Ozone Park

Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens, New York, United States. It is next to the Aqueduct Racetrack, a popular spot for Thoroughbred racing and home to the Resorts World Casino & Hotel. Traditionally home to a large Italian-American population, Ozone Park has grown to have many residents of Caribbean, Hispanic, and Asian backgrounds. The neighborhood is in two community districts, divided by Liberty and 103rd Avenues. The southern half of the area is in Queens Community District 10, which is covered by the NYPD's 106th Precinct, while the northern half is in QCD's 102nd Precinct. Its ZIP Codes are 11416 and 11417. The name "Ozone park" was chosen for the development to "lure buyers with the idea of refreshing breezes blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean to a park-like community" in the 1880s. In the 1800s, the area was called "the Harlem of Brooklyn" because at the time, Queens did not yet exist, and Harlem was a thriving Jewish and Italian neighborhood in Manhattan. In 1925, with the opening of Cross Bay Boulevard in 1925, the neighborhood saw a population of 180,000, with 40% of the population being from Ozone, Queens. Ozone is considered to have a northern border at Atlantic Avenue; the southern border is North Conduit Avenue, the western border is the Brooklyn/Queens border line; and the eastern border is up to 108th Street and aqueduct racetrack.

Etymology

Ozone Park is the primary city name, but also Jamaica are acceptable city names or spellings, Queens on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The name "Ozone Park" was chosen for the development to "lure buyers with the idea of refreshing breezes blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean to a park-like community" The "O Zone" in the neighborhood's name referred to an area with cool ocean breezes, an archaic definition that is not related to the present-day definition of the alternate form of oxygen. The name was chosen to lure buyers to the area. The neighborhood is now home to more than 2,000 people. It is located in the New York City borough of Queens and the New Jersey city of Staten Island. It was named after the Ozone, an area of the city that was once known as the "zone" of New York. The Ozone is now known as one of the most popular neighborhoods in the city, with a population of more than 1.5 million. The area is also known for its beaches, which are popular with surfers and surfers. It has also been known to host a number of high-profile events, such as the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show, as well as other major sporting events such as Wimbledon and the World Series of Poker. The city's name is derived from the word "ozone", which means "cool" or "refreshing" in English. It also means "park-like" in Spanish, which is the language used in the area's name. The community's name also refers to the cool breezes that come from the ocean.

History

In the 1870s, two immigrants from France named Charles Lalance and Florian Grosjean developed a factory in Woodhaven. In 1880, the New York, Woodhaven & Rockaway Railroad began service on the Montauk Branch and Rockaway Beach Branch from Long Island City to Howard Beach, Queens. Two years later, two wealthy partners named Benjamin W. Hitchcock and Charles C. Denton bought plots of land around what would later become the Woodhaven Junction station. The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company's Fulton Street elevated railroad line above Liberty Avenue opened in 1915, with a station at Lefferts Avenue. Between 1921 and 1930, Ozone Park saw a population increase of over 180% from 40,000 to 112,950 people. In the 1930s, the city of New York decided to install sewers in the area to stop flooding that had become a major problem. In 2004, New York City Environmental Department of Environmental Protection made plans to connect the neighborhood's sewer system to the city's system to combat flooding by raising the land by almost an floor. The first floor of some of the non-raised homes subsequently became basements in some areas of the community. In 2010, the Ozoneville Community Church merged with the United Methodist Church of New Jersey to become the Centreville United Church of Christ. In 2012, Centreville and the Methodist Church merged to become Centreville-United Methodist Church. In 2013, the United Methodists merged with Centreville Church to form Centreville Methodist Church, which is still called Centreville.

Demographics

Ozone Park has been largely populated by various groups of immigrants. The first wave were French immigrants associated with a pot factory on Atlantic Avenue. Germans and the Irish made up a large part of Ozone Park in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Most of the current Italians in the neighborhood are originally from Brooklyn. A significant Polish population also developed based around Saint Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Roman Catholic Church and its associated elementary school. At the turn of the 21st century immigrants from Latin America, South Asia (Bangladesh), the West Indies, and South America (Indo-Guyanese & Indo-Surinamese) moved in, adding a diverse atmosphere to the neighborhood. Residents vary from working-class to middle-class families, who own or rent private homes on the neighborhood's tree-lined residential streets. In 2018, the median household income in Community Board 10 was $73,891. The neighborhood is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying. One in ten residents (10%) were unemployed, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. The average life expectancy is 81.7 years.:2,20 This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York city neighborhoods.:53 (PDF p. 84) Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 22% are between the ages of between 017, 28% between 25 and 44.

Subsections

Ozone Park was once a sparsely populated neighborhood because of the lack of transportation. By 1915, the Fulton Street Line opened, connecting Ozone Park with the rest of New York City, thus starting the enormous influx by the Italians. Ozone park then formed many smaller sub-neighborhoods with specific identities. These include Centreville, Liberty Heights, Balsam Village, Tudor Village, Park Village, Ozone Plaza, and Liberty Heights. The area is also home to Tudor Park, a 20-acre (81,000 m2) recreational park which features a baseball field, racquetball courts, picnic area, and a fountain as well as a playground. The village was incorporated in the late 1800s and has since flourished. It is on the border of Howard Beach and is home to a number of condominiums and apartment complexes, including Newlyn Estates, Sterling Manor, and Greentree Condos. The neighborhood was once known as the "City of the Stars" because of its large number of skyscrapers. It was named after the city's tallest building, the Empire State Building, which is located in the center of the park. The current mayor, Bill de Blasio, is a former mayor of the city and served as mayor from 2009 to 2013. The city is now known as "The City of the Rising Sun" due to its rising prominence in recent years. It has a population of more than one million, making it one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the city.

Police and crime

Howard Beach and South Ozone Park are patrolled by the 106th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 103-53 101 Street. The precinct ranked 26th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. In the 1980s, the precinct became the source and scene of several police brutality incidents, including the stun gunning of high schooler Mark Davidson on April 17, 1985. One of the officers, Michael Aranda, accused of stun-gunning Davidson was later acquitted in 1991. In 2018 the precinct reported 6 murders, 16 rapes, 183 robberies, 246 felony assaults, 133 burglaries, 502 grand larcenies, and 97 grand larsenies auto in 2018. The incarceration rate of 381 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.:8. The rate of car thefts is high because of the area's proximity to the Belt Parkway, a major travel corridor. In 2010, the area had a non-fatal assault rate of 32 per 100, 000 people, with a rate of violent crimes per capita of less than one per cent. The area has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 81.3% between 1990 and 2018. As of 2018, the crime rate in the area is less than half that of New York City as a entire. The city has a crime rate of more than 10 per cent, with the precinct having the lowest rate of crime.

Fire safety

Ozone Park contains a New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire station, Engine Co. 285/Ladder Co. 142. The station is located at 103-17 98th Street.

Health

As of 2018, preterm births are more common in Ozone Park and Howard Beach than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers are less common. 27% of residents are obese, 19% are diabetic, and 34% have high blood pressure. The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, is 0.0068 milligrams per cubic metre (6.8×109 oz/cu ft), less than the city average. The nearest major hospitals are Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in Brooklyn and Jamaica Hospital in Jamaica. In 2018, 77 percent of residents described their health as "good," "very good," or "excellent," about equal to the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Howard Beach and South O Zone Park, there are 8 bodegas. The population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 8%, lower than theCitywide rate of 12%. The city's population of residents who are uninsured is 8%, less than citywide rates of 14% and 12%. In 2018 there were 97 preterm birth per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per1,000 citywide), and 14.2 births to teen mothers per 1, 000 live birth (compare to 19.3 per 1k citywide). There were 97 fruits and vegetables eaten every day, compared to city average of 87%. There are 8 supermarkets in Howard Park, and 8 bodesgas in South Ozone.

Post office and ZIP Codes

Ozone Park is covered by the ZIP Code 11416 north of 103rd Avenue and 11417 south of 103th Avenue. The United States Post Office operates both zip codes out of the Ozone Park Station at 91-11 Liberty Avenue.

Transportation

Numerous New York City Bus routes stop in the area, such as the Q7, Q8, Q11, Q21, Q24, Q41, Q52 SBS, Q53 SBS and Q112. The B15 runs through the neighborhood without stopping. The IND Fulton Street Line (A train) and IND Rockaway Line (a train) also run through the area. The neighborhood is also home to the Staten Island Ferry station, which runs from Staten Island to Brooklyn. The Staten Island Railroad runs from Brooklyn to Queens. The Queensboro Bridge is also in the neighborhood, running from Queens to Brooklyn and Queens to Staten Island. The Brooklyn Bridge is a major thoroughfare, running between Queens and Staten Island, and connecting to the East River and the Hudson River. The East River is also the source of the Harlem River, which flows into the East river from the Brooklyn Bridge. The Harlem River runs through this area, running through the East Village and the Brooklyn Center neighborhood. The Hudson River also runs from the East Side to the West Side, and the Queensboro Plaza to the Brooklyn East Side. The Bronx River runs from Manhattan to Queens, running along the east side of the Manhattan Bridge and into the Bronx. The Manhattan Bridge also runs along the Bronx River, and connects to the Bronx and Queens, as well as the East and West sides of the city. The New York Harbor runs from New York to Brooklyn, and to the east and west sides of New York, and between the Brooklyn Heights and Queens.