Surprises and Serendipities

Here is a list of interesting facts about Kew Gardens:

Crystal Lake

• 70 years after Crystal Lake was drained to allow for the realignment of the Long Island Rail Road, in the 1980s, the basements of stores on Austin Street were periodically flooded by the underground spring that had fed the lake. ¹

Tragic events

• An alley connecting Lefferts Boulevard and the LIRR station was the unfortunate site of the infamous murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964. Long-time residents have said that this gruesome crime gave the neighborhood a bad rap.² The NY Times ran a sensational headline on the front page reading “37 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call The Police,” which was found to be untrue as only a few saw it, and two people called the police.³

On Thanksgiving Eve 1950 the worst railway accident in Long Island Rail Road history (which dates back to 1834) took place as two trains collided on the LIRR Main Line to the east of the Kew Gardens station near 126th Street when a Babylon-bound train rear-ended a Hempstead-bound train which had stopped because of brake problems, killing 78 and injuring 363.⁴ The accident was the second deadly accident to occur in 1950, after a derailment at Rockville Centre nine months prior had killed 32 people. ⁵ These two accidents played a role in the MTA’s creation. Shortly after, the State Legislature stepped in and created an oversight authority to monitor the bankrupt LIRR, pushing it closer to taking over the troubled railroad, which it did in 1965. ⁶

Famous residents

Kew Gardens was once the home of the following famous people, among others:

• Ossie Schectman (1919-2013) -Schectman is best known as the basketball player who scored the first basket in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later became the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born in Kew Gardens to Jewish Russian immigrants.⁷

• Jerry Springer (born 1944) – Springer is best known as the host of The Jerry Springer Show, which ran from 1991 to 2018. Born in England, he emigrated to the United States in 1949 and settled in Kew Gardens, where he attended P.S. 99.⁸

• Paul Stanley (born 1952) – Stanley, born Stanley Bert Eisen, is best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. Born in Manhattan, Stanley, moved to Kew Gardens as a child in 1960. There, he experienced the culture shock of being surrounded by ample grass and trees.⁹

• Kitty Genovese (1935-1964) – Genovese is best known as the victim of a brutal murder that prompted studies in psychology on the bystander effect, also known as “Genovese syndrome.” Genovese had moved into Kew Gardens with her girlfriend in 1963, and was raped and stabbed to death outside their apartment in 1964. ¹⁰