palustris), red oak (Q. rubris), and white oak (Q. alba). Some oaks are Read more...
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This playground, bounded by 25th Avenue, 98th Street, and 100th Street, stands in East Elmhurst, an historic neighborhood in northwestern Queens. Elmhurst was established in 1652 as Newtown, and originally covered the entire northwestern portion of Queens. The neighborhood was developed in the early 1890s, and renamed in 1896 by Cord Meyer, the owner of the Cord Meyer Development Company. Read more...
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Dutch Kills Playground shares its name with the adjacent school and the neighborhood in northwestern Queens. “Kill” is a Dutch word which means “little stream,” and the area takes its name from the 1643 Dutch settlement near the “kill” that flowed south to Newtown Creek. A small village surrounded by outlying farms developed here during the 17th and 18th centuries. Read more...
