Francis Lewis Boulevard in Whitestone, named for a signer of the Declaration of Independence who owned it. Francis Lewis Boulevard is a boulevard in the New York City borough of Queens.

Whitestone is a neighborhood in the northernmost part of the New York City borough of Queens, located between the East River to the north and 25th Avenue to the south. The City of New York In New York City, a borough is a unique form of government which administers the five fundamental constituent parts that make up the consolidated city The East River is a tidal Strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end Dutch settlers derived the name of the town from a large limestone boulder that used to lie on the shore of the river. The Dutch people ( Dutch:) are the dominant Ethnic group of the Netherlands. Limestone is a Sedimentary rock composed largely of the Mineral Calcite ( Calcium carbonate: CaCO3 The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 7. The Queens Community Board 7 is a local governmental advisory board in New York City, encompassing the neighborhoods of Flushing, Bay Terrace It is traditionally bounded by the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge (opened 1937) on the west and the Throgs Neck Bridge (opened 1960) on the east. ^[1]

History

The area was, in part, the estate of Francis Lewis, a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Francis Lewis ( March 21, 1713 &ndash December 30, 1803) was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the This article is about declarations of independence in general In the late nineteenth century, many wealthy New Yorkers began building mansions in the area, on what had once been farmland. Rapid development of the area ensued in the 1920s, however, as trolley and Long Island Rail Road train service on the Whitestone Branch was expanded into the neighborhood. The Whitestone Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road, running north and east along the left bank of the Flushing River from the Port Washington Branch near Although this rail service ended during the Great Depression, a small part of the right-of-way was later used by Robert Moses to help construct the Belt Parkway, which includes the Whitestone Expressway which runs along the southeast edge of the former Flushing Airport and through Whitestone. A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted – through an Easement or other mechanism – for Transportation purposes such as for a Rail line or Robert Moses ( December 18 1888 – July 29 1981) was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long The Belt Parkway, also known as the Belt System or Circumferential Parkway, is a series of Limited-access highways that form a complete circle around the Interstate 678 (abbreviated I-678) is a north-south Spur route in the Interstate Highway System that runs 14 miles (23 km entirely within two boroughs Flushing Airport is a decommissioned airfield in northern Queens in New York City.

Francis Lewis Boulevard (which locals tend to refer to as "Franny Lew")^[2] and Francis Lewis Park (often referred to as "Whitestone Park" by the locals) have been named after Francis Lewis himself. Francis Lewis Boulevard is a boulevard in the New York City borough of Queens. Francis Lewis ( March 21, 1713 &ndash December 30, 1803) was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence "Whitestone Park" offers locals a beautiful view and a quiet place for recreation.

Further development came with the building of the Bronx Whitestone Bridge in 1939. The Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, colloquially referred to as the Whitestone Bridge or simply the Whitestone is a Suspension bridge that crosses the East River and connects The bridge measures 2,300 feet, and was the fourth longest bridge in the world at the time of its construction. Today, Whitestone is a largely working to middle class neighborhood consisting of mostly Italians, Cypriots, Greeks, Irish, and Jews. The' Italian people' are a Southern European Ethnic group located primarily in Italy, Switzerland, France and by virtue of a wide-ranging The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ The neighborhood is comprised mostly of well-kept single family homes, garden apartment complexes, and small apartment buildings. Local residents pride themselves with Whitestone's quiet tree lines streets, updated homes, green gardens, low crime, and top rated public schools. Whitestone has a distinct upscale suburban feel resembling wealthy towns in nearby Nassau County, yet is located only minutes from Manhattan.

Notable community landmarks include St. Lukes Roman Catholic Church, Holy Trinity [(Roman Catholic)] Church and the DG athletic league. Grace Episcopal Church, on Clintonville street in Whitestone, was built in 1858 on land donated by Francis Lewis. The Whitestone Hebrew Centre consists of two buildings on Clintonville Street and was founded in 1929. The Russian Orthodox Church of St Nicholas, with its distinctive great blue onion dome, was built in 1968. An onion dome (Russian луковичная глава lúkovichnaya glava) is a type of unioform architectural Dome seen across Eastern Europe and often associated The Greek Orthodox Church, Holy Cross, or "Timios Stavros," is located on 150th street.

Just to the west of Queens side of the Whitestone Bridge approach, situated between Whitestone proper and College Point is the exclusive area known to local residents as Malba, a small area on the waterfront home to some of the largest and most expensive private houses in New York City. College Point is a diverse neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. Malba is a upper middle class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. On the north eastern side of Whitestone is another exclusive area known to the local residents as Beechhurst, a subsection known for multi-million dollar homes, high rise condominiums and views of the Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges. Local residents pride themselves on their Malba and Beechhurst addresses.

Prominent residents

In the early days of the film industry, celebrities such as Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Harry Houdini and Rudolph Valentino had homes in different areas of Whitestone, most notably in the Northeastern section called Beechhurst. Mary Pickford ( April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979) was an Academy Award -winning Canadian motion picture Rudolph Valentino ( May 6, 1895 &ndash August 23, 1926) was an Italian Actor, Sex symbol, and early Beechhurst is a neighborhood in the northeasten part of the New York City borough of Queens, and is considered part of Whitestone. Valentino's summer home still stands at 201-10 Cross Island Parkway, just blocks from the present day Whitestone - Bayside border. Bayside is an upper Middle class suburban neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York in the United States Today, the home is under the New York City Department of Parks considered a landmark, and has been converted into an Italian restaurant, Cafe On The Green. The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation (colloquially the Parks Department) is the department of government of the City of New York responsible for Pickford’s Beechhurst home still stands on 160th Street and Powells Cove Boulevard. Poet Walt Whitman, born in Long Island, briefly taught in a one-room school-house in Whitestone while a young man, and is said to have written poetry by the Whitestone seaside. Walter Whitman (May 31 1819 &ndash March 26 1892 was an American poet, Essayist journalist, and humanist. There is no record of the school, which was setup by local farmers of modest means, but Whitman made several references to it years latter in letters to friends from that period in his life. According to H. W. Brands' biography of Theodore Roosevelt, TR: The Last Romantic (1997), the future president visited Whitestone by boat while a college student: "One August day Roosevelt set out (by boat) with cousin Johniee Elliot for Whitestone, more than twenty miles away (from Oyster Bay, where he was staying with his parents). Returning the next day, the pair ran into a squall and several times their boat nearly capsized. They didn't reach the safety of home until after midnight. Roosevelt loved every minute. " Actress Drea de Matteo, famous for her performance as Adrianna La Cerva on HBO’s acclaimed series The Sopranos, is a Whitestone native. Andrea Donna de Matteo (born January 19, 1972) is an American Emmy -winning actress perhaps best known for her roles as Adriana La Cerva The Sopranos is an American Television drama series created by David Chase.

From The Bronx

Popular culture

A scene in an episode of The Sopranos was filmed in a bar in Whitestone formerly known as "Fiddler's Green. The Sopranos is an American Television drama series created by David Chase. " A scene from the 2000 movie Boiler Room, starring Giovanni Ribisi and Vin Diesel, was filmed in the same bar. Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (born December 17, 1974) is an American Actor. Vin Diesel (born Mark Sinclair Vincent; July 18 1967 is an American actor writer, director, and producer. A scene in which a house exploded in the 1994 James Cameron film True Lies, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis, was also filmed in Whitestone. James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is an Academy Award -winning Canadian - American director For the video game see True Lies (video game. True Lies is a 1994 action - Comedy film. Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger ( German ˌaɐnɔlt aloʏs ˈʃvaɐtsənɛɡɐ born July 30 1947 is an Austrian American Bodybuilder, Actor Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22 1958 is a two-time Golden Globe -winning BAFTA -winning and Emmy -nominated American Film Schwarzenegger and Vanessa L. Williams also filmed a scene for Eraser here. Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American Singer-songwriter and actress. Eraser is a 1996 Action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vanessa Williams. 1998 by Rancid mentions Whitestone Queens. Rancid is a punk band formed in 1991 in Albany California, by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong.

References

See also

• List of Queens neighborhoods
• Francis Lewis

External links

• Forgotten New York - The Long Island Rail Road Whitestone & Westchester Branch