Cambria Heights, Queens Explained

Cambria Heights, Queens should not be confused with Cambria, New York.

Cambria Heights
Settlement Type:Neighborhood of Queens
Coordinates:40.695°N -73.735°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:City
Subdivision Name2:New York City
Subdivision Type3:County/Borough
Subdivision Name3:Queens
Subdivision Type4:Community District
Subdivision Name4:Queens 13[1]
Named For:Cambria Construction Company
Elevation Ft:49
Population Total:18,677
Population As Of:2010
Demographics Type1:Ethnicity
Demographics1 Title1:White
Demographics1 Info1:1.4%
Demographics1 Title2:Black
Demographics1 Info2:90.3%
Demographics1 Title3:Hispanic
Demographics1 Info3:5.2%
Demographics1 Title4:Asian
Demographics1 Info4:0.8%
Demographics1 Title5:Other
Demographics1 Info5:2.3%
Demographics Type2:Economics
Demographics2 Title1:Median income
Demographics2 Info1:$62,071
Postal Code Type:ZIP Code
Postal Code:11411
Area Code:718, 347, 929, and 917

Cambria Heights is a residential 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.[2] As of 2010, Cambria Heights's population was 18,677. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 13.[3]

Etymology

The name Cambria Heights was coined in the mid 1920s when the Cambria Title Savings and Trust Company, a bank based in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, provided financing for early development which was aimed at families seeking to relocate from rental apartments in other boroughs.[4] At an elevation of above sea level, it is considered to be one of the highest points in Queens, together with Jackson Heights and Richmond Hill.[5]

Education

The public elementary schools in Cambria Heights are PS 176 Cambria Heights (grades PK–5)[6] and PS/MS 147 Ronald McNair (PK–8).[7] 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.

Religion

Cambria Heights has a high concentration of Christian church communities. There are many storefront churches located along Linden Boulevard, from a variety of denominations as well as nondenominational groups. Cambria Heights is also home to Cambria Heights Community Church, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Holy Trinity Parish Church, Queens Tabernacle Church, First Faith Baptist Church, Harvest Revival Christian Fellowship, Good Life Deliverance Ministry, Saint David's Episcopal Church, and Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The Catholic parish has an affiliated 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.[8]

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, the neighborhood had a population density of 24.2PD/acre.[9]

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.[10]

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.[11]

Historic districts

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated two historic districts within the neighborhood in June 2022: the Cambria Heights–222nd Street Historic District and the Cambria Heights–227th Street Historic District.[12] [13] Both historic districts were originally predominantly white, like the rest of the neighborhood, but African-American families began moving to the areas by the 1950s, followed by Caribbean-American families in the 1980s.[13] Prior to the creation of the two districts, Cambria Heights did not have any city-designated landmarks.[12]

The Cambria Heights–222nd Street Historic District consists of 46 Storybook-style houses on 222nd Street between 115th Road and 116th Avenue, completed in 1931.[14] The 222nd Street houses contain brick facades, Tudor arched windows, various geometric motifs, multicolored terracotta roof shingles, and chimneys with stucco-and-brick panels.[13] [14] These houses were designed by the firm of Monda & Bertolazzi, based in Ozone Park, Queens.[14]

The Cambria Heights–227th Street Historic District consists of 50 Storybook-style houses on 227th Street between 116th Avenue and Linden Boulevard, also completed in 1931.[15] The houses on 227th Street largely contain stone, brick, and stucco facades, with multicolored roof shingles and rhombus windows.[13] [15] These were the only houses in Cambria Heights designed by Queens-based firm Wolosoff Brothers.[15]

Transportation

Bus lines that serve through the neighborhood include the local buses, connecting to the New York City Subway and other bus routes in Queens, as well as the express bus.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Cambria Heights include:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NYC Planning Community Profiles. communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov. New York City Department of City Planning. April 7, 2018.
  2. 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."
  3. https://www.nyc.gov/site/cau/community-boards/queens-boards.page Queens Boards
  4. News: If You're Thinking of Living In/Cambria Heights, Queens; An Uncongested, People-Oriented Enclave. Shaman. Diana. March 25, 2001. The New York Times. July 26, 2017. en-US. 0362-4331.
  5. 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."
  6. Web site: P.S. 176 Cambria Heights. New York City Department of Education. January 11, 2020.
  7. Web site: P.S./M.S. 147 Ronald McNair. New York City Department of Education. January 11, 2020.
  8. The New York Observer, "Rebbe to the city and Rebbe to the world". Editorial, 07/08/14.
  9. http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/data-maps/nyc-population/census2010/t_pl_p5_nta.pdf Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
  10. http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/data-maps/nyc-population/census2010/t_pl_p3a_nta.pdf Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
  11. Web site: Best Places to Live in the United States . Bestplaces.net . June 11, 2014.
  12. Web site: City designates two historic districts in Cambria Heights . CBS News . June 29, 2022 . February 28, 2023.
  13. Web site: Mohamed . Carlotta . City designates two historic districts in Cambria Heights highlighting its architectural style – QNS.com . QNS.com . June 29, 2022 . February 28, 2023.
  14. Web site: Cambria Heights–222nd Street Historic District. June 28, 2022. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. November 2, 2020.
  15. Web site: Cambria Heights–227th Street Historic District. June 28, 2022. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. November 2, 2020.
  16. 'Rocky Lives' by David E. Finger
  17. Clark, Lamar; Farrell, Bill; and Chiusano, Scott. "Answer the call for the Hall: The 2016 Golden Gloves Hall of Fame inductees", New York Daily News, April 16, 2016. Accessed December 4, 2017. "Of Jamaican heritage, Michael Bentt was born in East Dulwich, London, but raised in the Cambria Heights section of Queens."
  18. Bindley, Katherine. "The Paper Chase", The New York Times, April 3, 2009. Accessed January 2, 2024. "Born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and raised in Cambria Heights, Queens, where he lives today, Kurt Boone is a writer at heart and a messenger by trade."
  19. [Joe Durso|Durso, Joseph]
  20. Web site: Top 10: New York City's Greatest Point Guards . Kevin . Askeland . MaxPreps.com . January 17, 2010.
  21. http://www.cqha.net/docs/queensonmusicallists.htmQueens on Musical Lists
  22. Davis, Arianna. "Savings in Queens: Great deals in Cambria Heights", New York Daily News, December 22, 2009. Accessed December 12, 2016. "Named after the Cambria Construction Company in Pennsylvania, Cambria Heights was once home to jazz great Lena Horne and baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson."
  23. Jomantas, Nicole. "African-American Fencers Aim to Make History in Rio", USA Fencing, February 28, 2014. Accessed December 25, 2023. "But growing up as a saber fencer in New York also meant that Homer had role models virtually in his backyard as Keeth Smart and 2004 Olympian Ivan Lee (Cambria Heights, N.Y.) were making their mark on the international scene as Homer was first beginning to compete at the national level."
  24. Book: Petroski, Henry . Henry Petroski . Paperboy: Confessions of a Future Engineer . Alfred A. Knopf . 2002 . New York . 0-375-41353-7 . registration .
  25. Freeman, John. "Paperboy: Confessions Of A Future Engineer by Henry Petroski; Memoirs of former paperboy fail to deliver", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 5, 2012. Accessed December 4, 2017. "The memoir starts promisingly enough. The year is 1954, and Petroski and his family have relocated from Brooklyn to Cambria Heights, a step-up by anyone's yardstick."
  26. Vecsey, George. "Sports of The Times; Rick Pitino: Reviving February", The New York Times, February 13, 1987. Accessed December 12, 2016. "Pitino, who grew up in Manhattan, Cambria Heights, Queens, and Bayville, L.I., comes to Hillcrest with a 16–5 record and the best 3-point shooting in the country."
  27. [Judy Lee Klemesrud|Klemesrud, Judy]
  28. Staff. "Barbara Rubin: An Angel on Canal Street", Artinfo.com, December 19, 2012. Accessed December 12, 2016. "Rubin was still 17, a girl from Cambria Heights (the same Queens neighborhood that incubated the Shangri La's) and newly discharged from a Connecticut sanitarium, when she found her way to the Film-maker's Cooperative then located in Jonas Mekas's apartment on Park Avenue South."
  29. Web site: On Two Fronts: Latinos and Vietnam . Arizona PBS . November 9, 2017 . June 24, 2024.
  30. https://naahpusa.org/profile/clyde-vanel/ Clyde Vanel
  31. Web site: GBM September 16, 2008: Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott . Facebook.com . September 16, 2008 . June 11, 2014.
  32. Web site: "Mary Weiss Interview", Norton Records, 2006. . August 20, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090414103306/http://www.nortonrecords.com/index2.html . April 14, 2009 . dead .

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