Rego Park Queens

Rego Park is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered to the north by Elmhurst and Corona, the east and south by Forest Hills and the west by Middle Village.

History

A swath of farmland until the early 20th century, the area that came to be called Rego Park was once populated by Dutch & German farmers who sold their produce in Manhattan. The name "Rego Park" came from the REal GOod Construction Company, which began development of the area in the mid 1920's, starting with 525 eight-room houses costing $8,000 each, stores were built in 1926 on Queens Boulevard and 63rd Drive and apartment buildings were built in 1927–28.

Like its neighbor, Forest Hills, Rego Park has long had a significant Jewish population, with a number of synagogues and kosher restaurants. Cartoonist Art Spiegelman grew up in Rego Park and made it the setting for significant scenes involving his aged father in Maus, his graphic novel about the Holocaust. Even as many Jews have departed for further-flung suburbs over the years, they have been replaced by Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union, especially from Central Asia. Though these immigrants largely trace their ethnic roots back to Bukharan Jewish culture, the effect of life in the Soviet Union on the population has lead Rego Park to have a Russian feel with many signs in Russian Cyrillic. Most of the Bukharan Jewish immigrants in the neighborhood come from what is now Uzbekistan, and it is possible to find excellent, authentic Uzbek food in many Rego Park restaurants. The high concentration of Central Asian immigrants also has resulted in Rego Park being nicknamed "Regostan" and "Rego Parkistan." Immigrant populations from Israel, Romania, Iran, India, Colombia and South Korea are also well-represented.

Though some areas populated largely by immigrants fall victim to high crime rates and low property values, Rego Park, long a diverse immigrant community, has remained one of the safer and more-desirable neighborhoods in Queens. Real-estate prices are some of the highest in the borough, and many houses are in the colonial and Tudor style with slate roofs. This is especially so in an area called the Crescents, so named because of the neighborhood's semicircular shaped streets emanating in a concentric pattern from Alderton Street. Real estate values are also high due to easy access to Manhattan via the 63rd Drive subway stop, serving R, G, and V lines. The E and F express subways pass through the station but do not stop, and the V train only runs on weekdays.

The CBS sitcom The King of Queens is set in Rego Park, and sometimes shows clips of the area.

Community Groups/Civic Associations

The "Rego Park Group" is a local community group that provides residents and merchants of Rego Park with opportunities for community service, socializing, and activism, improving the quality of life in the neighborhood. They partner with the other organizations to benefit the community.

The Parents' Association of P.S. 139Q, which is located on 63rd Drive, is a very active group of parents who work together to not only improve the acedemics and quality of life of students at the school, but also to improve programs and facilities, which ultimately benefit the entire neighborhood.

Public transportation

The Long Island Rail Road overpass between Austin and Alderton Streets hosted the Rego Park station until its abandonment in 1962. Though physically part of the railroad "Main Line" heading out to Jamaica, the station operated as part of the Far Rockaway Branch. The station was later dismantled, and little can be discerned of its existence now save for the flattened clearing beside the tracks.

The IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway has a local station at 63rd Drive (E (5) G (345) R (1234) V (123)) and Queens Boulevard, dating from the mid-1930s. It is, at various times of the day and week, serviced by the E, G, R, and V trains.

A number of Express Buses also run between the neighborhood and locations in Manhattan.

Commerce

Along Queens Boulevard, Rego Park is home to some of Queens' most popular shopping destinations, including the Rego Park Center (formerly Alexander's department store), a retail complex with large Sears, Bed Bath & Beyond, Circuit City, Marshalls, and Old Navy locations. The Queens Center mall, the borough's largest, lies just to the west in Elmhurst.

Shopping Districts with many smaller stores, bakeries, pharmacies and restaurants can be found along 108th Street and 63rd Drive.

Rego Park's boundaries include Queens Boulevard, the Long Island Expressway, Woodhaven Boulevard, and Yellowstone Boulevard.