Fresh Meadows, Queens

Fresh Meadows is a residential neighborhood in northeastern section of the New York City borough of Queens.

Location
Fresh Meadows is located on the northeast side of Hillcrest, bordered to the east by Cunningham Park, to the south by Union Turnpike and St. John's University, and to the west by South Flushing. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 8 and is served by the United States Postal Service as ZIP codes 11365 and 11366.

History
During the American Revolution General Benedict Arnold drilled his troops in the area, on the current location of M.S. 216. During the 19th century, Fresh Meadows was a farming community known as Black Stump. The name derives from the convention of defining property lines by placing blackened tree stumps at the edges of properties. A few such boundary markers are still visible in the undeveloped areas of Cunningham Park along 73rd Avenue. Until 2004, the neighborhood was home to Klein Farm, the last surviving commercial farm in New York City, located on 73rd Avenue between 194th and 195th Streets. Efforts by local residents and civic officials to see the farm reopen are currently under way.

Demographics
Fresh Meadows is home to an estimated population of 55,352. Usually considered one of Queens' more affluent neighborhoods, its residents have a median income of $73,671, and the neighborhood has a cost of living at approximately twice the national average. The neighborhood has historically and traditionally been home to one of New York City's most thriving Jewish communities, with the Jewish population at one time making up as many as 90% of all people who live in Fresh Meadows. Today, there is an increasing presence of younger Asian American families and Bucharian Jews living in the neighborhood.

Transportation
The neighborhood is served by NYC Transit bus lines Q17, Q30, Q31, Q46, Q88 and QM1. Fresh Meadows is not a major transportation hub, as no New York City Subway or Long Island Railroad stations are located within its boundaries.

Education
Fresh Meadows is home to St. Francis Preparatory School, the largest Catholic high school in the United States. Public schools located in Fresh Meadows include Francis Lewis High School, George J. Ryan Middle school,P.S. 26 Rufus King school, and P.S. 173 The Fresh Meadows School. The main campus of St. John's University lies on the Hillcrest border at Union Turnpike.

Housing Complex
Fresh Meadows is also the name of a large apartment complex situated in the northeast section of the neighborhood. Developed in the late 1940's by the New York Life Insurance Company to house local World War II veterans. The complex and its eponymous shopping center were the first in the United States designed primarily to accommodate automobile rather than pedestrian traffic.