Utopia Parkway (Queens)
{{short description|Boulevard in Queens, New York}}
{{For|the album|Utopia Parkway}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox street
| name = Utopia Parkway
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| image = Utopia Pkwy 19 Av TWC jeh.jpg
| image_size = 300px
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| caption = The parkway crossing 19th Avenue in Whitestone
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| owner = City of New York
| maint = NYCDOT
| length_mi = 5.1
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| location = Queens, New York City
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| metro = 169 Street-Hillside Avenue
| coordinates = {{Coord|40.729472|N|73.793333|W|display=inline,title}}
| direction_a = South
| terminus_a = {{jct|state=NY|Parkway|Grand Central}} in Hillcrest
| direction_b = North
| terminus_b = Dead end in Beechhurst
| junction = {{jct|state=NY|I|495}} in Utopia
{{jct|state=NY|NY|25A}} in Murray Hill
{{jct|state=NY|Parkway|Cross Island}} in Clearview
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Utopia Parkway is a major street in the New York City borough of Queens. Starting in the neighborhood of Beechhurst and ending in the Jamaica Estates neighborhood, the street connects Cross Island Parkway and Northern Boulevard in the north to Union Turnpike, Grand Central Parkway and Hillside Avenue in the south.
History and naming
Simon Freeman, Samuel Resler, and Joseph Fried incorporated the Utopia Land Company in 1903.{{cite news|title=New York Incorporations|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|url-access=limited|date=May 13, 1903|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1903/05/13/101997743.html?pageNumber=14|access-date=February 5, 2019|page=14}} The following year, the Utopia Land Company bought {{convert|161.25|acre|0}} of land between the communities of Jamaica and Flushing.{{cite web|title=In the Real Estate Field; Harlem Plots Bought for Improvement -- Ex-Gov. Morton's Purchase -- New Building at Broadway and Fifty-Fifth Street -- Dealings by Brokers and at Auction.|website=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|url-access=limited|date=March 26, 1904|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/03/26/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-harlem-plots-bought-for-improvement-exgov.html|access-date=February 5, 2019|page=15}}{{cite web|title=A Hebrew Utopia|website=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|url-access=limited|date=June 7, 1905|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/06/07/archives/sheffield-may-refuse-gas-commission-berth-would-rather-be-federal.html|access-date=February 5, 2019|page=16}} The Utopia Land Company intended to build a cooperative community for Jewish families interested in moving away from the Lower East Side of Manhattan. They intended to name the streets after those on the Lower East Side, where there was already a large Jewish population. After its initial acquisition, the company was unable to secure enough funding to further develop the area.{{cite web|last=Schneider|first=Daniel B.|title=F.Y.I.: A Utopia in Queens|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|url-access=limited|website=The New York Times|date=January 26, 1997|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/26/nyregion/fyi-313211.html|access-date=February 5, 2019|page=CY2}} In 1909, {{convert|118|acre|0}} of the land was sold to Felix Isman of Philadelphia for $350,000.{{cite web|title=Isman's $350,000 Purchase; Philadelphia Operator Buys Tract of 118 Acres Near Jamaica.|website=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|url-access=limited|date=June 13, 1909|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/06/13/archives/ismans-350000-purchase-philadelphia-operator-buys-tract-of-118.html|access-date=February 5, 2019|page=14}} Utopia Parkway was named after Freeman, Resler, and Fried's unrealized plan.
Utopia Parkway also shares its name with Utopia Playground, a park built atop a filled-in pond bound by Utopia Parkway, Jewel Avenue, and 73rd Avenue."[http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/Q294/history Utopia Playground Highlights]". NYC Parks. Retrieved March 19, 2017. Utopia Playground was opened by the New York City Department of Parks in 1942.{{cite web|last=Shaman|first=Diana|title=If You're Thinking of Living In/Utopia, Queens; A Neighborhood Aspires to Its Name|website=The New York Times|date=December 21, 2003|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|url-access=limited|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/21/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-of-living-in-utopia-queens-a-neighborhood-aspires-to-its-name.html|access-date=February 23, 2019|page=11.7}} It was the site of the Black Stump School and later the Black Stump Hook, Ladder and Bucket Company.
Transportation
Utopia Parkway is served by the following:
- A branch of the Q16 runs between Cross Island Parkway and 26th Avenue. The {{NYC bus link|QM20}} also serves this branch, but heads east on 26th Avenue and west on Willets Point Boulevard.
- The Q30 and Q31 run on Utopia south of Horace Harding Expressway and Hollis Court Boulevard, respectively.
- The Bay Terrace-bound {{NYC bus link|QM2|QM32|prose=y}} run from 14th Road to Cross Island Parkway.
In Popular Culture
The American Rock band Fountains of Wayne named their second studio album, Utopia Parkway, after the street.