Queens

Largest borough and county of New York City, USA; population (2000 est) 2,229,400. Situated at the west end of Long Island, it covers an area of 280 sq km/108 sq mi. Mainly residential, its districts include Jackson Heights, Forest Hills, and Flushing. Industries are concentrated in Long Island City, a railroad and shipping terminus, and Maspeth. Products include processed foods, metalware, paint, furniture, stonemasonry, clothes, and electronic and office equipment.

Queens is connected with Manhattan by the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, and the Queensboro and Triborough bridges. La Guardia and John F Kennedy International airports are located here, two of the busiest airline terminals in the world.

Places of interest include a Quaker meeting house (1696); Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, site of the 1939 and 1940 world fairs; Queens Museum; the New York Hall of Science; and a botanical garden. Educational institutions include St John's University (1870), the Academy of Aeronautics (1932), and several branches of the City University of New York. Notable sports arenas include the Shea Stadium, Forest Hills Tennis Club, and the National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, site of the US Open Championships.

The administrative region of Queens County was established in 1683, and named after Catherine of Braganza, queen consort of Charles II; the borough of Queens was constituted in 1898.