Ozone Park, Queens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Population (2000) Density |
52,275 | |
| Demographics | White Black Hispanic Asian Other |
48.0% 5.3% 33.6% 13.9% 20.4% |
| Median income | $41,291 | |
| Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services | ||
Ozone Park is a middle class neighborhood located in the southwestern[1] section of the New York City borough of Queens bordering Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Howard Beach, and City Line, Brooklyn.[2] Different parts of the neighborhood are covered by Queens Community Board 9 and 10.[3] It is served by the 11416 and 11417 zip codes.
The northern border is Atlantic Avenue, the western border is the county line with Brooklyn (mostly Drew Street), the southern border is South Conduit Avenue, and the eastern border is 108th Street. It is the home of the Aqueduct Racetrack, a popular spot for thoroughbred racing.
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[edit] History
Two partners, Benjamin W. Hitchcock and Charles C. Denton, first began carving farmland into building lots. Housing was first developed in the area after the Long Island Rail Road began service through the area in 1880 as part of its route from Long Island City to Howard Beach. Ozone Park was created and settled in 1882. The name "Ozone Park" was chosen to "lure buyers with the idea of refreshing breezes blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean to a park-like community." Ozone Park was considered the country to all those that lived in Manhattan. Ozone Park was also a very serene place to have loved ones rest in peace, in what was termed the country.[4]
"The hole" which is a term that only real Ozone Parkers would know, is used for areas of Ozone Park where houses are below grade. In the 1930s the city of NY decided to install sewers and sewer lines in Ozone Park to stop the serious flooding that was a major problem. In order to install the sewers the houses had to be raised almost an entire floor. Owners were given a stipend to raise their homes but some chose not to raise them leaving them down under. Some homes 1st floors than became their basements. This area was mostly on 75th, 76th, 77th and 78th streets, although there are still a few homes that are below grade that still have not been raised till this day.
[edit] Demographics
Since its beginnings, Ozone Park has been largely populated by different groups of immigrants. Germans and Irish made up a large part of Ozone Park in the late 1800's, early 1900's. By 1910 the Italians, who were one of the largest ethnic groups in the neighborhood from 1915-1983, started to migrate into Ozone Park from East New York, Brooklyn. Most of the current Italians in the neighborhood are originally from Brooklyn. Fears of changing neighborhoods caused a stir amongst the Italians that caused them to move into Ozone Park, which at the time was mostly German's and Irish who had migrated themselves from neighboring East New York. Census from the early years show how Ozone Park was a sparsely lived in neighborhood because of the lack of transportation. By 1915 the Fulton Street Line opened, connecting Ozone Park with the rest of NYC, thus starting the enormous growth by the Italians. Ozone Park than formed many smaller neighborhood's within a neighborhood, trying for separate identities. The Tudor Village section, which is still known by this name, was located on the south bordered by Pitkin Ave and North Conduit Ave and from East to West Cross Bay Blvd and North Conduit Ave. Centerville, which also still uses this name, is bordered by Aqueduct, on the East, and Cross Bay Blvd on the West and North Conduit Ave on the South and Rockaway Blvd on the North. Liberty Heights, which is only known by the old timers, was bordered by Liberty Ave on the South and 101 ave Jerome Ave on the North side and Woodhaven Blvd on the East and Drew Street on the West. Balsam Village, which is also known by the old timers, was named after the farm Balsam Farms after selling off parcels of land for development, is bordered by Liberty Ave on the North and 84 Street on the West and Crossbay Blvd on the East.
In the past few years, a considerable number of immigrants from, Latin America, South Asia (Bangladesh), the West Indies and South America (Indo-Guyanese & Indo-Surinamese) have moved in, bringing their culture with them and adding a diverse atmosphere to the neighborhood, which is especially apparent along 101st Avenue and Liberty Avenue near the neighborhood's border with Richmond Hill.[5] These new arrivals have made Ozone Park become one of the fastest-growing and ethnically diverse neighborhoods in New York City. Aside from these larger groups, there is a large Hispanic population in Ozone Park, mainly concentrated in the northern portion of the neighborhood near the Woodhaven border, and an African-American minority, spread throughout the neighborhood.
Residents vary from working-class to middle-class families, who own or rent private homes on the neighborhood's tree-lined residential streets. There are pockets of wealthier areas in the southern part of the neighborhood close to the Belt Parkway.
[edit] Transportation
There are many bus routes that run through Ozone Park. The Q7 runs on Rockaway Boulevard, Q21 and Q41 run on Cross Bay Boulevard, Q11 up Woodhaven Boulevard, Q112 on Liberty Avenue, the Q8 on 101st Avenue, and the Q24 on Atlantic Avenue. The Q53 also runs on Woodhaven Boulevard and Crossbay Boulevard.
The New York City Subway's IND Fulton Street Line (A) runs along Liberty Avenue, and becomes elevated upon entering the neighborhood from Brooklyn. The station at Rockaway Boulevard is a major junction between trains heading towards the Ozone Park-Lefferts Boulevard station and trains heading to Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue, an often confusing or unknown detail for tourists on their way to JFK Airport on the latter line.
[edit] Schools
- Public Schools
- P.S. 63 Old South School
- P.S. 64 Joseph P. Addabbo School
- P.S. 65 The Raymond York Elementary School
- Middle School 137 America's School-Heroes
- Junior High School 202 R. H. Goddard
- Junior High School 210 Elizabeth Blackwell
- John Adams High School
- Private Schools
- St Elizabeth's RC Elementary
- St Mary Gate of Heaven RC Elementary
- Divine Mercy Catholic Academy
- Little Dolphin Pre-School
- Closed Schools
- Our Lady of Wisdom RC Secondary
[edit] Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Ozone Park include:
- Joseph Patrick Addabbo - Congressman and has P.S. 64 named after him.[6]
- Joseph Addabbo, Jr., member of the New York City Council from the 32nd Council District.[6]
- The Capris - 1950s Doo Wop group.[7]Smith / W.9th Street
- Elizabeth Eden (1946-1987), Real life character of "Leon" from the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon.[8]
- Gerald Edelman (1929-), 1972 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.[9]
- Peter Facinelli - (born November 26, 1973), actor, star of FOX's 2002 television series Fastlane.
- John Frascatore (1970-), Baseball Player.[10]
- Diane Giacalone former Assistant U.S. Attorney and John Gotti prosecutor [11]
- John Gotti (1940-2002) Mafia Boss.[12]
- Neal Heaton (1960-), MLB baseball pitcher.
- Carol Heiss (1940-), Olympics figure skater.[13]
- Jimmy Herring - Middleweight Boxer [14]
- Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), writer. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, he lived in Ozone Park with his parents after discharge from the U.S. Navy in 1943. He wrote his first novel, The Town and the City, as well as the quintessential On the Road while living in Ozone Park. His friends jokingly called him "The Wizard of Ozone Park,"[15]
- Cyndi Lauper (1953-), singer/actress.[16]
- Bernadette Peters (1948-), actress/singer.[17]
- Thomas Von Essen - Senior Vice President at Giuliani Partners and 30th New York City Fire Commissioner.[18]
[edit] References
- ^ Map of Queens neighborhoods
- ^ "Map of Queens neighborhoods". http://www.queensbp.org/content_web/map_boundaries.htm.
- ^ Queens Community Boards, New York City. Accessed September 3, 2007.
- ^ If You're Thinking of Living In/Ozone Park; Changing Faces, Enduring Values, The New York Times, October 5, 2003.
- ^ Ozone Park: Changing faces - Article from NY Times
- ^ a b Shaman, Diana. "If You're Thinking of Living In/Ozone Park; Changing Faces, Enduring Values", The New York Times, October 5, 2003. Acecssed October 19, 2007. "It's a great community, said Councilman Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., who represents Ozone Park and lives there with his wife, Dawn.... At the foot of the tree-shaded enclave, which stretches from North Conduit Avenue to Pitkin Avenue and from 81st to 87th Streets, lies the 2.8-acre Joseph P. Addabbo Park, named after Representative Addabbo, a lifelong resident of Ozone Park who served in Congress from 1960 until his death in 1986."
- ^ O'Donnell, Michelle. "CITYPEOPLE; Remember Then", The New York Times, May 11, 2003. Accessed November 11, 2007. "...at which members of long-forgotten groups like the Elegants (from Staten Island) and the Capris (Ozone Park, Queens) examined the Italian-American influence on doo-wop."
- ^ "Elizabeth Eden, Transsexual Who Figured in 1975 Movie", The New York Times, October 1, 1987. Accessed December 26, 2007.
- ^ Gerald Edelman - 1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, Israel High-Tech Magazine, July 1, 2005.
- ^ Huang, Paul. "John Frascatore beefs up Lions' pitching", Taipei Times, August 15, 2003. Accessed October 18, 2007. "Contributing four of those 10 wins is former major leaguer John Frascatore of Ozone Park, New York (4-2 with a 2.05 ERA)."
- ^ Attorney Diane Giacalone, from the neighborhood.], Time (magazine), September 29, 1986.
- ^ 'Dapper Don' John Gotti dead: Brought down by the Bull, CNN.com, June 11, 2002.
- ^ "CAROL HEISS GAINS 3D WORLD CROWN IN FIGURE SKATING; Ozone Park Girl Adds to Her Compulsory Phase Lead in Free-Style Exhibition", The New York Times, February 16, 1958. Accessed November 11, 2007. "Carol Heiss of Ozone Park, Queens, Miss Personality of the ice, skated off with her third world figure skating championship tonight with a perfectly-executed freestyle exhibition."
- ^ Boxrec.com Stats for Jimmy Herring
- ^ "The Wized of Ozone Park", accessed December 31, 2006
- ^ Hoffman, Jan. "PUBLIC LIVES; She Just Wanted to Have Fun. And She's Having It.", The New York Times, December 31, 2003. Accessed October 10, 2007. "She found simpatico musicians to help her repossess the songs that reverberated through her childhood block in Ozone Park, Queens. And she felt ready to celebrate a lifetime of spirited dancing."
- ^ Artshound.com biography of Bernadette Peters, accessed December 16, 2006.
- ^ Connelly, Sherryl. "SURVIVING THE INFERNO The vital memoir of NYC's ex-Fire Commissioner", Daily News (New York), July 28, 2002. Accessed January 18, 2009. "After relating such immediate events, the book, which will be in stores Aug. 6, recounts Von Essen's life story. It's that of a boy from Ozone Park, Queens, who was adrift until he joined the Fire Department in 1970 at age 24."
[edit] Ozone Park Links: Maps, Stories & Articles
- Ozone Park, Queens is at coordinates 40°40′13″N 73°50′18″W / 40.670198°N 73.838317°WCoordinates: 40°40′13″N 73°50′18″W / 40.670198°N 73.838317°W
- Ozone Park Mafia Graveyard
- Gaussie Humann trial, ozone Park, 1921
- Robber killed by cop in Ozone Park
- Diane Giacalone, from the neighborhood.
- Jack Kerouac, Wizard of Ozone park.
- Ozone park gang, Queens Chronicle
