Sunnyside | |
|---|---|
 The gantry over 46th Street atQueens Boulevard is located in the heart of Sunnyside | |
 Location within New York City | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New York |
| City | New York City |
| County/Borough | Queens |
| Community District | Queens 2[1] |
| Named after | Sunnyside Hill Farms |
| Population | |
• Total | 63,271 |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 11101, 11104, 11377 |
| Area codes | 718, 347, 929, and917 |
| Website | www |
Sunnyside is a neighborhood in the western portion of theNew York Cityborough ofQueens. It shares borders withHunters Point andLong Island City to the west,Astoria to the north,Woodside to the east andMaspeth to the south. It contains theSunnyside Gardens Historic District, one of the first planned communities in the United States.[2]
Sunnyside is located inQueens Community District 2 and its ZIP Codes are 11101, 11104, and 11377.[1] It is patrolled by theNew York City Police Department's 108th Precinct.[3] Politically, Sunnyside is represented by theNew York City Council's 26th District.[4]
The name "Sunnyside" originates with the Bragaw family, French Huguenots who had purchased the land in 1713 and named their estate "Sunnyside Hill".[5][6]
Sunnyside was a rural hamlet mostly consisting of small farms and marshland. It was incorporated intoLong Island City in 1870, and developed into abedroom community after theQueensboro Bridge was completed in 1909. A large portion of the neighborhood is six-story apartment buildings constructed during the 1920s and 1930s.
In 1901 Celtic Park was created by the Irish-American Athletic Club to provide a venue for Irish-Americans sporting events. In the 1930s the field was closed and the Celtic Park Apartments were built on the site.[7] The organization's symbol, the Winged First, is memorialized in the city designating 43rd Street and 48th Ave. as Winged Fist Way.[8][9]
Sunnyside Gardens is a community of homes and small apartment buildings within Sunnyside. It was constructed from 1924 to 1928 and designated an official city landmark district by theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2007.
Sunnyside Garden Arena was a venue for boxing and wrestling from the 1940s to 1977. Today there is a memorial plaque where the arena stood.[10]
Coventry, originally known as Popcorn Pub, was a music venue in Sunnyside, on the North side of Queens Boulevard at 47th Street, where KISS performed their first show, and where the Ramones played.[11] In 2023 it was featured as part of a musical calledBliss Street at theTheater for the New City.[12]
Based on data from the2010 United States census, the population of Sunnyside was 63,271, a change of 1,324 (2.1%) from the 61,947 counted in2000. Covering an area of 2,340.44 acres (947.14 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 27 inhabitants per acre (17,000/sq mi; 6,700/km2).[13]
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 35.4% (22,424)non-Hispanic White, 2.5% (1,588)African American, 0.2% (109)Native American, 24.3% (15,390)Asian, 0%(29)Pacific Islander, 0.6% (395)other races, 2.1% (1,342) two or more races, and 34.8% (21,994)Hispanic orLatino of any race.[14]
The entirety of Community Board 2, which comprises Sunnyside and Woodside, had 135,972 inhabitants as ofNYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 85.4 years.[15]: 2, 20 This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.[16]: 53 (PDF p. 84) [17] Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 17% are between the ages of 0–17, 39% between 25 and 44, and 24% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 8% and 12% respectively.[15]: 2
As of 2017, the medianhousehold income in Community Board 2 was $67,359.[18] In 2018, an estimated 20% of Sunnyside and Woodside residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in twenty residents (5%) 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 51% in Sunnyside and Woodside, about equal to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], Sunnyside and Woodside is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and notgentrifying.[15]: 7
Queens is one of the mostethnically diverse urban areas in the world.[19] Sunnyside's residents are also ethnically diverse and include people ofAlbanian,Algerian,Argentine,Armenian,Bangladeshi,Bolivian,Bosnian,Bulgarian,Burmese,Chinese,Colombian,Dominican,Ecuadorian,Egyptian,Filipino,French,German,Greek,Hungarian,Indian,Iraqi,Irish,Israeli,Italian,Japanese,Korean,Lebanese,Mexican,Moroccan,Nepali,Nicaraguan,Pakistani,Paraguayan,Peruvian,Polish,Puerto Rican,Romanian,Russian,Salvadoran,Swedish,Thai,Tibetan,Tunisian,Turkish,Ukrainian,Vietnamese andYemeni ancestry.[citation needed] In particular, the Irish population is the largest among other ethnic groups. Sunnyside has a variety of ethnic cuisines, which is showcased during multiple food events where people can sample cuisines from local businesses.[20]
As according to the 2020 census from theNew York City Department of City Planning the neighborhood were approximately equally populated by White, Hispanic, and Asian populations with each of them being between 10,000 and 19,999 residents, however there were less than 5,000 Black residents.[21][22][23][24]
Woodside, Sunnyside, and Long Island City are patrolled by the 108th Precinct of theNYPD, located at 5-47 50th Avenue.[3] The 108th Precinct ranked 25th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010.[25] As of 2018[update], with a non-fatal assault rate of 19 per 100,000 people, Sunnyside and Woodside's rate ofviolent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 163 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.[15]: 8
The 108th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 88.2% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 2 murders, 12 rapes, 90 robberies, 108 felony assaults, 109 burglaries, 490 grand larcenies, and 114 grand larcenies auto in 2018.[26]
Sunnyside is served by the followingNew York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations:[27]
As of 2018[update],preterm births are more common in Sunnyside and Woodside than in other places citywide, but births to teenage mothers are less common. In Sunnyside and Woodside, there were 90 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 14.9 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).[15]: 11 Sunnyside and Woodside has a high population of residents who areuninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 16%, which is higher than the citywide rate of 12%.[15]: 14
The concentration offine particulate matter, the deadliest type ofair pollutant, in Sunnyside and Woodside is 0.0093 milligrams per cubic metre (9.3×10−9 oz/cu ft), higher than the city average.[15]: 9 Fourteen percent of Sunnyside and Woodside residents aresmokers, which is equal to the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.[15]: 13 In Sunnyside and Woodside, 20% of residents areobese, 9% arediabetic, and 23% havehigh blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 20%, 14%, and 24% respectively.[15]: 16 In addition, 19% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.[15]: 12
Ninety-two percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 79% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", slightly higher than the city's average of 78%.[15]: 13 For every supermarket in Sunnyside and Woodside, there are 17bodegas.[15]: 10
The nearest large hospitals in the area are theElmhurst Hospital Center inElmhurst and theMount Sinai Hospital of Queens inAstoria.[30]
Sunnyside is covered by threeZIP Codes. The area west of 39th Street is covered by 11101, whileSunnyside Gardens is located in 11104, and the area east of 45th Street is inside 11377.[31] TheUnited States Post Office operates the Sunnyside Station at 45-15 44th Street.[32]
Sunnyside and Woodside generally has a slightly higher ratio of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018[update]. While 45% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 19% have less than a high school education and 35% 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.[15]: 6 The percentage of Sunnyside and Woodside students excelling in math rose from 40% in 2000 to 65% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 45% to 49% during the same time period.[33]
Sunnyside and Woodside's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Sunnyside and Woodside, 11% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days perschool year, lower than the citywide average of 20%.[16]: 24 (PDF p. 55) [15]: 6 Additionally, 86% of high school students in Sunnyside and Woodside graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.[15]: 6
Sunnyside contains the following public schools in both District 30 and 24. Queens Blvd serves as the border between the two districts. :[34]
TheQueens Public Library's Sunnyside branch is located at 43-06 Greenpoint Avenue.[38]
There are numerous churches and temples in Sunnyside that support its diverse religious communities.[39]
Parks in the area include:
Sunnyside is served by the7 train on theNew York City Subway'sIRT Flushing Line, with33rd Street–Rawson Street,40th Street–Lowery Street, and46th Street–Bliss Street in Sunnyside. TheQ32,Q39,Q60,Q104 andB24 buses run through Sunnyside.
The area is connected toManhattan via theLong Island Expressway and theQueens Midtown Tunnel and toBrooklyn via theBrooklyn-Queens Expressway.
Sunnyside is also known for the formerPennsylvania Railroad (nowAmtrak) railyard known asSunnyside Yard. It is a staging area for both Amtrak andNew Jersey Transit trains leaving fromPenn Station. ThePenn Station Access project will include a newLong Island Rail Road andMetro-North train station inSunnyside atQueens Boulevard along the LIRR'sMain Line (into Penn Station) will provide one-stop access for area residents toMidtown Manhattan.[45]
Notable celebrities includeJohanna Magdalena Beyer,Perry Como,Nancy Walker,Benh Zeitlin,David Horowitz,Judy Holliday,[46]Joe Spinell,James Caan andRudy Vallée;[47] artistRaphael Soyer, and writers and social activists such asLewis Mumford andSuze Rotolo.William Stuart-Houston, the nephew ofAdolf Hitler, lived in Sunnyside for a brief period of time before leaving for the U.S. Navy in 1944. Former pro wrestlerChris Kanyon came from Sunnyside, as did former New York City police commissionerDermot F. Shea[48][49][50] Anthropologist, philosopher, andUC Berkeley professorPaul Rabinow grew up in the neighborhood[51] as did former New York Member of CongressPeter King.[52] Former New York GovernorAndrew Cuomo lived in Sunnyside for five years after graduating from law school.[53]
Additionally, several other people have been involved with Sunnyside's history. The Queens-grown punk rock groupThe Ramones played some of their earliest gigs in Sunnyside pubs during the 1970s.[11] In the years before World War IINew York Giants starHap Moran coached a youth football team, the Mustangs, in Sunnyside Park.[54] Legendary jazz musicianBix Beiderbecke died at 43–30 46th Street in Sunnyside, and a plaque was erected in his honor by theGreater Astoria Historical Society, with annual music memorial concert events taking place.[55][56]
Notable films and television shows shot in the area include:
Places adjacent to Sunnyside, Queens | ||||||||||||||||
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40°44′35″N73°55′12″W / 40.743°N 73.920°W /40.743; -73.920
