4 The QUEE NS Courier • WELCOME TO • april 23, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com welcome to bayside s BAYSIDE REAL ESTATE BY LIAM LA GUERE lguerre@queenscourier.com /@liamlaguerre Summary Bayside is comprised of various communities, including Bay Terrace to the north, and Bayside Hills and Oakland Gardens to the south. There are also some enclaves, such as the affluent Bayside Gables and Weeks Woodland. Including all the ZIP codes in Bayside, the neighborhood is bordered by the intersection of the curved section of the Cross Island Parkway and Utopia Parkway to the north, Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west, Union Turnpike to the south and the Cross Island Parkway to the east. The neighborhood has mostly low-rise residential developments with thriving commercial strips in Bell, Northern and Francis Lewis boulevards. There are numerous churches, and the neighborhood is home to some of the highest-rated schools in the city. The homes of Bayside While it is within city limits, Bayside has a suburban feel. “Bayside is the best of both worlds. You get the quiet, tree-lined streets and you get the convenience of a 30-minute train ride to Manhattan,” said Prime Realty’s Mitchell Slavuter, who has covered the neighborhood for nearly 15 years. “The type of buyer that likes Bayside is a family that commutes to Manhattan, but wants to come home and enjoy a quiet place to live.” There are approximately 20,000 homes in Bayside. The neighborhood predominately has single-family detached homes. There are a number of classic homes, including Tudors, some of which were recently landmarked by the city. Average price for a single-family detached home in Bayside is about $800,000, Slavuter said. The most expensive homes are large single-family properties for around $3 million. Mixed in with the small-sized homes are some condos and co-op developments. Transportation While Bayside doesn’t have a major transit hub, the Q13 and Q31 buses provide service to major downtowns in Flushing and Jamaica, which have access to subway lines. The LIRR has a station on 41st Avenue and Bell Boulevard that offers service to midtown Manhattan in about 30 minutes. But Bayside is a vehicle-driven neighborhood as many families have cars. However, the amount of vehicles in Bayside and lack of enough parking spaces has caused a major problem finding parking spots near Bell Boulevard. A recent study found that from about midday through the night parking is at capacity on Bell Boulevard and nearby side streets, as commuters, shoppers, residents, employees and restaurantgoers fight for parking. Currently, the Bayside Village Business Improvement District (BID) is studying various solutions to the problem, such as making a new parking garage. Things to do There are a number of parks in Bayside, including Crocheron and John Golden Park, which has ballfields and a pond, and Oakland Lake near to Queensborough Community College. Fort Totten to the north of Bay Terrace is also a popular attraction and has ballfields as well as breathtaking views. The North Shore Tennis and Racquets Center on 214th Place, which has more than a dozen tennis courts and squash courts, offers residents an alternative to baseball fields around the community. On 26th Avenue, Cord Meyer’s Bay Terrace Shopping Mall is a popular destination as there are various clothing chains and eateries, as well as a Loews movie theater. In the community’s most popular commercial strip, Bell Boulevard, there are plenty of bars and restaurants, which vary between Chinese, Italian, Columbian, Greek, American foods and more. The restaurants are mostly exclusive and there aren’t many chains. “It’s a small-town main street in New York City,” said Lyle Sclair, executive director of the Bayside Village Business Improvement District. “Whereas other main streets have been inundated with chains, almost all of our businesses are mom and pop businesses.” The 16-year-old Bourbon Street restaurant, known for its Cajun-style dishes, is adding a rooftop bar, which will be a first for the neighborhood. Numerous Korean restaurants can be found running on Northern Boulevard as well. Crime The area is served by the 111th Precinct, which is located on 215th Street and Northern Boulevard not far from Bell Boulevard. Crime in the neighborhood has dramatically decreased over the years, and the theft and burglaries are the most popular crimes. There hasn’t been a murder in the community in 2014 or so far in 2015, according to NYPD records.
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