Forest Hills, Queens

Forest Hills is an affluent neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City.

Neighborhood


The neighborhood is home to upper-middle class residents, of whom the wealthier residents often live in the neighborhood's Forest Hills Gardens area. Historically, Forest Hills has been home to a large Jewish population, with more than ten thousand of them located in the area.

The community of Forest Hills was founded in 1906; before that, the area was known as Whitepot. In 1909, Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, who founded the Russell Sage Foundation, bought 142 acre of land from the Cord Meyer Development Company. The original plan was to build good low-income housing and improve living conditions of the working poor. Grosvenor Atterbury, a renowned architect, was given the commission to design Forest Hills Gardens. The neighborhood was planned on the model of the garden communities of England. As a result, there are many Tudor-style homes in Forest Hills, most of which are now located in Forest Hills Gardens. However, there are currently a number of Tudor homes in particular areas of Forest Hills outside of the Gardens. What is credited as the world's first radio commercial offered homes in Forest Hills.

The southern part of Forest Hills contains a particularly diverse mixture of upscale housing, ranging from single-family houses, attached townhouses, and both low-rise and high-rise apartment buildings. South of the Long Island Rail Road, the Forest Hills Gardens area is a private community that features some of the most expensive residential properties in Queens County. It was subject to restrictive covenants until the mid-1970s.

Forest Hills Gardens was named "Best Community" in 2007 by Cottage Living Magazine. The adjacent Van Court community also contains a number of detached single-family homes. There are also attached townhouses near the Westside Tennis Center and detached frame houses near Metropolitan Avenue. Finally, there are a number of apartment buildings scattered throughout the community. The most notable high-rise apartment buildings are The Continental on 108th St, Kennedy House, the Pinnacle, and the Windsor.

The north side of Forest Hills is home to the Cord Meyer community, which contains detached single-family homes. Teardowns and their replacement with larger single family residences has had a significant impact on the architectural integrity of the area. However, the Bukharian Jewish community advocating the changes say the bigger homes are needed for their large extended families.

Northern Forest Hills is a combination of low-rise apartment buildings and detached single-family homes. The majority of these buildings are owner-occupied co-operatives and condominiums.

On the northwestern edge of Forest Hills, on 62nd Drive, immediately adjacent to the Long Island Expressway is a NYCHA (New York City Housing Authority) low-income housing project that provoked controversy among the residents in the more prestigious areas of Forest Hills when it was constructed in the early 1970s.

The main thoroughfare is the twelve-lane-wide Queens Boulevard. Metropolitan Avenue is known for its antique shops. Forest Hills is easily accessible by subway, rail, bus and car. The commercial heart of Forest Hills is a mile-long stretch of Austin Street between Yellowstone Boulevard and Ascan Avenue, where many restaurants, boutiques, and chain stores are established. Restaurants are diverse; diners can find nearly any cuisine they desire.

Forest Hills has the multiple-link Forest Hills – 71st Avenue subway station ( trains) at the intersection of Continental Avenue and Queens Boulevard. The local 75th Avenue stop ( trains) is also in the area, and some entrance/exits of the express Kew Gardens – Union Turnpike station ( trains) service the southeastern portion of Forest Hills. The neighborhood also has a commuter train station, the Forest Hills station of the Long Island Railroad, where Continental Avenue and Austin Street meet.

Forest Hills was once the home of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. The event was held at the West Side Tennis Club before it moved to the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, about four miles away. When the Open was played at the tennis stadium, the tournament was commonly referred to merely as Forest Hills, just as All-England Lawn Tennis Association Championships are referred to, simply, as Wimbledon. In the 2001 motion picture, The Royal Tenenbaums, Luke Wilson's character plays a tennis match at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills. Gene Hackman's character is also shown cruising on the premises. A pivotal scene in Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 film Strangers on a Train, in which the main character (played by Farley Granger) is a professional tennis player, features a lengthy championship game at the Club, with distinctive shots of the surrounding community.

Two monuments are erected in Forest Hills Gardens: a tribute to the victims of World War I, the "Great War"; and the mast of the Columbia, the winner of the America's Cup yacht races in both 1899 and 1901.

Economy
Forest Hills is home to the main offices of JetBlue Airways Corp., a US low-cost carrier. In addition the New York Town Office of Olympic Airlines is in Forest Hills. The Forest Hills Housing Co-ops are located on 62nd Drive and 108th Street.

Education
Forest Hills, like all areas of New York City, is served by the New York City Department of Education.

K-12 Schools
Pupils attend several public different elementary Schools, including:
 * P.S. 101 School In The Gardens
 * P.S. 144 Col. Jeromus Remsen School
 * P.S. 175 Lynn Gross Discovery School
 * P.S. 196 Grand Central Parkway
 * P.S. 220 Edward Mandel

Junior High students in Forest Hills attend either J.H.S. 157 Stephen A. Halsey (commonly referred to as Halsey) in Rego Park or J.H.S. 190 Russell Sage (known as Sage) in Forest Hills.

New York City high school students at the turn of the 21st century began applying to the high schools of their choice, as there is no longer a zoning policy for Forest Hills High School. Students from all over New York City may apply to high schools in other parts of the city. In addition to Forest Hills High School, a large percentage of students from both J.H.S. 157 and J.H.S. 190 gain admission to other high schools in New York City. Many J.H.S. 157 students also attend the Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn Technical High School. Traditionally many more students from J.H.S. 190 choose to study at Stuyvesant High School and Townsend Harris High School, in addition to the Bronx High School of Science. Numerous students from Forest Hills also choose to attend middle and high school at the Baccalaureate School for Global Education, a public school in Astoria, Queens, which teaches grades 7 - 12 and follows the International Baccalaureate curriculum. Many of the students from outside the district accepted to attend Forest Hills High School are those who applied to either the school's Law & Humanities program, or the Carl Sagan program in accelerated math and science. FHHS has also began admitting students by audition to their Academy of Instructional Music and Performing Arts in 2005. Forest Hills, starting in Fall, 2010, will be served by Queens Metropolitan High School.

Famous graduates of Forest Hills High School include Jerry Springer and the founding members of the Ramones, as well as singers Simon & Garfunkel.

Colleges and universities
Bramson ORT College is an undergraduate college operated by the American branch of the Jewish charity World ORT. Its main campus is in Forest Hills, with a satellite campus in Brooklyn.

Public libraries
The Forest Hills Library, operated by Queens Library, is in Forest Hills.

Transportation
Forest Hills is served by the IND Queens Boulevard Line's routes. Stations serving Forest Hills are 67th Avenue ( trains), Forest Hills – 71st Avenue ( trains) and 75th Avenue ( trains). Also, the Long Island Railroad stops at its own Forest Hills station. Several buses, including the Q60 on Queens Boulevard and Q64, along Jewel Avenue serve the area, along with several MTA express buses to Manhattan. The Q23 follows a north-south route, bi-secting North Forest Hills, following 108th Street; and south of the LIRR, taking a west-ward diversion around Forest Hills Gardens, then resuming along 71st Avenue south of the Gardens.

Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Forest Hills include:
 * Hank Azaria (born 1964), actor and voice artist.
 * Walter Becker (born 1950), half of the musical duo Steely Dan.
 * Joseph Bowler (born 1928), artist and illustrator.
 * Michael A. Burstein (born 1970), science fiction writer.
 * Dale Carnegie (1888-1955), self-improvement lecturer and author of How to Win Friends and Influence People.
 * David Caruso, (born 1956), actor in CSI Miami, and NYPD Blue.
 * Candy Darling (1944-1974), Warhol Superstar who appeared in a number of his films.
 * Sergei Dovlatov (1941-1990), Russian short-story writer and novelist
 * Geraldine Ferraro (born 1935), politician.
 * Art Garfunkel (born 1941), singer-songwriter.
 * Ernie Grunfeld (born 1955), former player and general manager of the New York Knicks.
 * Alan Hevesi (born 1940), former Comptroller of New York State.
 * Steve Hofstetter (born 1979), comedian / radio personality.
 * John Vincent Lawless Hogan (1890-1960), radio pioneer.
 * John Francis Hylan (1848-1936), Mayor of New York City from 1918 to 1925.
 * Ethel D. Jacobs (1910-2001), thoroughbred horse owner and breeder, wife of Hirsch.
 * Hirsch Jacobs (1904-1970), thoroughbred jockey, husband of Ethel.
 * Donna Karan (born 1948), fashion designer.
 * Helen Keller (1880–1968), author, political activist and lecturer; first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
 * Alan King (1927-2004), comedian.
 * Andrea King (1919-2003), film actress.
 * Gary Kurfirst (1947-2009), concert promoter and record producer.
 * Michael Landon (1936-1991), actor known for his roles on Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie,
 * Harvey J. Levin (1924-1992), internationally recognized pioneer of communications economics, holder of Long Island's first professorial chair
 * Jack McAuliffe (1866-1937), boxer who retired in 1896 after 12 years as the world's undefeated lightweight champion.
 * Min Xiao-Fen (born 1961), pipa player and vocalist.
 * Michele "Big Mike" Miranda (1896-1973), consigliere of the Genovese crime family and one of the most powerful New York gangsters in the 1950s and 1960s.
 * Carroll O'Connor (1924-2001), actor, best known for his role as Archie Bunker on All in the Family.
 * Rick Overton (born 1954), actor and comedian.
 * Susan Polgar (born 1969), chess grandmaster.
 * Dee Dee Ramone (1951-2002), bassist and songwriter of seminal punk rock band The Ramones.
 * Joey Ramone (1951-2001), lead singer and songwriter of seminal punk rock band The Ramones.
 * Johnny Ramone (1948-2004), guitarist of seminal punk rock band The Ramones.
 * Ray Romano (born 1957), actor-comedian, best known for Everybody Loves Raymond.
 * Tommy Ramone (born 1949), record producer and musician with The Ramones.
 * Wilhelm Reich (1897 - 1957), psychiatrist known for his theories of Orgone energy.
 * Chris Rush, stand-up comedian.
 * Renato Russo (1960-1996), band leader in Brazil.
 * Joan Shawlee (1926-1987), film actress.
 * Paul Simon (born 1941), singer-songwriter.
 * Debbie Wasserman Schultz (born 1966), serves in the U.S. House representing Florida's 20th congressional district.
 * Tatiana Troyanos (1938-1993), mezzo-soprano known for her work at the Metropolitan Opera.
 * Bob Tufts (born 1955), former Major League Baseball pitcher.
 * Jeff Wayne (born 1943), musician known for his Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.
 * Katharine Weber (born 1955), novelist, author of five novels, including "Triangle" and "True Confections"
 * Leslie West (born 1945), of the hard rock group Mountain.
 * Henry Willson (1911-1978), Hollywood agent.
 * Manuel Ycaza (born 1938), jockey inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
 * John Zaccaro (born 1953), real estate developer.

In fiction:
 * Peter Parker (Spider-Man), raised in a home in Forest Hills, Queens by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben Parker
 * Detective Alexandra Eames from the hit series "Law and Order: Criminal Intent"
 * All 4 main characters (Turtle, Eric Murphy, Vincent and Johnny "Drama" Chase) from the HBO Original Series Entourage grew up in Forest Hills. In the episode where Vincent Chase might star in a Ramones documentary, it is made clear they grew up in the same section of Queens as the Ramones are from, thus making it Forest Hills.