image_seal =
|seal_size =
|image_shield =
|shield_size =
|image_blank_emblem =
|blank_emblem_type =
|blank_emblem_size =
|image_map = New_York_City_location_Queens.PNG
|mapsize =
|map_caption = Location of Queens shown in orange, including its two airports and their boundaries.
|pushpin_map =
|pushpin_label_position =
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|coordinates_display = inline,title
|coordinates_region = US-NY
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = New York
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Queens
|subdivision_type3 = City
|subdivision_name3 = New York City
|seat_type =
|seat =
|parts_type =
|parts_style =
|parts =
|p1 =
|p2 =
|government_footnotes =
|government_type = Borough (New York City)
|leader_title = Borough President
|leader_name = Helen Marshall (D)
— (Borough of Queens)
|leader_title1 = District Attorney
|leader_name1 = Richard Brown
— (Queens County)
|established_title = Settled
|established_date = 1683
|area_magnitude =
|unit_pref =
|area_footnotes =
|area_total_sq_mi = 178.28
|area_land_sq_mi = 109.24
|area_water_sq_mi = 69.04
|area_water_percent =
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m =
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|elevation_max_m =
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|population_as_of = 2010
|population_footnotes =
|population_note =
|population_total = 2230722
|population_density_sq_mi = 21116
|timezone =
|utc_offset =
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|latd = 40
|latm = 42
|lats = 15.0
|latNS = N
|longd = 73
|longm = 55
|longs = 4.0
|longEW = W
|postal_code_type = ZIP Code prefixes
|postal_code = 110--, 111--, 113--, 114--, 116--
|area_code = 718, 347, 917
|website = Official Website of the Queens Borough President
|footnotes =
}}
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City and the largest in area and the second-largest in population. Since 1899, Queens has had the same boundaries as Queens County, which is now the second most populous county in New York State and the fourth-most densely populated county in the United States. Queens, as well as neighboring borough Brooklyn, sits on the west end of geographic Long Island. Queens is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world with a population of over 2.2 million, 46% of whom are foreign-born, representing over 100 different nations and speaking over 138 different languages.[1][2]
Were each New York City borough an independent city, Queens would be the nation's fourth largest city, after Los Angeles, Chicago, and Brooklyn.[3] Queens has the second-largest and most diversified economy of all the five boroughs of New York City.[4] Long Island City, on the Queens waterfront across from Manhattan on the East River, is the site of the Citicorp Building, the tallest skyscraper in New York City outside of Manhattan and the tallest building on geographic Long Island.
The neighborhoods of Queens are organized into 14 Community Boards. The differing character in the neighborhoods of Queens is reflected by its diverse housing stock ranging from high-density apartment buildings to large free-standing single-family homes.[5][6]
Queens is home to two of the three major New York City area airports, JFK International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. These airports are among the busiest in the world, causing the airspace above Queens to be the most congested in the country. Attractions in Queens include Flushing Meadows Park—home to the New York Mets baseball team and the US Open tennis tournament—Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silvercup Studios, and Aqueduct Racetrack.
Queens was established in 1683 as one of the original 12 counties of New York and was supposedly named for the Queen consort, Catherine of Braganza (1638–1705), the Portuguese princess who married King Charles II of England in 1662.[7][8] Template:NYC boroughs
History[]
European colonization brought Dutch and English settlers, as a part of the New Netherlands colony. First settlements occurred in 1635 followed by early colonizations at Maspeth in 1642,[9] and Vlissingen (now Flushing) in 1643.[10] Other early settlements included Newtown (now Elmhurst) and Jamaica. However, these towns were mostly inhabited by English settlers from New England via eastern [[Long I