Woodhaven, once known as Woodyville, has one of the greatest tree populations in the borough and is known for its proximity to the hiking trails of Forest Park. Woodhaven contains a mixture of urban and suburban land uses, with both low-density residential and commercial sections.<ref name="NYTimes-Woodhaven-2015"/><ref name="AMNY-Woodhaven-2017"/> It retains the small-town feel of bygone days and is home to people of many different ethnicities.<ref name="NYTimes-Woodhaven-2015"/><ref name="WSJ-Woodhaven-2013"/>
Jamaica Avenue, the neighborhood's main thoroughfare, has its beginnings in an ancient Native American trail, the Old Rockaway Trail.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The northern boundary of the Rockaway territory was the terminal moraine of the Wisconsin glacier, which formed the ridges of Forest Park.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to the New York City Parks Department, Forest Park was inhabited by the Rockaway and Lenape Native Americans "until the Dutch West India Company settled the area in 1635."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Native Americans in the area used the arrowwood stems prevalent in Forest Park for arrow shafts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
European settlement in Woodhaven began in the mid-18th century as a small town that revolved around farming, with the Ditmar, Lott, Wyckoff, Suydam and Snediker families. British troops successfully flanked General George Washington's Continental Army by a silent night-march from Gravesend, Brooklyn through the lightly defended "Jamaica Pass" actually located in Brooklyn, to win the Battle of Long Island, Queens—the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War, and the first battle after the Declaration of Independence.
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Later, Woodhaven became the site of two racetracks: the Union Course<ref>Template:Cite web Currier & Ives lithographs—bottom detail shows early Union Course railroad station. Factory is Union Chemical Color Works.</ref> (1821) and the Centreville Course (1825). Union Course was a nationally famous racetrack situated in the area now bounded by 78th Street, 82nd Street, Jamaica Avenue and Atlantic Avenue. The Union Course was the site of the first skinned—or dirt—racing surface, a novelty at the time. These courses were originally without grandstands. The custom of conducting a single, four-mile (6 km) race consisting of as many heats as were necessary to determine a winner, gave way to programs consisting of several races. Match races<ref>Template:Cite web On the New York Union Course, May 13, 1845. Lithograph by J. Baillie, 1845</ref> between horses from the South against those from the North drew crowds as high as 70,000. Several hotels (including the Snedeker Hotel<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Forschback Inn) were built in the area to accommodate the racing crowds.
A ConnecticutYankee, John R. Pitkin, developed the eastern area as a workers' village and named it Woodville (1835). In 1853, he launched a newspaper. That same year, the residents petitioned for a local post office. To avoid confusion with a Woodville located upstate, the residents agreed to change the name to Woodhaven. The original boundaries extended as far south as Liberty Avenue.
Two Frenchmen named Charles Lalance and Florian Grosjean launched the village as a manufacturing community in 1863, by opening a tin factory and improving the process of tin stamping. As late as 1900, the surrounding area, however, was still primarily farmland, and from Atlantic Avenue one could see as far south as Jamaica Bay, site of present-day John F. Kennedy International Airport. Since 1894, Woodhaven's local newspaper has been the Leader-Observer.
The entirety of Community Board 9, which comprises Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven, had 148,465 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 84.3 years.<ref name="CHP2018">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.<ref name=":21">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 22% are between the ages of between 0–17, 30% between 25 and 44, and 27% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 17% and 7% respectively.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp
As of 2017, the median household income in Community Board 9 was $69,916.<ref name="CB6PUMA">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2018, an estimated 22% of Woodhaven and Kew Gardens residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in twelve residents (8%) were unemployed, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 55% in Woodhaven and Kew Gardens, higher than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, Template:As of, Woodhaven and Kew Gardens are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp
Woodhaven is ethnically diverse but is majority Hispanic/Latino.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It also consists of small number of African Americans, and a growing number of Asian Americans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Land use
Woodhaven is a mostly residential semi-suburban neighborhood. Commercial zones are restricted to Jamaica Avenue, a west–east artery which effectively bisects Woodhaven, as well as Atlantic Avenue on the southern border of Woodhaven.<ref name="zola-planning-map">Template:Cite web</ref>
Geographically, southern Woodhaven is mostly flat (the lowest elevation is just under Template:Convert), while northern Woodhaven gradually rises to about Template:Convert as it approaches Forest Park. There are numerous hills within Forest Park.<ref name="NYCPks-ForestPark">Template:Cite web</ref>
Homes in the northern section of the neighborhood are mainly Victorian and Colonial and many are over 120 years old.<ref name="NYTimes-Woodhaven-2015">Template:Cite news</ref> In the southern section many houses are also Victorian.<ref name="AMNY-Woodhaven-2017"/> The area is considered more affordable than many in the city.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Commercial
On Jamaica Avenue, there are a large number of stores and restaurants, most being small and locally owned.<ref name="AMNY-Woodhaven-2017">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> One of the oldest was Lewis of Woodhaven, which had two locations and closed its doors in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Many longtime businesses remain.<ref name="WSJ-Woodhaven-2013">Template:Cite news</ref>
Neir's Tavern first opened in 1829, and some historians argue that it is the city's oldest bar.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The establishment was owned by the Neir family from 1898 to 1967, after which it went into decline and closed in 2009. New owners bought the bar and the establishment re-opened in 2010.<ref name="ProjectWoodhaven">Template:Cite web</ref> Woodhaven residents and other preservationists have unsuccessfully petitioned the City of New York to grant the tavern official status as a New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="auto2">Template:Cite news</ref>
Longtime establishments on the neighborhood's main thoroughfare, Jamaica Avenue, include Popp's Restaurant, which opened in 1907; Manor Delicatessen, which opened in 1914; and Schmidt's Candy, which opened in 1925 and is run by the granddaughter of its founder.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Culture
An annual motorcycle parade on Woodhaven Boulevard commemorates the bravery of war veterans and collects donations for the Salvation Army and holiday toys for needy children. An annual street fair also takes place on Jamaica Avenue with live music, and other festivities for children; this event enables residents to appreciate diversity from the many different backgrounds the residents of Woodhaven originate.
Writers, artists, musicians, actors, and filmmakers have been drawn to and emerged from the area.<ref>See:
Template:Cite web</ref> Woodhaven has been called "one of the epicenters of NYC's metal landscape" (with Greenpoint as the other epicenter) due to a recording studio located in the neighborhood.<ref>See:
The distinctive St. Anthony's Mansion (which later became St. Anthony's Hospital) stood on a seven-acre tract of land on Woodhaven Boulevard between 89th and 91st Avenues.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The hospital significantly helped the scientific community in the creation of breakthroughs in Pulmonary and Heart treatments. The hospital was demolished in the late 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A historical marker has been placed on the site, which is now a residential area known as Woodhaven Park Estates.
The Beaux-Arts Fire Command Telegraph Station at the intersection of Woodhaven Boulevard and Park Lane South, sits in the midst of Forest Park and has an octagon crowned with a cupola at its center.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The fire department commenced operations there in 1928.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
One of the oldest homes in Woodhaven is located on 87-20 88th Street. It was first located on Jamaica Avenue. In 1920, the entire house was forced to move to its current location on 88th Street due to the construction of the BMT Jamaica Line. The house was built about or prior to 1910. The first house number in Queens (from the borough's renumbering under the Philadelphia Plan), was also in Woodhaven and the house was owned by a German immigrant named Albert Voigt.<ref name="Walsh 2015">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Multiple imageNeir's Tavern, founded in Woodhaven in 1829 and in nearly continuous operation since then (except during Prohibition) is one of the older bars in the United States. The bar is sometimes rumored to be haunted.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Crystal Manor Hotel building, once considered a refined hotel for businessmen, survives at Woodhaven Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue and the brick exterior has remained largely the same for more than 100 years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, wrote most of the book in Woodhaven, at Forest Parkway near 85th Drive (though the story is set in nearby Cypress Hills).<ref name="Walsh 2015"/> The Woodhaven Post Office has a New Deal mural by Ben Shahn.<ref name="Walsh 2015"/> The Brooklyn Royal Giants, a professional Negro Baseball League team, played in Dexter Park, which was torn down in 1955 and today is marked with a plaque.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Lalance & Grosjean Tin Manufacturing Factory of Woodhaven produced many kitchen and household objects, some of which were featured in MOMA exhibitions on 20th Century design.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven are patrolled by the 102nd Precinct of the NYPD, located at 87-34 118th Street.<ref name="NYPD 102nd Precinct">Template:Cite web</ref> The 102nd Precinct ranked 22nd safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of, with a non-fatal assault rate of 43 per 100,000 people, Woodhaven and Kew Gardens's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 345 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp
The 102nd Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 90.2% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 2 murders, 24 rapes, 101 robberies, 184 felony assaults, 104 burglaries, 285 grand larcenies, and 99 grand larcenies auto in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:As of, preterm births are more common in Woodhaven and Kew Gardens than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers are less common. In Woodhaven and Kew Gardens, there were 92 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 15.7 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp Woodhaven and Kew Gardens have a higher than average population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 14%, slightly higher than the citywide rate of 12%.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Woodhaven and Kew Gardens is Template:Convert, less than the city average.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp Eleven percent of Woodhaven and Kew Gardens residents are smokers, which is lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp In Woodhaven and Kew Gardens, 23% of residents are obese, 14% are diabetic, and 22% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 22%, 8%, and 23% respectively.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp In addition, 22% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp
Eighty-six percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is about the same as the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 78% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", equal to the city's average of 78%.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp For every supermarket in Woodhaven and Kew Gardens, there are 11 bodegas.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp
Forest Park is the third largest park in Queens.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> The Wisconsin Glacier retreated from Long Island some 20,000 years ago, leaving behind the hills to the north of Woodhaven that now are part of Forest Park.<ref name="NYCPks-ForestPark" /> The park was home to the Rockaway, Delaware and Lenape Native Americans until Dutch West India Company settlers arrived in 1634 and began establishing towns and pushing the tribes out. The park contains the largest continuous oak forest in Queens.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Inside the park, the Forest Park Carousel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.<ref name="nris"/> The park also contains playgrounds,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Strack Pond,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a barbecue area,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a bandshell,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a nature center,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a dog run,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and hiking trails.<ref name="NYTimes-Woodhaven-2015"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Therapeutic horseback riding for people with special needs is also available in the park.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Woodhaven and Kew Gardens generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city Template:As of. While 34% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 22% have less than a high school education and 43% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 39% of Queens residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp The percentage of Woodhaven and Kew Gardens students excelling in math rose from 34% in 2000 to 61% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 39% to 48% during the same time period.<ref name=":17">Template:Cite web</ref>
Woodhaven and Kew Gardens's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Woodhaven and Kew Gardens, 17% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, lower than the citywide average of 20%.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp<ref name=":21" />Template:Rp Additionally, 79% of high school students in Woodhaven and Kew Gardens graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp
In 1836, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) cars were pulled by horses along Atlantic Avenue. The cars traveled with other traffic at street level and stopped at all major intersections, much as a bus does, except that people would often hop on and hop off while the car was moving. The 1848 LIRR schedule shows an intersection called Union Course (serving that racetrack) and another called Woodville (farther east). With electrification, the LIRR constructed permanent tracks. The Union Course station was opened April 28, 1905. In 1911, the platform was widened to four tracks, and Atlantic Avenue was mostly closed to other traffic. The four tracks split the community and become the border between Woodhaven and Ozone Park.
Template:Cite book</ref> Meanwhile, service on Atlantic Avenue's surface tracks and seven stations between Jamaica and Brooklyn ended on November 1, 1939, and was subsequently replaced in 1942 by underground tracks and a single underground station between Jamaica and Brooklyn.<ref name="AtlanticAveLIRR">
The scene in the 1990 Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas, where members of the Mafia showed up after robbing the airport showing off mink coats and pink Cadillacs, took place at Neir's Tavern located on 78th Street. There is an historical marker placed outside the establishment.<ref name=":0" /> Justin Timberlake and Juno Temple filmed a scene filmed in 2017 for the Woody Allen movie Wonder Wheel at Jamaica Avenue and 80th Street.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The opening scenes of the 1984 film The Flamingo Kid were filmed at 96th Street and Jamaica Avenue.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tom Holland filmed the school scene of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" at Franklin K. Lane High School in Woodhaven.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
TV shows that have filmed in Woodhaven include The Americans (Forest Park Bandshell) and Person of Interest (Forest Park Carousel).<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Adrien Brody (born 1973), two-time Oscar-winning actor, grew up in Woodhaven.<ref>"Brody's friend's parents proud"Template:Webarchive, CNN.com, March 25, 2003. Accessed May 17, 2007. "Brody, who grew up in Woodhaven, and Zarobinski, a native of Rego Park, attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts together, where Brody studied acting and Zarobinski studied drawing."</ref>
Jason Cipolla (born 1974), former basketball player for the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team.<ref>Lupica, Mike. "Cipolla Hits From Queens"Template:Webarchive, New York Daily News, March 26, 1996. Accessed November 27, 2017. "And the only reason we are talking about Smart today, or Boeheim, is because a kid out of Woodhaven, Queens, named Jason Cipolla made a sweet jumper of his own from the left corner, at the buzzer to send Syracuse's Sweet 16 game against Georgia into overtime Friday night."</ref>
Danny Kaye (1911–1987), actor, singer and comedian who grew up on Bradford Street.<ref name=QueensLibrary/>
Dick Van Patten (1928–2015), noted actor, lived in Woodhaven during his childhood <ref>Dick Van Patten, Eighty Is Not Enough: One Man’s Journey Through American Entertainment, (Beverly Hills, CA: Phoenix, 2009) p. 31. Template:ISBN</ref>
Betty Smith (1896–1972), author. A historical marker is outside the house on Forest Parkway (across the street from the Woodhaven Library) in which she wrote A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in 1943.<ref name=IfThinking /> In this best-selling novel, the widow Nolan marries a policeman with a civil service job and moves to Cypress Hills where it is quiet and there are trees.
Barry Sullivan (1912–1994), film and TV star.<ref name=QueensLibrary/>
"Woodhaven" entry in Encyclopedia of New York City by Vincent Seyfried, Edited by Kenneth T. Jackson. New Haven, Yale University Press. 1995 as presented on site of Congressman Anthony D. Weiner
Woodhaven and Union Course entries in Old Queens, N.Y. in Early Photographs by Vincent F. Seyfried, William Asadorian
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