Cambria Heights, Queens
Cambria Heights | |
---|---|
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
County | Queens |
Named for | Cambria Construction Company |
Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
Population | |
• Total | 18,677 |
Ethnicity | |
• White | 1.4% |
• Black | 90.3% |
• Hispanic | 5.2% |
• Asian | 0.8% |
• Other | 2.3% |
Economics | |
• Median income | $62,071 |
ZIP code | 11411 |
Area code(s) | 718, 347, 917 |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Local_Street_in_Cambria_Heights.jpeg/220px-Local_Street_in_Cambria_Heights.jpeg)
Cambria Heights is a middle-class neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Springfield Boulevard and Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west, the Elmont, Nassau County border on the east, Queens Village to the north, St. Albans to the west, and Montefiore Cemetery and Laurelton, Springfield Gardens and Rosedale to the south.[3] As of 2010, Cambria Heights's population was 18,677.[1] The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 13.[4]
The neighborhood derived its name from the Cambrian era because it is known for its many fossils.[citation needed] At an elevation of 50 feet (15 m), it is one of the highest points in the borough,[5] together with Jackson Heights and Richmond Hill.
The original population consisted primarily of Roman Catholics of Italian, German, and Irish descent, and Jewish families relocating from Brooklyn. The present neighborhood has a large middle class Caribbean and African American population. The median home cost is $450,600.[6]
The public elementary schools in Cambria Heights are P.S. 176[7] and P.S. 147, renamed for astronaut Ronald McNair.[8] There are four magnet high schools on the campus of Andrew Jackson High School, which are dedicated to: arts and humanities; business computer applications; mathematics, science and technology; and law, government and community service. There is only one Catholic Parish in Cambria Heights. The Parish's name is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Parish is also affiliated with the school Sacred Heart Catholic Academy.
Cambria Heights is also the location of the Ohel, the resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson and his predecessor Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. Tens of thousands of visitors from around the world flock to the site for prayer and blessing.[9]
Demographics
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Cambria Heights was 18,677, a decrease of 2,267 (10.8%) from the 20,944 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 772.01 acres (312.42 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 24.2 inhabitants per acre (15,500/sq mi; 6,000/km2).[1]
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 1.4% (259) White, 90.3% (16,862) African American, 0.2% (42) Native American, 0.8% (157) Asian, 0.0% (6) Pacific Islander, 0.3% (62) from other races, and 1.7% (325) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.2% (964) of the population.[2]
Notable residents
The following are notable people who have at one time resided in Cambria Heights:
- Brian Baril, College Basketball Player
- Michael Bentt, Retired heavyweight boxer turned actor of Jamaican lineage.[10]
- Bob Cousy, Basketball Hall of Famer[11] attended Andrew Jackson High School.
- Chick Corea, a Miles Davis band veteran, played electric piano for Stan Getz.[12]
- Gabe Dalmath, award-winning journalist and TV news anchor WHEC-TV.[13]
- Bud Harrelson, Shortstop for the New York Mets championship team of 1969.
- Lena Horne, singer[citation needed]
- Daniel Thomas Moran, Poet Laureate of Suffolk County, NY 2005–2007
- Henry Petroski, whose 2002 book Paperboy: Confessions of a Future Engineer describes his teenage years in Cambria Heights.[14]
- Rick Pitino, Head basketball head coach at the University of Louisville.[15]
- Jackie Robinson, baseball player[citation needed]
- Barbara Rubin, filmmaker
- Maggie Van Ostrand, writer
- Dennis Walcott, Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development in administration of Michael Bloomberg; before that, President and CEO of New York Urban League[16]
- Mary Weiss, lead singer with The Shangri-Las.[17]
References
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Plambeck, Joseph. "Safe and Sound, Sweet and Spacious", The New York Times, September 9, 2011. Accessed June 30, 2016. "Shaped like a trapezoid, Cambria Heights abuts Nassau County on its eastern edge; Elmont is just the other side of the Cross Island Parkway. The remaining boundary lines, though at times a point of contention, are generally accepted to be Springfield Boulevard, to the west, and 114th Avenue to the north."
- ^ Queens Community Boards Zip Code Overview, New York City. Accessed September 3, 2007.
- ^ Dowd, Trone. "Cambria Heights", Queens Tribune, March 31, 2016. Accessed June 30, 2016. "Cambria Heights is located fifty feet above the sea level and is considered to be one of the highest points in all of Queens."
- ^ "Best Places to Live in the United States". Bestplaces.net. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
- ^ P.S. 176
- ^ P.S. 147
- ^ The New York Observer, "Rebbe to the city and Rebbe to the world". Editorial, 07/08/14.
- ^ 'Rocky Lives' by David E. Finger
- ^ Askeland, Kevin. "Top 10: New York City's Greatest Point Guards". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
- ^ on Musical Lists
- ^ "Gabe Dalmath". Gabe Dalmath. 2011-03-20. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
- ^ Petroski, Henry (2002). Paperboy: Confessions of a Future Engineer. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-41353-7.
- ^ Vecsey, George (1987-02-13). "Rick Pitino: Reviving February". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ^ "GBM September 16, 2008: Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott". Facebook.com. 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
- ^ "Mary Weiss Interview", Norton Records, 2006.
External links
- Cambria Heights, NY Home Town Locator
- Cambria Heights, Homebuyers, NYC Housing Preservation and Development