Maspeth, Queens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maspeth is a small community in the borough of Queens in New York City. Neighborhoods sharing borders with Maspeth are Woodside and Sunnyside to the north, Long Island City to the northwest, Williamsburg to the southwest, Ridgewood to the south and Middle Village and Elmhurst to the east.
Contents |
[edit] History
The area known today as Maspeth was chartered by Dutch and English settlers in the mid-17th century. The Dutch had purchased land in the area known today as Queens in 1635, and within a few years began chartering towns. In 1642 they settled Maspat, under a charter granted to Rev. Francis Doughty. [1] Maspat became the first European settlement in Queens. [2] The settlement was leveled the following year in an attack by Native Indians, and the surviving settlers returned to Manhattan. It wasn't until nine years later, in 1652, that settlers ventured back to the area, settling an area slightly inland from the previous Maspat location. This new area was called Middleburg, and eventually developed into what is now the town of Elmhurst, bordering Maspeth. Following the immigration waves of the 19th century, Maspeth was home to a shanty town of Boyash (Ludar) Gypsies between 1925 and 1939, though this was eventually bulldozed. [3]
The name "Maspeth" is derived from the name of Mespeatches Indians, one of the 13 main Indian tribes that inhabited Long Island. It is translated to mean "at the bad waterplace" relating to the many stagnant swamps that existed in the area. [4]
[edit] Columbusville
Columbusville was a development that took place on 69th Place between Grand Avenue and Caldwell Avenue during 1854-55, and was subsequently absorbed into Maspeth. The name fell into disuse in the 1890s[1].
[edit] Community
The Grand Avenue Bridge carries Grand Street (Brooklyn) eastward across English Kill from Williamsburg where it becomes Grand Avenue, Maspeth's main street for dining and business. Grand Avenue continues eastward to end in Elmhurst. Cemeteries take up a large part of this small neighborhood although they are separated from residential areas for the most part. Single home houses and multiple dwelling homes make up most of Maspeth and there are hardly any apartment buildings, except for the co-ops on 65th Place, also known as The Plateau.
Forty-Third Street through 58th Street, including the former Furman Island, is industrial, and from 60th Street to 72nd Street is residential. The Phelps Dodge Corporation was present from 1920-1983. The Phelps Dodge mining company heavily contaminated Newtown Creek, which separates northern Brooklyn from western Queens and serves barge traffic. Other freight moves on the Long Island Railroad Montauk Branch and the lightly used Bushwick Branch. A new West Maspeth rail freight station has been proposed in connection with a Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel to diminish truck traffic across New York City. It is opposed by residents who don't want more trucks in Maspeth.
There is access to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Long Island Expressway. The former road crosses Newtown Creek on the Kosciuszko Bridge. These expressways are accessible at 69th and Grand Street.
For many years Maspeth was a familiar name due to the Elmhurst Gas Tanks, a pair of large natural gas storage structures. Because the Long Island Expressway (LIE) frequently became congested in that area, "backup at the Elmhurst Tanks" became a familiar phrase heard in radio traffic reports. Being literal rather than legal landmarks, the gas holders were removed in 2001.
Maspeth was the first English settlement in Queens County. However, conflicts with the Mespet tribe forced many settlers to move to what is now Elmhurst in 1643.
Most people who live in Maspeth are of Polish, Slavic, Italian, Irish, German, Hispanic or Chinese descent. Maspeth also has a significant Lithuanian population, one of the densest populations of Lithuanian-Americans outside of the Chicago Area. Transfiguration Roman Catholic Church still is the focal point of Maspeth Lithuanian culture, and during the 60's, 70's, and 80's there was a thriving Lithuanian-American club on Grand Avenue. Even today Transfiguration conducts some masses in Lithuanian, and runs a Knights of Lithuania chapter out of the church hall. The Maironis Lithuanian School of New York also conducts its classes in Maspeth.
Maspeth is also home to the Metropolitan Oval.
[edit] Education
Schools in the area include: IS 73 The Frank Sansivieri Intermediate School is located in Maspeth and is where most of the community's children attend grades 6 through 8.
- PS 58, The School of Heroes, was dedicated in 2002 on Grand Avenue at the site of the original Finast supermarket.
- PS 153, Maspeth Elementary School
- Saint Stanislaus Kostka School (Nursery - 8 Catholic School under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn)
- Martin Luther High School (9-12 private school)
[edit] Transport
Although there is no subway station in Maspeth, the area does have ample bus service. One may reach a subway station in several ways:
- B57 to Flushing Avenue (J M Z), Flushing Avenue (G), Jay Street–Borough Hall (A C F)
- Q18 bus to 61st Street–Woodside (7 <7>), Northern Boulevard (E G R V), or 30th Avenue (N W)
- Q39 bus to Forest Avenue (M), Queensboro Plaza (7 <7> N W), 23rd Street–Ely Avenue (E V), or Long Island City–Court Square (G)
- Q45 bus to 69th Street or 74th Street–Broadway (7 <7>) or to Roosevelt Avenue–Jackson Heights (E F G R V)
- Q58 bus to Grand Avenue–Newtown (E G R V), Flushing–Main Street (7 <7>), Fresh Pond Road (M), Forest Avenue (M), Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues (L M)
- Q59 bus to Grand Avenue–Newtown (E G R V), Woodhaven Boulevard (E G R V), 63rd Drive–Rego Park (E G R V), or Grand Street (L)
- Q67 bus to Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue (M), Hunters Point Avenue (7 <7>), 21st Street–Van Alst (G), Queensboro Plaza (7 <7> N W), Queens Plaza (E G R V), 23rd Street–Ely Avenue (E V), or Long Island City–Court Square (G)
[edit] References
- ^ Kenneth T. Jackson: The Encyclopedia of New York City: The New York Historical Society; Yale University Press; 1995. P. 260.
