The quest to define New York City is one that is not yet complete. New York is full of contradictions and surprises, lending it a nearly indescribable quality. Forest Hills Gardens, an English garden city tucked within New York, is among this web of contradictions and surprises.  The presence of such an obscure area within New York is a crucial component in its characteristic paradox of parts; it is one example of the many types of diversity which characterize the city. While New York City evokes images of huge crowds, city lights, gritty streets, and unbelievable skyscrapers, Forest Hills Gardens is anything but urban. The gently curving streets, red-brick roads, community parks, tudor houses, generous flora and warm atmosphere are the antithesis of Midtown Manhattan. While the Gardens were designed to be for people of “moderate income and good taste, who appreciate sympathetic surroundings, but are tied close to the city by the nature of their occupation…”, Edward Bouton, early general manager of the Sage Foundation, recommended against a mix of “Hebrews and the Gentile” since they “do not come together in a natural way as social friends and neighbors.”, exemplifying how the original vision of the area clashes with what is experienced today. The following examples will illustrate how Forest Hills Gardens, as part of New York, could not possibly resist the natural mixing and melding of identities which takes place in the city. While Forest Hills Gardens may still be one of the city’s most exclusive zip codes,  its people and its institutions have become undeniably “New Yorkified”. 

Sources:

“History of Station Square.” History of Station Square. Friends of Station Square, Inc., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.

Hirshon, Nicholas. Forest Hills. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., 2013. Print.