Bay Terrace, Queens

Bay Terrace is an upper income neighborhood in the northeastern part of the New York City borough of Queens, and is often considered part of Bayside, despite Bayside's more suburban character. The construction of the Bay Terrace Cooperative apartment buildings and garden apartments in the 1950's, as well as the development of the Bay Terrace Shopping Center, lent the area its own identity. The area encompasses gated cooperative/condominium developments such as the Bay Club, the Towers at Waters Edge, the Kennedy Street Quad, the Bayside Townhouse Condominiums and others. The gated estate community of the "Bayside Gables" is also located within the Bay Terrace neighborhood, being the site of some of the only single family homes in the area. Bay Terrace overlooks the East River and the approaches to the Throgs Neck Bridge from the Clearview Expressway and Cross Island Parkway. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 7, and is coextensive with ZIP Code 11360.

The civic organization serving Bay Terrace is the Bay Terrace Community Alliance (BTCA).

History
In 1639, Dutch Governor Willem Kieft (1597-1647) purchased the land that today encompasses Queens County from the Matinecock. William Lawrence (1622-1680), who served as a magistrate under Dutch and English administrations, was granted a parcel of land by King Charles II in 1645 that included a large portion of what is today Bayside, in addition to College Point, Whitestone, and Fort Totten. Bayside began its course of development from an agricultural community to a suburb when the North Shore Railroad was extended in 1866. During the following several decades, the Bayside Land Association purchased farms for development. Bay Terrace, originally included within the bounds of Bayside, remained composed of farms and large estates until the 1950s, when Cord and Charles Meyer sold their 225 acre farm for development.

In 1952, residential development of Bay Terrace Sections 1-12 began and continued into the mid-1960’s. Commercial development also began in the 1950’s, in the form of "The Bay Terrace at Bayside Shopping Center"

Demographics
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the estimated 2010 median family income for the census tract encompassing the Bay Terrace area of New York City (997.02), exclusively, is $95,868. The Current estimated population of Bay Terrace, Queens, New York City is 20,572, while the population density is 14,683.8 per square mile. The median home value of the area is $1,253,000. The median age of individuals residing in 11360 is 48.9 years.

Education
Bay Terrace residents are zoned to New York City Department of Education schools. The elementary school in Bay Terrace is PS 169 and the neighborhood's middle school, MS 294 Bell Academy, is located within the same building. Alternative New York City Department of Education middle schools within the New York City Department of Education district 25 include IS 25 and JHS 194. . Residents are zoned for Bayside High School.

The Queens Borough Public Library operates the Bay Terrace Branch.

Parks
Bay Terrace is home to scenic waterfront parks and recreational facilities, including Fort Totten (New York), the Bay Terrace Playground and Little Bay Park; at the foot of the Throgs Neck Bridge.

Transit
Bay Terrace is 20 minutes to Midtown Manhattan via the Long Island Rail Road or 40 minutes via the Metropolitan Transportation Authority QM2 and QM2A express busses. The 7 (New York City Subway service) is accessible by a short ride on the Q28 (New York City bus). The Q13 (New York City Bus) provides inter-neighborhood transportation beginning in Fort Totten (New York), through Bay Terrace and down Bell Boulevard, a major northeastern Queens thoroughfare, with a terminus at the Downtown Flushing transportation hub.

Future Plans
The New York City Department of City Planning recently conducted a transportation study of Bay Terrace in 2004. Findings included parking and intersection issues, including poor access to the Cross Island Parkway. Eventually, a median will be constructed along the length of 212th street, with increased access to the Cross Island Parkway near the Baybridge Commons Shopping Center and reconstruction of the existing entrance and exit ramps.

The Bay Terrace at Bayside shopping center plans on adding new storefronts to their plaza including World Kitchen, Aéropostale and PM Pediatrics, a state-of-the-art pediatric emergency care facility.

Notable Residents – Current and Former

 * Tony Yayo, rapper and member of G-Unit
 * Jon Daniels, General Manager of the Texas Rangers (baseball)
 * Rudolph Valentino, American silent film star of the 1920's