I went to elementary school in a town (Valley Stream), which bordered this area, and where many of the inhabitants “fled” the region in question. BTW: Negrophobia played a part, but so did the constant flooding. Whoever builds in SE Queens does so at their own risk.
I was raised in Queens Village and remember stores and businesses all up and down Jamaica Avenue and along Springfield Blvd. My family left in ‘62 because my Dad was transferred and I saw that it went downhill for a long time but thought it had come back with the influx of Haitians - hard-working, middle class folks. One friend from there whom I’ve known since kindergarten jokes that I can drink with more people from Queens here in my neighborhood bar in Nashville than if I still lived in Queens.
HI Clem
I grew up in the Laurelton/Springfield Gardens area of SE Queens........we were practically neighbors!!!