Creating Community

1914 – Kew Gardens Civic Association (KGCA) is founded; annual dues are $1.

1972 – Start of P.S.99 expansion with a new wing to include a modern cafeteria and kitchen, a junior high school-size gymnasium, and an early childhood teaching complex KGCA’s unprecedented request that it become the second project to be financed by the Educational Construction Fund, along with the adjacent 32-story Court Plaza apartment house.

1972 – KGCA incorporates as a New York State Not-for-Profit corporation (contributions are not tax-deductible).

1975 – P.S. 99’s expansion is completed.  P.S. 99 Evening School for Adults, a creation of the P.S. 99 Parents Association and strongly supported by KGCA, opens four nights a week as a division of the Forest Hills High School Adult Education Program.  

1976 – KGCA celebrates America’s Bicentennial with a festive party on the Mayfair Road lawn of Dr. Murray Fuhrman and his wife, KGCA President Sylvia Fuhrman.

1984 – The William Sobelsohn Playground, at the Overlook on Park Lane South, is dedicated, named after KGCA’s Treasurer who had drowned in a boating accident on Long Island.

1995 – KGCA donates 200 folding chairs to the new P.S. 99 Annex so that community meetings, film showings, informational seminars, etc. may be held in these air-conditioned, ADA-accessible premises.

2005 – KGCA’s website , www.kewgardenscivic.org begins operation on the Internet.

2006 – KGCA makes the first of a series of donations to the Kew Gardens Community Center.   They will include bookcases and audiovisual equipment, among other items.

2008 – KGCA installs the bulletin board on Lefferts Boulevard, to be jointly maintained by KGCA, Kew Gardens Improvement Association (KGIA), and Kew Gardens Council on Recreation and the Arts (KGCRA).

2009 – KGCA launches its Direct-to-You email program, providing members who submit their email addresses with up to date news on entertainment or cultural events and of civic issues which may concern them or even save them money.

2011 – KGCA takes over the hosting of the internet sites oldkewgardens.com and kewgardenshistory.com from Joe DeMay so that they will continue to be available to the public as the popular and invaluable resource he created. 

2017 – KGCA worked with Harvey Elgart, owner of the Kew Gardens Cinema to bring the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinemas to our neighborhood. This was nine-day festival showcasing 130 independent film productions many featuring question and answer sessions with the individual film makers.  

2017 – KGCA supported the creation of community murals on both sides of the roadway at 80th Road over the LIRR tracks and both sides of the roadway over the LIRR on 82nd Avenue.

Governmental Advocacy

1970 – Responding to KGCA and community pressure, the City appropriates money for a Kew Gardens Public Library, but it is intended to go on the north side of Queens Boulevard at Main Street, in Briarwood! KGCA cannot get it moved but does succeed in having its name changed before it is to open in 1975.

1976 – Thanks to efforts of KGCA’s Treasurer, William Sobelsohn, an additional bench is finally placed on the Union Turnpike subway platform, to be followed later by a second exit turnstile.

1994 – P.S. 99’s Annex, on Lefferts Boulevard and Kew Gardens Road having been amazingly converted in record time from a closed parking garage into a model early childhood school, opens in October for Kindergarten and Grades 1 and 2.   The design and accelerated construction schedule – earning tributes from other public education activists – were accomplished by a cooperative builder familiar with Kew Gardens and the extraordinary intensive and focused efforts of KGCA and KGIA.

2003 – The long delayed $456,000 renovation of the Kew Gardens LIRR station gets underway, spearheaded by KGIA in a team effort with KGCA.  Their insistence on maintaining architectural standards results in the installation of more costly, but appropriate classic columns and pavers at the station house.

2004 – KGCA convinces the MTA to revise its plans and move the proposed ADA elevator at the Union Turnpike Subway station from Newcombe Square to the sidewalk across the street, in front of the Crossroads Tower. [The elevator started operation in 2006.]

2005 – The Post Office on Austin Street faces closing when its lease expires in 2006.  For the first time the community realizes that the property does not belong to the government and that the heirs who have inherited it wish to sell.  After intensive community campaign led by the KGCA, the issue is deferred with the owners selling it to Tulip Management, LLC., who extend the lease for five years, thus deferring the problem.

2008 – Putting an end to the uncertainty in the community since it was filed, the Landmarks Commission staff turns down KGCA’s application for landmarking areas of Kew Gardens   The Commission staff, after reviewing the area, received many letters, both favoring and opposing this controversial landmarking proposal for Kew Gardens   The option to resubmit an application remains open.

2008-2009 – Owners of Pasta Lovers restaurant on Queens Boulevard file an application to build a 20-story apartment house/hotel on 82nd Avenue, over their parking lot next to their restaurant.  Residents of the adjacent Hampton House are “up in arms” and KGCA, believing the parking facilities provided to be inadequate, asks that DOB audit the application.  Despite receiving a series of DOB and ECB fines, foundation preparation proceeds until a Stop Work Order is issued. [Construction resumed in 2013.]

2010 – After turbulent and uncertain negotiations, surrounded by community pressure and petitions led by the KGCA and the KGIA, to “Save the Post Office”, the lease for the Austin Street Post Office is signed for another five years, until 2016. 

2014-2015 – KGCA Vice President Adam Whiteman coordinates with the Transit Authority bus division about screeching Q10 buses.   The TA representatives identified the problem and coordinates with bus depot staff to resolve the problems.

2015 – KGCA contacts Congresswoman Grace Meng for assistance to advocate that the Austin Street Post Office lease is renewed.

2016 – KGCA together with the KGIA and a number of coops successfully fight back an MTA plan to eliminate parking on the south side of Kew Gardens Road between 82 Avenue and 80th Avenue to create a bus depot/staging area for Q10 and other bus lines serving the Queens Boulevard/Union Turnpike intersection.

2017 – KGCA met with the city's Department of Transportation (DOT) to review suggestions resulting from a DOT traffic study of Kew Gardens. After several suggestions from KGCA and area homeowners DOT implemented several changes including:  a stop light and an enlarged pedestrian island at the intersections of Park Lane, Park Lane South Beverly Road and Onslow; a traffic light and an enlarged pedestrian island were installed at Park Lane South and 115th Street at the severe curve along Park lane South; and a large curb extension was implemented at Park Lane South and Myrtle Avenue near the "Buddy" monument (this last is in Richmond Hill).

2017 – Bioswales were installed on several streets in Kew Gardens. Bioswales are water gardens planted with shrubs and trees to capture rain runoff before it overwhelms the sewer system, KGCA worked with homeowners who ensure that the bioswales were kept clean and did not become trash dumps. 

2020 – KGCA contacts Congresswoman Grace Meng for assistance in making sure that the Austin Street Post Office lease is renewed.

Neighborhood Preservation

1915 – A difficult agreement is achieved by KGCA with the electric utility and the City to run all wires underground or in back yards, thus eliminating unsightly street light poles and wires so prevalent elsewhere.  Homeowners agree to be assessed to pay for extra installation costs.

1970 – Under one of Mayor John Lindsay’s citywide programs, KGCA persuades the then owner of the derelict lot on Austin Street, next to the Post Office and part of the theater, to lease it to the City for a dollar a year.  The City then paves it, plants two trees plus shrubs, installs chess tables and benches, following a design submitted by KGCA and maintains it.  [The Parks Council considered it to be one of the most widely used vestpocket parks in the City.  Years later, when the City terminated the program, the park became the responsibility of the current owner, who continues to keep it available for public use.]

1971 – The Lefrak Organization announces plans for the two high-rise towers to go over the LIRR tracks at Union Turnpike. Mobilizing against it are the KGCA, Kew Gardens Improvement Association, and the Committee for Urban Scale, a federation of Forest Hills homeowners.   Mario Cuomo, prior to his entry into politics, is hired as our attorney; the community contributes to the Legal Expense Fund.  [Ultimately, in 1975, despite the combined efforts of Kew Gardens and Forest Hills homeowners, the Lefrak Organization won at the Court of Appeals in Albany after a KGCA bus trip + private cars to Albany.  The two towers were built.]

2000-2003 – Construction of a planned 4-story, 10-unit apartment house begins on the former site of the National Council of Jewish Women, net to the P.S. 99 Annex on Lefferts Boulevard.  KGCA and KGIA succeed in having the Department of Buildings review the permits and the work is stopped.   When Bell Realty buys the property, the civic associations are hopeful it will one day become part of a much desired pre-K addition to the P.S. 99 Annex.

2003 – KGIA, endorsed and financially supported by KGCRA and KGCA, installs 15 planters on Lefferts Boulevard over the LIRR; merchants become involved in program maintenance.

2003 – KGCA persuades the Department of Buildings to enforce the Zoning Resolution and not to authorize building on too small an odd-shaped lot on Curzon Road.

2003 – Thanks to a concentrated effort by the City, at the request of the community including the KGCA, Coconuts, the bar on 83rd Avenue off Lefferts Boulevard – which had become a public neighborhood nuisance – is padlocked.

2005 – After years of effort by KGCA and KGIA, with the support of Community Board 9, the City Planning Commission completes its rezoning of major sections of Kew Gardens. No longer can a building taller than 80 feet be erected along Metropolitan Avenue, “as-of-right.”

2013 – American Water Resources makes available its optional water and sewer line service “insurance-like” contract, with modest monthly charges to be added to our quarterly NYC Water Board bills. KGCA uniquely initiates a letter and email campaigning to remove the NY State sales tax from required charges.  The tax is removed when Governor Cuomo signs the bill.

Lefferts Boulevard Bridge Stores

2015-2020 - KGCA and KGIA hold regular meetings with the LIRR to complain about how the MTA master lease holder is maintaining the stores on the Lefferts Boulevard Bridge.  They enlist the support of City and State elected officials to pressure the MTA to resolve the problem and fight the MTA’s plan to take down the stores.

2020 – KGCA reaches out to and teams up with the Mutual Housing Association of NY (MHANY), to respond to a Request for Proposal from the MTA to rehabilitate the buildings and bridge structure, and manage the stores on the Lefferts Boulevard Bridge over the LIRR tracks. 

2020-2021 – At the urging of the KGCA and KGIA, Senator Comrie and Assemblyman Rosenthal draft and get passed legislation that requires the MTA to maintain the footprint of the buildings on the Lefferts Boulevard Bridge and provide the existing storeowners the right of first refusal of renewing their lease when the stores come under new management.

2021 – MHANY team is designated by the MTA to negotiate for the concession.  This is currently ongoing. If successful the organization’s board will consist of 4 members nominated by MHANY, 2 members nominated by KGCA and KGCRA, and one member by the store owners.

Kew Gardens Borough Based Jail

2018 - KGCA became aware of the mayor's plan to build a high-rise jail in Kew Gardens. A meeting with a team of low-level representatives from the mayor's office made us realize that the plan was done in secret and was regarded by the mayor as a fact.

2019 - KGCA organized a town hall meeting about the jail. KGCA made contact and coordinated demonstrations against the jail with representatives from the Bronx, Brooklyn and Chinatown in Manhattan where the mayor also proposed high-rise jails. KGCA participated in demonstrations and went to meetings in front of the City Planning Commission, community Board 9 and the Borough President testifying against the jail. 

2020 - After the jails were approved by the City Council, KGCA joined a coalition with residents of Briarwood and Forest Hills and sued the city for not following proper procedures in obtaining approval for the jails. 

2021 - KGCA met with its attorney and consulted with the other boroughs on plans to stop the jails. KGCA interviewed several candidates for city council and the mayoralty to determine which of them would oppose construction of the jail. This is ongoing.

Umbrella Hotel

2019-2021 - KGCA has advocated with our City and State elected and administrative officials to close this public nuisance resulting in the Mayor designating a coordinator for City's multi-agency response in November 2020.

Civic Coordination

1973 – In order to take in the Kew Gardens children attending P.S. 90 and residing below Metropolitan Avenue, KGCA petitions the Board of Education to move the P.S. 99 southern boundary line one block, from Metropolitan Avenue to 84th Avenue.  KGCA strikes out.

1976 – Kew Gardens Council for Recreation and the Arts, Inc. (KGCRA) is formed by the then presidents of KGCA, KGIA, and the Parents Association of P.S.99 as an IRS 501(c)3 Not-for-Profit Corporation.  Its first major gift is a grant of $20,000 from the Samuel and Ethel Lefrak Foundation.

2013 – KGCA Vice President Adam Whiteman and other community dog owner activists begin meetings with Forest Park Director and Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz to establish a dog park in the Overlook.   The Forest Park Barking Lot eventually receives Parks Department approval and funding, opening in May 2020.

2011-2014 – Work is started on the major City project to replace water mains in most of Kew Gardens.  KGCA emails keep members abreast of developments during construction thanks to good information KGCA receives from the City’s Department of Design and Construction.

2012-2013 – As a result of the 2010 Census, Kew Gardens is redistricted.  For the first time in memory all of Kew Gardens in in a single Congressional district and in a single City Council district, thanks to KGCA’s vigilance and involvement.

2012-2014 – National Grid carries out its program to replace gas lines in much of Kew Gardens without any notices to the public, prompting many calls and emails to KGCA. KGCA President Dominick Pistone coordinates with National Grid representatives to make sure that they are responsive to neighborhood complaints.

2021 – KGCA organizes zoom interviews with various candidates running for City Council, Borough President and Mayor.  Interviews provide an opportunity for the candidates to learn about issues impacting Kew Gardens and members the opportunity to hear from the candidates first hand.