East Elmhurst -- 11369

For a class assignment, I was asked to study one particular zip code.  I chose the zip code just north of where I live in Jackson Heights.  That zip code is 11369, which coincides with East Elmhurst.  I knew nothing about it, except that it is close to where I live.  But the more I looked into it, the more interesting I found it.

A map of the area is shown below.  Generally, the boundaries are as follows:

• to the south, Northern Boulevard
• to the west, 85th Street and 87th Street
• to the north and east, the Grand Central Parkway and Ditmars Boulevard

11369 is largely residential, and has been greatly impacted by facilities that surround it or are located nearby, although they may not be a part of 11369 proper.  For the purpose of this project, however, I am only including the north side of Northern Boulevard.

Geographical Overview of 11369

The highest point in 11369 is an elevation of 100 feet, at the north end of the block bordered by Northern Boulevard, 32nd Avenue, 106th Street, and 107th Street.  This is part of a ridge that overlooks the Grand Central Parkway.  The low point is the shoreline at the foot of the ridge, following the Grand Central Parkway along the eastern edge of 11369.  Excluding the Grand Central Parkway, the lowest area of 11369 is its northwestern section, former location of the Jackson Mill Pond.  As expected, the nicest houses are along the ridge, and the low area in the northwest is where some of the more industrial areas are located.

Jackson’s Mill (previously known as Kip’s Mill and Fish’s Mill) ground corn and wheat from the mid 1600s until the late 1800s.  A dam blocked Jackson Creek near today’s intersection of 94th Street and the Grand Central Parkway, creating the Jackson Mill Pond.  The pond curved around from there to the west and then south, where Ditmars Boulevard and the Grand Central Parkway are now located.  The pond was fed by Jackson Creek, which ran through 11369 and widened into the pond near what is now Astoria Boulevard between 88th and 89th Streets.  The odd-shaped block bordered by Astoria Boulevard, 23rd Avenue, 88th Street, and 89th Street is a remnant of the pond.

Landfill has been used extensively in the features that surround 11369, including portions of the Grand Central Parkway and LaGuardia Airport.  Additionally, both Jackson Creek and Jackson Mill Pond have been filled in.  The only part of 11369 that is in a flood plain is the Grand Central Parkway.

Although ferries served the area after North Beach was built (more information on North Beach is provided later), the earliest access to the area was via two colonial era roads.  Trains Meadow Road nicked 11369 on the western edge, but the first road through 11369 was Bowery Bay Road, which ran to Jackson’s Mill.  Remnants of Bowery Bay Road remain in today’s Jackson Mill Road and Junction Boulevard.  Bits of Jackson Mill Road run at angles to the grid along Junction Boulevard, causing many odd-shaped blocks.

Here are some other deviations from the Queens street grid:

• Astoria Boulevard, which cuts diagonally through 11369 – Astoria Boulevard is the modern-day version of the Astoria and Flushing Turnpike, built in the 1830s.  For the most part, the Queens grid was added after the 7 train was built through to Flushing in the 1910s.  The combination of Astoria Boulevard and the grid causes many odd-shaped blocks.  Many of the odd bits of leftover land been made into parks and Greenstreets areas.  The entire effect is similar to that of 7th Avenue cutting through Greenwich Village.  Interestingly, many of the buildings facing Astoria Boulevard are aligned with the grid rather than with Astoria Boulevard, even though the roots of Astoria Boulevard pre-date the grid.  I believe this is due to subsequent widening of Astoria Boulevard to handle truck traffic in association with the construction of the Triboro Bridge.
• Grand Central Parkway and Ditmars Boulevard, which curve around 11369 – These routes parallel each other and cause all adjoining blocks to be shaped oddly.  Although Ditmars Boulevard was in the area as early as 1915, it was originally part of the street grid until meeting the eastern shoreline, where it curved to the southeast roughly along today’s route.
• Residential development in the eastern section of 11369 – The first residential development in 11369 (other than Jackson’s Mill and some early farms) dates to the early 1900s and is in the eastern corner of 11369, north of Astoria Boulevard.  This development preceded the Queens grid.
• A few other odd bends and turns in streets -- Junction Boulevard/94th Street has a few bends in it at the southern and northern ends of 11369, following the old Bowery Bay Road.  There is also an bend in 30th Avenue, between 90th Street and 97th Street, where it parallels Astoria Boulevard.

Development and History of 11369

Development in 11369 was in spurts.  As mentioned above, Jackson’s Mill dates from colonial times, and is associated with Bowery Bay Road.

Jackson Avenue, the route of which is approximated by today’s Northern Boulevard, was built as a toll road between Long Island City and Flushing in the 1850s.  Northern Boulevard now serves as the primary shopping district for 11369, with a much more extensive selection of shops than is found on Astoria Boulevard, Junction Boulevard, or 31st Avenue.

The next major development period was initiated by the popularity of the North Beach resort, built by William Steinway and George Ehret (a brewer) in about 1890.  Although not in 11369 (North Beach was situated where LaGuardia airport now sits), North Beach was crucial to 11369’s development.  Built as family entertainment for Steinway’s German workforce, North Beach included rides, beaches, a pier, and a beer hall selling Ehret’s products.  Several ferry lines served North Beach, with service to and from Flushing, Manhattan, Astoria, and the Bronx.  Additionally, trolley service brought passengers from Brooklyn along today’s Junction Boulevard; small remnants of trolley tracks remain.  North Beach remained very popular with European immigrants until about 1910, but had lost its popularity by the time prohibition started in 1920.

By the time of North Beach’s demise, the elevated 7 train from Manhattan to Flushing (also not in 11369) was bringing development to the area to the south, which then spread north into 11369.

In the late 1930s, a cluster of Robert Moses projects initiated another period of growth.  As a result of the 1939 World’s Fair, road improvements were made to speed access to the fair grounds in Flushing Meadows and businesses developed accordingly (like the Fair Theatre and the Fair Food Market Italian-American Grocery along Astoria Boulevard).  Additionally, the construction of the Grand Central Parkway and LaGuardia (originally North Beach) Airport has led to a set of related businesses in the northern section of 11369, such as hotels, rental car facilities, gas stations, and even an aviation-oriented college.

In the 1950s, housing was needed for returning servicemen and others.  This resulted in a series of large apartment buildings, including the Northridge complex between 90th Street and 92nd Street on Northern Boulevard.

There is no large scale manufacturing in 11369, although there are some smaller-scale industrial-type facilities:

• Auto repair and supply facilities on Northern Boulevard east of Junction Boulevard -- Northern Boulevard was a center for auto-related businesses by the 1920s (most famously, as depicted in “The Great Gatsby”).  Many such businesses are still found there today (including DiBlasi Ford, at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and Astoria Boulevard for over 75 years).
• Iron works establishments on the side streets north of Northern Boulevard, in the area around 102nd Street and 103rd Street.
• MTA’s LaGuardia bus depot just outside the northwest corner of 11369, between 85th Street and 87th Street -- this was the former depot for Triboro Coach.
• Several large car rental facilities in the area north of Astoria Boulevard on the few blocks on either side of Junction Boulevard -- these serve LaGuardia Airport.
• Vaughn College -- a training ground in all technologies related to aviation from airport management to aviation maintenance to different types of engineering.

Demographics of 11369

Aside from colonial-era residents, the first significant influx in 11369 were working-class and upper-class Germans and other Europeans, drawn by the nearby North Beach resort.

Starting in the 1940s the eastern section of 11369 became a mecca for middle class blacks with good jobs, like police officers and schoolteachers.  Blacks were drawn there because it was more suburban than Harlem and it was one of the few neighborhoods in the New York City area where they could buy homes.  Many well-off and famous blacks lived here during the 1940s and 1950s, including Ella Fitzgerald, Willie Mays, and Harry Belafonte.  (Corona, to the south, was also home to numerous black entertainers.)  Another well-known black resident of 11369 was Malcolm X, whose house on 97th Street was firebombed a week before his assassination in Harlem.

The Northridge apartment complex, opened in the 1950s, had many Jewish residents, but did not admit blacks.  Later, when the civil rights movement opened up other areas to blacks, 11369 ceased to be the draw that it was previously.  Instead, the area has attracted other marginalized groups, including Latinos and other new immigrants.  The storefronts on one block on Northern Boulevard, between 105th Street and 106th Street, epitomize both today’s population and the history of the area:

1. An Islamic Mosque
2. A vacant storefront
3. A Kennedy Fried Chicken serving halal meat
4. A Mexican taqueria
5. A storefront Baptist Church dating from 1944
6. A deli
7. A tire repair facility

Around 11369, one can find establishments catering to South Americans, Central Americans, English- and French-speaking former Caribbean residents, Arabic-speakers, Koreans, and Chinese.  Often, the businesses reflect a mix of cultures, such as the Spanish pharmacia with a sign in Arabic, the bakery that advertises “Middle Eastern and Spanish Pastries”, the Korean auto repair shop playing Spanish music on its loudspeakers, or the pizza parlor that also sells Mexican tamales, tacos, and Jamaican beef patties.

In 2000, the population of 11369 was 29 percent white, 34 percent black, 7 percent Asian, and 28 percent other.  Approximately 50 percent of the population was Hispanic or Latino, with the largest groups being Dominican and Colombian.  Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Ecuadorians are other significantly-sized groups.  Approximately 49 percent of the 11369 residents were foreign-born, and 8 percent had lived in a different country just 5 years previously.  Median household income for the zip code in 1999 was just under $40,000, similar to or lower than nearby zip codes.

The most prominent civic association in 11369 is Elmcor, a provider of recreational and social services for youth and seniors.  NORC (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community), a city-funded program providing social services to seniors, is active in the Northridge apartment complex.  Other civic groups include VFW halls, the Kiwanis, and area churches.

Streets and Parks in 11369

With a few exceptions, the street names in 11369 follow the Queens pattern of east-west running numbered streets and north-south running numbered avenues.  Deviations from the grid were discussed above.

Virtually all of the streets in the area have undergone name changes.  For example, the streets now known as 86th Street to 96th Street were formerly known as 29th Avenue to 39th Avenue.  The avenues that are now numbered from 32nd Avenue to 23rd Avenue used to have names:  Burnside, Patterson, Grand, Schurz, Sigel, and Mansfield.  The off-grid streets in the eastern section of 11369 are named rather than numbered, although the avenues in that section use the same number-names as their gridded couterparts.

The only super blocks in 11369 are the two blocks bordered by Astoria Boulevard, 23rd Avenue, 88th Street, 91st Street, and 90th Place.  These two blocks, divided north-south by 89th Street, are a remnant of Jackson Creek and Jackson Mill Pond and nearby early development.

There are a number of parks and greenstreets spaces in or near the area:

• Planeview Park -- Although just outside 11369, Planeview Park is one of the most interesting parks because of its unique site.  It is a triangle of land overlooking LaGuardia Airport at the end of the runway running from the southwest to the northeast.  Depending on air traffic patterns, it is a superb spot from which to watch airplanes land or take off.
• Overlook Park -- This small park takes advantage of a hill overlooking LaGuardia Airport and the Grand Central Parkway to provide another airport vista.  At this park, however, trees can block part of the view.  It was at this site that Steinway and Ehret originally planned to place the Heine Monument, which now sits in Joyce Kilmer Park near Yankee Stadium.
• One Room Schoolhouse Park -- This is the former site of the last remaining one-room schoolhouse in Queens, which was open from 1879 to 1925.
• Other parks include Veteran’s Plaza Park, the East Elmhurst Playground, Barclay Triangle, Playground Ninety, and O’Sullivan Plaza.

As indicated previously, public works such as the 1939 Worlds Fair, the Grand Central Parkway, and the widening of Astoria Boulevard, have had a marked effect on 11369.  A public housing project planned for the area where Northridge is now was blocked by the community in the 1950s.

The predominant residential zoning is R3, which is used throughout 11369.  The highest level of residential zoning is R7, which is used between 88th Street, 92nd Street, Northern Boulevard, and 32nd Avenue.

Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn

Ocean Parkway was built as one of five grand boulevards in NYC (along with Queens Boulevard, the Grand Concourse, Eastern Parkway, and Pelham Parkway.  Ocean Parkway and Eastern Parkway were built as extensions of Prospect Park by Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux in the 1870s.  The grand boulevards were planned as part of an extensive system of parkways that would extend the rural beauty of Prospect Park into Brooklyn’s residential neighborhoods, and would eventually connect to Manhattan’s Central Park.

Ocean Parkway is 5½ miles long, with a central drive, landscaped malls, a bridle path (now paved), a pedestrian promenade, and narrow access roads.  Below are pictures of Ocean Parkway in 1894 and today.  The configuration of the road hasn’t changed significantly, although the surrounding landscape has changed.

Between 1953 and 1962, the Prospect Expressway was built from the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel to Ocean Parkway, paving over the northernmost section of Ocean Parkway.  Connections were also built to the Gowanus Expressway and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

In 1963, Robert Moses proposed that the Prospect Expressway should be continued over the length of Ocean Parkway, to connect with the Belt Parkway and the proposed Cross-Brooklyn Expressway.

In 1966, an alternate route for the Prospect Expressway was proposed along Flatbush Avenue.

Dispruptions caused by highway construction in other parts of NYC meant that neither route was approved.  In 1975, Ocean Parkway was designated a scenic landmark.

Below is a map showing the northern end of Ocean Parkway and the Prospect Expressway.  If Robert Moses had his way, the Prospect Expressway would continue the length of Ocean Parkway all the way to the Belt Parkway.

Below are two aerial views of Ocean Parkway.  The top photo shows the southern end of Ocean Parkway near Coney Island.  The bottom photo is an overview of its entire length, looking north toward Prospect Park.

B and Q Train From Church Avenue to Brighton Beach

The Brighton Beach line began in 1878 as the Brooklyn, Flatbush, and Coney Island RR steam train. It was a surface line from Prospect Park to the Brighton Beach Hotel, which was owned by the railroad. Below is a picture of the hotel.



The line was later extended to Atlantic Avenue, where it connected with the main line of the LIRR. Because the LIRR had a competing hotel, there was a dispute and the LIRR terminated the connection. The map below shows the connection of the BF&CI RR to the LIRR tracks. The competing NY & Manhattan Beach RR is also shown.



Meanwhile, the BF&CI RR had re-organized as the Brooklyn & Brighton Beach RR, and arranged for through service with the Franklin Street El. By 1900, the B&BB RR was electrified, there was through-service to Manhattan, and it was a commuter line rather than a seasonal line. By 1907, all grade crossings were eliminated.

It is an interesting line to rail-fans because its track includes tunnel, open cut, embankment, and elevated sections. The placement of these track sections roughly corresponds to the decreasing elevation of the glacial moraine as it slopes southward toward the ocean. The map below shows the location of the different types of track.

B/D/F Train From Herald Square to West 4th Street

OK, this post is about the portion of the 6th Avenue subway that runs between Herald Square (34th Street) and West 4th Street in Greenwich Village. As mentioned in a prior post, this was one of my contributions to an all-day walking tour that took place on November 15, 2009.

*****************************************

The 6th Avenue subway was the last of the Manhattan subway lines to be built, with service beginning in 1940. It replaced the 6th Avenue El, which was built in the 1870s as the second El in Manhattan and demolished in 1939.

Below are two pictures of Herald Square, looking north, with and without the 6th Avenue El. In both pictures, 6th Avenue is on the left and Broadway is on the right.

The construction of the 6th Avenue subway was very complex due to the prior existence of the Broadway subway, the PATH train’s 6th Avenue line, the Amtrak/LIRR tunnels, the 8th Avenue subway, and the 14th Street subway, all shown on the map below.

The Herald Square station is probably the most complicated piece of subway construction ever attempted. A partial schematic of the station is shown below.

Here are some of the complications:

 When it was built, several rail lines, streets, utilities, and water lines had to be supported or avoided.

 The station serves the 6th Avenue subway, the Broadway subway, and the PATH train.

 The 6th Avenue subway is below the Broadway subway tracks, and above the LIRR tracks.

 The 6th Avenue tracks dip down in the middle of the Herald Square station, and the ends are higher.

The photo below was taken outside the West 4th Street station, looking north along 6th Avenue. Bigelow Drugs and the Jefferson Market Library are still here.

Transportation Links in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens

Here is another one of my assignments in my Geography of NYC class. For this assignment, the undergrad students in the class led a series of walking tours of neighborhoods around NYC. The grad students (that's me!) were responsible for overseeing the undergrads, preparing an agenda for the day, and providing information about the transportation that we used to get from one area to another.

We were all assigned to one of two walking-tour days, and we all worked in pairs. I was assigned to a group that gave tours of the following five neighborhoods in a single day:

(1) Penn Station/Herald Square

(2) West Village

(3) Williamsburg, including the hipster, Hasidic, and Latino sections

(4) Prospect Park South

(5) Brighton Beach and Coney Island

My particular assignment was to discuss two transportation links (Herald Square to the West Village by subway, and Prospect Park South to Brighton Beach by subway). In addition, I led the portion of the Brighton Beach/Coney Island tour that covered Ocean Parkway.

The next several posts cover these three topics. Enjoy!

Long Island City: Hinge Connecting Midtown Manhattan and Queens

I am taking a class in the Geography of NYC, which I am really enjoying. One of our assignments was to take a series of eight walking tours around the city, using brief descriptions prepared by our professor, Jack Eichenbaum. For extra credit, I presented the Long Island City tour to the class. Below is my presentation. The presentation mixed the text prepared by Jack with my own add-ins scoured from the internet. (Sorry, not much original research in this particular assignment.)

*********************************************

Historically, Long Island City was a wetland at the western edge of Queens County. Due to flooding, it was not an important settlement until the railroad era. In the mid-19th century, Brooklyn pushed back the Long Island Rail Road from its terminus at the Atlantic Avenue waterfront. Soon, railroad interests in Queens sought outlets in Hunters Point -- Long Island City was chartered in 1870 as an industrial and transportation satellite friendly to heavy industry. After consolidation, Long Island City became modernized. Landfill and sewers remade it as a modern industrial district at the center of New York City’s transportation options early in the 20th century. As American manufacturing declined, Long Island City’s buildings and transportation have attracted new uses.

The map to the left shows the Hunters Point section of the walk. Highlights include the Vernon Mall, the Pulaski Bridge, and Gantry Plaza State Park.

The map below shows the Queensboro Plaza and Sunnyside Yards sections of the walk, which are taken by riding the 7 train toward Flushing.



Our walk starts at Vernon Mall. I've highlighted the area on the map below. Vernon Mall is at the angular intersection of Vernon Blvd (which parallels the East River Shore) and Jackson Ave (which runs northeasterly and parallels the original Flushing railroad route).


The mid-street parking in the Vernon Mall is on the right-of-way of a 19th century bridge to Brooklyn. The bridge went over the Long Island City railroad station where trains from Jamaica and points east discharged passengers to Manhattan ferries. A century ago, this was the busiest place in Queens County.

Below are two photos of Vernon Mall. The left-hand photo, taken in 1939, shows the bridge coming into Queens from Brooklyn. Cars and trucks can be seen on the bridge. We are facing north, looking along what is now Vernon Mall. In 1954 the bridge was replaced by the Pulaski Bridge a few blocks away. Vernon Mall is now a parking lot with a few benches, as shown in the photo on the right.






















To the right is a 1909 map that shows the transportation links of Long Island City at the turn of the 20th century. [Note: the map is rotated about 90 degrees from the other maps on this page.] There are two competing sets of rail links. The rail route up Jackson Avenue goes to Flushing, and was built in 1852. The rail route along Newtown Creek goes to Jamaica, and is essentially still in use today as the main line of the Long Island Rail Road. Both railroads had ferry connections to Manhattan.

On the 1909 map you can also see bridges over Newtown Creek. There are roads converging on the Hunters Point section. Finally, trolleys also terminated here, with ferry connections to Manhattan.


The map on the left highlights Jackson Avenue, the diagonal street. Jackson Avenue was built in 1857 as a turnpike between Hunters Point and Flushing Bay. Looking up Jackson Ave, you can see the Citicorp Building (below), the tallest building on Long Island, constructed in 1989.




The map below to the right shows today's transportation links. The Vernon/Jackson and Hunters Point subway stops on the 7 train are in a tunnel built by William Steinway in the 1890s as a means of getting by trolley from Grand Central Terminal to his piano factory empire in the northeastern part of Long Island City. The venture was never completed but the Interboro Rapid Transit (IRT) bought them and used them for the subway in 1914. Now, the 7 train travels under through the tunnel under the East River to 42 Street. The Long Island Expressway becomes the Queens-Midtown Tunnel to 38 Street. Under the Long Island City railroad station, most Long Island Railroad trains tunnel to Pennsylvania Station at 34 Street. The Queensboro Bridge to the north takes traffic to 59 Street and three more subway tunnels connect to 53, 60, and 63 Streets. Long Island City and midtown have evolved together.

Other transportation links in the area include the G train to Brooklyn, the Pulaski Bridge to Brooklyn, the Roosevelt Island Bridge between Queens and Roosevelt Island, the Long Island Expressway, ferries to Manhattan, and the Roosevelt Island tram.


The map on the left highlights the location of the Pulaski Bridge. Below is a panoramic view of Newtown Creek from the Pulaski Bridge looking west toward Manhattan. You can climb stairs up to the Pulaski bridge walkway and head toward the Brooklyn side. Brooklyn, although it has older industrial functions, never had the transportation advantages of the Queens side.

What is the land use along Newtown Creek now? On the Brooklyn side, you can see older warehouses, a sewage treatment plant, and a dorm for Pace University. On the Queens side, there are road construction businesses, home bases for field crews (e.g., Fresh Direct and Cablevision), low transportation-related businesses (bus wash, train wash), and daylight manufacturing buildings.

How can you tell that the Queens side of the bridge is thriving more than the Brooklyn side? Queens has more new residential construction. There are direct trains and roads to Manhattan from the Queens side (and none from the Brooklyn side). The Queens side has more restaurants. On the Brooklyn side, the buildings tend to be lower, bigger-footprint buildings, implying that the land is cheaper. The map below shows the income levels on either side of Newtown Creek -- the darker the green, the higher the income. The data on this map is from 2000. I suspect that the new high-rise residential buildings near Gantry Plaza State Park would make this dark green even darker today.

And what about Newtown Creek itself? It was "discovered" by Europeans in 1613 and remained rural until the railroad came to this area after it was pushed out of the Brooklyn waterfront. Starting around 1860, heavy industry moved in, the combination of railroads and a waterway being too tempting to pass up.

Newtown Creek is a tidal creek, without a water source to help it refresh itself. Over time, it has been shortened and deepened (through dredging). Now, east of the bridge. there is an anti-pollution and recycling area in East Greenpoint. Newtown Creek is still one of the most polluted industrial sites in the U.S.


Now we head back into Long Island City, and walk west on 48 Avenue, highlighted on the map to the right. The aerial photo below shows that 48 Avenue runs parallel to the 1852 railroad right-of-way to Flushing.











You can see from the aerial photo that much of this right-of-way is not built upon. Near the East River, the Queens West project on the waterfront has been constructed mostly on former track. Other portions of the route have been used for a linear park and for Gantry Plaza State Park. Why would you build on former railroad land? Because it's not been built on previously, and because it's already graded.

Now we head to the East River shoreline, (see map below) where the Flushing railroad met the water. Until the 1970s, the gantries (black steel mechanisms that transferred goods from the railroad to barges until trucks transported stuff more cheaply) were in use. The public waterfront area is called Gantry Plaza State Park. Piers are built out into the river, and tiny bits of railroad track lead up to the gantries as a reminder.
























The map to the left shows the location of the huge building that once housed a private power plant. The power plant was built in 1909 by the Pennsylvania Railroad to meet the needs of the new Pennsylvania Station, the electrified Long Island Railroad, and tunnels. The photo below shows the power plant when it was operating.


In 1959, the plant was sold to Schwartz Chemical. In 2005, to the chagrin of many, the smoke stacks were removed. The building is currently being converted to apartments, and half the building has been torn out. There is a photo below. The rounded turret-looking things are supposed to be a nod to the smokestacks. A very, very small nod indeed.







Now we board the eastbound 7 train. The map below shows the route. As the train rounds a sharp turn just outside the Hunters Point station, you will see Five Pointz, photo below.















This is a large daylight factory building. About 1900, the technology was perfected for making large buildings out of concrete poured around metal reinforcing bars. The floor slabs were poured integrally with the building framework. Solid concrete columns were used for support. The technology allowed for large expanses of window glass, which brought in good daylight and allowed for ventilation. Because the floors were strong, heavy machinery could be used inside the buildings. The materials needed for construction were easy to obtain: sand, cement, and aggregate. Additionally, the buildings were fireproof. The construction method was very popular from about 1900 to about 1930, and there are many examples in Long Island City. 5 Pointz, the building shown here, is a well-known example. It is covered with graffiti, and was used as artist studios until a recent fire escape collapse caused the building to be closed. I don't know its current fate.

After the Courthouse Square station, there is a huge cluster of daylight factory buildings that were built on a former creek bed, filled with the construction of the train.

The train then makes a sharp turn to the east into the Queensboro Plaza station. See map below.

Queensboro Plaza is a filled wetland that became the Queens terminus of the Queensboro Bridge, finished in 1909. Below is a photo of the area, looking into Queens. When Queensboro Plaza was built, it was hoped that it would become the Times Square of Queens.






For those who know Queensboro Plaza today, this is a laughable notion. The elevated train was built in 1915, and completely changed the area. See photo below.





Although there used to be twice as many tracks as there are now, the super-structure still overwhelms from the street level.

At the Queensboro Plaza train station, the 7 train (part of the IRT) meets the the N and W trains, which were part of the rival BMT company. The station was originally designed so that a passenger would pay a transfer fare to switch lines. The N and W trains, the Astoria lines, used to go over the Queensboro Bridge and connect to the 2nd Avenue El. Now they tunnel under the East River. Nearby but underground is the Queens Plaza station, where you can catch the E, G, R, and V trains.

If you get out of the train, you can see how the trains converge to the Queensboro Plaza near the bridge and diverge at the eastern end. The schematic at the left illustrates the connections made at Queensboro Plaza.



North of the train, and highlighted in the map to the right, there are a pair of interesting buildings.

The renovated Brewster Building, originally used to assemble horseless carriages and Rolls Royce cars, now holds offices for Met Life (connected to a new taller Met Life office building behind). The Brewster Building dates from 1911. A photo is below.

If you re-board an eastbound 7 train, as you leave the station, you pass the Bank of Manhattan building, from 1927 (photo below). At 14 stories, it was once the tallest building in Queens. The Citicorp Building, mentioned above, is nearby.









Our next and last stop is Sunnyside Yards, highlighted on the map below.









The train crosses the Sunnyside Yards at about their widest.


The Pennsylvania Railroad built them to store and service trains (land was cheaper here rather than in expensive Manhattan). The Yards were built on drained swamp land at the time Pennsylvania Station was built. They are now used by Amtrak, the Long Island Rail Road, and New Jersey Transit.

Consolidation of NYC in 1898

This is the second (and final) assignment for my NYC history class. For this paper, we were to imagine ourselves in 1898. New York has just expanded to include all five boroughs. We have just been hired by the mayor's office to discuss the problems created by the growth of the city and to suggest solutions to these problems. Side note: upon reading my paper, my wife commented that she liked it because my ideas were so communistic. 8-)

******************************************
INTRODUCTION

The Mayor's office of New York, recently consolidated to include the outlying territories of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx, has requested an analysis of major problems likely to face the consolidated metropolis. This report discusses three such problems, along with suggested solutions.

BACKGROUND OF CONSOLIDATION

Originally, New York as a city was composed only of Manhattan. Manhattan was given a head start as a dominant territory after being granted domain over the East River and its ferry traffic, essentially robbing Brooklyn control of its own waterfront.

By the 1850s, the state combined the police, fire, and health departments of Manhattan and Brooklyn into joint metropolitan boards and soon after, annexation of the outlying territory was being promoted. In 1874, portions of the western Bronx were moved from Westchester County into New York, with additional portions joining in 1895.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn had been undertaking similar annexation projects, combining the previously independent towns of Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Bushwick in 1855. By 1896, Brooklyn also included New Lots, Flatbush, New Utrecht, Gravesend, and Flatlands.

With both Brooklyn and New York growing via annexation, it seemed a logical next step to combine the two, plus other surrounding areas, into a single metropolis. Similar centralization efforts have demonstrated benefits in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Paris, and London. Centralized planning, coordination of municipal functions (e.g., port administration, utilities, bridges, transportation, and other city services) could be more efficiently handled by a single entity than through the attempted cooperation of dozens of independent towns and villages that were in existence.

Similarly, the potential cost of doing nothing was great. The port, one of New York's greatest assets, was losing ground to other, more efficient facilities. Numerical superiority in terms of square miles of terrain or population could, by itself, rob a city of prestige, taking with it the magnetic pull of corporate headquarters and cultural activities.

As a result of these factors and more, consolidation was recommended by the voters in 1894 and approved by the state in 1897.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS CREATED BY CONSOLIDATION AND SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

Inequality Among The Boroughs

New York was the leading city prior to consolidation, and has been chosen as the seat of government for the consolidated city. There is a danger that Manhattan-centric policies will be implemented, to the detriment of the other boroughs.

Overall, the city is expected to prosper. Consolidation is producing economies of scale in important areas, and is allowing the best minds in the city to focus on the ideal solutions to our problems. Coordination issues, inordinately complicated when there were 40-some independent entities to be considered, should be greatly simplified - municipal utilities, transportation, sewage control, and water supply, to name a few.

However, there is concern that the outer boroughs may not fare as well as Manhattan, and that across-the-board prosperity will not be seen. For example, tax rates, zoning codes, and business ordinances that make sense in Manhattan may make less sense in other, more residential areas.

Additionally, there is the danger that major cultural institutions, such as parks, museums, and theaters, may flourish in Manhattan, while being ignored elsewhere. Brooklyn, in particular, has exemplary cultural variety, rivaling that of Manhattan; any loss in or degradation of Brooklyn's amenities would be a loss to the entire city.

Historically, the south end of Manhattan has been a focus of business activity in the region. But other parts of the region also have thriving business centers. There is a concern that Manhattan businesses may displace those in other boroughs as the primary drivers for commerce and employment. For example, Brooklyn has fine port facilities, and the Jamaica Bay region could also be developed into a port. But if New York as a whole is Manhattan-centric, then Jamaica Bay may be seen as too far away for development of this type.

If Manhattan does become a center of business and culture, this could well mean that the other boroughs would be relegated to housing for the workers of Manhattan. An alternative possibility is that, with less political power, the outer boroughs could become homes to the undesirable elements of any great city, including the dumping of waste, the site for polluting industries and facilities, and the residence of those without homes or means of support.

The following are suggested solutions to ensure that all boroughs are treated on an equal footing:

• Consider the effect of all regulations on differing groups of citizens. If necessary, develop differing sets of codes, regulations, tax rates, and ordinances for different areas of the metropolis.
• Ensure that municipal funding on cultural institutions is evenly spread across all the boroughs. Use such funding to develop new cultural amenities in areas that now lack them. Additionally, ensure that existing cultural amenities, such as those in Brooklyn, continue to be funded and expanded.
• In centralizing transportation planning, ensure that transportation routes for trolleys and other conveyances are designed to move citizens from their residences to all business centers and cultural destinations. If public transportation is limited to routes that travel in and out of Manhattan, it will greatly hinder the ability of any other locality to draw the public.
• Ensure that all boroughs receive their equitable share of both desirable and undesirable elements of city life. Homes for rich and poor, clean offices and dirty industrial facilities -- all should be located in all boroughs.

Loss of Local Control
In the past, the independent municipalities and other entities that now comprise New York could look out for their own citizens. If the local citizens were unhappy with the way in which their problems or concerns were being addressed, it was a fairly quick and easy process to change the governmental representatives and alter the decision-making process.

The danger here is that, as the problems became bigger, the focus will be on the overall city-wide problem, and the local parts of the problem will get lost in the process. Previously, the local governments in the region had control over taxes and assessments, expenditures, development policies, and the racial and ethnic composition of neighborhoods. These smaller cities could experiment in small ways, learn quickly from their mistakes, and generally be more nimble. All of this local control is likely to vanish as the centralized government determines policies for the entire region. With a larger government, the decision-making process takes longer, is more prone to compromise, and tends to be focused on the big picture.
For example, as transportation options have increased, people have moved out of the city center to more suburban areas that are less crowded, with larger homes and smaller governments. Brooklynites have generally preferred a slower pace of life over the frenetic tempo of Manhattan. How can Brooklyn ensure that this quality of life continues for its residents?
The following are suggested solutions to ensure that the localities within New York continue to maintain some local control over their own destinies:

• For selected facets of life, turn over central control to regional or local governing boards, fully empowered to set and implement policy. This will allow the local residents to maintain full control over portions of their lives.
• Allow experimentation in policy-making to occur on a regional level. Some policies do not need to be implemented city-wide, but can instead be established according to local needs and desires.

Inequitable Burdens on Citizens
Anytime that a group joins together, the distribution of costs and benefits among the group members are unlikely to be equal. There are concerns about tax increases, real estate speculation, the spreading of Tammany politics, increased competition from similar businesses in other boroughs, and increased crime. Additionally, others are thankful for reduced debt, access to water, and better employment opportunities. Former New York residents who had left for the outlying areas are now back onto the tax rolls. But, the popular vote tallies in some of the more far-reaching areas were less enthusiastic about consolidation. It is important that all our citizens see and reap the benefits of consolidation.
In addition to the local concerns, upstate citizens are concerned that a consolidated New York will dominate state politics.
The following are suggestions for dealing with the disparity in costs and benefits that will accrue to our citizens in different regions of the city:

• Quickly implement selected policies that will provide benefits to large numbers of citizens and for which the costs can be spread widely. For example, pollution in the harbor and other waterways has been an ongoing problem. Cleaning up this pollution will provide a visible and tangible benefit to all; having the costs spread among many will reduce the apparent burden to any single citizen. And, because pollution is something that can be readily seen by all, it will be quite apparent to all that action has been taken. By doing this quickly, citizens will have a first impression of their new government taking action on their behalf.
• Try to ensure that no region or group of citizens is overwhelmingly saddled with reductions in services or amenities, without seeing any associated improvements. The regional boards may be able to assist with assessing the geographic impacts of policies. As for citizen groups, the government can partner with churches, civic associations, and other clubs and organizations to allow these voices to be heard.

REFERENCES
Burrows, Edwin G. and Mike Wallace, Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898, Oxford University Press: New York, 1999.
Ellis, Edward Robb, The Epic of New York City: A Narrative History From 1524 To The Present, Coward-McCann, Inc.: New York, 1966.
Fieldston School, Department of History, "Inventing Gotham," http://www.mapsites.net/gotham/DBQs/ConsolidationDBQ.htm, August 6, 2009.
Gonzalez, Evelyn, The Bronx, Columbia University Press: New York, 2004.
Hammack, David C., "Consolidation," The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson, Yale University Press: New Haven and The New-York Historical Society: New York, 1995.
Tierney, John, "Brooklyn Could Have Been A Contender," The New York Times Magazine, December 28, 1997.