College Point, Queens

College Point
Neighborhood of Queens

College Point Boulevard
Country  United States
State  New York
County Queens
Named for St. Paul's College
Population (2010 Census)[1]
 • Total 24,275
Race/Ethnicity[2]
 • Hispanic 35.7%
 • White 32.0%
 • Asian 27.9%
 • Black 2.3%
 • Other 2.1%
Economics
 • Median income $42,500
ZIP code 11356
Area code(s) 718, 347, 917

College Point is a working-middle-class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located north of Flushing on Flushing Bay and the East River also part of the Queens Community Board 7.[3] Willets Point Boulevard and the Whitestone Expressway are often the neighborhood's approximate boundaries with Flushing and Whitestone, respectively; College Point also borders Willets Point at the Flushing River at the extreme southwest corner. The 109th Precinct of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) serves College Point.[4] College Point is a diverse community, mostly residential with some industrial areas.

History

Bust of Conrad Poppenhusen
Sketch of College Point

College Point was named for St. Paul's College, a seminary founded in 1835 by the Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg.[5][6] The college closed around 1850. Former names include Lawrence's Neck, Tew's Neck, Flammersberg, and Strattonsport.

The original European settler of this area was Captain William Lawrence.[7] He was also the largest land holder of the original incorporators of the Town of Flushing, now in Queens. He arrived in America on the ship Planter in the 1630s. He married the oldest daughter of Richard "Bull Rider" Smith, who founded Smithtown on Long Island. With his first wife he had a son, William Jr., who married the Smiths' youngest daughter.

In 1854 the German-American industrialist, Conrad Poppenhusen arrived, already a prosperous manufacturer in Brooklyn of hard rubber goods, expanded his operation to this small farming community. College Point became a factory town primarily for his workers, most of them German immigrants like himself, and the tycoon became a philanthropist contributing to churches, libraries, and the Poppenhusen Institute, an educational beacon of College Point.[8] He is responsible for the first free kindergarten in America. He connected College Point to Flushing by the Flushing and North Side Railroad, later called Whitestone Branch. A monument on College Point Boulevard, one of the main streets in College Point, stands testament to Poppenhusen.[9]

College Point became a center for breweries and day trip resorts, and in the 1920s shifted towards airplane parts manufacturing.

In 1997, the Queens Historical Society bestowed a "Queensmark" award on College Point, in hopes of encouraging historical preservation of local landmark architecture.[10]

Demographics

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of College Point was 24,275, an increase of 2,868 (13.4%) from the 21,407 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 1,148.84 acres (464.92 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 21.1 inhabitants per acre (13,500/sq mi; 5,200/km2).[1]

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 32.0% (7,757) White, 2.3% (551) African American, 0.1% (26) Native American, 27.9% (6,774) Asian, 0.0% (2) Pacific Islander, 0.4% (97) from other races, and 1.7% (402) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 35.7% (8,666) of the population.[2]

Transportation

MTA Regional Bus Operations provides public bus service to College Point via the Q20A/B, Q25, Q65, and Q76 lines. No New York City Subway lines have ever been built to the area, although a spur from the IRT Flushing Line was proposed during much of the early 20th century. The Long Island Rail Road's Whitestone Branch used to run near the area.

Notable structures

Sanctuary of First Reformed Church on 119th St
Poppenhusen Institute on the NRHP
St Paul's Episcopal

Schools and churches

Public elementary schools, defined as kindergarten through 5th grades, include PS 29 and PS 129. College Point is home to St. Fidelis Parish, founded in 1856. The present church was completed in 1906. Adjacent to the church is the grave of Father Huber, the founding pastor. For over 150 years, the parish conducted an elementary school including kindergarten through 8th grades. In 1924, St. Fidelis School, a three story building of 18 classrooms, opened its doors on the present 14th Avenue and 124th Street. In 1961, the 12 classroom annex was opened. During most of these years, it was staffed by the Dominican Sisters of Amityville (Dominican Sisters of the American Congregation of the Holy Cross). Due to significant demographic changes in College Point, the elementary school was finally closed in June 2013.

St. Agnes Academic High School, a private Catholic high and independent of St. Fidelis parish, has been operating for over one hundred years. In its early years, it was very briefly co-educational, but is now restricted to girls. It is owned and still staffed by the Dominican Sisters of Amityville, assisted by lay men and women. The Dominican Sisters reside in Saint Agnes Convent as well as the Harbor of Grace Convent, which was the original convent for this community. College Point is also home to St. John's Lutheran School, another elementary program.

St. Fidelis Roman Catholic Church,[17] St. Paul's Episcopal, St. John's Lutheran, and The First Reformed Church of College Point host the community's four largest congregations.

A large, new New York City Police Academy campus is being built at 20th Avenue and College Point Boulevard.[18]

Recreation and attractions

Parks

Sports

Shopping and entertainment

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of College Point include:

References

  1. 1 2 Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010, Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010, Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.
  3. ↑ Queens Community Boards, New York City. Accessed September 3, 2007.
  4. ↑ "NYPD - Precincts". nyc.gov. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  5. ↑ College Point, Times Ledger, January 20, 2000. Accessed October 24, 2007. "North of Flushing is College Point, named College Point in 1835 by the Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg, who established St. Paul's College there in 1838."
  6. ↑ College Point, Forgotten New York.
  7. ↑ College Point Park, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed October 24, 2007.
  8. ↑ During the Civil War, the Poppenhusen Institute housed Abraham Lincoln's Log Cabin, for safekeeping. After the Civil War, it was returned to its original location in Kentucky. The Benevolent Tycoon Newsday
  9. ↑ Conrad Poppenhusen Statue, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed September 10, 2007.
  10. ↑ Queensmark Comes to College Point. Accessed September 10, 2007.
  11. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  12. ↑ "1977". The Queens Spin. Queens Tribute.
  13. ↑ See:
  14. ↑ "Queens Library". Queens Library. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "COLLEGE POINT, Queens, Part 2". Forgotten New York. 2006-05-12. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  16. ↑ Queens Crapper. "Queens Crap: Plenty of vacancies at the old Grand View Hotel". queenscrap.blogspot.com. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  17. ↑ "St. Fidelis School, College Point, NY 11356, Catholic Elementary School, Grades Nursery through 8th". stfidelis.org. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  18. ↑ Rhodes, Liz (December 22, 2011). "Police Academy rises in Queens". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
  19. ↑ Keys, Lisa. "At Home with … Steve Karsay – No. 31's Flavor", New York Post, August 14, 2004. Accessed October 10, 2016. "The reliever grew up in a small two-bedroom in College Point, Queens. It’s only a little more than 10 miles away, but light years away in spirit."

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to College Point, Queens.

Coordinates: 40°47′15″N 73°50′46″W / 40.78750°N 73.84611°W / 40.78750; -73.84611

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