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Queens County, New York

Queens
Borough of New York City
Queens County
Clockwise from top-left: Unisphere, Rockaway Park beach, US Open's Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Queensboro Bridge, Flushing-bound 7 train, New York Mets—Citi Field.
Flag of Queens
Flag
Official seal of Queens
Seal
Location of Queens, shown in red, in New York City
Location of Queens, shown in red, in New York City
Coordinates: 40°45′N 73°52′W / 40.750°N 73.867°W / 40.750; -73.867Coordinates: 40°45′N 73°52′W / 40.750°N 73.867°W / 40.750; -73.867
Country  United States of America
State  New York
County Queens
City New York City
Settled 1683
Named for Catherine of Braganza
Government
 • Type Borough (New York City)
 • Borough President Melinda Katz (D)
(Borough of Queens)
 • District Attorney Richard Brown
(Queens County)
Area
 • Total 178 sq mi (460 km2)
 • Land 109 sq mi (280 km2)
 • Water 70 sq mi (200 km2)  39%
Population (2015)
 • Total 2,339,150
 • Density 21,460.1/sq mi (8,285.8/km2)
ZIP Code prefixes 110--, 111--, 113--, 114--, 116--
Area code(s) 718, 347, 917
Website Official Website of the Queens Borough President

Queens is the easternmost and largest in area of the five boroughs of New York City. It is geographically adjacent to the borough of Brooklyn at the southwestern end of Long Island, and to Nassau County further east on Long Island; in addition, Queens shares water borders with the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. Coterminous with Queens County since 1899, the borough of Queens is the second-largest in population (after Brooklyn), with a census-estimated 2,339,150 residents in 2015, approximately 48% of them foreign-born. Queens County also is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of New York, behind the neighboring borough of Brooklyn, which is coterminous with Kings County. Queens is the fourth-most densely populated county among New York City's boroughs, as well as in the United States. If each of New York City's boroughs were an independent city, Queens also would be the nation's fourth most populous city, after Los Angeles, Chicago, and Brooklyn. Queens is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world.

Queens was established in 1683 as one of the original 12 counties of New York. It was named after the Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza (1638–1705), Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland. It became a borough of New York City in 1898, and from 1683 until 1899, the County of Queens included what is now Nassau County.

Queens has the most diversified economy of the five boroughs of New York City It is home to JFK International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. These airports are among the busiest in the world, causing the airspace above Queens to be the most congested in the country. Attractions in Queens include Flushing Meadows Park, Citi Field (home to the New York Mets baseball team), the US Open tennis tournament, Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silvercup Studios, and Aqueduct Racetrack. The borough has diverse housing, ranging from high-rise apartment buildings in the urban areas of western and central Queens, such as Jackson Heights, Flushing, Astoria, and Long Island City, to suburban neighborhoods in the eastern part of the borough such as Little Neck, Douglaston, and Bayside.


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