Queens County was chartered. English governor Thomas Dongan organized the province of New York into twelve counties, ten of which exist today.There is no evidence in documents for almost 200 years that Queens was named for the controversial Catherine of Braganza–the earliest mention found only in the 1890s.
Other counties created at this time were New York County (Manhattan), Kings (Brooklyn), Richmond (Staten Island), Suffolk, and Westchester, Duchess, and Dukes. When Queens joined Greater New York and became one of the five boroughs in 1898, Nassau County (embracing the towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead, and Oyster Bay), became a separate county in 1899.
November 24, 1694
The first meeting at the Quaker Meeting House in Flushing took place. Situated at 137-16 Northern Boulevard, this house of worship was built on a three-acre plot purchased in November 1693. The Bowne House, built in 1661, still stands nearby. Today, the Meeting House still serves as a house of worship on Sundays and is open to the public by appointment.
November 24, 1777
On November 24, 1777, residents of Jamaica debated at a town meeting how to fairly defray the cost of food and lodgings for the British troops billeted in the area. It was decided that the charges would be met like all other public charges, but that householders unlucky enough to have a British soldier billeted in their house would be exempt from providing firewood for the army. Other residents who escaped billeting would have to cut and deliver firewood for the troops.
November 25, 1780
The HMS Hussar, a British frigate supposedly carrying gold and silver to pay British troops, struck Pot Rock in Hell Gate, took on water, and sank just off the Bronx coast near North Brother Island. This sinking, at the height of the American Revolution, was not suspicious at the time since the British controlled all of the seas in and around New York for the duration of the war, 1776-1783.
Over time the sea floor and channel have been blasted and dredged into submission. While most likely on the river's murky bottom, the Hussar's exact whereabouts are unknown.
November 30, 1783
An earthquake of magnitude 4.9 on the Richter scale struck a wide area of the Northeast. It was strong enough to “throw down chimneys” and was felt from Maine to Virginia.
Two other quakes of approximately magnitude 5.0 on the Richter scale occurred, one in 1737 and the last in 1884. These three quakes are the strongest to hit the New York area (since records have been kept).
We are now in the longest known period without a magnitude 5.0 earthquake. On a geologic timetable, it is only a matter of time before such an event occurs. If such a quake occurred in New York City now, it is expected that serious damage would result.
November 21, 1848
Cypress Hills Cemetery opened. It is part of the “Cemetery Belt” along the Queens-Brooklyn border (Cypress Hills is two-thirds in Queens and one-third in Brooklyn). Today, almost 5 million (almost three times the number of living residents) are buried in 29 Queens cemeteries.
November 19, 1859
On November 19, 1869, the Long Island Star (making some observations on new development of that day) notes “the commissioners of the Greenpoint Avenue and Woodside Road seemed to be determined to give us a good one with plans to make the roadway 28 feet wide, with another 8 feet for gutters and an additional 15 feet sidewalks. Getting the roads curbed and guttered, as well as tree planting are planned for the future. The increase in the value is truly wonderful. Only a few years since, land could be had from four to five hundred dollars an acre, and although $3,000 is now refused, owners complain yet of heavy taxes. These grumblers ought to sell out and let some enterprising New Yorkers get hold of their property. Then we should soon have Newtown with a population far in excess of the whole of Queens County. The attractions are so great, the distance so small from the city, and the building sites so desirable in Woodside, that people are buying up lots very fast at high prices. Nearly every lot in the beautiful village of Woodside is already disposed of, so great is the demand for building sites.”
November 11, 1869
Queens Boulevard runs northwest to southeast across more than half the length of the borough, starting at the Queensboro Bridge in Long Island City and running through the neighborhoods of Sunnyside, Woodside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Rego Park, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, and Briarwood before terminating at Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica. At 7.2 miles, it is the one of the longest roads in Queens, and it runs through some of Queens’ busiest areas. Much of the road is 12 lanes wide, and at its intersection with Yellowstone Boulevard in Forest Hills, it reaches a high point of 16 lanes. Along much of its length, the road includes both six express lanes (three in each direction) and a service road on each side. Drivers must first exit to the service road in order to make right turns or pull over; left turns must be made from the express lanes, but only at select cross-streets.
Queens Boulevard was built in the early 20th century to connect the new Queensboro Bridge to central Queens, thereby offering an easy outlet from Manhattan. It was created by linking and expanding already-existing streets, such as Thomson Avenue and Hoffman Boulevard, stubs of which still exist. It was widened along with the digging of the IND Queens Boulevard Line subway tunnels in the 1920s and 1930s, and some speculated the plan was to transform it into a freeway, as was done with the Van Wyck Expressway. The city actually did propose converting it in 1941, but with the onset of World War II, the plan was never completed.
The combination of Queens Boulevard’s immense width, heavy automobile traffic, and thriving commercial scene made it the most dangerous thoroughfare in New York City and earned it citywide notoriety and morbid nicknames such as “The Boulevard of Death” and “The Boulevard of Broken Bones.” From 1993 to 2000, 72 pedestrians were killed trying to cross the street, an average of 10.2 per year, with countless more injuries. Since 2001, at least partially in response to major news coverage of the danger, the city government has taken measures to cut down on such incidents, including posting large signs proclaiming that “A Pedestrian Was Killed Crossing Here” at intersections where fatal accidents have occurred and installing more road-rule enforcement cameras. These efforts appeared to be successful; during all of 2004, only one pedestrian was killed while trying to cross Queens Boulevard
It opened in 1873 as a two lane road. Originally called “Buttermilk Hollow”, it became “Whitepot Pike”, then “Queens Pike”, and then “Hoffman Boulevard” after New York City Mayor and New York State Governor, John Hoffman. For 2 years during the 1939 World's Fair, it was called “World’s Fair Boulevard&ldquot;. The 1928 picture shows Queens Boulevard before it was widened and improved in the mid-1930's
November 1871
Plans were finalized for the foundry and sawmill of the Steinway Piano factory in Astoria. By the spring of 1873, these and boiler and engine houses were complete. Piano making operations were transferred gradually from Manhattan to Queens, however the giant piano case factory did not open until 1879. Along with moving their business, the Steinways created an entire village for their workers with housing, transportation links, and schools.
November 1886
Mayor Patrick “Battle-Axe” Gleason is elected Mayor of Long Island City on November 3. The colorful and controversial public figure refuses to give up his seat on the Long Island City Board of Alderman until forced to do so by the courts.
November 30, 1900
On November 30, 1900, the Star—Journal remarked with pride that over 35 miles of Queens highways were now lit by electric arc lights—“all the main thoroughfares of the Borough are now illuminated from the East River and the Brooklyn boundary to the villages of Jamaica, Flushing and Newtown. These avenues, so popular with bicyclists and pleasure drivers, can now be traversed for miles over the well-lighted roadways as easily and as safely by night as by day.” The Star—Journal noted that “the riding of the automobile has become a feature of late in the streets of the Borough of Queens. Nearly all of these automobiles are owned by wealthy residents with homes on Long Island and the machines are frequently used for riding into town for business, shopping, pleasure, etc.”
November 1912
Plans are announced for linking Flushing and Jamaica Bays with a canal. The Degnon Contracting ompany, dredging Dutch Kills, is building and grading streets in its 125 acre site in preparation for factories and warehouses. Degnon is also filling in marshes between Corona and Flushing with ashes under contract with the New York City; 300 acres in Flushing meadows begin development
November 05, 1912
On November 5, 1912, Woodrow Wilson was elected President of the United States over incoming President William H. Taft and Bull Moose Party Candidate Teddy Roosevelt. On election night, the Long Island Star newspaper projected election returns on a large bulletin board covered with a sheet on the opposite side of the street from its Borden Avenue offices. The bulletins were written on glass slides, which were projected by a “stereopticon” (a common device then for projecting 2-dimensional images) located on the second floor of the Star Building. At its peak, the crowd viewing the images was estimated at 2,000 and was quiet and well behaved. But, occasionally, an ardent Bull Moose supporter “would cut loose a yell when a bulletin favorable to Roosevelt was shown, which was not very often.”
November 11, 1929
72,000 vehicles crossed the Queensboro Bridge during a 24-hour period. This was slightly less than 40 times the number that had crossed in 1910 on the same date. When the bridge opened a year early, in 1909, it averaged less than 75 vehicles an hour!
November 10, 1932
A driving rain and wind storm left widespread damage throughout Queens and Long Island, disrupting traffic and train service, swamping waterfront communities and flooding practically all principal highways. Several deaths were attributed to the storm. Flushing River and Flushing Bay overflowed onto Northern Boulevard in Flushing and Corona and further to the east, on College Point causeway. Water on these highways was more than four feet deep. Trolley service was completely halted. Roosevelt Avenue became the only entrance and exit to Flushing. Special police were on duty there to direct traffic. Thousands of Long Island Railroad commuters were delayed on their way to work when rain washed out tracks. Jamaica Bay also backed up, inundating trestles and low-lying sections of track. Twenty-eight buildings were declared unsafe after the storm.
November 03, 1939
Fire swept the 3rd floor Jackson Heights apartment of popular bandleader Woody Herman. Fortunately, Herman and his wife were out of town at the time. No one was believed to have been in the apartment at the time of the blaze. The fire, which appeared to have started in a davenport was a mystery to firemen and policemen. The floor, a wall and valuable furnishings in the living room were destroyed or damaged.
November 15, 1940
The 6,300-foot long Queens-Midtown Tunnel opened. President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke ground for the tunnel only four years earlier.
Highly developed construction methods enabled the rapid building of the double tunnel. Huge fans in the ventilation towers at each end brought fresh air into the tunnel.
The first toll was 25 cents for the two-axle automobile. 4.4 million vehicles traversed the tunnels in its first year.
November 05, 1941
On November 5, 1941, singer Art Garfunkel was born in Forest Hills. Garfunkel teamed up with another student, Paul Simon, at Forest Hills High School to perform as Tom & Jerry from 1956 to 1962.
In 1963, the duo changed the name of the group to Simon and Garfunkel and released their first album, ‘Wednesday Morning, 3 A M,’ in 1964. It was not a critical success, but a song from the album, The Sounds of Silence, reached #1 on the charts.
They went on to release five studio albums and become one of the most popular groups of the 1960’s.
November 17, 1942
Filmmaker Martin Scorsese was born in Flushing. Growing up in Little Italy in Manhattan, he later earned a BA in English in 1964 and an MA in Film in 1966 from New York University.
Mr. Scorsese's often unconventional and peculiar views of New York City and the surrounding areas are depicted in his films.
The most memorable of these representations are in the films Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), and Goodfellas (1990). Other renowned Scorsese movies are New York, New York; Raging Bull; The King of Comedy; the controversial The Last Temptation of Christ; and most recently, Gangs of New York.
A true New Yorker, many of Mr. Scorsese's films have captured images of a New York long gone.
November 29, 1947
The State of Israel was created by members of the United Nations General Assembly, meeting in Queens. Long before the U.N. building in Manhattan was built, the U.N met at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. It was in that location that the nascent organization voted to create a new nation.
November 1948
Eighty-seven soldiers from Queens were among the 7,572 World War II dead returned from Europe aboard the Army transport Carroll Victory. The men, the largest single group to be brought home at one time, had been temporarily interred in cemeteries in France, Belgium and Holland.
Next of kin were notified in advance of the arrival of the vessel. They had the choice of having the remains returned to the United States for burial in a private or national cemetery or having interment in a permanent American military cemetery overseas.
November 25, 1950
An extreme weather event, the “great Appalachian wind storm” smashed Queens and the metropolitan area.
The severity of the winds saw a 24-hour wind speed average of 26.6 miles per hour. One sustained wind hit 70 mph, and Idlewild (now JFK International) Airport was socked by a 90-mph gust.
LaGuardia Airport in northern Queens was closed due to high tides caused by the heavy winds.
The location of the two Queens airports at water's edge makes them susceptible to such severe weather.
November 1955
The 60th Street tunnel, an eleven million dollar project which links the IND and BMT Lines in Long Island City, is completed. Marie Leonard, 20, of 30-02 Broadway, that month's Miss Subways, cuts the ribbon opening the line. She is the daughter of Frank Leonard, a road car inspector at the Queens Plaza Station.
November 01, 1955
Dale Carnegie of Forest Hills died of Hodgkin’s disease. Carnegie was a writer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills.
His most famous work was How to Win Friends and Influence People. The book was first published in 1936, and has sold over 30 million copies through many editions and remains popular to this day. One of the core ideas in his books is that it is possible to change other people's behavior by changing one's reaction to them.
Noteable quote: “Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise, and people will cherish your words and treasure them and repeat them over a lifetime – repeat them years after you have forgotten them.”
November 04, 1964
On November 4, 1964, a mob of 4,000 to 5,000 ran through the Jamaica business district smashing windows and looting stores, all because they couldn’t get into a rock show–the Motown Revue from Detroit. It took 250 policemen, many wearing steel helmets, four hours to disperse the mob and halt small, scattered, brawls that broke out over a distance of some 15 city blocks.
The riot began when jostling, pushing and shoving, and finally brawling and stomping broke out when management attempted to get non-ticket holders to form lines to purchase tickets for the second show of the night. Stores, including jewelry, clothing, shoe and gift shops were looted. The windows of 17 stores along Jamaica Avenue were smashed.
Police had to break up a huge mob that descended on the Jamaica bus terminal and began brawling. Another mob was dispersed on Hillside Avenue and 168th Street, nearly a mile from the theater.
The second show was held. It started a little late and ended at 2 AM. Ironically, it was not sold out.
November 09, 1965
At 5:16 PM the famous New York City “Blackout of ’65” began. The entire city except Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn were affected.
A single relay near Niagara Falls failed, thus crashing the interconnected power grid. The load lost was 20,000 megawatts of power (compared with the August 2003 loss of 62,000 megawatts). Three quarters of a million people were trapped in the subways and many more stranded during rush hour. It took up to 13 hours to restore power to seven states from Ontario and Quebec to eastern Massachusetts to southern New Jersey to western Pennsylvania.
In stark contrast to the August 1977 blackout, civil disorder in 1965 was rare.
November 1971
Donald Manes, then 37 years old, was elected to his first term as Queens Borough President. He was the youngest Borough President in history. Manes turned the position from merely a cermonial role into a more proactive political job. He served in the office until 1986, when he became embroiled in a kickback scheme, which tragically led to his suicide.
November 1978
"The Paper" debuts on November 2 in Howard Beach, Ozone Park,
and Woodhaven. This weekly community publication becomes the "Queens Chronicle"
on September 28, 1984.
November 1989
Jay "Stoney" Harrison 25, was being escorted back from the
DA's office to his Riker's Island jail cell on the morning of November 13 by
Detectives Keith Williams and Richard Guerzon. He was alone in the back seat
of the vehicle. Unknown to the two detectives, Harrison had stolen a gun at
the Kew Gardens courthouse. While on the Grand Central Parkway near the 94th
Street exit, Harrison opened fire. The two detectives died instantly. The car
careened off the road. Harrison, who escaped, was soon apprehended at his girlfriend's
apartment in East New York.
November 1992
Charles "Honi" Coles, the elegant tap dancer
and resident of East Elmhurst, died in Queens at age 81. Born in 1911 in Philadelphia,
Charles was street tapping by the age of 12. He came to New York and performed
his difficult tap routines at the Apollo Theater, the Harlem Opera house, and
on Broadway with Charles "Cholly" Atkins. An extremely graceful dancer,
Honi danced with the bands of Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington,
and performed with the Joffrey Ballet. Honi danced in the films The Cotton Club
(1984), Dirty Dancing (1987), and Tapdancin'. Later in life Coles taught dance
and dance history at prestigious eastern universities, performed occasionally,
and encouraged younger dancers. Singer Lena Horne once said, "Honi makes
butterflies look clumsy. He was my Fred Astaire."
November 1998
During the election season, President Bill Clinton comes to St Sebastian's
in Woodside to stump for Chuck Schumer. Greeting the President is retiring Congressman
Tom Manton, leader of the Democratic Organization in Queens County. Schumer
go goes on to upset Senator D'Amato and win. In other races, Astorian Peter
Vallone is defeated handily by Governor Pataki. The governor is mentioned as
a strong vice-presidential candidate.
November 12, 2001
American Airlines flight 587 from New York JFK to Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic, crashed in Belle Harbor, Queens, shortly after
takeoff. All 251 passengers and 9 crew aboard the Airbus A300 perished, as did
five people on the ground. Most of the passengers were people of Dominican descent
traveling to their native land. This sad event was particularly difficult, occurring
two months and a day after the terror attacks of September 11. A year later,
on November 9, 2002, the families and friends of loved ones lost in the disaster
planted a memorial grove of six oak and six serviceberry trees in Astoria Park.
As priests read the names, a bell tolled for each of the 265 deceased.
