Shady streets, antique stores, a plethora of family owned businesses, bars, shops, a horseback riding school (yes, a horseback riding school in Queens), and the first planned garden community in the United States, Forest Hills is a bustling little neighborhood in Queens that still maintains its “village-type” charm. One of the most interesting locations and cornerstones of Forest Hills and my current place of work, is Eddie’s Sweet Shop, which has been an ice cream shop for over a hundred years and boasts homemade products. Over the past year or so, a myriad of new business have opened up in the area, including Station House, a trendy bar and restaurant.
Despite the growing number of hotspots, many Forest Hills residents stay in the neighborhood for its quiet residential life, and not to mention, its strong sense of community. Forest Hills provides its residents with an AA group, youth organizations and camps at the Queens/Forest Hills Community House, and classes for all ages at the Bukharian Jewish Community Center.
This communal way of life is closely guarded. It is strange that, unlike many other New York neighborhoods, the “feel” of Forest Hills seems static. This may be because of the cost of living in the area. Homes are valued at over $620,000 in Forest Hills, over $1.5 million in the Forest Hills Gardens gated community, but in nearby Kew Gardens home values drop to barely $440,000. High housing costs may be keeping new comers out of cozy Forest Hills homes and in the new bars and restaurants.
Using the tennis stadium as a concert house/hall –if that has not yet been covered, it could be an excellent story. Other questions: Why is the neighborhood quiet, stable? Does the high cost of housing prevent many immigrants from moving into the neighborhood? Are many apts rent controlled?
Great background research! I think it would be interesting to see when have these changes of housing started to change in Forest Hills. Also, if you can get information from a real estate agency in the neighborhood about the type of attractions or what kinds of people are interested in buying homes. Good luck !
I used to live in Forest Hills when I was a kid, so I don’t remember the specifics, but I know there’s plenty of interesting aspects to learn about. The range of potential coverage is extremely broad, as we can see from your extensive knowledge and research of the community. Between 108th Street and Austin Street, you literally have hundreds of interesting small businesses to choose from, with their own stories that are waiting to be told by you. You’ve chosen one of Queens’ best kept secrets, and judging by your post, I’m sure you’ll do a great job covering Forest Hills in future articles. All the best!
Hello Thomas,
I am not familiar at all with Forest Hills, although I have heard of it maybe once or twice before. Even so, I wouldn’t be able to point it out on a map.
I think your post is a great start on background research for Forest Hills. It would be nice for you to dig deeper. If you are going to write about the housing prices, what specifically keeps them high in your neighborhood versus Key Gardens? Is it location to amenities or the city? Is there something in Key Gardens (such as a huge landfill or oil refinery) that prevents it from reaching the prices of Forest Hills? Or maybe Forest Hills has always been considered an affluent area, when compared to Key Gardens? Other things to consider: how that the housing prices affected the education system or crime rate? Are there any trends in crime that may be associated to the homes in Forest Hills?
These are just some questions that came to mind as I read your post. Hopefully, this will spark more thought.
Am I the only one that is still stuck on the riding school in Queens? I think a good story would be to focus on the neighborhoods history being that many generations continue to reside there.