Bayside is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, and Fresh Meadows to the west. CNN Money ranked Bayside as one of the most expensive housing markets nationally when analyzing comparable detached homes. Despite its large housing stock of free-standing homes, it ranks high nationally in population density.
The first known written occurrence of the name Bayside was in a deed dated 1798, written as Bay Side. During the 19th century, Bayside was primarily farmland. Wealthy people from Manhattan visited it as a rural resort. During the 1920s and 1930s, there were several movie studios in Astoria, and many movie stars lived in Bayside, some in posh homes. After the end of World War II, residential development in Bayside increased dramatically, particularly because of its station on the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch, where a commuter could ride one train straight to Manhattan.
Bayside is in Queens Community District 11 and its ZIP Codes are 11360, 11361, and 11364. It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 111th Precinct. Politically, Bayside is represented by the New York City Council's 19th and 23rd Districts.Current City Council Districts for Queens County , New York City. Accessed May 5, 2017.
History
Bayside's history dates back to 2000 B.C. when the Matinecock Native American tribe first settled there. Around 1637, the Dutch West India Company encouraged Dutch farmers to settle on land grants in New Amsterdam, which was the name of New York then. William Lawrence, of England, built the first permanent building, a stone farmhouse, when he settled Bayside in 1644. Twenty years later, England took control of New Amsterdam, renamed it the Province of New York, and English people began settling the area. When Queens County was officially established in 1683, the Town of Flushing was one of the original five towns of Queens County, and today's Bayside was within the Town of Flushing. During the American Revolutionary War, whaleboatmen from Connecticut raided the Bayside–Little Neck area, and Town of Flushing was occupied by the British military.
The first known written occurrence of the name Bayside was in a deed dated 1798, written as Bay Side.
During the 19th century, Bayside was primarily farmland, where wealthy people from Manhattan would visit it as a rural resort. The Bayside House, owned by Joseph Crocheron, was well known for its clambakes. It burned down in 1906, but Crocheron's name lives on as the namesake of the Crocheron Park.
Bayside was the site of a murder by Peter Hains, a prominent army officer, abetted by his brother, sea novelist Thornton Jenkins Hains, who gunned down prominent editor William Annis at his yacht club in 1908. The so-called "Regatta Murder" led to a widely publicized trial at the Flushing County Courthouse. Peter Hains was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years at Sing Sing. Thornton Hains was acquitted.Appel, Jacob M. "Murder at the Regatta," The New York Times, August 10, 2008
During the 1920s and 1930s, there were several movie studios in Astoria, and movie stars such as Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Norma Talmadge, W.C. Fields, and Charlie Chaplin lived in Bayside, some in posh homes. Former heavyweight boxing champion James J. (Gentleman Jim) Corbett lived in Bayside from 1902 to 1933, on a street that is named after him. When rumors ran rampant through the acting community that Bayside would be the location of a new movie and production studio, many actors purchased homes in anticipation of an easy commute to the studio, but the rumored studio never materialized. When Hollywood emerged as the capital of the movie industry during the 1920s, many actors left Bayside to pursue careers in California.
After the end of World War II, residential development in Bayside increased dramatically, particularly because of its station on the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch, where a commuter could ride one train straight to Manhattan without transferring at Jamaica station.
Bayside remains one of the safest and wealthiest neighborhoods in Queens. But it has been the setting of several organized crime incidents. Michael Pappadio of Bayside managed the Lucchese crime family's interests in the Garment District of Manhattan, in secrecy from his wife. In 1989, upon falling out with his superiors, he was murdered at a bagel shop in South Ozone Park. His wife reported him missing, and three years later she learned about his death and his life in organized crime from the FBI. In April 2002, Gambino crime family associate Darren D'Amico was shot in the leg outside a restaurant in Bayside; his suspected shooter was Bonanno crime family associate Randolph Pizzolo.
Location and boundaries
Bayside is bordered by the Long Island Sound to the north and the Little Neck Bay to the northeast. To the east is the Cross Island Parkway. To the west is Francis Lewis Boulevard and Auburndale, and to the northwest is Utopia Parkway. Bayside ends somewhere north of the Long Island Expressway, although Oakland Gardens and Hollis Hills are usually considered parts of Bayside.
Bayside Gables Bayside Gables is a privately owned gated community near the Bay Terrace shopping center and the Little Neck Bay. Homes in this community sell for as much as $4 million.
Bayside Hills Bayside Hills is a subdivision of Bayside's south side, bordered by 48th Avenue to the north, the Long Island Expressway to the south, 211th Street to the west, and Springfield Boulevard on the east. The homes in Bayside Hills, many built by Gross Morton, are generally more upscale and have higher property values.
Bayside Hills is known for its 33 street malls and accents, especially the gatehouse at Bell Boulevard and 48th Avenue, gateposts on 48th Avenue from 216th Street, and Bayside Hills Street Clock at 50th Avenue and 214th Street. The Victorian style street clock sits upon the Leo Green Clock Mall, dedicated to the local civic activist. Further east, Captain William C Dermody Triangle Park (48 Avenue and 216 Street) memorializes Dermody's abolitionism and service in the Civil War, leading him to be mortally wounded at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Much of the public green space is maintained by the NYC Parks Department and the Bayside Hills Civic Association.
The zip code 11364 is shared with Oakland Gardens.
Bay Terrace
Bay Terrace is an affluent neighborhood often considered part of the larger area of Bayside. The area encompasses gated cooperative/condominium developments such as the Bay Club and Baybridge Condominium. Other coop/condo developments include the Towers at Waters Edge, the Kennedy Street Quad, the Bayside Townhouse Condominiums, Bay Country Owners, and Bell Owners. The gated estate community of the "Bayside Gables" is also in the Bay Terrace neighborhood and is the site of some of the area's only single-family homes. Bay Terrace overlooks the East River and the approaches to the Throgs Neck Bridge from the Clearview Expressway and Cross Island Parkway. The neighborhood is bounded on the west by the Clearview Expressway, on the south by 26th Avenue and 28th Avenue, and to the east and north by the Little Neck Bay and Little Bay. The civic organization serving Bay Terrace is the Bay Terrace Community Alliance (BTCA). Bay Terrace has the ZIP Code 11360.
Oakland Gardens
Oakland Gardens is an upper middle class neighborhood in southern Bayside, bounded to the north by the Long Island Expressway, to the east by Alley Pond Park, to the south by Union Turnpike, and to the west by Cunningham Park.Oakland Gardens , New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed September 23, 2007. Bayside proper is to the north, and Queens Village and Bellerose are to the south and southeast, respectively.Map of Neighborhood Boundaries in Queens , Queens Borough President's Office. Accessed September 23, 2007. Fredrick Newbold Lawrence built a mansion in the area in 1847 called The Oaks, and the neighborhood's name probably derives from that estate. Many people refer to Oakland Gardens as "southern Bayside". Its median income is $98,875 to $111,690 per year as of 2024–2025, according to recent estimates. This reflects an upper-middle-income community with earnings notably higher than the New York City median. The average household income is estimated closer to $120,769.
Demographics Local data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (based on samples from 2005 to 2009) shows that Bayside's demographics change significantly from area to area. For example, the pocket bordered by the Clearview Expressway to the west, Northern Boulevard to the north, Bell Boulevard to the east, and 48th Avenue to the south has a plurality (40%) of Asians, while 31% are Hispanic, 19% black and 13% white. Other areas are majority white, mostly of Italian, Greek, and Irish descent.
2020 Census As according to the 2020 census data, the Bayside neighborhood had about an equal amount of White and Asian residents with each of their population ranging from 10,000 to 19,999 residents. Black and Hispanic residents numbered fewer than 5,000.
2010 Census Based on data from the 2010 United States census, the population of Bayside-Bayside Hills was 43,808, a decrease of 563 (1.3%) from the 44,371 counted in 2000. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010 , Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 46.9% (20,550) White, 2.6% (1,160) African American, 0.1% (24) Native American, 37.3% (16,324) Asian, 0.0% (7) Pacific Islander, 0.3% (112) from other races, and 1.3% (565) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.6% (5,066) of the population.Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010 , Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.
The entirety of Community Board 11, which comprises Bayside and Douglaston–Little Neck, had 119,628 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 84.7 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 19% are between the ages of between 0–17, 26% between 25 and 44, and 31% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 6% and 18% respectively.
As of 2017, the median household income in Community Board 11 was $70,155. In 2018, an estimated 14% of Bayside and Douglaston–Little Neck 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 49% in Bayside and Douglaston–Little Neck, lower than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Bayside and Douglaston–Little Neck are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.
2000 Census