The creation of the 718 area code upset many in Queens.
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Queens Fights To Retain Its Character
By ANDREW MOESEL
Even before its official creation, Queens has embodied a character of its own: The first settlers in the area were predominantly English, as opposed to the primarily Dutch colonists who lived in what would today be Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Eventually the early Queens colonists would come back under English rule, and in 1683, Queens County was officially created, named after Queen Catherine of Braganza, the Portuguese wife of King Charles II (though some historians still dispute the name’s origin).
Since that time, the borough has grown from a small collection of townships – each less populous than a single block today – to a growing, diverse metropolitan center. Queens has always held strong pride in its own identity, however, and at times fought hard to retain its individualism and sense of itself.
Becoming A Borough
When the lines were first drawn, Queens County included most of Long Island, encompassing most of present day Nassau and Suffolk County. But modern day Queens was divided into four wards: Newtown, Flushing, Jamaica and Rockaway. Small settlements sprung up in each of those wards, many that exist to this day, such as Astoria and Bayside.
As the entire city became a center of industry and commerce, economic forces began to pull these separate localities together. Rail tracks spread out into Queens like veins drawing the lifeblood of trade into the heart of Manhattan.
Long Island City grew into an industrialized base, and in 1870, it became the first municipality in Queens County to be annexed as part of New York City. Nearly 30 years later, the rest of Queens followed suit, becoming part of the five-borough system in 1898.
From that point forward, Queens would grapple with keeping its independence while attempting to fit into the larger scheme of the New York development juggernaut.
Trains, Planes and Automobiles
The Long Island City courthouse remains, though its importance dropped after Queens joined New York City. Tribune Photo by Ira Cohen |
It wasn’t long before bridges and tunnels were connecting Queens to the rest of the city. Commuting and traveling, especially in cars, was becoming more a way of life. A man named Robert Moses even had the gall to slap a huge multi-lane highway right down through the middle of the borough.
Queens residents and officials had to be creative to maintain their communities as they wished. For decades, officials have fought for elevated highways, sound barriers and truck routes to dampen the impact of traffic. Frank Principe, the honorary Mayor of Maspeth, successfully lobbied for a small curve in the LIE to save a neighborhood park (which, not coincidentally, now bears his name).
More recently, community members in Western Queens have fought against the Cross Harbor Tunnel project, which they argue would bring thousands of trucks storming through the neighborhoods. Officials and residents are also offering input about a new flight traffic plan that directs noisy planes over Queens schools and homes.
Seven To the One To The Eight
But Queens doesn’t always fight to be different; sometimes it wants to be like everyone else. That was the case in 1984, when the powers that be decided the outer boroughs would split off from the 212 area codes and have their own: 718.
New York was the second United States city to have two area codes, following the example of Los Angeles. Telephone officials at the time cited growing population as the purpose behind the split.
“In terms of communication needs, the country is growing,” Charles Hearndon, spokesman for New York Telephone, said at the time. “The least disruptive way to provide communication services is by adding the area code.”
Many officials bemoaned the loss of the all-inclusive area code – though in actuality it changed little about the system – believing the outer boroughs had essentially been declared second-class citizens.
The biggest winners were stationary and business card companies, The Queens Tribune reported at the time, because everyone had to update their materials.
Mr. Zip
Although Queens lost the telephone fight, it would win a later battle against a different communication giant, the U.S. Postal Service.
All of Queens’ post offices, including this one in Jamaica, have retained their town names. Tribune Photo by Ira Cohen |
In 1998, with the Internet and technology boom in full swing, the USPS decided it would computerize its zip code system. In an effort to maximize efficiency, the new system eliminated individual Queens neighborhoods, instead dividing the borough into three sections that corresponded to the first three numbers in the zip code: Long Island City (111), Flushing (113) and Jamaica (114).
Queens leaders believed that the borough didn’t spend the last four centuries developing its strong neighborhoods just to revert back to its colonial classifications. The Queens Tribune, U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman, and Assemblyman Mark Weprin led a movement to save neighborhood designations, and eventually forced the USPS to keep using “East Elmhurst,” “Hollis Hills” and other local names.
The result is that when sending a letter or searching for an address online, a person must know in what neighborhood the address of interest lies. While that knowledge can sometimes be elusive or frustrating to come by, it allows Queens to show off its unique quilted fabric of communities.
