Glen Oaks, Queens

Location

Glen Oaks lies between Grand Central Parkway and Nassau County to the north, Union Turnpike to the south, the Queens/Nassau border (Lakeville Road) to the east, and the Cross Island Parkway to the west. In this area, the Queens/Nassau border separates New York City from the Village of Lake Success to the north. The Queens/Nassau border is referred to locally as "the city line" and is so designated on New York City buses. Union Turnpike is the main commercial road in the area.

The northern edge of Glen Oaks is a line of hills which are part of the terminal moraine of the last glacial period. These hills include the highest point in Queens: 258.2 feet (78.7 m) above sea level. The southern part of Glen Oaks is a glacial outwash plain.

The postal ZIP code zones for this area do not follow political boundaries, even crossing the city line. The easternmost part of the neighborhood is in the 11040 zip code, addressed as New Hyde Park. The northernmost part of the neighborhood—the North Shore Towers complex—is in the 11005 zip code, addressed as Floral Park. The portion of the neighborhood west of Little Neck Parkway—other than the Queens County Farm Museum—is in the 11426 zip code, addressed as Bellerose. Finally, the central part of the neighborhood is in the 11004 zip code, which may be addressed as either Glen Oaks or Floral Park. Since the zip codes cross the city line, they cannot be used as the sole means to determine sales tax rates. This has caused problems for area residents.

North of Glen Oaks is the Little Neck neighborhood. The Queens neighborhoods of Bellerose and Floral Park lie south of Glen Oaks. The Nassau County villages of Bellerose and Floral Park lie south of the Queens neighborhoods with the same names. East of Glen Oaks (past Lake Success) is the unincorporated neighborhood of North New Hyde Park. South of North New Hyde Park is the Village of New Hyde Park. So even though Glen Oaks shares various postal city names with Nassau County villages, it is not adjacent to those villages and is not politically related to them other than being in the same state. The right-of-way of the historical Long Island Motor Parkway is now the southernmost edge of the parking lot of Green Meadows Farm. East of Little Neck Parkway, the Motor Parkway route is now 74th Avenue, including Tenney Park. The route also defines the southern border of the North Shore Towers complex (formerly the Glen Oaks Golf Club).

Apartment complexes

Glen Oaks is dominated by a large garden apartment complex named Glen Oaks Village built in 1950. The apartment complex has two major sections. One extends from Little Neck Parkway eastwards to 263rd Street, north to the Royal Ranch, and south to Union Turnpike. The other section extends from Commonwealth Boulevard to 249th Street. Opposite Glen Oaks Village on Little Neck Parkway is another garden apartment complex, Parkwood Estates (originally named Grand Central Apartments). Glen Oaks also includes the North Shore Towers apartment complex and country club built in the mid-1970s and the nearby Royal Ranch community built in 1954 on the same hill.

Parks and recreation

Tenney Park consists of 3 acres (1.2 ha) located at the intersection of 260th Street and 74th Avenue (the intersection is a traffic circle around the park). It serves as the home of Glen Oaks Little League as well as having basketball courts and playground equipment. It was originally named Glen Oaks Park. In 1977 it was named Tenney Park after Jerry Tenney, a former owner of Glen Oaks Village. However, it is most commonly known as "The Oval", after its shape. The official name was also changed to The Oval in 2010 after much of the public urged Bob Friedrich (a politician who represents Glen Oaks) to request a change.

There is also a 2-acre (8,100 m²) playground at Little Neck Parkway and 72nd Avenue, adjacent to P.S. 186. South of the playground on Little Neck Parkway is the Queens County Farm Museum, 47.7 acres (19.3 ha) that re-create the historic agricultural phase of the county, housing an array of farm animals and antique farming equipment.

Institutions

The 46-acre (19 ha) Long Island Jewish Medical Center is mostly located in Glen Oaks and is one of the largest medical facilities on Long Island.

The Glen Oaks branch of the Queens Public Library, designed by the architects Scott Marble and Karen Fairbanks, reopened in 2013, replacing the original library, which was demolished in 2010. The new library is twice the size of the old one, and has won numerous awards, from design through completion.

Glen Oaks is covered by two public elementary (grades K-5) school zones, for P.S. 186 and P.S. 115. Students graduating from these schools attend middle (grades 6-8) school M.S. 172. A Roman Catholic school, Our Lady of the Snows, is an alternative for grades K-8. In 2004, a public school campus—the Frank A. Padavan campus—was opened in western Glen Oaks. This section of land was previously part of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center. The campus includes The Queens High School of Teaching and two elementary/intermediate (grades K-8) schools: P.S./I.S. 208 and P.S./I.S. 266. P.S./I.S. 266 serves students across District 26, chosen by lottery from applicants. P.S./I.S. 208 does not serve Glen Oaks students. (Its zone includes just the sliver of Glen Oaks west of Commonwealth Boulevard, which is not residential.) Typically the district 26 schools have been ranked among the best in the NYC public school system.

Several institutions on or near Union Turnpike are associated with Glen Oaks, though they are not actually in Glen Oaks. For example, Bellerose Jewish Center, the Glen Oaks branch of the Queens library, and Glen Oaks School (P.S. 115) are all in the Floral Park neighborhood. So are M.S. 172 and Our Lady of the Snows. In contrast, P.S. 186 is in the center of Glen Oaks, but is named Castlewood School. The Queens County Farm is also in the center of Glen Oaks (and has the Glen Oaks/Floral Park zip code) but the group that operates it is the Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose.

Transportation

The Q36, Q46 local buses (the former on weekdays only), and the QM5, QM6, QM8 express buses serve the area.