NYC:Queens hoods-Kew Gardens

Heading north brings us into the hood known as Kew Gardens. It goes from Hillside Ave to the Interboro (Jackie Robinson) Pkwy between Myrtle Ave and the Van Wyck Expwy (I-678). This is both residential and commercial. It was first settled in the early 1600's by the Dutch who called it Whiteput, meaing hollow creek. When the English took over in 1664, it was anglified to Whitepot and absorbed into the town of Newton. In 1776, the Continental Army was known for having a battle following the aftermath of the Battle of LI with the British Army. Daniel Cooper Foulke had his farm here for much of the 1800's. In 1867, Albott Platt Man decided that this area should be developed into a town after climbing up on a hill and called it North Richmond Hill. Another part of land he purchased was Hayestown, which was named after when Ambrose Hayes opened up a general store there. In 1875, the LIRR opened a station here and called it Hopedale. The Maple Groove Station opened in 1879 just a few years later. In 1907, the LIRR decided that it would just to have the Maple Groove Station, so a new line was built over the Richmond Hill GC, which was started in 1895. The new name was known as Kew, after the town in England that was known for its botanical gardens, as it opened in 1910. In 1912, residents wanted their own identity from Richmond Hill, so it was renamed to Kew Gardens. It was in 1940, that mayor Fierello LaGaurdia placed the cornerstone that would give Queens its current borough hall, and it was located in Kew Gardens. Durring WWII, a number of Jewish refugees came to live in Kew Gardens when they were escaping Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. In 1965, Kew Gardens recieved a number of Chineese immigrants as well as Iranians who were fleeing Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. Other immigrants from Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel, Russia, India, Bangladesh, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and Korea followed as well. Unfortunately, Kew Gardens lost a number of its historial buildings durring the 1970's and 1980's along Queens Blvd (NY 25) mostly when they were torn down and replaced by monstourous office buildings. Kew Gardens is predominately both black and Latino. The Queens Civic Center is located here with government buildings along Queens Blvd. You can get here by taking the subway to Kew Gardens-Union Tpk (E, F), and Briarwood-Van Wyck (E, F) as well as the main line of the LIRR to the Kew Gardens Station. Here is what you will find in Kew Gardens.





































































































































































































































































































































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