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 U ...

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 ...

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, to the east by Laurelton and Rosedale, to the south by John F. Kennedy International Airport, and to the west by Farmers Boulevard. The neighborhood is served by Queens Community Board 12. 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. It is long and goes from Northern Boulevard in Bayside, to 147th Avenue in Springfield Gardens. Springfield Boulevard runs throug ...

, 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 (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,

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 Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...

and

Indo-Caribbean Indo-Caribbeans or Indian-Caribbeans are Indian people in the Caribbean who are descendants of the Jahaji Indian indentured laborers brought by the British, Dutch, and French during the colonial era from the mid-19th century to the early 20th ...

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 Hispan ...

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 Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

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 Brookville may refer to any of the following: Places United States * Brookville, Illinois * Brookville, Indiana * Brookville, Kansas * Brookville, Michigan * Brookville, Hunterdon County, New Jersey * Brookville, Ocean County, New Jersey * Broo ...

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, the ...

and Long Beach Branch. The CityTicket 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, and North Conduit Boulevard towards the Jamaica Center – Parsons/Archer subway station (). The Q111 travels to Rosedale and

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Spring ...

via 147th Avenue along with the Q113 and Q114 via 147th Avenue to

and

Far Rockaway Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway, Queens, Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 3 ...

. 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 in ...

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

Notable residents

* Khandi Alexander (born 1957), dancer, choreographer, and actress. * Frances Goldin (1924–2020), housing rights activist and literary agent in New York City. * John Robert Grant (1729–1790),

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

who fought in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

. * Cynthia Jenkins (1924–2001), librarian, community activist and politician who served in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

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"

Complex (website) Complex Networks is an American media and entertainment company for youth culture, based in New York City. It was founded as a bi-monthly magazine, ''Complex'', by fashion designer Marc (Ecko) Milecofsky. Complex Networks reports on popular a ...

, 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 Eric Truvillion (born June 18, 1959) was an American football player who played in the United States Football League (USFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He attended Springfield Gardens High School in Queens, New York. Career He ...

(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 The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

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