The Queens borough of New York City is made up of many local neighborhoods. Residents often refer to their neighborhood when asked where they live, rather than Queens. This local identification can confuse non-residents, and as a result, our neighborhoods are often misidentified.
Before joining New York City in the 1890s, the area now known as Queens was not a city but a rural county with several villages and towns, including present-day Nassau County. Brooklyn, on the other hand, was its own city before joining New York City. The naming conventions of the past have persisted in both municipalities. Brooklynites get their mail in “Brooklyn” and Queens residents in neighborhoods.
To further confuse matters, the United States Post Office recognizes the names of neighborhoods and five “cities” or larger areas that it identified and introduced in the 1960s as part of the postal code system. Post office designations do not necessarily fit within existing neighborhood boundaries. These groups were officially eliminated in 1998, but zip codes are still used for mail delivery. The five largest zones are:
- Floral Park – All ZIP codes beginning with ‘110’.
- Long Island City – All ZIP codes beginning with ‘111’.
- Wash: all ZIP codes beginning with ‘113’.
- Jamaica: all postal codes beginning with ‘114’.
- Far Rockaway – All ZIP codes beginning with ‘116’.
Does the name of the neighborhood really matter? Not to the post office. Everything is sorted by zip code. Neighborhood names are important to residents, investors, and real estate agents. We pride ourselves on neighborhoods. We define ourselves by our neighborhoods. We compare our neighborhoods, and real estate agents tend to hide the differences. The five zones minimize neighborhood identification, irritating residents.
floral park
These neighborhoods are “Parque Floral” according to the post office, and their zip codes begin with “110”.
- Glen oaks
- Floral Park (also in Nassau County)
- New Hyde Park (also in Nassau County)
- North Shore Towers
Long Island City
These neighborhoods are “Long Island City” according to the post office, and their zip codes begin with “111.”
- Astoria
- Blissville
- Ditmars
- Dutch murders
- Hunters point
- Queensbridge
- Ravenswood
- Steinway
- Sunny side
- Sunnyside Gardens
Redness
These neighborhoods are “Flushing” according to the post office, and their zip codes begin with “113.”
- Auburndale
- Bay Terrace
- Bayside
- Beechhurst
- Bellerose
- Clear view
- University point
- Crown
- Deepdale
- Douglas manor
- Douglaston
- East Elmhurst
- East Flushing
- Electchester
- Elmhurst
- Redness
- forest hills
- Forest Hills Gardens
- Fresh meadows
- Glendale
- Jackson Heights
- Kew Gardens Hills
- Laurel hill
- Lefrak City
- Linden hill
- Small collar
- Malba
- Maspeth
- Middle town
- Murray hill
- Oakland Gardens
- Parkway Village
- Pomonok
- Queensboro hill
- Rego Park
- Ridgewood
- Utopia
- West maspeth
- White stone
- Willets Point
- Woodside
Jamaica
These neighborhoods are “Jamaica” according to the post office, and their zip codes begin with “114”.
- Parque Addisleigh
- Briarwood
- Brookville
- Alturas de Cambria
- Playa Hamilton
- Hillcrest
- Hollis
- Hollis Hills
- Holliswood
- Howard Beach
- Jamaica
- Jamaica Estates
- Jamaica Hills
- jardines de Kew
- Laurelton
- Lindenwood
- Meadowmere
- Parque del ozono
- Queens Village
- Richmond Hill
- Rochdale Village
- Rosedale
- Jamaica del sur
- Parque del ozono del sur
- Springfield Gardens
- St. Albans
- Warnersville
- Woodhaven
Far rockaway
These neighborhoods are “Far Rockaway” according to the post office, and their zip codes begin with “116.”
- Arverne
- Bayswater
- Belle harbor
- Windy spot
- Wide channel
- Edgemere
- Far rockaway
- Neponsit
- Rockaway Park
- Roxsbury
- Beach
- Wave Crest
