Queens

**Queens** is the eastmaist o the five burghs o New York Ceety. The lairgest burgh in aurie, an seicont-lairgest in population, it is coextensive wi **Queens Coonty**, an admeenistrative diveesion o New York state, in the Unitit States. It is an aw locatit on the wastren portion o Long Island.

Accordin tae the 2005 American Community Survey, immigrants comprise 47.6% o Queens residents. Wi a population o 2.3 million it is the seicont maist populous burgh in New York Ceety (ahint Brooklyn) an the tenth maist populous coonty in the Unitit States. It is an aa the naition's fowert-maist-densely populatit coonty (efter the coonties coverin Manhattan, Brooklyn an The Bronx). The 2.3 million figure is the heichest historical population for the burgh. Wur each burgh an independent ceety, Brooklyn an Queens wad be the kintra's third an fowert lairgest ceeties, respectively, efter Los Angeles an Chicago.

Queens wis established in 1683 as ane o the oreeginal 12 coonties o New York an wis supposedly named for the Queen consort, Catherine o Braganza (1638–1705), the Portuguese princess who marriet Keeng Charles II o Ingland in 1662.

The borough is considered ane o the mair suburban burghs o New York Ceety. The neighborhuids in eastren Queens hae a leuk an feel seemilar tae the borderin suburbs o wastren Nassau Coonty. In its northwastren section, housomeivver, Queens is hame tae mony urban neighborhuids an several central business destricts. Long Island Ceety, on the Queens' waterfront athort frae Manhattan, is the steid o the Citicorp Building, the tawest skyscraper in New York Ceety ootside o Manhattan, an the tawest biggin on geographic Long Island.

## History
European colonization brocht Dutch an Inglis settlers, as a pairt o the New Netherlands colony.  First settlements occurred in 1635 follaed bi early colonizations at Maspeth in 1642, an Vlissingen (nou Flushing) in 1643. Ither early settlements includit Newtoun (nou Elmhurst) an Jamaica.  Housomeivver, thir touns wur maistly inhabitit bi Inglis settlers frae New England via eastren Long Island (Suffolk Coonty) subject tae Dutch law.  Efter the captur o the colony bi the Inglis an its renamin as New York in 1664, the aurie (an aw o Long Island) became kent as Yorkshire.

The Flushing Remonstrance signed bi colonists in 1657 is considered a precursor tae the Unitit States Constitution's proveesion on freedom o releegion in the Bill o Richts. The signers protestit the Dutch colonial authorities’ persecution o Quakers in wha is the day the borough o Queens.

Oreeginally, Queens Coonty included the adjacent aurie nou comprisin Nassau Coonty. It wis an oreeginal a coonty o New York State, ane o twal creatit on November 1, 1683. On October 7, 1691, aw coonties in the Colony o New York wur redefined. Queens gained North Brother Island, Sooth Brother Island, an Huletts Island (the day kent as Rikers Island). On December 3, 1768, Queens gained ither islands in Long Island Soond that wur no awready assigned tae a coonty but that did no abut on Westchester Coonty (the day’s Bronx Coonty).

Queens played a minor role in the American Revolution, as compared tae Brooklyn whaur the Battle o Long Island wis lairgely focht. Queens, lik the rest o Long Island, remained unner Breetish occupation efter the Battle o Long Island in 1776 an wis occupee'd throughoot maist o the rest o the war. Unner the Quarterin Act, Breetish sodgers uised, as barracks, the public inns an uninhabitit biggins belongin tae Queens residents. Even tho mony local fowk wur against unannoonced quarterin, sentiment throughoot the coonty remained (albeit fairly passively) in favor o the Breetish croun. The quarterin o sodgers in private hames, except in times o war, wis banned bi the Third Amendment tae the Unitit States Constitution. Nathan Hale wis captured bi the Breetish on the shore o Flushing Bay in Queens afore bein executit bi hangin in Manhattan for gatherin intelligence.

Frae 1683 till 1784, Queens Coonty consistit o five touns: Flushing, Hempstead, Jamaica, Newtoun, an Oyster Bay.  On Aprile 6, 1784, a saxt toun, the Toun o North Hempstead, wis formed throu secession bi the northren portions o the Toun o Hempstead.

The seat o the coonty govrenment wis locatit first in Jamaica, but the courthoose wis torn doun bi the Breetish durin the American Revolution tae uise the materials tae big barracks. Efter the war, various biggins in Jamaica temporarily served as courthoose an jyle till a new biggin wis erectit aboot 1787 (an later completit) in an aurie near Mineola (nou in Nassau Coonty) kent then as Clowesville. The 1850 census wis the first in which the population o the three wastren touns exceedit that o the three eastren touns that are nou pairt o Nassau Coonty. Concerns wur raised aboot the condeetion an distance o the auld courthoose, an several steids wur in contention for the construction o a new ane. In 1870, Long Island Ceety split frae the Toun o Newton, incorporatin itsel as a ceety, consistin o wha haed been the Veelage o Astoria an some unincorporatit auries athin the Toun o Newtoun.  Aroond 1874, the seat o coonty govrenment wis moved tae Long Island Ceety frae Mineola.

On Mairch 1, 1860, the eastren mairch atween Queens Coonty (later Nassau Coonty) an Suffolk Coonty wis redefined wi nae discernible chynge. On Juin 8, 1881, North Brother Island wis transferred tae New York Coonty. On Mey 8, 1884, Rikers Island wis transferred tae New York Coonty. In 1885, Lloyd Neck, which wis pairt o the Toun o Oyster Bay an wis earlier kent as Queens Veelage, secedit frae Queens an became pairt o the Toun o Huntington in Suffolk Coonty. On Aprile 16, 1964, Sooth Brother Island wis transferred tae Bronx Coonty.

### Burgh o Queens
The New York Ceety Burgh o Queens wis authorized on Mey 4, 1897, bi a vote o the New York State Legislature efter an 1894 referendum on consolidation.
Queens Borough wis established on 1 Januar 1898. The eastren 280 square miles (730 km2) o Queens that became Nassau Coonty wis pairtitioned on Januar 1, 1899.
Long Island Ceety, the touns o Newtown, Flushing, an Jamaica, an the Rockaway Peninsula portion o the Toun o Hempstead wur merged tae form the new borough, dissolvin aw umwhile municipal govrenments (Long Island Ceety, the coonty govrenment, aw touns, an aw veelages) athin the new borough.
The auries o Queens Coonty that wur no pairt o the consolidation plan, consistin o the touns o North Hempstead an Oyster Bay, an the major remainin portion o the Toun o Hempstead, remained pairt o Queens Coonty  till thay secedit tae form the new Nassau Coonty on Januar 1, 1899, whaurupon the bundaries o Queens Coonty an the Borough o Queens became . Wi consolidation, Jamaica ance again became the coonty seat, tho coonty offices nou extend tae nearbi Kew Gardens an aa.

The borough's admeenistrative an court biggins are presently locatit in Kew Gardens an dountoun Jamaica respectively, twa neighborhuids that wur veelages o the umwhile Toun o Jamaica.

Frae 1905 tae 1908 the Long Island Rail Road in Queens wis electrifee'd. Transportation tae an frae Manhattan, previously bi ferry or via brigs in Brooklyn, opened up when the Queensboro Bridge wis feenished in 1909, an wi railwey tunnels unner the East River in 1910. Frae 1915 onward, hintle o Queens wis connectit tae the New York Ceety subway seestem. Wi the 1915 construction o the Steinway Tunnel carryin the IRT Flushing Line atween Queens an Manhattan, an the emergent expansion o the uise o the automobile, the population o Queens mair nor doubled in the 1920s, frae 469,042 in 1920 tae 1,079,129 in 1930. Queens wis the steid o the 1939 New York World's Fair an the 1964 New York World's Fair. LaGuardia Airport, in northren Queens, opened in 1939. Idlewild Airport, in soothren Queens an nou cried JFK Airport, opened in 1948.

## Geography
Queens Coonty is in the wastren pairt o Long Island an includes a few smawer islands, maist o which are in Jamaica Bay an form pairt o Gateway National Recreation Area, which is in turn ane o the Naitional Pairks o New York Harbor.

The Rockaway Peninsula sits atween Jamaica Bay an the Atlantic Ocean. The wastren an northren edge o the borough is defined a watery continuum made up o Newtown Creek which flows intae the tidal estuary kent as the East River, which includes the associatit Flushing Bay an Flushing River. The East River opens intae Long Island Soond. The mid-section o Queens is crossed bi the Long Island straddlin terminal moraine creatit bi the Wisconsin Glacier. This featur evolved intae a land uise pun due tae the sitin o mony cemeteries.

The tawest tree in the New York metropolitan aurie, cried the Queens Giant, is an aa the auldest livin thing in the New York metro aurie. It is locatit in northeastren Queens, an is 450 year auld an 132 feet (40 m) taw.

Accordin tae the Unitit States Census Bureau, the coonty haes an aurie o 178.3 square miles (462 km2); 109.2 square miles (283 km2) o this is land an 38.7% is watter.

### Landmarks o Queens

Queens is hame tae mony historical laundmerks. The Unisphere, shawn aften durin the U.S. Open, sits adjacent tae the Queens Museum o Airt.  P.S. 1 Contemporary Airt Center is a museum devotit tae contemporary airt. Hoosed in a umwhile public heich schuil, P.S.1 haes managed tae keep cuttin the cuttin edge even as it haes matured as an institution.

### Adjacent Coonties
* Bronx Coonty (Burgh o The Bronx)
* Nassau Coonty
* Kings Coonty (Burgh o Brooklyn)
* New York Coonty (Burgh o Manhattan)
* Richmond Coonty (Burgh o Staten Island)

## Freemit airtins

* Offeecial History Page o the Queens Borough President's Office 
* La Guardia an Wagner Archives/Queens Local History Collection 
* They Came from Queens. Long list  compiled bi the Queens Tribune.
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