Maspeth, Queens

Maspeth is a small community in the borough of Queens in New York City. Neighborhoods sharing borders with Maspeth are Woodside and Sunnyside to the north, Long Island City to the northwest, Williamsburg to the southwest, Ridgewood to the south and Middle Village and Elmhurst to the east.

Community

The Grand Avenue Bridge carries Grand Street (Brooklyn) eastward across English Kill from Williamsburg where it becomes Grand Avenue, Maspeth's main street for dining and business. Grand Avenue continues eastward to end in Elmhurst. Cemeteries take up a large part of this small neighborhood. This area is surrounded with multiple dwelling homes and there are hardly any apartment buildings, except for the co-ops on 65th Place, also known as The Plateau.

43rd Street through 58th Street, including the former Furman Island, is industrial, and from 60th Street to 72nd Street is residential. The Phelps Dodge Corporation was present from 1920-1983. The Phelps Dodge mining company heavily contaminated Newtown Creek, which separates northern Brooklyn from western Queens and serves barge traffic. Other freight moves on the Long Island Railroad Montauk Branch and the lightly used Bushwick Branch. A new West Maspeth rail freight station has been proposed in connection with a Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel to diminish truck traffic across New York City. It is opposed by residents who don't want more trucks in Maspeth.

There is access to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Long Island Expressway. The former road crosses Newtown Creek on the Kosciuszko Bridge. These expressways are accessible at 69th and Grand Street.

For many years Maspeth was a familiar name due to the Elmhurst Gas Tanks, a pair of large natural gas storage structures. Because the Long Island Expressway (LIE) frequently became congested in that area, "backup at the Elmhurst Tanks" became a familiar phrase heard in radio traffic reports. Being literal rather than legal landmarks, the gas holders were removed in 2001.

Maspeth was the first English settlement in Queens County. However, conflicts with the Mespet tribe forced the Yankees to move to what is now Elmhurst in 1643.

Most people who live in Maspeth are of Polish, Italian, Irish, German, Hispanic or Chinese descent.

Maspeth is also home to the Metropolitan Oval.

Education

IS 73 The Frank Sansivieri Intermediate School is located in Maspeth and is where most of the community's children attend grades 6 through 8.

PS 58, The School of Heroes, was dedicated in 2002 on Grand Avenue at the site of the original Finast supermarket.

Transport

Although there is no subway station in Maspeth, the area does have ample bus service. One may reach a subway station in several ways:

• Q18 bus to 61st Street–Woodside (7 and <7>​), Northern Boulevard (E, ​F, ​M, and ​R), or 30th Avenue (N and ​W)
• Q39 bus to Forest Avenue (M), Queensboro Plaza (7 and <7>​ N and ​W), 23rd Street–Ely Avenue (E and ​M), or Long Island City–Court Square (G)
• Q45 bus to 69th Street or 74th Street–Broadway (7 and <7>​) or to Roosevelt Avenue–Jackson Heights (E, ​F, <F>, ​M, and ​R)
• Q58 bus to Grand Avenue–Newtown (E, ​F, ​M, and ​R), Main Street–Flushing (7 and <7>​), Fresh Pond Road (M), Forest Avenue (M), Wyckoff Avenue (M), or Myrtle Avenue (L)
• Q59 bus to Grand Avenue–Newtown (E, ​F, ​M, and ​R), Woodhaven Boulevard (E, ​F, ​M, and ​R), 63rd Drive–Rego Park (E, ​F, ​M, and ​R), or Grand Street (L)
• Q67 bus to Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue (M), Hunters Point Avenue (7 and <7>​), 21st Street–Van Alst (G), Queensboro Plaza (7 and <7>​ N and ​W), Queens Plaza (E, ​M, and ​R), 23rd Street–Ely Avenue (E and ​M), or Long Island City–Court Square (G)

External links

• Maspeth at Google Maps
• Picture Tour of Maspeth