Jamaica, Queens

Jamaica
Neighborhood
Jamaica Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard
Location within New York City
Coordinates: 40°42′N 73°48′W / 40.7°N 73.8°W / 40.7; -73.8
Country	United States
State	New York
City	New York City
County/Borough	Queens
Community District	Queens 12[1]
Languages[2]	List 59.0% English 25.4% Spanish 15.6% Other
Area
• Total	2.670 sq mi (6.92 km2)
Population  (2010)[3]
• Total	53,751 (217,000 with the subsections)
Ethnicity [4]
• Black	48.2%
• Hispanic	22.1%
• White	19.9%
• Asian	10.5%
• Other/Multiracial	9.4%
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	11432, 11433, 11434, 11435, 11436
Area codes	718, 347, 929, and 917
Median household income	$48,559[5]

New Netherland series
Exploration
Fortifications:
Fort Amsterdam Fort Nassau (North) Fort Orange Fort Nassau (South) Fort Goede Hoop De Wal Fort Casimir Fort Altena Fort Wilhelmus Fort Beversreede Fort Nya Korsholm De Rondout
Settlements:
Noten Eylandt Nieuw Amsterdam Rensselaerswijck Nieuw Haarlem Beverwijck Wiltwijk Bergen Pavonia Vriessendael Achter Col Vlissingen Oude Dorpe Colen Donck Greenwich Heemstede Rustdorp Gravesende Breuckelen Nieuw Amersfoort Midwout Nieuw Utrecht Boswijk Swaanendael Nieuw Amstel Nieuw Dorp
The Patroon System
Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions
Cornelius Jacobsen May (1620–25) Willem Verhulst (1625–26) Peter Minuit (1626–32) Sebastiaen Jansen Krol (1632–33) Wouter van Twiller (1633–38) Willem Kieft (1638–47) Peter Stuyvesant (1647–64)
People of New Netherland
New Netherlander Twelve Men Eight Men Nine Men
Flushing Remonstrance
v t e

Jamaica is a 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, Cambria Heights, Rochdale Village to the southeast; 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, originally a designation for an area greater than the current neighborhood, was settled under Dutch rule in 1656. It was originally called Rustdorp.^[6][7] Under English rule, Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"; the name is of Lenape origin and wholly unrelated to that of the country. It was the first county seat of Queens County, holding that title from 1683 to 1788, and was 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.

Jamaica is the location of several government buildings such as 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.^[8] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Northeast Regional Laboratory as well as the New York District Office are 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 the Jamaica Racetrack, now the massive Rochdale Village housing development). John F. Kennedy International Airport and the hotels nearby are also located in Jamaica. The neighborhood is located in Queens Community District 12.^[1] It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 103rd and 113th Precincts.