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History of
Jamaica
, Queens
Named for the Jameco (or
Yamecah) Indians, who were part of the Algonquin nation, and lived on the
northern shore of Jamaica Bay
and along Beaver Stream and Beaver Pond. It is one of 3 villages dating back
before the Revolution. Prior to the British settling there, the Dutch called
the land Rustdorp (rest town). One of the county's original towns, Jamaica
was settled in 1655 by English families who came there from Hempstead
and settled on a tract under a grant from Governor Stuyvesant. They gave
their settlement the name of "Rusdorf," and later,
"Jameco;" the present name was adopted for the entire southeast
portion of Queens in 1680. The first church in Queens,
also the oldest Presbyterian church in the country, was built here in 1662. Jamaica
became the county seat in 1683 when Queens was organized as one of the
counties of New York State.
A courthouse was built for $300, which also contained the prison and was used
as a house of worship on Sundays. Early on the British made Jamaica
the colonial capital of Queens County.
The court and county and clerk’s office were established there. Executions
were carried out around Beaver Pond. Grace Church was the official government
church and during the Revolutionary War the area was occupied by British
troops (1776-1783) whose huts were in the foothills north of Hillside
Avenue.
Jamaica
(Jameco being the Algonquin word for Beaver) was incorporated in 1814.
Transportation has played an important role in Jamaica's
history. The toll road between Hempstead and the ferry
in Brooklyn -- now Jamaica
Avenue -- provided much of the community's
commerce, and later became a major shopping area. The Long
Island Rail Road provided service to Manhattan
(NYC) in 1836. After the Civil War, Jamaica
boomed in population and development. In the 1870’s side streets were laid
out and the electric trolley began service in 1888. In 1918, the elevated
train was extended down Jamaica Avenue,
that coupled with the affordable 5 cent fare enabled people to live there and
work in Manhattan.
By 1925 Jamaica
was the premier shopping center for all of Central Queens
and in the 30’s was the financial heart of Queens.
(The first self-service supermarket in the country, King Kullen, opened in
1930 on Jamaica Avenue.). Until the middle of the 20th century, Jamaica
was the center of commerce, government, and entertainment for most of Queens
and parts of Brooklyn and Nassau
County. A primary reason for its
growth has been its uniqueness as a transit oriented hub, with the converging
of 10 LIRR branches, 13 bus lines, 4 major subway lines, 5 adjacent highways
and connecting transportation to JFK Airport. Beginning in the 1960's,
however, Jamaica
experienced erosion in its position as the borough's largest business
district. New regional shopping malls in neighboring Nassau
County siphoned off downtown
retail activity, resulting in the closing of downtown Jamaica
department stores, the relocation of two headquarter banks, and the departure
of its largest industry, along with the loss of jobs and economic activity
linked to those anchors.
Visiting Jamaica? Read about Landmarks
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Jamaica Sites
-
A Walk Down Jamaica
- Next Stop NYC
Annual Events
- JAMS 2008
-Arts
In the Parks
-Holidays
on the Avenue
-Make Music New York
-Sutphin Blvd Concerts |
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Demographics Demographic change in the residential
population in the downtown's environs have heightened the complexities of
community development over the years. Over 2 million people reside in Queens,
NY , the most ethnically diverse county
in the nation . Presently, Jamaica
is the largest and most densely populated neighborhood in central Queens,
with 650,000 people residing in the downtown’s market area - people who
live, work or use downtown Jamaica’s
commercial, educational, government and transportation services. During the
last decades of the 20th century, Jamaica
attracted many immigrants. 73% of the residents are non-white Hispanic,
Asian/American and African/American ethnic minorities, many of whom are
immigrants - one fifth are from Guyana and many of the rest from Haiti,
China, India, Colombia, Jamaica, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic and
Pakistan. 69% of the households are family households, 20% of the households
have individuals 65 years and over.
With excellent transit access from Nassau
and Suffolk counties, and
convenient reverse-peak commutation from Manhattan,
Brooklyn and other areas of Queens,
Jamaica taps a vast and
talented labor pool . Over 40% of the working population living in Jamaica
holds white-collar jobs, and the communities immediately surrounding the area
have a high percentage of upper middle class (African-American) households.
However, the overall per capita income of Jamaica
is $18, 391 with 15% of all families with children living below the poverty
level. 30% of households have income of less than $25,000/year. 57% use
public transportation or walk to work |
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