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is a large residential neighborhood in the northernmost part of the City of New York borough of Queens. Located between the East River to the north and 25th Avenue to the south. Whitestone is surrounded by College Point, Flushing, Bayside, Auburndale, Linden Hill, and Murray Hill. Dutch settlers derived the name of the town from a large limestone boulder that used to lie on the shore of the river. The neighborhood is patrolled by the NYPD's 109th Precinct, and part of Queens Community Board 7. It is traditionally bounded by the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge (opened 1939) on the west and the Throgs Neck Bridge (opened 1961) on the east. The zip code of Whitestone is 11357.
The area was, in large part, the estate of Francis Lewis, a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The estate was the site of an English raid during the Revolutionary War. Lewis was not present but his wife was taken prisoner and his house was burned to the ground. In the late nineteenth century, many wealthy New Yorkers began building mansions in the area, on what had once been farmland or woodland. Rapid development of the area ensued in the 1920s, however, as trolley and Long Island Rail Road train service on the Whitestone Branch was expanded into the neighborhood. Although this rail service ended during the Great Depression, a small part of the right-of-way was later used by Robert Moses to help construct the Belt Parkway, which includes the Whitestone Expressway which runs along the southeast edge of the former Flushing Airport and through Whitestone. Flushing Airport has been abandoned since 1985; efforts to do something with the land have failed.
Further development came with the building of the Bronx Whitestone Bridge in 1939. The bridge measures 2,300 feet, and was the fourth longest bridge in the world at the time of its construction. The neighborhood is comprised mostly of well kept single-four family homes, tall and small condominiums and co-ops, as well as a large garden apartment complex. Whitestone is located only 25 minutes from Manhattan.
Notable community landmarks include St. Luke's Roman Catholic Church, Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church and the DG athletic league. The neighborhood's large Italian community is evident on Sundays when St Luke's RC Church is filled to capacity during its Italian mass. The area around St Luke's consists of a complex of beautifully well kept semi-attached two family homes built in 1970. The Grace Episcopal Church, on Clintonville street in Whitestone, was built in 1858 on land donated by the family of Francis Lewis. The Whitestone Hebrew Centre consists of two buildings on Clintonville Street and was founded in 1929. The Russian Orthodox Church of St Nicholas, with its distinctive great blue onion dome, was built in 1968. The Greek Orthodox Church, Holy Cross, or "Timios Stavros," is located on 150th street. Whitestone Academy is Whitestones only High school.
Just to the west of Queens side of the Whitestone Bridge approach, situated between Whitestone proper and College Point is the exclusive area known to local residents as Malba, a small area on the waterfront home to some of the largest and most expensive private houses in New York City. On the north eastern side of Whitestone is another exclusive area known to the local residents as Beechhurst, characterized by high rise condominiums and views of the Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges. Whitesone as a whole is known for it's impeccably well kept homes. There has been a recent new home construction and renovation boom. Stunning architecture can be seen throughout the neighborhood.
Most people who live in Whitestone are Croatian, Italian, Polish, Irish, German, Greek and other European descent. There is also a minority of Koreans and Hispanics population. Population in Whitestone is 57,350.