CAMBRIA HEIGHTS, QUEENS

'Cambria Heights' (Zip Code 11411) is a middle class neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Springfield Boulevard and Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west, the Nassau County border on the east, Queens Village to the north, and Montefiore Cemetery and Laurelton to the south. As of 2007, Cambria Heights's population is 20,128 people [1].
The town derived its name from the Cambria Construction Company of Pennsylvania, which began to develop the community in the late 1920s, and the fact that, at an elevation of 49 feet, it is one of the three highest points in the borough, together with Jackson Heights and Richmond Hill. Its original population consisted primarily of Roman Catholics of Italian, German, and Irish descent and Jewish families relocating from Brooklyn.
The present neighborhood has a large Caribbean and African American population. In recent years Jewish families have settled along Francis Lewis Boulevard and 121st Avenue to be near the grave of Chasidic leader Menachem Mendel Schneerson in Montefiore Cemetery. Latinos have also begun to settle in the community. The median home cost is $450,600 [2].
In Fall 2006, the ''New York Times'' reported that Cambria Heights is one of few communities in New York City in which African and Caribbean Americans earn more than their European-American neighbors. It also was listed as one of ''Money Magazine's Best Places to Live in 2006.
The Main public schools in Cambria Heights are Elementary Schools P.S. 176 and P.S. 147 (re-named for Astronaut Ronald McNair), and High School Campus Magnet, formerly known as Andrew Jackson High School. The local Catholic parish is Sacred Heart, with a grammar school of that name.
Cambria Heights contains Cabell Park, which includes two baseball fields, five basketball hoops, two jungle gyms, fountains for summer play, a handball wall, and benches for lounging. P.S. 176 houses a park with a vast blacktop, a jungle gym, seven basketball hoops, and a large wading pool. P.S. 147 has a baseball field (tar), basketball courts, a jungle gym, swings, and chess tables.
In the vicinity of Cambria Heights are the neighborhoods of Laurelton, Springfield Gardens, Rosedale, and Hollis.

Contents

Famous residents

See also

External links

Famous residents

★ A Tribe Called Quest, rap group

★ Bang Em Smurf, rapper

★ Michael Bentt, actor, writer, amateur boxer and former WBO heavyweight boxing champion

★ Lamar Odom, basketball player

★ Mary Weiss, Betty Weiss, Marge Ganser, and Mary Ann Ganser, aka The Shangri-Las

★ Linda C. McJunckins, author of ''From Princess to Prisoner''

See also

★ List of Queens neighborhoods

★ New York City

External links

★ Town profile

★ Town profile

★ Google map