Jamaica Estates is a neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Queens. Within Queens Community District 8, Jamaica Estates is served by Queens Community Board 8[1] It is bounded by Union Turnpike to the north, Hillside Avenue to the south, Utopia Parkway and Homelawn Street to the west and 188th Street to the east.
Jamaica Estates was created at the turn of the century by the Jamaica Estates Company, which developed the hilly terminal moraine's 503 acres (2.04 km2), while preserving many of the trees that had occupied the site.[2] Jamaica Estates now has significant Modern Orthodox Jewish American[3] and South Asian American populations.[4] The latter has been particularly affected by the wave of mortgage foreclosures that began in 2008.[5] The only apartments and multi-family housing lie near the southern border within a few blocks from and along Hillside Avenue. The shopping corridors are along Hillside Avenue and Union Turnpike.
In 2007, following the damage of the roof of the Historic Gatehouse in Hurricane Isabel, the restoration and beautification of the Gatehouse and Malls was completed.[6]
The Jamaica Estates Association, founded in 1929, continues as an active, vital civic organization representing the community. An Historical Plaque was unveiled April 23, 2010, on the Midland Mall by The Aquinas Honor Society of the Immaculate Conception School and by the sponsor of the plaque, Senator Frank Padavan.[7]
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The neighborhood is served by two public elementary schools. Residents in the eastern part of Jamaica Estates are served by The Holliswood School (PS 178) on Radnor Road at 189th Street in School District 26, and residents in the western part of the neighborhood are served by The Abigail Adams School (PS 131) in Jamaica Hills (School District 29). [The Mary Louis Academy,the all-girls Catholic college-prep school, is located on the corner of Edgerton Boulevard and Wexford Terrace.Immaculate Conception School is also located in this neighborhood, on the corner of Midland Parkway and Dalny Road. The Yeshiva University High School for Girls is just east of the Estates in Holliswood.
The Queens Campus of the United Nations International School, for students in grades K-8, is located on Croydon Road. It is run by the United Nations, and has its main location on the East Side of Manhattan. The school was intended for the children of UN diplomats and employees but enrollment is now open to everyone.[8] The school first opened in Lake Success, but relocated in 1950 to Parkway Village, a garden apartment complex originally built for UN employees.[9]
The northern terminus of the New York City Subway's IND Queens Boulevard Line (F), 179th Street station, is located at the entrance of Jamaica Estates at Midland Parkway and Hillside Avenue, with the 169th Street F Station located on the corner of Hillside Avenue and Homelawn Street. The neighborhood is also served by the Q17, Q30, Q31, and Q46 bus lines. Numerous express buses to Manhattan also stop on Union Turnpike. The commute to Midtown Manhattan takes 30 to 45 minutes.
In contrast to much of Queens, most streets in Jamaica Estates do not conform to the rectangular street grid and follow topographic lines, the most notable example being Midland Parkway. Many of the named streets have etymologies originating from Languages of the United Kingdom, such as Aberdeen, Avon, Hovenden, Barrington, Chelsea, and Chevy Chase Street.