by Nelsyda Perez

East Elmhurst is part of the Queens Community District 3 alongside Jackson Heights and North Corona. Before, East Elmhurst was a place for the African American community to live peacefully without having to worry too much about facing prejudice or discrimination. Most of the residents who moved to the area in the early 1970s are still living here to this day making East Elmhurst one of the most stable communities in terms of the population living in the area. Presently, the people who still live in East Elmhurst after many years are passing away. This leave room for a new Hispanic demographic coming into the neighborhood.

 

History

Beginning in the year 1905, East Elmhurst started out as a residential area. Post World War II marked the commercialism of the Ditmars Boulevard area of East Elmhurst due to the close proximity of Ditmars Boulevard to LaGuardia Airport [1]. The most interesting pieces of history is the past residents of East Elmhurst. Malcolm X, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and even Willie Mays were all residents of the lower middle class neighborhood [2].

 

Statistics

According to a 5-year average calculated by the U.S. Census, the total population in East Elmhurst is about 21,980 people. Of that group of 21,980 people, 24 percent of them are white, 29 percent are black or African-American, 0.3 percent are Native Americans, 7 percent are Asians, 0.1 percent are Pacific Islander, 37 percent are people of other races besides the ones listed and 2.9 percent of the population consider themselves as being of two or more races³. The most interesting part of these statistics is the ratio of people that are of Hispanic or Latino background versus the people that aren’t of Hispanic or Latino background. 61 percent of the total population is Hispanic or Latino and 39 percent of the population is not Hispanic/Latino[3]. Of course, this contradicts the data given by the same survey with regards to the other races. One reason this discrepancy might exist is because of the way the survey collects this information. Recently, with all demographic surveys, there is a separate question asking whether or not you are Hispanic or Latino. Perhaps the census considers anyone who answered yes to the question was immediately considered to be Hispanic or Latino regardless on the other responses to the race questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The median income for persons 15 years and older is roughly about $23,028 annually [3]. In other words, the average class status of the population lies within the lower middle class status of the United States [4].

Notable Locations

Louis Armstrong Middle School (I.S. 227)

Named after famous jazz musician and former local resident Louis Armstrong, this model standards middle school is the only middle school in the East Elmhurst neighborhood. Students who attend the school can be involved in different activities such as membership into the Arista Honor Society and membership in the L.A.M.S. Robotics club. Acceptance into the school is application only, unless you take a placement test that students in elementary school take when they show exceptional academic abilities.

 

 

 

 

 

The Louis Armstrong House Museum

As mentioned before, Louis Armstrong is one of the famous residents that lived in East Elmhurst. Despite the Louis Armstrong House Museum being outside the boundaries set in this page, most people would consider it as one of East Elmhurst’s treasures. Louis Armstrong moved to this house with his wife Lucille in the year 1943. The Armstrongs lived together in this house until the great Satchmo’s death in 1971. In 1976, the Louis Armstrong House was declared as a national historical landmark and a New York City landmark in 1988. Louis Armstrong’s house is now currently a museum that serves as a popular location for school field trips [5].

 

 

 

Langston Hughes Community Library

The Langston Hughes Community Library, named after the famous poet Langston Hughes, is a library as well as a community center that usually has activities for children. Another popular site for school field trips, the Langston Hughes Community Library has mini lessons and mini activities for children to participate in. When the Langston Hughes Community Library is not being used by grade school students for recreational purposes, it is a regular library that provides resources for the entire community.

 

 

 

 

 

Fair Theatre

The Fair Theatre is noted as one of the last grindhouses in New York City. A grindhouse is a theatre that “grinds” out low budget movies on a regular basis for the general public to see. As of right now, the Fair Theatre has nothing going on inside it. Instead, it is just a curious piece of cultural history. It wasn’t the biggest theatre out there but it is one of the most outlandish buildings to ever stand on East Elmhurst.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As one explores East Elmhurst, one finds some of the most interesting pieces of cultural history out there. This historical marvel of a neighborhood is hidden within the quiet and peaceful nature of the neighbors in the area.

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Notes

1 See Jackson p. 389

2 See Berger

3 This is based on data gathered by the US Census Bureau through the American Community Survey results from 2006 to 2010. See United States.

4 The idea of social class is rather abstract as there is no real universal or uniform basis for determining where someone lies in terms of social class. I based the classification of East Elmhurst in the social class ladder on where it lies according to an article in the New York Times that was written in 2005. My interpretation in confirming this classification is based on a trend I noticed in the data of employment status by age that I based my data on. For the scale I looked at, see Tse and Werschkul’s graphic “How Class Works”.

5 See <http://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/about/overview.php> for more information.

 

Works Cited

Berger, Joseph. “There Stays the Neighborhood.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 8 Jan. 2011. Web. 14 May 2013.

Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. The Encyclopedia of New York City. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Print.

“Louis Armstrong House Museum – About Us.” Louis Armstrong House Museum. Louis Armstrong House Museum, 2008. Web. 16 May 2013.

Tse, Archie and Werschkul Ben. “Graphic: How Class Works”. The New York Times. The New York Times, 2005. Web. 15 May 2013.