Queens is the largest by area of the five boroughs of New York City, and the second most populous, with a population of 2,405,464 as of the 2020 census. Since 1899 the borough is coextensive with Queens County, the second-most populous county in New York state, behind Kings County (Brooklyn). If Queens were its own city, it would be the fourth most-populous in the United States, after the other four boroughs of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Queens is the fourth-most densely populated borough in New York City and the fourth-most densely populated U.S. county.
Located near the western end of Long Island, the borough is bordered by Brooklyn to its west, and by Nassau County to its east, and shares maritime borders with the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island, as well as with New Jersey.Areas touching Monmouth County , MapIt. Accessed September 6, 2023. Queens is the most linguistically diverse place in the world, as well as one of the most ethnically diverse, with approximately 47% of its residents being foreign-born.
Queens County was established in 1683 as one of the original 12 counties of the Province of New York. The settlement was named after the English Queen and Portuguese royal princess Catherine of Braganza (1638–1705). From 1683 to 1899, Queens County included what is now Nassau County. The Borough of Queens was created during the consolidation of New York City in 1898, combining the towns of Long Island City, Newtown, Flushing, Jamaica, and part of western Hempstead. All except Hempstead are today considered neighborhoods of Queens.
Queens has the most diversified economy among the five boroughs of New York City. It is home to both of New York City's airports: John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia. Among its landmarks are Flushing Meadows–Corona Park; Citi Field, home to the New York Mets baseball team; the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the U.S. Open tennis tournament; Kaufman Astoria Studios and Silvercup Studios.
History
Colonial and post-colonial history
The Dutch were the first settlers and established the first European settlement in the region, where they established the colony of New Netherland. The first settlements were established in 1635 followed by further settlement at Maspeth in 1642 (ultimately unsuccessful), and Vlissingen (now Flushing) in 1645. Other early settlements included Newtown (now Elmhurst) in 1652 and Jamaica in 1655. These towns were mostly inhabited by English settlers from New England via eastern Long Island (Suffolk County) who were subject to Dutch law. After the capture of the colony by the English and its subsequent renaming as New York in 1664, the area (and all of Long Island) became known as Yorkshire.
The Flushing Remonstrance signed by colonists in 1657 is considered a precursor to the United States Constitution's provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights. The signers protested the Dutch colonial authorities' persecution of Quakers in what is today the borough of Queens.
Originally, Queens County included the adjacent area now comprising Nassau County. It was an original county of New York State, one of twelve created on November 1, 1683. The county is presumed to have been named after Catherine of Braganza, since she was queen of England at the time. She was Portugal's royal princess Catarina, daughter of King John IV of Portugal. The county was founded alongside Kings County (Brooklyn, which was named after her husband, King Charles II), and Richmond County (Staten Island, named after his illegitimate son, the 1st Duke of Richmond).
The namesake is disputed. While Catherine's title seems the most likely namesake, no historical evidence of official declaration has been found. On October 7, 1691, all counties in the Colony of New York were redefined. Queens gained North and South Brother Islands as well as Huletts Island (today known as Rikers Island). On December 3, 1768, Queens gained other islands in Long Island Sound that were not already assigned to a county but that did not abut on Westchester County (today's Bronx County).
Queens played a minor role in the American Revolution, as compared to Brooklyn, where the Battle of Long Island was fought. Queens, like the rest of what became New York City and Long Island, remained under British occupation after the Battle of Long Island in 1776 and was occupied throughout most of the rest of the Revolutionary War. Under the Quartering Act, British soldiers used, as barracks, the public inns and uninhabited buildings belonging to Queens residents. Even though many residents opposed unannounced quartering, they supported the British crown. The quartering of soldiers in private homes, except in times of war, was banned by the Third Amendment to the United States Constitution. Nathan Hale was captured by the British on the shore of Flushing Bay and hanged in Manhattan.
From 1683 until 1784, Queens County consisted of five towns: Flushing, Hempstead, Jamaica, Newtown, and Oyster Bay. On April 6, 1784, a sixth town, the Town of North Hempstead, was formed through secession by the northern portions of the Town of Hempstead. The seat of the county government was located first in Jamaica, but the courthouse was torn down by the British during the American Revolution to use the materials to build barracks. After the war, various buildings in Jamaica temporarily served as courthouse and jail until a new building was erected about 1787 and later completed in an area near Mineola (now in Nassau County) known then as Clowesville.
The 1850 United States census was the first in which the population of the three western towns (Long Island City, Newtown, and Jamaica) exceeded that of the three eastern towns (Hempstead, North Hempstead, and Oyster Bay) that are now part of Nassau County. Concerns were raised about the condition and distance of the old courthouse, and several sites were in contention for the construction of a new one.
In 1870, Long Island City split from the Town of Newtown, incorporating itself as a city, consisting of what had been the village of Astoria and some unincorporated areas within the town of Newtown. Around 1874, the seat of county government was moved to Long Island City from Mineola.
On March 1, 1860, the eastern border between Queens County (later Nassau County) and Suffolk County was redefined with no discernible change. On June 8, 1881, North Brother Island was transferred to New York County. On May 8, 1884, Rikers Island was transferred to New York County.
In 1886, Lloyd's Neck, which was then part of the town of Oyster Bay and had earlier been known as Queens Village, was set off and separated from Queens County and annexed to the town of Huntington in Suffolk County. On April 16, 1964, South Brother Island was transferred to Bronx County.
Incorporation as borough
The New York City borough of Queens was authorized on May 4, 1897, by a vote of the New York State Legislature after an 1894 referendum on consolidation. The eastern of Queens that became Nassau County was partitioned on January 1, 1899. Queens Borough was established on January 1, 1898.
"The city of Long Island City, the towns of Newtown, Flushing and Jamaica, and that part of the town of Hempstead, in the county of Queens, which is westerly of a straight line drawn through the middle of the channel between Rockaway Beach and Shelter Island, in the county of Queens, to the Atlantic Ocean" was annexed to New York City, dissolving all former municipal governments (Long Island City, the county government, all towns, and all villages) within the new borough. The areas of Queens County that were not part of the consolidation plan, consisting of the towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay, and the major remaining portion of the Town of Hempstead, remained part of Queens County until they seceded to form the new Nassau County on January 1, 1899. At this point, the boundaries of Queens County and the Borough of Queens became coterminous. With consolidation, Jamaica once again became the county seat, though county offices now extend to nearby Kew Gardens also.
In 1899, New York City conducted a land survey to determine the exact border of Queens between the Rockaways and Lawrence. This proved difficult because the border was defined as "middle of the channel between Rockaway Beach and Shelter Island" (now called Long Beach Island), and that particular channel had closed up by 1899. The surveyors had to determine where the channel had been when the consolidation law was written in 1894. The surveyors did so in part by speaking with local fishermen and oystermen who knew the area well.
From 1905 to 1908, the Long Island Rail Road in Queens became electrified. Transportation to and from Manhattan, previously by ferry or via bridges in Brooklyn, opened up with the Queensboro Bridge finished in 1909, and with railway tunnels under the East River in 1910. From 1915 onward, much of Queens was connected to the New York City Subway system. With the 1915 construction of the Steinway Tunnel carrying the IRT Flushing Line between Queens and Manhattan, and the robust expansion of the use of the automobile, the population of Queens more than doubled in the 1920s, from 469,042 in 1920 to 1,079,129 in 1930.
In later years, Queens was the site of the 1939 New York World's Fair and the 1964 New York World's Fair.Flushing Meadows Corona Park World's Fair Legacy; Celebrating the Enduring Legacy of the 1939 and 1964 Fairs , New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Accessed January 17, 2024. "In 1939, and again in 1964, Flushing Meadows Corona Park hosted two of the largest international exhibitions ever held in the United States." LaGuardia Airport, established on a site in northern Queens that had been a seaplane base, opened in 1939, named for mayor Fiorello La Guardia, who pushed for the development of a modern airport in New York City.Cross, Lee. "12/02/1939: New York's LaGuardia Airport Begins Operations" , Airways, December 2, 2023. "In 1939, New York City's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) opened for business in East Elmhurst, Queens. The aviation history of the site in Queens can be traced back to June 1929, when New York Air Terminal Inc. established a seaplane base. The facility underwent several developments and name changes, including being renamed Glenn H. Curtiss Airport in September 1930 and later North Beach Airport in 1935. However, it was Fiorello LaGuardia, the newly elected mayor, who played a significant role in transforming the airport." Idlewild Airport, in southern Queens, opened in 1948 on the site of a former golf course and was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1963.Idlewild Park , New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed January 17, 2024. "Construction on Idlewild Airport began in 1942 on the former site of Idlewild Golf Course in Queens.... After six years of construction, the airport opened on July 1, 1948 and was dedicated by President Truman on July 31, 1948.... Although it continued to be known popularly as "Idlewild," New York International Airport was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 24, 1963, following resolutions by Mayor Robert F. Wagner, the City Council, and the Commissioners of the Port Authority."