10 Things You Didn't Know About QUEENS NY

what does Elmer's Astoria Forest Hills Briarwood and Springfield Gardens all have in common they are all part of the unique tapestry of neighborhoods that make up the borrow of Queens yes guys you guessed it today we're gonna be spending our time in Queens a borrow known for its bustling food scene its newly transformed East River waterfront home to the seven train JFK and LaGuardia airports as well as a haven for amazing beaches on the other hand Queens is also a borrow that gets a bad rap at times and one which more often than not dwells in the shadow of its neighboring boroughs Manhattan says it's not glamorous enough Brooklyn says it's not trendy enough the Bronx says it's not tough enough and Staten Island well they kind of keep to themselves they don't usually have an opinion here's the thing being a fiends native myself I sort of have to come to my borrows defense I'll let you know that there's plenty to be desired in Queens so much that it's no surprise so many are ditching the pretentiousness and the hefty prices of Manhattan in Brooklyn or a sweet spot in Queens - everyone tuning in from the other boroughs sorry for my bias but you have to realize that Queens is the best today I bring you some interesting and unique facts about our beloved borough Queens with the hopes that we can all see just what a special place it truly is so without further ado here are 10 things you didn't know about Queens New York [Music] number one it's New York City's largest borough with a land area of 109 square miles and spanning from the shores of Jamaica Bay to the East River Queens is by far the largest of the five boroughs it consists of 91 distinct neighborhoods which is the most of any borrow in the world yes Queens is massive and it's quite uncommon for anyone even native New Yorkers to have been to every single neighborhood and as a Queens native I can tell you that there is still plenty of ground that even I myself have yet to cover number two it's the home of the u.s. Tennis Open that's right you heard correctly the US Tennis Open is held every year in none other than the spectacular author Ashe Stadium in Flushing Queens since 1978 this bash Flushing Meadows Tennis Complex has been home to the legendary Grand Slam US tournament and will continue to be for years to come the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a huge tennis facility located in flushing meadows-corona Park open to the public throughout the year it offers 22 indoor courts and 11 outdoor courts in the adjoining park the three magnificent stadiums anchoring the complex are among the largest tennis stadiums in the world number three home of the real Chinatown everyone knows about the Chinatown in lower Manhattan but not everyone knows about the Chinatown in Flushing Queens in fact this Chinatown is much bigger and better due to its vast array of Asian shops and restaurants offering not just Chinese deliciousness but specialties from Korea and Japan too if you know anything about Flushing Chinatown you also know that it's well worth the trek to that last stop on the 7 train it's a place with so much to see and even much more to taste that you usually end up spending the entire day exploring the sights and flavors number four it's the most diverse borough in New York City New York City may be a well acclaimed melting pot but when it comes to Queens it takes melting pot to a whole other level not only is Queens the most ethnically diverse baro in the city but it actually happens to be the most ethnically diverse baro in the entire world here you have a population of 2.3 million people from more than 225 different countries speaking over 200 different languages with so many languages and cultures represented here it's no wonder they call the seven train the International Express number five it uses hyphenated addresses what's up with these confusing Queens addresses you ask yes it seems to be the only borrow that chooses to write them differently in case you haven't noticed Queens suggests always come with two sets of numbers separated by a dash the format is actually quite simple the numbers preceding the dash always indicate the nearest cross street or Avenue the numbers after the dash is the actual building or house number so 48 - oh one 90th Street means that the nearest Cross Avenue is 48th Avenue one is the building number on 90th Street on another note Queens is also the only borrow in New York City that specifies the neighborhood instead of the borough when writing the address for instance in Brooklyn they write 240 Division Avenue Brooklyn New York one one two one one when it comes to Queens you will never see the word Queens in the address instead you will see 30 - 11 21st Street Astoria New York one one 102 don't even bother questioning why we have such peculiar address formats because you'll never get a straight answer and it's a touchy subject for many people all you need to know is that it works and if it ain't broke don't fix it [Music] number six it's the birthplace of many famous icons New York City is a city where dreams are made and the stars shine bright well that's if you can see them at night through all the smog and no other place breathe celebrities like Queens New York for instance did you know that Nicki Minaj hails from South Jamaica and Christopher Walken is from Astoria wait there's plenty more we have 50 cent also from South Jamaica Lucie knew from Jackson Heights Hank Azaria from Forest Hills Run DMC from Hollis Cindy Lauper from ozone park Adrien Brody from Woodhaven Estee Lauder from Corona Howard Stern from Jackson Heights Bernie Madoff from Laurelton Harvey Weinstein from Flushing The Ramones from Forest Hills Tony Bennett from Astoria Russell Simmons from Hollis Al Roker from st. Albans Simon and Garfunkel from Forest Hills John Leguizamo from Jackson Heights LL Cool J from Hollis Martin Scorcese from Flushing Ray Romano from Forest Hills Susan Sarandon from Jackson Heights Lamar Odom from Jamaica Michael Landon from Forest Hills Fran Drescher from Flushing and even our very own President of the United States Donald Trump is from Jamaica estates the list is long and I could go on forever but I think you get the gist by now of how many famous personalities were born and bred right here in Queens New York number seven it's Harry Houdini's burial place when Harry Houdini died of appendicitis in October 31 1926 it proved that absolutely no one could escape death not even the master magician himself more than 2,000 mourners attended his funeral on November 4th 1926 at the Elks Lodge in Manhattan Houdini's body was later transported to Machpelah Cemetery in Glendale Queens as his final resting place napela cemetery went bankrupt in the late 80s and over the years has become quite a creepy place with most graves neglected and lying in ruins however Houdini's grave site is the only one that is still well cared for today by the Houdini Museum in Scranton Pennsylvania number 8 it's the cemetery belt of New York City speaking of grave sites did you know that Queens is the cemetery capital of New York City in fact more than 5 million people are buried in Queens outnumbering the people that actually lived there by more than double in the early 1800s the island of Manhattan had already run out of burials face and bodies were being piled into shallow mass graves in 1852 the state of New York passed a law which forbids any new burials in Manhattan while allowing the bumpy and rocky land on the border between Brooklyn and Queens to become an ideal spot for human remains since this land was not really good for farming or development it became perfect for picturesque cemeteries which later branded the area as the cemetery belt today Queens is home to 29 different cemeteries and Calvary Cemetery in Maspeth takes the prize for the largest cemetery in the United States and even though the other boroughs are starting to run out of burial spots Queens still has some real estate left to spare at a hefty price of course number 9 Forest Hills Stadium if you think Madison Square Garden and some of those other big New York arenas are the only places to see like concerts well then please think again because when it comes to a great show and a great venue Forest Hill stadium is where it's happening evidently the stadium which doesn't get much press is located in Forest Hills a quiet and unassuming neighborhood in the heart of Queens constructed in 1923 and formerly used as the home for the US Open and Davis Cup Forest Hill stadium began hosting musical concerts in the 1960s big names like The Beatles Rolling Stones Bob Dylan and Diana Ross played in this neighborhood venue back in the day this vidiian was recently renovated in 2013 and has reinstated its place in the music scene as New York's perfect open-air concert venue every season armies of fans will come out to Forest Hills to see their favorite musicians perform live on stage and for those who live close enough to the stadium they simply have to open their windows to take part in a great show and last but not least number ten it's the birthplace of Scrabble in 1938 architect and Jackson Heights resident Alfred Moshe Butz sought to invent a new game that combined his love of anagrams and crossword puzzles this new game he devised was first tested at a church which sits at the corner of 35th Avenue and 81st Street in Jackson Heights after experimenting with several versions of the game and several names it became known as Scrabble today at the crossroads between 35th Avenue and 81st Street you will find a unique Scrabble style Street sign marking the exact location of the origins of the popular American board game that's it for this episode on Queens New York Queens dwellers and Queens natives if there's anything else you'd like to add about your favorite borrow feel free to share it with us in the comments below and be sure to LIKE and subscribe if you'd like to see more on New York City our favorite city that never sleeps anyway thanks for watching and we'll see each other next time [Music]

Channel: ALL NYC

Views: 455,237

Keywords: new york city, nyc, new york travel, nyc travel, moving to new york city, moving to nyc, living in nyc, living in new york, brooklyn, queens, bronx, manhattan, staten island, us tennis open, flushing queens, arthur ashe stadium, flushing chinatown, flushing main street, 7 train nyc, jackson heights, nyc cemetery belt, harry houdini gravesite, forest hills stadium, forest hills queens, scrabble nyc, usta national tennis center, queens hyphenated addresses, allnyc33

Id: 6KyDJdJVEe4

Length: 11min 58sec (718 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 22 2019