Maspeth is the old school queen at her best, a neighborhood of families, small shops and restaurants. Maspeth Residential sits on the Maspeth Plateau, the last high ground in West Queens, with great views of the Manhattan skyline, but the city feels like a world away from the Polish delis and Irish bars on Grand Avenue.
Until recently, industrial jobs in West Maspeth supported the community, but the industry has declined. However, the neighborhood is vital and real estate prices have risen.
- Maspeth Photos
Maspeth boundaries and main streets
- Map of Maspeth (Google Maps)
Maspeth’s western industrial area slopes toward Newtown Creek, which borders Brooklyn. To the north is Woodside (52nd Ave). Elmhurst is to the northeast (74th St). Middle Village is to the east (Eliot Ave and 69th St). To the south is Ridgewood (Metropolitan Ave).
Maspeth’s main street is Grand Avenue, and its core is where Grand meets 69th Avenue, right off the LIE. This commercial heartland stretches several blocks along Grand, north and south of the LIE, which cuts Maspeth in half.
Maspeth transport
Maspeth does not have its own subway lines, but shares the M terminus on its southeast boundary with Middle Village on Metropolitan Avenue.
The QM 24 and 24W Express buses stop at Eliot Avenue before going to Manhattan.
The comparative lack of public transportation has helped maintain the value of real estate and especially rental prices.
The LIE (Long Island Expressway) runs through Maspeth. A proposed train tunnel terminal for west Maspeth would add to the truck traffic obstructing Grand Avenue.
Maspeth Real Estate and Apartments
Two- and three-family homes (many attached) and townhomes are the norm at Maspeth. There are small apartment buildings, condos, and single-family homes, but two-family homes with high ceilings fill many more streets. Look for older brick buildings south of Flushing Avenue. Rents get cheaper near Newtown Creek and Metropolitan.
- June 2005
- Apartments: 1 bedroom, $ 800- $ 1100; 2 bedrooms, $ 1000- $ 1300; 3 bedrooms, $ 1300 +
- Condos, $ 200k +
- 2-family homes, $ 400k +
- 1 Family Homes, $ 350k +
Crime and safety at Maspeth
Maspeth is a safe neighborhood, although it is best to avoid the more desolate industrial areas at night or when you are alone. For the year to date (05/29/05), Constituency 108 (including Ridgewood, Glendale, and Middle Village) reported: 1 murder (4 in 2004), 8 rapes (8 in 2004), 112 robberies (106 in 2004), 61 criminal assaults (85 in 2004), 176 robberies (254 in 2004).
Mount Olivet Cemetery
As with the nearby Middle Village, the best land in Maspeth belongs to the dead. Mt. Olivet Cemetery dominates the area on the highest ground. Once a popular weekend destination for 19th-century Manhattan families, it now offers visitors great views of Manhattan.
mount Among the famous residents of the Olivet Cemetery are cosmetics businesswoman Helena Rubinstein Courielli and 16 unidentified victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
Mt. The main entrance to Olivet Cemetery is 65-40 Grand Avenue (718-326-1777).
Maspeth Restaurants and Bars
The best food in Maspeth is at the diners. Fame Diner (69-67 Grand Ave) deserves more fame for its breakfasts and prices. ABC Restaurant (66-35 Grand Ave) has the best Polish daily specials. Try the stuffed cabbage. Check out the Clinton Diner (56-26 Maspeth Ave, 718-894-1566) in West Maspeth for the vibe and wonder. You may recognize the Clinton Diner from the movie Goodfellas . Truckers know him as one of the few truck stop diners in New York City.
O’Neill’s restaurant stands out among Irish pubs for its brick oven pizza, steaks and OTB (64-21 53rd Dr, 718-672-9696).
Monuments and green spaces
Memorial Square is the heart of Maspeth, at Grand Avenue and 69th Street. A bench and plaques commemorate Maspeth residents and the 19 Maspeth FDNY Hazmat 1 / Squad 288 firefighters who died on September 11.
Across the LIE is Frontera Playground and its jungle gyms and swings (at Brown Pl, 69th St and 58th Ave). Maurice Park is also on the LIE, but greener with baseball fields (Maurice and 54th Aves).
Metropolitan Oval is a premier soccer field in New York, a gem in the rough (60-58 60th St).
Maspeth History and Fame
Maspeth was the home and name of the Mespeatches tribe of Native Americans. In the 17th century, Dutch and English settlers settled along Newtown Creek and founded Maspeth village, later absorbed into larger Newtown (Elmhurst).
Maspeth is most famous for his ties to the mob. John Gotti’s stele was at the Papavero funeral home. The connection has brought movies and television to Maspeth. The Clinton Diner is literally a scene from Goodfellas , and The Sopranos filmed a car chase down Grand Avenue.
Neighborhood basics
- See Maspeth for yourself :
- Photos around Maspeth
- Maspeth Problems : The neighborhood’s biggest problem is the proposal to build a freight train tunnel terminal in Maspeth, which would flood the area with trucks, which is already a major source of congestion and air pollution. Another is the environmental impact of heavy industry in Newtown Creek.
- Shopping : Small stores (more pop-ups than chains) line Grand Avenue. Super Stop & Shop is part of the small Maspeth Center shopping mall (74-17 Grand Ave).
- Best Italian Butcher : Iavarone Brothers, Familiar for Three Generations, 69-00 Grand Avenue, 718-639-3623
- Library: Maspeth Branch, 69-70 Grand Avenue, 718-639-5228
- Parking : Main streets and side streets are narrow around Grand Avenue at 69th Street, but parking is fairly easy elsewhere.
- Post Office : 55-02 69th St, Maspeth, NY 11378,
- Hospital : Elmhurst Hospital Center, 79-01 Broadway, Elmhurst, NY 11373
- Movies : New Center Cinema, 42-17 Queens Blvd, Sunnyside, NY 11104, 718-361-6869.
- Police Station : 104th Precinct, 64-02 Catalpa Avenue, Ridgewood, NY 718-386-3004
- Community Board 5 : 61-23 Myrtle Avenue, Glendale, NY 11385, 718-366-1834
- Catering Hall : The Polish National Hall is available for catering (61-60 56th Rd).
- Center for elderly people: Selfhelp Maspeth Senior Center, 69-61 Grand Avenue.
- Community Center : Maspeth Town Hall is not a town hall, but a place for community events and day care centers (53-37 72nd St).
- Business Organizations : Maspeth Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 780265 Maspeth, NY 11378
- Banking : Local chain Maspeth Federal Savings continues to be a Maspeth favorite, albeit with more competition from regional and national banks. Its main branch is located at the Maspeth intersection of 69th Street and Grand Avenue (56-18 69th St Maspeth, NY 11378).
- Health club: Olympia Health Club, 65-06 Fresh Pond Rd, Ridgewood, NY 11385, 718-366-7072
- Postal code : 11378
