Cambria Heights, Queens

The hometown of stars like Lena Horne and Jackie Robinson, Cambria Heights is a clean and quiet suburb on the border of Queens and Brooklyn. While the town used to have a heavy Russian and Italian population, it is now a predominantly African American town. While this isn't a very exciting place to live, it is a peaceful place to raise a family. Cambria Heights has a large variety of shops, some quaint restaurants, playgrounds, lots of free parking, and an excellent school district that includes some great magnet schools. This middle class neighborhood also has a very well stocked library housed in a modern facility. The library's collection includes materials translated into French and Haitian Creole, and Wi-Fi Internet access is available throughout the library. The neighbors are friendly and all pitch in to keep the neighborhood clean. The major problems with living in Cambria Heights include travel time for commuters and the lack of recreational and/or nightlife activities. While there are numerous public transportation options available in and near Cambria Heights, it still takes quite a bit of time to travel to Manhattan. Still, the rest of the town's qualities and the fairly reasonable home prices make it a popular choice with young professionals with families.

Cambria Heights is a neighborhood located in the southeastern area of Queens. Surrounding communities include Queens Village to the north, St. Albans to the west, and Laurelton to the south. Cambria Heights runs along the Belt Parkway, which separates it from Nassau County.

Cambria Heights is highly residential and suburban in character. The streets are very wide and you can nearly hear a pin drop. The quiet streets are lined with immaculately cared for single-family homes. The neighborhood is known for its globe lanterns that dot the lawns of many of its residents.

The main thoroughfare in Cambria Heights is 234th street, which is the neighborhood’s only one way street. Linden Boulevard is the main shopping street and here you will find just about any store to meet your needs. Minimal restaurants and café’s populate this area. If you are looking for five-star dining, you will want to travel more toward Manhattan, but Cambria Heights does offer an average but nice selection. There is plenty of parking along Linden Boulevard, which makes shopping a breeze. The area is uncongested and there are no parking meters.

Most of the neighborhood’s newcomers are younger families who want to escape the rat-race of the big city. The residents highly esteem Cambria Heights and believe that by being away from the crowded city they are on a quest for a much better way of life.

This neighborhood is pretty far from civilization; it borders on Long Island at the southeastern most part of the borough of Queens. It may be appealing to some are dying to buy a home that fits their entire family, but I would not recommend this neighborhood to anyone, tourist or potential resident alike solely based on the fact that there isn’t much to do out here. There are of course restaurants and delis, like in any neighborhood, but nothing that is worth the commute all the way out to this no man’s land. The atmosphere of this neighborhood is one of any suburb – it’s a middle/upper middle class neighborhood, mostly populated by African Americans.