Cambria Heights, Queens
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Cambria Heights (Zip Code 11411) is a 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, and Montefiore Cemetery and Laurelton and Rosedale to the south. As of 2007, Cambria Heights's population is 20,128.[1] The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 13.[2]
The town derived its name from the Cambria Construction Company of Pennsylvania, which began to develop the community in the late 1920s, and the fact that, at an elevation of 49 feet, it is one of the three highest points in the borough, together with Jackson Heights and Richmond Hill. Its 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. In recent years Jewish families have settled along Francis Lewis Boulevard and 121st Avenue to be near the grave of Chasidic leader Menachem Mendel Schneerson of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Montefiore Cemetery. Latinos have also begun to settle in the community. The median home cost is $450,600 [2].
The Main public schools in Cambria Heights are Elementary Schools P.S. 176 and P.S. 147 (re-named for Astronaut Ronald McNair), and High School Campus Magnet, formerly known as Andrew Jackson High School. The local Catholic parish is Sacred Heart, with a grammar school of that name.
Cambria Heights contains two Bars, and Cabell Park, which includes two baseball fields, five basketball hoops, two jungle gyms, fountains for summer play, a handball wall, and benches for lounging. P.S. 176 houses a park with a vast blacktop, a jungle gym, seven basketball hoops, and a large wading pool. P.S. 147 has a baseball field (tar), basketball courts, a jungle gym, swings, and chess tables.
In the vicinity of Cambria Heights are the neighborhoods of Laurelton, Springfield Gardens, Rosedale, and Hollis.
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[edit] Famous residents
- A Tribe Called Quest, rap group
- Bang Em Smurf, rapper
- Michael Bentt, actor, writer, amateur boxer and former WBO heavyweight boxing champion
- Lamar Odom, basketball player
- Mary Weiss, Betty Weiss, Marge Ganser, and Mary Ann Ganser, aka The Shangri-Las
[edit] References
- ^ [1].
- ^ Queens Community Boards Zip Code Overview, New York City. Accessed September 3, 2007.
