Manhattan may be fanciest, and Brooklyn may be hipper, but the borough of Queens, N.Y., has the best culture, at least according to the small cross-section of residents who spoke to Yahoo Local for this story. Sharing their experience of living in neighborhoods across the borough, these locals dished on all the highlights and lowlights of living in the linguistic capital of the world.
Take a look at our list below to find what these Queens residents had to say about their home ‘hood, good and bad.
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Diany Salgado, a 42-year-old massage therapist, has lived in Queens for more than a decade, first on the Long Island-Queens border in the neighborhood of Queens Village, and more recently she’s been based out of Whitestone, on the northern tip of the borough. Originally from Ecuador, Salgado finished college and knew she wanted to stay here.
When speaking to Yahoo Local, Salgado enthusiastically said the strong community spirit is one of the best things about her area. “What’s unique to the area is the community,” she said. “For example, my landlord is Chinese. My neighbors are Korean and Italian. I have Spanish neighbors. They’re all from different countries, so even though we all have different backgrounds, we have been able to get along and respect each other’s spaces.”
When asked if she’d consider staying there when her lease is up, Salgado was decisive. “I’d like to buy a condo or apartment, and I’d love to stay in Whitestone,” she said. “{I’ve been here 10 years … and the area has always been very comfortable to me and I feel safe, even if I come home past midnight.”
2. Hate: Traffic is bad, parking is an absolute nightmare
While not unique to Queens, nearly every respondent shared how terrible parking was in the area. One resident, 67-year-old retired business manager Janice Facibene from Douglaston, said, “The worst part of Queens is the traffic and the lack of parking,” she said. “We can’t even go down to the market and find a space. Most days, it’s impossible.”
Douglaston is a tree-lined, suburban community in Queens that mostly consists of quiet, lush streets. Compared to other neighborhoods, it can be difficult to believe that the neighborhood is part of New York City. As Facibene describes it, “There’s been an influx of money and people that’s given the area a sense of vibrancy it didn’t have 30 years ago.” It may be vibrant, but good luck traveling by automobile.
3. Love: Queens is a foodie’s dream
With so many different cultures in Queens, it’s no wonder the area is a paradise for food lovers. One such connoisseur is 27-year-old musician Ro L., a resident of Flushing, a built-up neighborhood in central Queens. One of their favorite parts of the area in Queens is the variety of cheap and delicious food. “I especially like the pork dumplings found at various food stalls around Main Street,” they said. “I haven’t found any as tasty anywhere else in the city.”
L also loves the work ethic that’s apparent in the people of the neighborhood. “Everyone’s hustling and trying to make a buck,” they said. “Sidewalk vendors hawk used clothing and pots and pans. Home gardeners offer fresh produce from their 6-foot by 6-foot front yard. People give $20 massages in a massage chair in the middle of the sidewalk. Grannies with Tupperware of homemade food for sale. You can’t help but admire it.”
Flushing isn’t the only part of Queens that is great for food. The borough is also home to the Queens Night Market, an event that runs weekly at Corona Park from April to October. Queens Village resident, and all-around borough superfan, Alana DeStefano said: “My favorite thing is the Queens Night Market. It’s 4 pm to midnight and I go every Saturday night. It’s the epicenter of food and culture.”
4. Hate: The cost of living is pure craziness
Across town in West Queens is Astoria, where 26-year-old non-profit worker Maya S. calls home. A New York transplant from Washington D.C., Maya lives with her partner and cat in a one-bedroom apartment. Maya’s experience with the cost of living echoes many other residents.
“I’ve grown to tolerate a new reality of what is ‘reasonable’ here,” she said. “But do I think it should cost this much to rent an apartment and pay for groceries, electricity, internet, and go out to eat? No, I do not … it’s unreasonable.”
Douglaston’s Facibene agrees. “The pandemic changed everything, doubled prices,” she said We live in a food desert, there’s no supermarket within walking distance anymore.”
Ro L. echoed Facibene’s sentiment: “The cost of living isn’t reasonable in New York City. The cost of basic needs such as groceries and electricity are nearly unaffordable on my salary. They say rent should be a third of your total monthly income, but my rent is half.”
Everybody knows New York City is expensive, but just how expensive might surprise you.
5. Love: Queens’s spectrum of big-city metropolis to suburban greenery
From inner-city Astoria on the west to the leafy-green avenues of Queens Village in the east, varying levels of urban and suburban cityscapes exist in Queens.
“Queens is the center of the universe, you don’t feel stuck,” DeStefano said. “You want to go to Long Island, right there. Manhattan, right there. Brooklyn, right there. You go over the Throgg’s Neck Bridge, boom you’re upstate. You want to go to Connecticut, bada-bing-bada-boom, you’re right there.”
On whether she would ever consider leaving Queens, DeStefano told us, “If I had to leave my house, I would absolutely stay in Queens, either in Queens Village or a neighboring neighborhood. It’s half city, half suburban and I just feel like I can breathe here.”
6. Hate: Interborough travel is migraine-inducing
While Brooklyn and the Bronx may be neighbors, it can be a pain to travel anywhere other than Manhattan from Queens via public transport. “Since I’ve only ever lived on the N/W [subway] line, it sort of ‘is what it is’ that I have to transfer a bunch of lines to get to Brooklyn or the Bronx,” said Astoria resident Maya S. “Getting to midtown Manhattan is easy but for most journeys anywhere else, even in Manhattan, I plan for an hour of travel.”
Ro L. agrees. “I’m lucky that I live near the final stop of the 7 train, or else it would be difficult to get to the rest of the city,” they said. “Going to Brooklyn is tough, by car it’s a 20-minute drive, but via subway, it’s an hour and 20 minutes. On top of that, it’s already difficult to traverse Queens itself. The bus routes cover a lot of area, but take double the travel time compared to the subway.”
Is Queens the best borough?
From the highlights of Queens’s food and culture to the lowlights of its urban sprawl, there’s a lot to love and love to hate about the borough.
When asked if it was the best New York had to offer, DeStefano of Queens Village said: “Queens is for everybody, it’s for the people. Queens is the epicenter of the world. I just love Queens. Queens has the coolest people on the planet, all in one place. Everyone brings their pride of where they’re from but they’re all also proud to be from Queens.”
Facibene offered a more tempered response. “Is Queens the best borough? No. Yes. They’re all equally good. But I wouldn’t go elsewhere unless I won a billion-dollar lottery.” Then she might move to Manhattan to live in a penthouse, Facibene said.
Every one of the Queens residents we spoke to said they plan to stay in Queens for the foreseeable future, and that in itself says something about the borough.
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