Мидл-Виллидж, Куинс: История и современность района

Middle Village is a mainly residential neighborhood in the central section of the borough of Queens, New York City, bounded to the north by the Long Island Expressway, to the east by Woodhaven Boulevard, to the south by Cooper Avenue and the former LIRR Montauk Branch railroad tracks, and to the west by Mount Olivet Cemetery.

The area was settled around 1816 by people of English descent and was named in the early nineteenth century for its location as the midpoint between the then towns of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Jamaica, Queens, on the Williamsburgh and Jamaica Turnpike (now Metropolitan Avenue), which opened in 1816. It was generally sparsely populated because the large Juniper Swamp was in the area. The swamp, an area where the Americans hid from British in the American Revolutionary War, was originally circumscribed by a "Juniper Round Swamp Road". In 1852, a Manhattan Lutheran church purchased the farmland on the western end of the hamlet. Hotels and other services appeared to meet the needs of cemetery visitors. A housing boom that began in the 1920s eventually consumed the surrounding farmland and became continuous with neighboring towns and neighborhoods.

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Middle Village was 37,929, an increase of 300 (0.8%) from the 37,629 counted in 2000. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 74.0% (28,071) White, 0.9% (354) African American, 0.1% (31) Native American, 8.1% (3,059) Asian, 0.0% (7) Pacific Islander, 0.2% (89) from other races, and 0.8% (314) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.8% (6,004) of the population. The entirety of Community Board 5, which comprises Maspeth, Ridgewood, Middle Village, and Glendale, had 166,924 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 81.4 years. This is about equal to the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are youth and middle aged adults: 22% are between the ages of 0–17, 31% between 25–44, and 26% between 45–64. The ratio of college aged and elderly residents was lower, at 8% and 13% respectively. In 2018, an estimated 19% of Middle Village, Ridgewood, and Maspeth residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in seventeen residents (6%) were unemployed, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 46% in Middle Village, Ridgewood, and Maspeth, lower than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018, Maspeth, Ridgewood, Middle Village, and Glendale are considered to be high income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying. although Middle Village has seen an influx of Polish people, Eastern Europeans, Hispanic Americans, and Chinese Americans (mostly in South Elmhurst, after a ZIP Code change in the early 2000s). Many of the older families have left Middle Village but have not sold their homes but rather passed them down to their children; the result is many second and third generation residents. The population of Middle Village has been relatively consistent: 28,984 in 2000, compared to 28,981 in 1990. In the 2010s, the Metro Mall suffered the same problem many malls around the United States did of the "retail apocalypse"; most of its tenants departed, most notably Kmart and Toys "R" Us which were both located inside two of the mall's anchor tenant spaces on level 2 (referred separately as Rentar Plaza), leaving BJ's Wholesale Club and Reymour & Flanigan, which are also located two of the malls anchor tenant spaces on level 1 as the only remaining major retailers as of 2019. The now vacant level 2 is currently being used as a storage facility by the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT). The Frank T. Lang Building, at Metropolitan Avenue and 69th Street, was constructed in 1904. Niederstein's, a renowned local restaurant, was located at 69 16 Metropolitan Avenue until it was demolished in 2005. The site, located near present day 69th Street, was prime real estate in the early 19th century. Isaac Ferguson, who owned of land at the site, sold of his land to John Heuss, having been loath to give his land to the Geissenhainers of Lutheran Cemetery due to Ferguson's concerns that the tract was worth more than what the Geissenhainers would have paid for it. Huess later sold the land to Henry Schumacher, a then 27 year old Württemberg native. In 1850, Schumacher built a 2 story wooden roadside lodge, called the Schumacher's Lager Beer Saloon and Hotel, on the Williamsburgh and Jamaica Turnpike. Ferguson sold the remaining to Schumacher in 1864, by which time the area's hotels were booming in popularity. In 1888, Schumacher was dead and his wife, Catharina Sutter, sold the building and the business to John Niederstein, a German cook. Niederstein built 32 rooms with two wings and operated the lodge as a hotel. Henrietta Gabriel, John Niederstein's granddaughter, bought the business from Grace, Niederstein's daughter in law, in 1920. The Artistic Building, on Metropolitan Avenue between 79th and 80th Streets, is a 1930 structure that is notable for having friezes of biblical scenes on its facade. as of 2005, it was a tailor's shop. In 2005, though, the Juniper Park Civic Association successfully petitioned to get parts of Maspeth and Middle Village rezoned to prevent aggressive redevelopment.

The Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery, at 67 29 Metropolitan Avenue, opened in Middle Village in 1852, due to the 1847 Rural Cemetery Act, which banned new cemeteries in Manhattan. The General Slocum Steamboat Fire Mass Memorial, commemorating the 1904 sinking of the PS General Slocum that killed 1,021 people, is at Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery. The cemetery is also the burial place of Fred Trump and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, parents of former U. S. President Donald Trump. Near the Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery, on Mount Olivet Crescent, is the Fresh Pond Crematory and Columbarium, which has operated since the late 19th century. Baseball player Lou Gehrig, screenwriter Ring Lardner, Sr., businessman J. P. Morgan, and Richard Hauptmann—notable for the Lindbergh kidnapping—are among the people cremated there. The Pullis Farm Cemetery, a small burial plot in Juniper Valley Park, is a gated mini cemetery dating back to 1846. As many as eight members of the Pullis family are interred in the plot. The cemetery became overgrown was weeds and was restored in 1993–6 with a new headstone. It is one of the few farm burial grounds still located in New York City. Many famous people's graves are located in Middle Village. St. John's Cemetery, a cemetery located in Middle Village, holds many famed mobsters, including John Gotti, Lucky Luciano, Joe Gallo, Carlo Gambino, Joseph Profaci, Joe Colombo, Vito Genovese and Carmine Galante. Also buried here are fitness guru Charles Atlas, politicians Geraldine Ferraro and Mario Cuomo, slain New York City police officer Rafael Ramos, and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. St. Margaret's Roman Catholic Church, a church and attached school built in 1860, was used during the American Civil War as a temporary jail. The church and school were both reconstructed—the school in 1899 and the church in 1907. In 1935, they moved to a four story structure on Juniper Valley Road near 80th Street. The 104th Precinct ranked 21st safest out of 69 patrol areas for per capita crime in 2010. However, the precinct covers a large diamond shaped area, and Maspeth and Middle Village are generally seen as safer than Ridgewood. Middle Village has been historically relatively safe. During the 1970s and 1980s, when crime in New York City was at an all time high, the Mafia allegedly prevented crime from happening. as of 2018, with a non fatal assault rate of 19 per 100,000 people, Middle Village, Ridgewood, and Maspeth's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 235 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.

The New York City Fire Department (FDNY)'s Engine Co. 319 fire station is located at 78 11 67th Road. A volunteer fire department, Fearless Hook and Ladder Company No. 7, operated at 71 55 Metropolitan Avenue from 1891 until 1913. A study by RentHop. com found that Middle Village had the highest number of dog feces related complaints within New York City.

Northern Middle Village is served by Juniper Valley Park, a large public park built in 1930 on the former Juniper Swamp. There are tennis, handball, basketball, and bocce courts, as well as seven baseball fields and a quarter mile running track around a turf football/soccer field. The Middle Village Veteran's Triangle, at Gray and 77th Streets, commemorates local people who were veterans of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. It was renovated in 1999.

Middle Village is covered by ZIP Code 11379. The United States Post Office operates the Middle Village Station at 71 35 Metropolitan Avenue.

Middle Village, Ridgewood, and Maspeth generally have a lower rate of college educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018. While 33% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 16% have less than a high school education and 50% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 39% of Queens residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. Middle Village, Ridgewood, and Maspeth's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Middle Village, Ridgewood, and Maspeth, 14% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, lower than the citywide average of 20%. PS/IS 128 which was also rated as a Blue Ribbon School, and PS 87. Our Lady of Hope, St. Margaret, and Resurrection Ascension are three Catholic K 8 schools in the area, and Christ The King Regional High School is another parochial school in the area.

The Queens Public Library's Middle Village branch is located at 72 31 Metropolitan Avenue.

The neighborhood is served by the New York City Subway at the Metropolitan Avenue station In addition, five local bus lines serve Middle Village: the along Dry Harbor Road and 80th Street; the on Eliot and Penelope Avenues; the on 80th Street; the on Metropolitan Avenue, and the on 69th Street and Metropolitan Avenue. The express bus routes to Manhattan, running along Eliot Avenue, also serve the neighborhood.