Whitestone, Queens

Whitestone is a diverse neighborhood in the northernmost part of the New York City borough of Queens, located between the East River to the north and 25th Avenue to the south. Western Whitestone is College Point, southern is Flushing. Dutch settlers derived the name of the town from a large limestone boulder that used to lie on the shore of the river. The neighborhood is part of the NYPD's 109th Precinct and Queens Community Board 7. It is traditionally bounded by the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge (opened 1939) on the west and the Throgs Neck Bridge (opened 1961) on the east. [ [http://www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/cb/cb_queens.shtml Queens Community Boards] , New York City. Accessed September 3, 2007. ]

History

The area was, in part, the estate of Francis Lewis, a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In the late nineteenth century, many wealthy New Yorkers began building mansions in the area, on what had once been farmland. Rapid development of the area ensued in the 1920s, however, as trolley and Long Island Rail Road train service on the Whitestone Branch was expanded into the neighborhood. Although this rail service ended during the Great Depression, a small part of the right-of-way was later used by Robert Moses to help construct the Belt Parkway, which includes the Whitestone Expressway which runs along the southeast edge of the former Flushing Airport and through Whitestone.

Francis Lewis Boulevard (which locals tend to refer to as "Franny Lew") [Kilgannon, Corey. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E7DE1038F933A25757C0A9629C8B63 " Accident Fuels Anger on Strip Infamous for Drag Racing"] , "The New York Times", April 10, 2004. Accessed September 29, 2007. "In springtime, the boulevard becomes what locals call the Franny Lew Speedway, with drivers running quarter-mile sprints for money or stoplight-to-stoplight races for high-velocity kicks and bragging rights."] and Francis Lewis Park (often referred to as "Whitestone Park" by the locals) have been named after Francis Lewis himself. "Whitestone Park" offers locals a beautiful view and a quiet place for recreation.

Further development came with the building of the Bronx Whitestone Bridge in 1939. The bridge measures 2,300 feet, and was the fourth longest bridge in the world at the time of its construction. The neighborhood is comprised mostly of well-kept single and two family homes, luxury condomidiums, as well as a small garden apartment complex with private security. Local residents pride themselves with Whitestone's quiet tree lines streets, luxurious homes, green gardens, top rated public schools. Whitestone has a distinct upscale suburban feel resembling wealthy towns in nearby Nassau County, yet is located only minutes from Manhattan. Notable community landmarks include St. Lukes Roman Catholic Church, Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church and the DG athletic league. The neighborhood's large Italian community is evident on Sunday's when St Lukes RC Church is filled to capacity during it's Italian mass. The area around St Lukes consists of a complex of beautifully well kept semi-attached two family homes built in 1970. The Grace Episcopal Church, on Clintonville street in Whitestone, was built in 1858 on land donated by Francis Lewis. The Whitestone Hebrew Centre consists of two buildings on Clintonville Street and was founded in 1929. The Russian Orthodox Church of St Nicholas, with its distinctive great blue onion dome, was built in 1968. The Greek Orthodox Church, Holy Cross, or "Timios Stavros," is located on 150th street. Cherry Valley is a popular delicatessen located on 150th Street in the "Village". 150th st and 154th st is one of the worst streets in Whitestone with crime ,drugs, robbery, Break ins, and including car racings.

Just to the west of Queens side of the Whitestone Bridge approach, situated between Whitestone proper and College Point is the exclusive area known to local residents as Malba, a small area on the waterfront home to some of the largest and most expensive private houses in New York City. On the north eastern side of Whitestone is another exclusive area known to the local residents as Beechhurst, high rise condominiums and views of the Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges. Local residents pride themselves on their Malba addresses. Whitestone s known for it's quiet and clean tree lined streets as well as it's well kept homes. Whitestone's diverse population consists of mostly European Americans including people of Croatian, Irish, Polish, Russian, Italian, German, Jewish and Greek, As well as Hispanics, African Americans and Asian Americans.

Prominent residents

In the early days of the film industry, celebrities such as Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Harry Houdini and Rudolph Valentino had homes in different areas of Whitestone, most notably in the Northeastern section called Beechhurst. Valentino's summer home still stands at 201-10 Cross Island Parkway, just blocks from the present day Whitestone - Bayside border. Today, the home is under the New York City Department of Parks considered a landmark, and has been converted into an Italian restaurant, Cafe On The Green. Pickford’s Beechhurst home still stands on 160th Street and Powells Cove Boulevard. Poet Walt Whitman, born in Long Island, briefly taught in a one-room school-house in Whitestone while a young man, and is said to have written poetry by the Whitestone seaside. There is no record of the school, which was setup by local farmers of modest means, but Whitman made several references to it years latter in letters to friends from that period in his life. According to H. W. Brands' biography of Theodore Roosevelt, "TR: The Last Romantic" (1997), the future president visited Whitestone by boat while a college student: "One August day Roosevelt set out (by boat) with cousin Johniee Elliot for Whitestone, more than twenty miles away (from Oyster Bay, where he was staying with his parents). Returning the next day, the pair ran into a squall and several times their boat nearly capsized. They didn't reach the safety of home until after midnight. Roosevelt loved every minute." Actress Drea de Matteo, famous for her performance as Adrianna La Cerva on HBO’s acclaimed series "The Sopranos", is another Italian-American Whitestone native. Singer/Actress Christina Vidal is also a Whitestone native.

Transportation

New York City Bus serves Whitestone on the Q14, Q16, Q20B, Q44, Q34, Q76, Q15, QBx1 routes. The Q15 via 150th Street to Beechhurst provides access to and from the Flushing-Main Street station on the Number 7 subway line.

Popular culture

A scene in which a house exploded in the 1996 film "Eraser", starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vanessa L. Williams, was filmed in Whitestone. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116213/locations]

A scene in an episode of "The Sopranos" was filmed in a bar in Whitestone formerly known as "Fiddler's Green."Fact|date=August 2008 A scene from the 2000 movie "Boiler Room", starring Giovanni Ribisi and Vin Diesel, was filmed in the same bar.Fact|date=August 2008

1998 by Rancid mentions Whitestone Queens.Fact|date=August 2008

References

ee also

* List of Queens neighborhoods
* Francis Lewis
* Whitestone Point Light

External links

* [http://www.forgotten-ny.com/SUBWAYS/whitestone/whitestone.html Forgotten New York - The Long Island Rail Road Whitestone & Westchester Branch]