Jamaica Hills, Queens

Jamaica Hills is a small neighborhood in the east central portion of the former Township of Jamaica, Queens in New York City, USA. The neighborhood is surrounded by the Grand Central Parkway (north), Jamaica Estates (east), Hillside Avenue (south), and Briarwood (west). It is centered on the terminal moraine which runs the length of Long Island. Jamaica Hills is a residential development that was named for the local hilly terrain, and it dates from the 1920’s and 1930’s as a result of subway construction on Jamaica Avenue and Hillside Avenue. Originally populated with people who left neighborhoods under ethnic transition, Jamaica Hills started to become more ethnically diverse after 1964. The population today is mostly comprised of east Indians and smaller populations from the Caribbean, Central America, and China Because of the opening of a Greek Orthodox church in the 1960's, many Greek immigrants also live in the area.