Rosedale, Queens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rosedale is a suburban neighborhood in Queens. The neighborhood is on the Nassau County, New York - Queens border and is part of Queens Community Board 13.
| ZIP Code | 11422 | |
| Population (2000) Density |
30,449 | |
| Demographics | White Black Hispanic Asian Other |
12.9% 75.3% 8.8% 2.5% 4.2% |
| Median income | $58,396 | |
| Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services | ||
Contents |
[edit] History
Rosedale was originally conceived in the consolidation of the borough of Queens as a part of what is now Springfield Gardens. At the time, the Laurelton Land Company was in charge of the new Borough of Queens. It was dotted with farmland that was isolated from each other, so construction on an acceptable mode of transportation was started immediately. The Long Island Rail Road was built and the whole area (today Laurelton, Rosedale, and Springfield Gardens) was served by Laurelton Station. The area was also connected to the Brooklyn waterworks. As time passed, the system was less needed, and its use dwindled. Today the ruins of the aqueduct system can still be seen. After the Long Island Rail Road's construction, many new roads such as Francis Lewis and Sunrise Boulevard (today Sunrise Highway) were constructed. The area that is now Rosedale remained farmland until the mid 1930s. After the former period of relatively slow growth, development rapidly turned Rosedale into a suburban community. Much of Rosedale's post-war growth was spurred by New York City's requirement that City employees reside within the city limits. Accordingly, a large number of firemen, police officers and civil servants, in the quest to escape the urban environs, moved to Rosedale - on the extreme Eastern limits of the city. Rosedale, at the time, had the character of a small town. Rosedale had two horse stables, fishing in ponds and streams, easy boating access to Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, vital wetlands (swamps) and more wooded areas than the average City neighborhood. More accurately,Rosedale had the character of two small towns since the LIRR and Sunrise Highway effectively divided the town in half. Despite that, the civic life of Rosedale was extremely robust and vibrant encompassing the totality of the town - there was no good side or bad side to the tracks, unless, of course, you were a member of one of the town's two teen gangs: The Falcons or the Swamp Rats. Antagonisms and conflicts between the two gangs consisted primarily of bad mouthing and avoidance; mostly because the Falcons had no real tough guys and avoided confrontations (hid out). Organizations such as the Rosedale/Laurelton Civic Association, VFW, American Legion, and countless church based groups (there were churches of all denominations and they were well attended) all strove valiantly to create and preserve the quality of life in this small town encapsulated by the larger, and largely oppressive, City of New York. Rosedale's verdant parks, playgrounds, and essential civic services fell victim to the fiscal failures of Mayors Lindsay, Beame and Dinkens. The town's lakes eutrophied, playgrounds fell into disrepair and, soon thereafter, middle class flight began and, Rosedale, was almost entirely middle class (and white).
Today, many of Rosedale's single family homes are being converted to multifamily homes, mostly due to the influx of Caribbean immigrants seeking and creating the same security and grace that the earlier inhabitants enjoyed in such ample measure.
[edit] Location
Rosedale is a neighborhood in New York City in the southeastern portion of the borough of Queens. Rosedale is bordered to the north by Cambria Heights, the east by Valley Stream (part of Nassau County), the west by Laurelton and Brookville Park, and to the south by John F. Kennedy International Airport. It is at the eastern edge of New York City, its border with Valley Stream forming part of the boundary between Queens and Nassau County. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 13.[1]. Many roads of importance in Queens also run through Rosedale such as Francis Lewis Boulevard and Sunrise Highway connect Queens and Nassau county.
[edit] Education
The schools in Rosedale are P.S. 138/The Sunrise School, P.S. 195/William Haberle School, P.S. 38/Rosedale School, St. Pius X Elementary School (which closed after the 2004 school year), St. Clare School,[1], Christ Lutheran, a Lutheran school for K - 8th Grade and Little Leadership Academy, a Christian preschool for ages 2 - 5, [2].
[edit] Culture
In 1976, Bill Moyers presented a documentary titled Rosedale: The Way It Is. The program addressed the racial tensions in this community, which was at that time in a transition from what had been primarily an Irish American and Italian American community to what is now mostly a community of African Americans and Caribbean immigrants.The area is home to many Caribbean immigrants compared to the Irish and Italian immigrants of the neighboring Valley Stream and Woodmere.
[edit] Transportation
Rosedale is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Branch, located at North Conduit Avenue and 243rd Street. Service is provided by both the Far Rockaway and Long Beach branches. The CityTicket program is available at the Rosedale station. The Rosedale station was recently renovated, and is in Zone 3. Rosedale is also served by the Q5, Q85, Q111 and Q113 bus routes. The only express bus route is the X63, which operates during rush hours only.
[edit] Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Rosedale include:
- Phil Carey (1925-2009) - Soap opera actor, grew up in Rosedale.[2]
- Pizon (1982-) - Rapper/Producer, born and raised in Rosedale.
- Darren Robinson (1967-1995) - Rapper of The Fat Boys, lived in Rosedale.
- Herb Score (1933-2008) - Baseball player/Announcer, born in Rosedale. As a pitcher, Herb put the fast in fastball.
- Barbara (Goldbach) Bach (ageless-) actress (007 The Spy Who Loved Me), married to Ringo Starr, [[3]].
- DJ Spinbad (1974-) - DJ/Producer, grew up in Rosedale.[3]
- Aida Turturro (1962-) - Actress, grew up in Rosedale.
- John Turturro (1957-) - Actor, grew up in Rosedale.[4]
- Nicholas Turturro (1962-) - Actor, grew up in Rosedale.
[edit] References
- ^ Queens Community Boards, New York City. Accessed September 3, 2007.
- ^ OLTL News: Phil Carey, One Life to Live's Asa, dead at 83 | One Life to Live @ soapcentral.com
- ^ "DJ Spinbad", spinbad.com, Accessed November 29, 2007. "Considering that his humble plan in the 80s in Rosedale, Queens to be a DJ."
- ^ Laurino, Maria. "A Leading Man With a Twist", The New York Times, September 17, 1995. Accessed September 25, 2007. "Mr. Turturro is Italian-American and was raised in the Rosedale section of Queens."
[edit] External links
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