Springfield Gardens is a neighborhood in the southeastern area of the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, bounded to the north by

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...

, to the east by Laurelton and Rosedale, to the south by

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...

, and to the west by Farmers Boulevard. The neighborhood is served by

Queens Community Board 12 The Queens Community Board 12 is a local government in the New York City borough of Queens, encompassing the neighborhoods of Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans, Springfield Gardens, Baisley Park, Rochdale Village, South Jamaica. Queens Community Bo ...

. The area, particularly east of

Springfield Boulevard Springfield Boulevard is a major north/south roadway that runs through the eastern section of Queens, New York (state), New York. It is long and goes from New York State Route 25A, Northern Boulevard in Bayside, Queens, Bayside, to 147th Avenue ...

, is sometimes also referred to as Brookville.

History

The area was first settled by Europeans in 1660, and was subsequently farmed until the mid nineteenth-century. Major residential development came in the 1920s as Long Island Rail Road service was expanded to the area at the

Springfield Gardens station Springfield Gardens was an island platform station that existed along the Babylon-Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, in the Springfield Gardens, Queens section of Queens, New York City. The station was located between St. Albans and Ro ...

(closed in 1979). Between 1920 and 1930 the population increased from 3,046 to 13,089, with a lot of the newcomers being people from Brooklyn seeking out suburban homes. In 1927, the name of the community was changed to the more elegant Springfield Gardens. Farmers Boulevard,

Merrick Boulevard Merrick Road is an east–west urban arterial in Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties in New York, United States. It is known as Merrick Boulevard or Floyd H. Flake Boulevard in Queens, within New York City. Merrick Road runs east from the Queens ...

Rockaway Boulevard Rockaway Boulevard is a major road in the New York City borough of Queens. Unlike the similarly named Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Rockaway Freeway, it serves mainland Queens and does not enter the Rockaways. Route description It begins as an u ...

, and Guy R. Brewer Boulevard all are major streets in the area. Today the area maintains its low-rise suburban nature. It is home to majority Afro-Caribbean and Indo-Caribbean populations including immigrants from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, Haiti and Guyana. Many homes have been torn down and remade for more families as more people move into the neighborhood. Part is in a Registered historic District. Springfield Gardens is located within ZIP Codes 11434 (western part) and 11413 (eastern part).

Recreation

Springfield Park consists of , including the sizable Springfield Lake at its center. It is located on the west side of

between 145th Road and 147th Avenue. The Brookville Park is located on the eastern border of Springfield Gardens (next to Rosedale). It is bounded by South Conduit Avenue, 149th Avenue, and 232nd and 235th Streets. It contains Conselyea's Pond.

Transportation

Brookville is served by the Rosedale and Laurelton Long Island Rail Road stations. Service is provided by the

Far Rockaway Branch The Far Rockaway Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at Valley Interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station. From Valley Stream, ...

and

Long Beach Branch The Long Beach Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at Valley Interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station, where it merges with the F ...

. The

CityTicket The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...

program is available at these stations. The Q3 bus travels along Farmers Boulevard towards to the

165th Street Bus Terminal The 165th Street Bus Terminal, also known as Jamaica Bus Terminal, the Long Island Bus Terminal (the name emblazoned on the entranceway's red tiles), Jamaica−165th Street Terminal (as signed on buses towards the terminal), or simply 165th Stre ...

JFK Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...

. The Q85 bus travels along South Conduit Boulevard towards Rosedale or

Green Acres Mall Green Acres Mall is an indoor shopping mall located in South Valley Stream, New York, off Sunrise Highway in Nassau County near the border of New York City and the Incorporated Village of Valley Stream. As of 2022, the mall currently features tw ...

, and North Conduit Boulevard towards the Jamaica Center – Parsons/Archer subway station (). The Q111 travels to Rosedale and Jamaica, Queens via 147th Avenue along with the Q113 and Q114 via 147th Avenue to Jamaica, Queens and

Far Rockaway Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...

. No express bus routes serve Brookville directly however the X63, provides rush hour only service to neighboring Rosedale. The Q77 bus travels along

and

Francis Lewis Boulevard Francis Lewis Boulevard is a boulevard in the New York City borough of Queens. The roadway is named for Francis Lewis, a Queens resident who was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. The boulevard zigzags across Queens by inc ...

to Jamaica-165 St Bus Terminal and terminates at the border of Brookville and Springfield Gardens on 145th Road and

Notable residents

Khandi Alexander Harriet Rene "Khandi" Alexander (born September 4, 1957) is an American dancer, choreographer, and actress. She began her career as a dancer in the 1980s and was a choreographer for Whitney Houston's world tours from 1988 to 1992. During the 199 ...

(born 1957), dancer, choreographer, and actress. * Frances Goldin (1924–2020), housing rights activist and literary agent in New York City. *

John Robert Grant Captain John Robert Grant (1729–1790, aged 61) fought in the American Revolution and then became an American Loyalist and the first British settler of Summerville, Nova Scotia. Family Captain Grant was born in Strathspey, Scotland, along wi ...

(1729–1790), Loyalist who fought in the

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. * Cynthia Jenkins (1924–2001), librarian, community activist and politician who served in the New York State Assembly from 1983 to 1994. * Anthony Mason (1966–2015), professional basketball player who played for 13 seasons in the NBA. *

Lil Tecca Tyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe (born August 26, 2002), known professionally as Lil Tecca, is an American rapper and singer. He rose to mainstream fame with the release of his 2019 single "Ransom", which peaked at number 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot ...

(born 2002), rapper, singer and songwriter.Skelton, Eric
"Lil Tecca Is a 16-Year-Old Rapper Making Hits on the Weekends"

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, June 6, 2019. Accessed September 26, 2020. " You grew up in Queens, right? Yeah, I grew up in Springfield Gardens. Then in seventh grade I moved to Nassau County, Long Island." * Eric Truvillion (born 1959), wide receiver who played in the USFL for the

Tampa Bay Bandits The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal o ...

and in the NFL for the Detroit Lions.

References

{{Queens Caribbean-American culture in New York City Guyanese American Haitian-American culture in New York City Jamaican-American history Neighborhoods in Queens, New York Working-class culture in New York City