Main commercial streets in the neighborhood include Jamaica Avenue, Atlantic Avenue and Liberty Avenue. The portion of the neighborhood south of Atlantic Avenue is also known as South Richmond Hill. The Long Island Rail Road provides freight access via the Montauk Branch, which runs diagonally through the neighborhood from northwest to southeast. Many residents own homes, though some also rent within small apartment buildings.
The area is well known for its large-frame single-family houses, many of which have been preserved since the turn of the 20th century. Many of the Queen Anne Victorian homes of old Richmond Hill still stand in the area today.[5][10]
The hill referred to as Richmond Hill is a moraine created by debris and rocks collected while glaciers advanced down North America during the Wisconsin glaciation.[13][14] Before European colonization the land was occupied by the Rockaway Native American group, for which the Rockaways were named.[15][16][17] In 1660, the Welling family purchased land in what was then the western portion of the colonial town of Rustdorp. The land would become the Welling Farm, while Rustdorp would be renamed Jamaica under British rule in 1664.[18] The Battle of Long Island, one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War, was fought in 1776 along the ridge in present-day Forest Park, near what is now the golf course clubhouse. Protected by its thickly-wooded area, American riflemen used guerrilla warfare tactics to attack and defeat the advancing Hessians.[19] One of the sites that would make up modern Richmond Hill, Lefferts Farm, was said to be the site of a Revolutionary War battle.[15] Clarenceville, a farming community, was established in January 1853 on the south side of Jamaica Avenue between 110th and 112th Streets on land purchased from the Welling estate.[18][20][21]
Richmond Hill's name was inspired either by a suburban town near London or by Edward Richmond, a landscape architect in the mid-19th century who designed much of the neighborhood.[13][22] In 1868, Albon Platt Man, a successful Manhattan lawyer, purchased the Lefferts, Welling, and Bergen farms along with other plots amounting to 400 acres of land, and hired Richmond to lay out the community. The tract extended as far north as White Pot Road (now Kew Gardens Road) near modern Queens Boulevard.[15][21][23][24] The area reminded Man of the London suburb, where his family resided.[25] Man's sons would later found the nearby Kew Gardens neighborhood from the northern portion of the land.[20][21][26][22]
Streets, schools, a church, and a railroad were built in Richmond Hill over the next decade, thus making the area one of the earliest residential communities on Long Island. The streets were laid down to match the geography of the area.[13][20][24] The development of area was facilitated by the opening of two railroad stations. These were the Clarenceville station on the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad, at Atlantic Avenue and Greenwood Avenue (now 111th Street); and the Richmond Hill station at Park Street (now Hillside Avenue) near Jamaica and Lefferts Avenues on the Montauk railroad line between Long Island City and eastern Long Island.[18][27] By 1872, a post office was established in the neighborhood,[15][28][29] while the Clarenceville neighborhood was merged into Richmond Hill.[20] Richmond Hill was incorporated as an independent village in 1894, by which time it had also absorbed the Morris Park neighborhood, which had been established in 1885.[20][21][30] In 1898, Richmond Hill and the rest of Queens county were consolidated into the City of Greater New York.[20][30]
The New York City Subway's BMT Fulton Street Line was extended east along Liberty Avenue into the area on September 25, 1915, terminating at Lefferts Avenue (now Lefferts Boulevard). It is now the southern terminal of the A train.[31] The area received further development when the BMT Jamaica Line elevated, now served by the New York City Subway's J and Z trains, was extended east into the neighborhood at Greenwood Avenue (now 111th Street) on May 28, 1917.[20][32] As the neighborhood's population continued to grow into the 1920s, smaller closely spaced houses and apartment buildings began to replace large private houses.[20][30]
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Richmond Hill was 62,982, a decrease of 3 (0.0%) from the 62,985 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 1,171.55 acres (474.11 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 53.8 inhabitants per acre (34,400/sq mi; 13,300/km2).[2]
The entirety of Community Board 9, which comprises Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven, had 148,465 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 84.3 years.[33]: 2, 20 This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.[34]: 53 (PDF p. 84) [35] Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 22% are between the ages of between 0–17, 30% between 25–44, and 27% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 17% and 7% respectively.[33]: 2
As of 2017, the median household income in Community Board 9 was $69,916.[36] In 2018, an estimated 22% of Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in twelve residents (8%) were unemployed, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 55% in Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, higher than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.[33]: 7
The Triangle Hofbrau, opened as a hotel in 1893 and as a restaurant in 1893, was a restaurant which was frequented by such stars as Mae West in the 1920s and 1930s. It sat on the triangular piece of land bordered by Hillside Avenue, Jamaica Avenue, and Myrtle Avenue.[20][26][37][39][40] The building has since been converted to medical offices.[37][41] Near the northwest corner of Hillside Avenue and Myrtle Avenue sat an old time ice cream parlor, Jahn's. It closed in late 2007.[37] Between Myrtle Avenue and the Montauk Line railroad is a former movie theatre, RKO Keith's Richmond Hill Theater, opened in 1929, functioning since 1968 as a bingo hall.[41][42][43] These and several other landmarks are located in the vicinity of the "Richmond Hill Triangle", bracketed by Jamaica Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, and 117th Street. This was historically the commercial center of Richmond Hill.[20][28][29][39][42][44] The intersection of Jamaica and Myrtle Avenues is also known as James J. Creegan Square.[39][45]
Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven are patrolled by the 102nd Precinct of the NYPD, located at 87–34 118th Street.[8] The 102nd Precinct ranked 22nd safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010.[48] As of 2018[update], with a non-fatal assault rate of 43 per 100,000 people, Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 345 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.[33]: 8
The 102nd Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 90.2% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 2 murders, 24 rapes, 101 robberies, 184 felony assaults, 104 burglaries, 285 grand larcenies, and 99 grand larcenies auto in 2018.[49]
As of 2018[update], preterm births are more common in Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers are less common. In Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, there were 92 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 15.7 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).[33]: 11 Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens have a higher than average population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 14%, slightly higher than the citywide rate of 12%.[33]: 14
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens is 0.0073 milligrams per cubic metre (7.3×10−9 oz/cu ft), less than the city average.[33]: 9 Eleven percent of Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens residents are smokers, which is lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.[33]: 13 In Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, 23% of residents are obese, 14% are diabetic, and 22% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 22%, 8%, and 23% respectively.[33]: 16 In addition, 22% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.[33]: 12
Eighty-six percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is about the same as the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 78% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", equal to the city's average of 78%.[33]: 13 For every supermarket in Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, there are 11 bodegas.[33]: 10
Richmond Hill is covered by the ZIP Code 11418 as well as parts of 11416, 11419, and 11421.[55] The United States Post Office operates two post offices nearby:
South Richmond Hill Station – 117-04 101st Avenue[56]
Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018[update]. While 34% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 22% have less than a high school education and 43% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 39% of Queens residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher.[33]: 6 The percentage of Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens students excelling in math rose from 34% in 2000 to 61% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 39% to 48% during the same time period.[65]
Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, 17% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, lower than the citywide average of 20%.[34]: 24 (PDF p. 55) [33]: 6 Additionally, 79% of high school students in Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.[33]: 6
Residents are zoned to MS 72 and MS 217 in Briarwood, and MS 137 in Ozone Park. Students also attend other middle schools and high schools in the city.
Richmond Hill High School is located in the neighborhood. Until June 2012, the city had planned to close the high school. The city had slated the school to close; however, a court ruling prevented the school's closure.[75][76] Richmond Hill High School is the zoned school for Richmond Hill Residents, while some living towards the east of Richmond Hill has Hillcrest High School as their zoned school.
There was a Long Island Rail Road station named Richmond Hill on Hillside Avenue and Babbage Street along the Montauk Branch. However, this station was closed in 1998 due to low ridership (this station had just one daily rider at the time of its closure).[80] The station and platform remain, though access via the staircase at Jamaica Avenue is gated off.[81][39] Today the Kew Gardens and Jamaica stations serve the area.[82]
Anaïs Nin (1923–1977), French-Cuban author of The Delta of Venus and diarist, who lived in Richmond Hill prior to moving to Paris in 1924[100]
Jacob Riis (1849–1914), documentary journalist/author, photographer and reformer was a Richmond Hill resident[13]
Phil Rizzuto (1917–2007), Yankees Hall of Fame Baseball Player who lived and went to high school in Richmond Hill. Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto Park in the neighborhood is named after him[10][13][62][63]
^ abcdHaller, Vera. "Indo-Caribbean Content, Victorian Style"Archived April 14, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, January 11, 2013. Accessed April 3, 2022. "Richmond Hill, in southeastern Queens, is the ultimate study in New York diversity. It is a place to eat Caribbean cuisine, shop for Bollywood movies, worship at a Sikh temple and stroll through streets lined with Victorian-era houses, a slice of pure Americana. Extending down the south slope of Forest Park, the neighborhood evolves from the quiet streets just off the park, where the old wood-framed homes are found, to vibrant "Little Guyana" along Liberty Avenue, its southern border with South Ozone Park."
^Robert AngelochArchived July 14, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, British Museum. Accessed December 16, 2020. "Landscape painter and printmaker; born Richmond Hill, New York; helped found the Woodstock School of Art."
^Ryan, Harriet; and Christensen, Kim. "Couple's success spreading kabbalah yields to discord, tax probeArchived December 23, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles Times, October 16, 2011. Accessed December 16, 2020. "The Bergs settled in Richmond Hill, a middle-class Queens neighborhood.... The house doubled as the American headquarters of what would soon be known as the Kabbalah Centre. The basement served as a dining hall and the living room as a synagogue."
^About Jack Cassidy – ActorArchived June 24, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Richmond Hill Historical Society. Accessed August 21, 2016. "Born March 5, 1927, John Edward Cassidy, better known as Jack, grew up in Richmond Hill, New York."
^Gardner, Jared. "Becoming Percy Crosby"Archived February 3, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, The Comics Journal, October 3, 2012. Accessed August 21, 2016. "Given the tumultuous adulthood Percy Crosby would experience, it is not surprising that he would hang onto a romantic memory of his formative years in Richmond Hill. However, Richmond Hill was never quite the sleepy small town that would serve as the hazy, lazy background to Crosby's most famous and enduring creation, Skippy."
^"50 People To Know: Radio Pioneer Alfred H. Grebe"Archived October 26, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, WCBS-AM, December 30, 2016. Accessed October 25, 2017. "Since this storytelling series is tied to our radio station's 50th anniversary, we wanted to use our first installment to tell you about someone who could be considered the father of Newsradio 880. Meet Alfred H. Grebe, born in Richmond Hill, Queens in 1895."
^Saxon, Wolfgang. "Wilbur Knorr, 51, Mathematics Historian"Archived June 2, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, March 31, 1997. Accessed October 25, 2017. "Dr. Knorr, a native of Richmond Hill, Queens, graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University, where he received a master's degree in 1968 and a doctorate in 1973."
^"Lord, Jack"Archived October 26, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, American National Biography. Accessed October 25, 2017. "Lord, Jack (30 Dec. 1920–21 Jan. 1998), actor, was born John Joseph Patrick Ryan in Brooklyn, New York, the second of five children of William L. Ryan, a New York City policeman, and Ellen Ryan (née O'Brien). John grew up mostly in Richmond Hill, Queens, attending Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, a Roman Catholic primary school, and then John Adams High School, a public school."
^Dinnage, Rosemary. "Dearest Diary"Archived May 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, September 5, 1982. Accessed August 22, 2018. "At the time these diaries were written, the family, financially somewhat harassed, had moved from the Continent to Richmond Hill in Queens, N.Y., there to be surrounded by a network of Spanish-speaking relatives. Two younger brothers are at school; Anais mends stockings, attends some courses at Columbia, pines for a succession of boys, starts a career as artist's model and, by 1923 when she is 20 years old, becomes engaged."