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Jamaica Estates
The Jamaica Estates community consists of approximately 1800 families living in an area beginning at Utopia Parkway and extending east to 188th Street and extending north from Hillside Avenue to Union Turnpike. Incorporated in 1929, the community was a model of what a planned suburban area would be replete with forest areas, nature and riding trails. The present St. John’s University was a golf course running along Union Turnpike. Northern State Parkway had not yet been built and the subway did not extend to 179th. The general theme of the community’s architecture was English Tudor giving the area a feeling of the English country side. Names such as Tudor, Kent, Avon, Wexford and Tryon were adopted for the local streets.
In the 21st century, much has changed yet a great deal remains the same. While we still maintain a suburban look, the city has grown well past its boundaries spilling into Nassau County. The riding paths are gone, the golf course is now St. John’s University and the F train extends to 179th Street and Hillside Avenue. Part of the Tudor look has been replaced by what is becoming known as Mc Mansions. Our schools have consistently ranked at the top in the city’s system and we now have the Hillcrest Branch of the Queens Public Library sitting on our border at Union Turnpike and 187th Street. Helping to maintain this almost 80 year tradition of excellence is a dynamic and well-established civic association, the Jamaica Estates Association. With committees that range from Police and Fire Protection to Parks and Landscape, the Jamaica Estates Association has fought these many years to maintain a community of excellence for all its residents.