Area Property Description:
Jamaica is a middle-class
neighborhood in the
New York City borough of
Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by
Hollis to the east;
St. Albans,
Springfield Gardens,
Rochdale Village to the southeast; and
South Jamaica to the south;
Richmond Hill and
South Ozone Park to the west;
Briarwood to the northwest; and
Kew Gardens Hills,
Jamaica Hills, and
Jamaica Estates to the north.
Jamaica was settled under
Dutch rule in 1656 in
New Netherland as
Rustdorp.
[6][7] Under British rule, Jamaica became the center of the "
Town of Jamaica". Jamaica was the first county seat of Queens County, holding that title from 1683 to 1788, and was also the first incorporated village on Long Island. When Queens was incorporated into the City of Greater New York in 1898, both the Town of Jamaica and the Village of Jamaica were dissolved, but the neighborhood of Jamaica regained its role as county seat. Today, some locals group Jamaica's surrounding neighborhoods into an unofficial Greater Jamaica, roughly corresponding to the former Town of Jamaica.
[8]
Jamaica is the location of several government buildings including
Queens Civil Court, the civil branch of the
Queens County Supreme Court, the Queens County Family Court and the
Joseph P. Addabbo Federal Building, home to the
Social Security Administration's Northeastern Program Service Center.
[9] The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration's Northeast Regional Laboratory as well as the New York District Office are also located in Jamaica. Jamaica Center, the area around
Jamaica Avenue, is a major commercial center. The
New York Racing Association, based at
Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, lists its official address as Jamaica (Central Jamaica once housed NYRA's
Jamaica Racetrack, now the massive Rochdale Village housing development).
John F. Kennedy International Airport and the hotels nearby also use Jamaica as their address.
Jamaica is located in
Queens Community District 12.
[1] It is patrolled by the
New York City Police Department's 103rd and 113th Precincts.