Briarwood, Queens

Geography

Briarwood, located northwest of downtown Jamaica, contains one of the highest points in Queens. It is located approximately between the Van Wyck Expressway (Interstate 678) to the west, Union Turnpike to the north, Parsons Boulevard to the east, and Hillside Avenue (NY 25) to the south.

Demographics

Briarwood is a diverse community, according to 2010 census data that groups Briarwood with neighboring Jamaica Hills, the population consists of Asian-Americans (14.4%), White (26.7%), Hispanics (29.3%), and African Americans (33.3%). This is a marked change from the post-World War II period (1950s–1980s) when the neighborhood was almost exclusively white, with a large and active Jewish community. Economic activity is mostly confined to small restaurants, delis, markets, and other small businesses.

The neighborhood contains housing for middle-class families.

Education

Briarwood is home to the Catholic Archbishop Molloy High School, which moved to Briarwood from the Upper East Side in 1957. Some of the school's more famous alumni are New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, actor David Caruso, former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, NBA professional basketball players Kenny Smith and Kenny Anderson and professional wrestler Colin Cassady. Also the infamous Serrao brothers from Richmond Hill, Queens. The school is named in honor of Archbishop Thomas Molloy. It has about 1,550 students.

Also located in Briarwood is Robert A. Van Wyck M.S. 217Q, a middle school of 1,300 students in grades 6–8. The school was established in 1955 and was named after the first mayor of the Greater City of New York, Robert A. Van Wyck, a Tammany Hall lawyer.

Transportation

The neighborhood is served by the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway at the Briarwood station as well as the Sutphin Boulevard and Parsons Boulevard stations () along Hillside Avenue, on the border with Jamaica and Jamaica Hills.

In the Briarwood subway station, there were many paintings done by the students of Archbishop Molloy High School, M.S. 217Q, and P.S.117Q during the mid-1980s. They are titled, "Beautifying Briarwood". The paintings were removed during a renovation of the station in 2014.

The New York City Bus routes serving the neighborhood are the .

History

The neighborhood is named for the Briarwood Land Company, headed by Herbert A. O'Brien, which built housing there around 1905 or 1907. O'Brien decided on the name Briarwood because of the brambles in its thick woods. Over the next four years, several single-family homes were built on the land. Briarwood's first school, P.S. 117, was built in 1927. Additional land was auctioned in 1928.

On May 30, 1928, about 500 members of the Klansmen of Queens assembled in the forest of Briarwood. They burned a 50-foot cross, sang songs, and gave speeches. When police officers arrived, the group's leader, Major Emmett J. Smith, said that they had the right to assemble and speak on the land, because they had signed a lease to the land the previous day. The group soon left the area, without any physical violence or arrests having taken place.

In 1936, a company called Briarwood Estates, owned by Leon, Morty and A. B. Wolosoff, started building Colonial and old English-style homes north of 84th Drive and west of Main Street. The homes sold for about $5,000, the . After World War II ended, other developers built houses closer to Parsons Boulevard.

The United Nations built Parkway Village, a 670-unit development, as housing for its employees around 1947. The development is along Union Turnpike, between Main Street and Parsons Boulevard. Parkway Village is now a co-op and no longer connected to the United Nations.

On November 23, 1954, Main Street's extension south to Queens Boulevard opened, and apartments were built in the neighborhood around the same time.

Notable residents

Notable residents of Briarwood have included:

• Ralph Bunche (1904–1971), United States diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in Israel in the late 1940s
• Mario Cuomo (1932–2015) 52nd Governor of New York from 1983–1994
• Betty Friedan (1921–2006), author of The Feminine Mystique, which sparked the second wave of feminism
• Steve Hofstetter (born 1979), radio personality and comedian
• John Kerwin, talk show host of The John Kerwin Show
• Elyakim Rosenblatt (1933–2019), Orthodox Jewish rabbi, who was the founder and rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Kesser Torah
• Hanna Rosin (born 1970), journalist and author of God's Harvard
• Steven Weber (born 1961), actor who appeared on television series, including As the World Turns, Wings, iZombie, and NCIS: New Orleans
• Roy Wilkins (1901–1981), activist in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s

References

References

1. "[http://elevation.maplogs.com/poi/bayside_queens_ny_usa.36362.html Elevation of Briarwood, Queens, NY, USA]". ''Worldwide Elevation Map Finder''. Maplogs.com.
2. [https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/briarwood-playground/history Briarwood Playground], [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]. Accessed January 1, 2024. "The Briarwood neighborhood was developed by Herbert A. O'Brien in 1905, owner of the Briarwood Land Company. The enterprise was initially unsuccessful, and the land was not fully developed until the 1920s, when the lots formerly owned by the company were sold at auction."
3. Shaman, Diana. [https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/14/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-living-briarwood-queens-area-gaining-stronger-identity.html "If You're Thinking of Living In/Briarwood; Queens Area Gaining a Stronger Identity"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 14, 2002. Accessed January 1, 2024. "The name Briarwood goes back to 1907 when an early developer, Herbert A. O'Brien, formed the Briarwood Land Company, giving it that name because the land was covered with woods and briars. The company, however, went broke."
4. [https://www.nyc.gov/site/cau/community-boards/queens-boards.page Queens Boards], [[New York City]]. Accessed January 26, 2024.
5. (February 26, 1939). "Builder Purchases Large Plot in Queens As Site for 870-Room Apartment Project". The New York Times.
6. Haller, Vera. (July 16, 2014). "Briarwood, Queens: A Quiet Refuge Bounded by Traffic". The New York Times.
7. "[http://schools.nyc.gov/OurSchools/Region3/Q217/default.htm?searchType=school Robert A. Van Wyck M.S. 217Q]". ''New York City Board of Education''.
8. Sheridan, Dick. (July 25, 1999). "Quest Paved Median's Way: Retiree Steering Beautify Project". New York Daily News.
9. Shaman, Diana. (July 14, 2002). "If You're Thinking of Living In/Briarwood; Queens Area Gaining a Stronger Identity". The New York Times.
10. (May 6, 1928). "Briarwood Estates Sale; Edwin Mayer, Auctioneer, Will Offer Jamaica Tract". The New York Times.
11. (May 31, 1928). "500 Klansmen Defy 1,000 Police in Song; Queens Army, With Stirring Airs and Fiery Cross, Routs "Foes" Deployed at Rallying Place". The New York Times.
12. (March 15, 1936). "Demand for Houses Spurs Construction in Suburbs". The New York Times.
13. (April 12, 1936). "Long Island Opens More Home Areas". The New York Times.
14. Shaman, Diana. (June 14, 1987). "If You're Thinking of Living In: Briarwood". The New York Times.
15. {{cite enc-nyc2
16. (January 2, 2015). "Former Gov. Mario Cuomo remembered as a good friend of Staten Island". SI Live.
17. link. (June 13, 2007 , copy of article from ''The Queens Tribune'', July 6, 2007. Accessed October 18, 2007. "Hofstetter has been all around Queens. He spent his younger years in Briarwood before moving on to Forest Hills, and finally settling down in Rego Park for the duration of his teen years.")
18. Garron, Barry. "[http://www.thejohnkerwinshow.com/general_webdocs/JK-Emmymag.jpg Eyes on the Prize] {{Webarchive. link. (March 20, 2009 ", ''Emmy Magazine'', January 2008.)
19. [https://www.nytimes.com/1977/04/21/archives/conviction-on-conspiracy-of-rabbi-is-overturned-in-checkcashing.html "Conviction on Conspiracy Of Rabbi Is Overturned In Check-Cashing Case"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 21, 1977. Accessed January 1, 2024. "The three-judge panel reversed the Aug. 12, 1976, conviction that led to the imposing by Judge Constance B. Motley of a six-month prison term and $8,000 fine last Sept. 24 for Rabbi Elyakim G. Rosenblatt, 43 years old, of Briarwood, Queens, who is dean of the Rabbinical College of Queens."
20. [[Hanna Rosin. Rosin, Hanna]]. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2005/07/04/early-americans/395bcaa9-389f-45b1-a371-3303801b5e0c/ "Early Americans"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'',July 4, 2005. Accessed January 1, 2024. "The latest wave of immigrants to land in Briarwood are the Bukharan Jews, from the former Soviet Union."
21. Moyano, Freddy. [https://gopresstimes.com/2023/02/13/an-encounter-with-steven-weber/ "An encounter with Steven Weber"], ''Press Times'', February 13, 2023. Accessed July 15, 2023. "Born in New York City, more specifically in the Briarwood neighborhood that is rooted in the borough of Queens, Weber recalled the stories his dad used to tell him about the Packers."