By KAVITA MOKHA
Ken Maldonado for The Wall Street Journal
Shops along Broadway in Elmhurst, Queens
After decades of remaining under the radar, especially compared with more-coveted Queens neighborhoods like Astoria and Long Island City, the historic neighborhood of Elmhurst is raising its profile—with several developments afoot.
A former Dutch and English settlement, the area is now a melting pot of cultures from Thailand to Colombia, with dozens of languages spoken in its corridors. Immigrant-owned businesses line the heart of the neighborhood along Broadway—many of them opening in the last decade.
Chao Thai, Nusara Thai Kitchen and Lao Bei Fang Dumpling House are among the eateries that have been attracting foodies to Elmhurst from beyond Queens in recent years. There are also mainstays like La Fusta—the oldest Argentine restaurant in New York City.
Ken Maldonado for The Wall Street Journal
Wat Buddha Thai Thavorn Vanaram temple
The neighborhood, among the most diverse in the country, is also home to a number of places of worship including the Wat Buddha Thai Thavorn Vanaram temple, the Jain Center of America and Temple, Chan Meditation Center and St. James Episcopal Church, which dates back to the 1700s.
In the last few years, two new condo developments—the Miramar and C Condo—have added to Elmhurst’s housing stock.
Soon to open is the Elm East—a mixed-use development on Broadway and Queens Boulevard with 83 rental apartments and several retail spaces.
The developer, Pi Capital, says the lease for the retail portion has been signed, bringing in several new franchises to the location including the first Starbucks outpost in Elmhurst.
Across the street from the Elm East, an empty lot owned by Pi Capital Partners, along with a Wendy’s restaurant, will be converted to a shopping mall in the next few years. Local film buffs point out that the Wendy’s to be torn down was the site of the McDowell’s fast-food outlet in the Eddie Murphy classic “Coming to America.”
Ken Maldonado for The Wall Street Journal
M and R trains in Elmhurst to Manhattan
The changes in Elmhurst aren’t limited to commercial real estate.
The Queens Public Library’s Elmhurst branch, the second busiest in the borough’s network, was closed last year and a new, state-of-the-art facility is being constructed and is expected to open in 2014. The former branch building, which opened in 1906, was built with funding from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
Locals say the burgeoning population in the area necessitated such a move.
“The congestion in the neighborhood was evident in the [old] library—it used to be packed,” said Nicholas Dovas, first vice president at the local Newtown Civic Association, who has lived in the area since 1990 and was a volunteer at the library.
The population of Elmhurst and nearby South Corona increased roughly 45% between 1980 and 2010 to 172,598, according to census data.
The growth has led U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley and City Council member Daniel Dromm to spearhead calls for the reopening of Elmhurst’s Long Island Rail Road station. The station was closed in 1985 in a move that was attributed to low ridership.
Ken Maldonado for The Wall Street Journal
A meal and diners at Lao Bei Fang Dumpling House
The R and M subway lines that currently stop in Elmhurst take between 30 and 40 minutes to reach Manhattan during peak hours—on crowded trains. The LIRR train from Elmhurst would arrive at Manhattan’s Penn Station in roughly 15 minutes.
“If people are given the opportunity to shave off about half an hour from their commute, that’s an enormously valuable product,” said Mr. Crowley, adding that the move would also open up Elmhurst as a neighborhood for additional people to explore.
LIRR officials say they are giving the issue “serious consideration.” Improvements being made on the Port Washington line will add capacity, according to Helena Williams, president of the LIRR. The project would cost between $20 million and $30 million, she said
Ken Maldonado for The Wall Street Journal
A meal at Lao Bei Fang Dumpling House
The next step, Ms. Williams added, will be a ridership study to be conducted in the next year or so, that will analyze the potential market for the LIRR in Elmhurst.
Robert Valdes-Clausell, an Elmhurst resident since 1966 and treasurer of the Newtown Civic Association, said residents are “already being exposed to the rumbling of the [LIRR] train and there is a tremendous increase in population density.”
With the number of residents “expected to grow even further, this is a great opportunity to accommodate and serve the people,” he said.
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A version of this article appeared May 4, 2012, on page A18 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Elmhurst: Home to Many, More Are Coming.
