Downtown Flushing: A changing nabe boasting a thriving business district

Flushing is a bustling neighborhood with a downtown area home to businesses predominantly owned and operated by the community’s growing Asian population.

Signs in English are a rarity in downtown Flushing, which makes visitors feel like they have been transplanted to a foreign shore.

The mix of ethnicities has helped Queens become one of the most diverse counties in America.

“You come out of the 7 train and you almost feel like you’re in a different world,” said Ellen Kodadek, executive director for Flushing Town Hall, an arts and culture nonprofit. “I feel as though Flushing is really reflective of this country as a melting pot.”

The Asian community is deeply embedded in the area and nearly 80% of businesses have either Chinese or Korean owners.

A diverse array of authentic cuisines, products and services are available in the area. And lots of food.

“You’ll never go hungry,” Kodadek said.

While downtown Flushing is known as a Mecca of multiculturalism that is heavily urbanized, there are also suburban streets lined with trees that echo the neighborhood’s past.

Preservationists for years have tried to save some of the expansive houses and estates developed here between 1875 and 1925. These residences sit blocks away from modern high-rise buildings and shopping malls.

Flushing’s embrace of multiculturalism has roots in the neighborhood’s founding in 1645 by English settlers as a beacon of religious freedom. One settler, John Bowne, allowed Quakers to practice in his home, defying laws of the time. His house still stands, as well as the Old Quaker Meeting House on Northern Boulevard, which is New York City’s oldest house of worship.

(with Dan Rivoli)

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Stuart Schneiderman owns Flushing Lighting Fixtures and Supply Co Inc., one of the largest suppliers of specialty lighting in New York, which was established in 1927. The third-generation business was started by his grandfather.
Stuart, a Flushing resident and married father of two, grew up in Queens and attended Flushing High School, where he graduated in 1974 before attending Queens College.

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The stylish apartments were fashioned by Milc Design. Amenities include a rooftop garden, health club and spa, outdoor sports, entertainment lounges and child playrooms.

41st Ave. and Main St., a 900-square-foot condo for $438,000. This two-bedroom, two-bath condo is right in the heart of downtown Flushing.
3511 Leavitt St., a two-story house with six bedrooms and three bathrooms on a 2,439-square-foot lot. Nice gated Victorian style home dating back to 1920. Available for $1,050,000.

Sanford Avenue and Main Street, two-bedroom, two-bathroom brick building has apartments with modern kitchens and lots of natural light. With laundry in the building and tons of shopping and transit nearby, an apartment here will cost $1,700 a month.

MLS shelled out $1.7 million lobbying city officials in 2012 for the proposed stadium that would cost $300 million.

The stadium has the support of some city officials and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. However, the proposed stadium is controversial, because the 25,000-seat structure would occupy 13 acres of park land.

The residents of Flushing generate nearly 40% of their wages from the health care sector, according to a study by the New York State comptroller a year ago.
In 2010, about one-third of the neighborhood was employed in health care or another form of social assistance.

Big money is being poured into development projects to fix up the area and make it even more cosmopolitan and livable.

One of them is the Flushing Commons Project on 5.5 acres of city-owned land.
The project will include a town square, central fountain, 620 residential units, a YMCA facility, parking for more than 1,600 cars and thousands of square-feet that will be available for use by commercial and real estate properties.
The Rockefeller Development Corporation of Manhattan and TDC Development and Construction Corporation, a local Flushing developer, are joining forces to create the area.

Construction is set to start this fall.