Cambria Heights, Queens
| Cambria Heights | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood of Queens | |
 | |
  Cambria Heights | |
| Coordinates: 40°41′31.89″N 73°43′58.89″W / 40.6921917°N 73.7330250°WCoordinates: 40°41′31.89″N 73°43′58.89″W / 40.6921917°N 73.7330250°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Queens |
| Named for | Cambria Construction Company |
| Elevation | 49 ft (15 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 21,282 |
| • Estimate (2007) | 20,128 |
| Ethnicity | |
| • White | 2.9% |
| • Black | 91.7% |
| • Hispanic | 4.1% |
| • Asian | 0.4% |
| • Other | 1.1% |
| Economics | |
| • Median income | $62,071 |
| ZIP code | 11411 |
| Area code(s) | 718, 347, 917 |
Cambria Heights is a middle-class neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Springfield Boulevard and Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west, the Elmont, Nassau County border on the east, Queens Village to the north, St. Albans to the west, and Montefiore Cemetery and Laurelton, Springfield Gardens and Rosedale to the south. As of 2007, Cambria Heights's population is 20,128.[1] The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 13.[2]
The town derived its name from the Cambrian era because it is known for its many fossils; at an elevation of 49 feet, it is one of the three highest points in the borough, together with Jackson Heights and Richmond Hill.
The original population consisted primarily of Roman Catholics of Italian, German, and Irish descent, and Jewish families relocating from Brooklyn. The present neighborhood has a large middle class Caribbean and African American population. The median home cost is $450,600.[1]
The public elementary schools in Cambria Heights are P.S. 176[3] and P.S. 147, renamed for astronaut Ronald McNair.[4] There are four magnet high schools on the campus of Andrew Jackson High School, which are dedicated to: arts and humanities; business computer applications; mathematics, science and technology; and law, government and community service. The local Catholic grammar school is Sacred Heart, also with a parish by that name.
Cambria Heights is also the location of the Ohel, the resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe melech homashiach, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson and his predecessor Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. Tens of thousands of visitors from around the world flock to the site for prayer and blessing.[5]
Notable residents
The following are notable people who have at one time resided in Cambria Heights:
- Brian Baril, College Basketball Player
- Michael Bentt, Retired heavyweight boxer turned actor of Jamaican lineage.[6]
- Bob Cousy, Basketball Hall of Famer[7] attended Andrew Jackson High School.
- Chick Corea, a Miles Davis band veteran, played electric piano for Stan Getz.[8]
- Gabe Dalmath, award-winning journalist and TV news anchor WHEC-TV.[9]
- Bud Harelson, Shortstop for the New York Mets championship team of 1969.
- Lena Horne, singer
- Daniel Thomas Moran, Poet Laureate of Suffolk County, NY 2005–2007
- Henry Petroski, whose 2002 book Paperboy: Confessions of a Future Engineer describes his teenage years in Cambria Heights.[10]
- Rick Pitino, Head basketball head coach at the University of Louisville.[11]
- Jackie Robinson, baseball player
- Barbara Rubin, filmmaker
- Maggie Van Ostrand, writer
- Dennis Walcott, Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development in administration of Michael Bloomberg; before that, President and CEO of New York Urban League[12]
- Mary Weiss, lead singer with The Shangri-Las.[13]
References
- 1 2 "Best Places to Live in the United States". Bestplaces.net. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
- ↑ Queens Community Boards Zip Code Overview, New York City. Accessed September 3, 2007.
- ↑ P.S. 176
- ↑ P.S. 147
- ↑ The New York Observer, "Rebbe to the city and Rebbe to the world". Editorial, 07/08/14.
- ↑ 'Rocky Lives' by David E. Finger
- ↑ Askeland, Kevin. "Top 10: New York City's Greatest Point Guards". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
- ↑ on Musical Lists
- ↑ "Gabe Dalmath". Gabe Dalmath. 2011-03-20. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
- ↑ Petroski, Henry (2002). Paperboy: Confessions of a Future Engineer. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-41353-7.
- ↑ Vecsey, George (1987-02-13). "Rick Pitino: Reviving February". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ↑ "GBM September 16, 2008: Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott". Facebook.com. 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
- ↑ "Mary Weiss Interview", Norton Records, 2006.
External links
- Cambria Heights, NY Home Town Locator
- Cambria Heights, Homebuyers, NYC Housing Preservation and Development
