Hollis, Queens

Hollis
Neighborhoods of Queens
Intersection of Jamaica Avenue and Hollis Avenue
Country	United States
State	New York
City	New York City
County/Borough	Queens
Population (2010)[1]
• Total	20,269
Ethnicity
• Black	64.0%
• Asian	10.7%
• White	2.3%
• Native American	0.6%
• Hispanic	13.2%
ZIP codes	11412, 11423
Area code(s)	718/347/929, 917

Residential area at 191st Street and Woodhull Avenue.

Hollis is a middle-class neighborhood within the southeastern section of the New York City borough of Queens. A predominantly African-American community, the boundaries are considered to be the Atlantic Branch of the Long Island Rail Road to the west, Hillside Avenue to the north, Francis Lewis Boulevard to the east (although parts of Queens Village are addressed as Hollis on water bills), and Murdock Avenue to the south. Much of this area is considered to be within the St. Albans postal district. Hollis is close to Jamaica and Queens Village. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 12.^[2] Hollis is patrolled by the NYPD's 113th Precinct.^[3] Public schools in the area are operated by the New York City Department of Education.

History

The first European settlers were Dutch homesteaders in the 17th century. A century later, early in the American Revolutionary War, it was the site of part of the Battle of Long Island, a battle in which the rebel Brigadier General Nathaniel Woodhull was captured at a tavern on what is now Jamaica Avenue. Woodhull Avenue in Hollis is named after him. The area remained rural until 1885, when developers turned 136 acres (55 ha) into houses, and the area is still developed primarily with single-family houses. In 1898, it became a part of New York City with the rest of the borough of Queens.

Since the end of the Korean War, the neighborhood has been settled primarily by African-American families. In recent years, the area has seen a large influx of South Asians and West Indians. The area has a majority of working parents with many early childhood schools in Hollis. Hollis is mainly within zip codes 11423 and 11412.

Holliswood subsection

Holliswood, previously known as Terrace Heights, is an upper middle class subsection of Hollis bounded by the Hillside Avenue to the south, Francis Lewis Boulevard to the east, Grand Central Parkway to the north, and 188th Street to the west.^[4] The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 8.^[5] At 193rd Street is Foothill Malls, a green traffic median with a memorial marking the main entrance to the upscale subdivision.

A notable local facility was Holliswood Hospital.^[6] The hospital provided psychiatric care with 127 beds. On August 16, 2013 the facility was closed.^[7]

Demographics

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Hollis was 20,269, a decrease of 478 (2.3%) from the 26,061 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 525.10 acres (212.50 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 38.6 inhabitants per acre (24,700/sq mi; 9,500/km²).^[1]

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 64.0% (12,973) African American, 10.7% (2,167) Asian, 2.3% (460) White, 0.6% (126) Native American, 0.1% (20) Pacific Islander, 4.8% (974) from other races, and 4.3% (876) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.2% (2,673) of the population.^[8]

Transportation

Long Island Rail Road service is available at the Hollis station, located at 193rd Street and Woodhull Avenue. The station is served mostly by the Hempstead Branch. West of Hollis station is the LIRR's Holban Yard, a freight yard that has been shared with St. Albans for over a century, and has included the Hillside Maintenance Facility since 1991. The Q2, Q77, Q110 buses pass from Jamaica into Hollis and out to Queens Village. On Hillside Ave., we have many more NYC buses. Such as the Q1, Q36, Q43, Q76 and the Q77. ON Hillside, you may also pick up a Nassau bound bus.

The E J Z trains stop nearby at Jamaica Center – Parsons/Archer. The Archer Avenue Lines were supposed to be extended to Hollis as part of a never-completed New York City Subway expansion in 1988.

Notable residents

Since the beginning of hip-hop, the neighborhood has been a hotbed of talent, sparked primarily by the fact that hip-hop producer and icon Russell Simmons is from this community, as is his brother Joseph, who along with his friends Darryl McDaniels and Jason Mizell formed the rap group Run-D.M.C. (who had a hit with the seasonal song "Christmas in Hollis").

Other notable residents include:

• Apani B, hip-hop artist
• Black, Rock and Ron
• Byron Brown (born 1958), mayor of Buffalo, New York.^[9]
• Art Buchwald (1925–2007), political humorist.^[10]
• Lord Burgess (b. 1924), songwriter^[11]
• Jaki Byard (1922–1999), jazz musician^[12]
• Gloster B. Current (1913–1997), former deputy executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People also the National Director of Branches and Field Administration of the N.A.A.C.P. during the Civil Rights Movement
• Roy Eldridge (1911-1989), jazz trumpeter^[11]
• Lani Guinier (born 1950), civil rights legal scholar.^[13]
• Brian Hardgroove, bass player with Public Enemy.^[14]
• Roy Haynes (born 1925), jazz drummer^[11]
• DJ Hurricane (born 1965), hip hop DJ, producer and rapper^[15]
• Royal Ivey (born 1981), NBA Basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers.^[16]
• Ja Rule (born 1976), rapper^[17]
• Milt Jackson (1923-1999), jazz vibraphonist and drummer^[11]
• Daymond John (born 1969), founder and CEO of FUBU
• LL Cool J (born 1968), rapper
• Ed Lover (born 1963), actor, radio and television personality
• Gregory Weldon Meeks (born 1953), U.S. Representative for New York's 5th congressional district
• Lee Q. O'Denat, founder of World Star Hip Hop^[18]
• Garrett Oliver
• Run DMC, Hip-Hop group
  • Reverend Run
  • DMC
  • Jam Master Jay
• Rev. Al Sharpton (born 1954), civil rights activist^[19]
• Russell Simmons
• Stephen A. Smith (born 1967), ESPN sports personality
• Young, Andrew, civil rights activist and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
• Young MC, rapper

Hollis was also home to many notable jazz musicians, especially from the 1930s and 1940s on, according to local resident and jazz historian Phil Schaap.^[20]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hollis, Queens.

Neighborhoods in the New York City borough of Queens
Addisleigh Park Arverne Astoria Auburndale Bayside Bayswater Beechhurst Belle Harbor Bellerose Boulevard Gardens Breezy Point Briarwood Broad Channel Broadway-Flushing Cambria Heights Chinatown College Point Corona Douglaston East Elmhurst Edgemere Elmhurst Far Rockaway Floral Park Flushing Forest Hills Fresh Meadows Fresh Pond Glendale Glen Oaks Hammels Hollis Howard Beach Jackson Heights Jamaica Jamaica Estates Jamaica Hills Kew Gardens Kew Gardens Hills Koreatown Laurelton LeFrak City Little Neck Locust Manor Long Island City Maspeth Middle Village Neponsit North Shore Towers Ozone Park Pomonok Queensboro Hill Queensbridge Queens Village Rego Park Richmond Hill Ridgewood Rochdale Village Rockaway Rockaway Beach Rockaway Park Rosedale Roxbury St. Albans Seaside South Jamaica Springfield Gardens Sunnyside The Hole Whitestone Willets Point Woodhaven Woodside Wyckoff Heights
Community boards: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Coordinates: 40°42′40.29″N 73°45′44.95″W / 40.7111917°N 73.7624861°W / 40.7111917; -73.7624861