Just blocks away from Queens Boulevard, Station Square in Forest Hills was created with Tudor style architecture and once contained the Forest Hills Inn. On July 4, 1917, President Theodore Roosevelt made his famous speech on the steps of Stations Square, where he convinced many Americans to support World War I.Smack in the middle of central Queens, lies the small but diverse community of Forest Hills.
Bordered the busy Union Turnpike to and Grand Central Parkway to the south and east, Woodhaven to the west and Yellowstone Boulevard and Jewel Avenue to the north, this one zip code town is just the kind of community of great contrasts that residents love. "We're large enough to serve you," explained life-long Forest Hills resident and President of the Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce Leslie Brown, "but small enough to know you."
It is the big city/small town contrast that makes the neighborhood more attractive to residents and visitors alike, and from the peaceful old-world feel of Forest Hills Gardens, to the bustling businesses on Austin Street and Metropolitan Avenue and the rising coops along Queens Boulevard; Forest Hills has something to offer for everyone.
HISTORY
Forest Hills, which is 101 years old this year, was originally part of 600 acres of farmland owned by Frederick Backus, George Backus and Horatio Squires. The land, known back then as Whitepot, was bought in 1906 by Cord Meyer Development Company, and renamed it Forest Hills for its close proximity to Forest Park.
In 1909, Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage bought 142 acres of land south of Queens Boulevard, and Forest Hills Gardens was born. The West Side Tennis Club, where the U.S. Open was held until 1978, was moved from Manhattan to Forest Hills, near the Gardens, in 1913.
"We're here over 40 years," Norbert and Estelle Chwat, creators of the Forest Hills Action League proudly proclaim. They describe the Forest Hills of 40 years ago as, "a very quiet, lovely residential area" with many gardens and mom and pop stores, "like a small town."
HOUSING AND COMMUNITY
Although Forest Hills has grown from a small community into a small metropolis - "an extension of the city," Estelle describes it - they would never call any other town home. To further their roots in the community, they began the Action League about 10 years ago to raise awareness about the growing congestion on Queens Boulevard, and to help solve the problems the traffic has caused for drivers and pedestrians alike.
"This was home," Estelle, said about Forest Hills, "We've traveled the world, but this has always been home.
Susanna and Robert Hof of Terrace Realty, who have also spent their lives in Forest Hills, would never think to live anywhere else. "Forest Hills is a very desirable area," Susanna Hof explained.
"On the north side of Queens Boulevard, properties are being bought up and large granite mansions are being built everywhere you look." She continued, "A lot is going on there and the area is being changed dramatically, she added. "It is a very diverse cosmopolitan community with residents of Asian, European, Indian, Russian as well as native born American extraction."
Presently, there are "many families buying with children," Hof said, "It's a dream community for kids," especially Forest Hills Gardens, which she described as a "safe, beautiful community."
Kathryn Thome, who came from Manhattan to live just off Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills with her family five years ago loves the neighborhood. "It's a great proximity to the city, Long Island, Westchester and it also makes you feel like you're in the country," she said.
Thome, who has two daughters at P.S. 144, commented that Forest Hills boasts "great schools, parks, and families," and that it helps to "volunteer and be involved in community events."
Schools in Forest Hills include five public elementary schools, two public junior high schools, and Forest Hills High School. While they use to be zoned only for Forest Hills residents, many children now come from surrounding neighborhoods of Rego Park and Jamaica.
Private schools include Forest Hills Montessori School, the Kew Forest School, and Mesivta Yesodei Yeshurun Secondary School. Bramson Ort College is a great institution for those working toward an Associate Degree, Certificate or Diploma Program.
Hof added, "Forest Hills values have never been down," making the community a very attractive one for any prospective buyer.
Frank Gulluscio, the District Manager of Forest Hills' Community Board 6, commented that it is a beautiful area, "a suburb in the city of New York."
"The community really cares about the neighborhood," he added, "many take a leadership role in their community," citing the active volunteer EMT unit as an example.
Congressmember Anthony Weiner agreed, saying, "Cottage Living magazine confirmed what we already knew about Forest Hills Gardens and Forest Hills - it's a great place to live and raise a family."
BUSINESS/COMMUTE
Forest Hills has something to offer all its residents, the young and old, families with small children to professional couples. With the added ease of being accessible by the E, F, V, R and G trains, the Q 60 or Q 23 buses, and only 20 minuets from Manhattan by LIRR, even if you don't drive, you can travel to Forest Hills almost effortlessly.
Austin Street is a mile long stretch of restaurants and shops and movie theatres where "business is booming," according to Brown. "We have a mix of mom-and-pop stores" and many large-name stores in the area." Austin Street's "Restaurant Row" holds a mix of fast food to family restaurants and diners and more upscale places to enjoy a meal.
Every Thursday in August, Austin Street will be hosting a "Shop Forest Hills Jazz Thursdays" with free live Jazz music performances from 7-9 p.m. There is also a planned festival on September 30.
Metropolitan Avenue is also bustling with many antique stores, smaller shops, and great places to eat. "We like to think of Forest Hills as a place where you can have personal service and get to know people," Brown said.
RECREATION
The West Side Tennis Club is open year round for tennis aficionados or those who want to learn the game and stay in shape. Crowding is never a problem for the Club, which boasts an Olympic sized pool, 10 indoor clay courts and 39 outdoor courts with four different surfaces available for rental.
West Side, which moved from the West Side of Manhattan to 1 Tennis Place at the edge of Forest Hills Gardens in 1913, also holds a large summer camp and junior development program for children from 4-18 years old. There are separate programs for those learning the game, and a conditioning program for children who want to compete.
Wes Side's Co-Director's, Bob and wife Dina Ingersole, are also proud to host the Women's Tennis Association tour from August 21-25. Many of the 160 women who signed up to compete at West Side will also compete the week after at the U.S. Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
The games will be free of charge, except for the finals, which will only cost $10, and "there is plenty of seating," Bob Ingersole promised. Along with the competition, festivities being Tuesday, August 21 with children's games, continue through Thursday with a Jazz performance at noon and an Adult doubles tactics workshop afterward, and ends Saturday with the Finals, a wine tasting, another Jazz concert and a tennis carnival. There will also be contests where participants can try their game against the pros.
If tennis is not your child's sport of choice, the Forest Hills Youth Activities Association (FHYAA) is where many of the neighborhood children hone their softball, baseball, basketball and soccer skills. There is also a summer day camp run out of the clubhouse on Fleet Street.
The FHYAA, located at 66-01 Fleet Street is where many ages 4 to 17 spend their summer or time after school learning their sport on one of four baseball fields, the soccer fields or the basketball courts, and they have much to boast about. The Little League's 11-12 and 13-14 boys teams were district champions this year and the girl's softball league, once a foundering part of the FHYAA, is quickly gaining momentum and popularity.
There is a very large and tight-knit Bukharian Jew community in Forest Hills, supported by the Jewish Child Care Association (JCCA), is a non-profit center that provides services of the Jewish tradition to children and their families. Programs at the JCCA, on 106-16 70th Avenue include a home-based family daycare program, a full-day Child Care Center that supports and reinforces Jewish teachings and family life, a Bukharian Teen Lounge after school hours, and a tutoring program.
The Queens Community House, formally the Forest Hills Community House, is a non- profit service organization for the community on 108-25 62nd Drive that offers activities for Forest Hills residents all year, according to Yvette Dilworth, Director of Development at the Forest Hills Center.
This summer, the Community House is hosting a summer camp for children and a summer photo group. There are also after school and early childhood programs year-round, organized sports, peer counseling and a teen center. They also offer SAT prep and college planning.
For the older crowd, there is Senior Center, a care-giving support group for those suffering with dementia, a meals-on-wheels program, and programs for seniors run out of the Forest Hills Coop. The Community House also offers landlord-tenant assistance and addiction prevention services. "There is always something happening here," Dilworth commented.
This "small town in the city" offers something for everyone to enjoy, no matter who you are or where you come from.
