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Kew Gardens Hills offers affordable housing near Queens College and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. A diverse community with strong educational institutions.
Kew Gardens Hills offers affordable housing near Queens College and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. A diverse community with strong educational institutions.
Did you know?
Queens College's campus was built on the former site of the New York Parental School, a truancy school where boys were sent for playing hooky.
Who’s your neighbor?
Housing cost
$444 / sq ft
Commute
Weekday mornings · leaving 7:30–9:00
- FromKew Gardens Hills
- ToNear Bryant Park
Family scores
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Trade-offs
Stands out
- Schools86/100
Strong results at the public and charter schools serving it
- Transit79/100
Quick weekday-morning transit to the city's main job centers
- Air & Child Health75/100
Cleaner air and better child-health measures
None of its Family Fit scores is below average; the lowest is Family-Friendly Vibe 42/100.
Each score compares it with NYC's other residential neighborhoods.
What these scores don't measure: how a block feels on foot, what's changing on it, and whether a particular school suits your child. Walk it at school drop-off time, and check the zoned school for the exact address before you sign a lease.
Your family’s read
How does Kew Gardens Hills fit your family?
An agentic read of this neighborhood — including safety and cost of living — tailored to your priorities, family size, budget, and commute.
Analyze for My FamilySchools & early education
Schools15 schools
Kew Gardens Hills offers a deep bench of schooling options with 23 schools split between 16 public and 7 private institutions. The mix includes zoned elementary schools like P.S. 219 Paul Klapper alongside specialized high schools such as Townsend Harris High School and John Bowne High School. Private options lean heavily toward yeshivas and religious education — Yeshiva of Central Queens and Solomon Schechter School-Queens are two well-established choices. This variety means families can often find a fit within walking distance, though the private landscape is predominantly parochial.
Browse all early-ed in this neighborhoodLiving here
Parks & Playgrounds4 places
Kew Gardens Hills offers a solid lineup of neighborhood playgrounds, with four options spread through the residential blocks. Judge Moses Weinstein Playground and Freedom Square Playground are the standouts — both well-maintained with solid equipment. Queens Valley Playground rounds out the mix, serving its surrounding blocks without much fanfare. It's not a park-heavy neighborhood in the traditional sense, but families won't struggle to find a swingset within walking distance.
2 playgrounds within a 10-min walk
Nearest large park: Flushing Meadows-Corona Park · ~11 min walk (0.4 mi)
Transportation29 stops
Forget the subway — Kew Gardens Hills is a bus-first neighborhood, with the Q17 along Jewel Avenue and the Q88 on Union Turnpike doing the heavy lifting for Manhattan-bound commuters. Routes along Main Street, Parsons Boulevard, and Kissena Boulevard feed into Forest Hills, where the express trains to the city really are. It's not as convenient as a stop on your corner, but the network is dense and locals know the rhythms. The trade-off is real: you plan your morning around the bus schedule rather than subway frequency.
Restaurants56 places
Kew Gardens Hills eats run along two main drags — Main Street and Union Turnpike — with a noticeably strong kosher footprint on the eastern end (pizzerias, delis, a few sit-downs) giving way to a more eclectic mix as you head west toward Parsons. Beyond the basics (bagel shops, halal kababs, Chinese takeout, the usual fast-food suspects), there's some solid mid-range options scattered in between. It's more of a neighborhood-of-ingredients than a dinner destination, but the density means you've got real choices without chasing them across borough lines.
Groceries9 places
Running along Main Street through Kew Gardens Hills, you've got a solid bench of independent supermarkets — Main Glatt, Barakat Halal, R&M, and Wasserman all cluster here with a good selection of halal and ethnic produce. Key Food at Union Turnpike covers the weekly shop for basics. The 7-Eleven on Main St is more of a grab-and-go than a full shop. You won't need a car just for groceries — most of what you need is within walking distance along this commercial strip.
Coffee Shops6 places
For caffeine runs and laptop afternoons, Kew Gardens Hills keeps things modest — there's a Starbucks off Kissena for the reliable fix, but most of the options here lean toward smaller neighborhood cafes and bakeries rather than dedicated coffee shops. It's not a third-wave destination, though what exists serves the basics well for a quick morning stop.
Things to Do8 places
Kew Gardens Hills delivers a well-rounded mix of enrichment and active options for families without requiring much travel outside the neighborhood. Tutoring centers form the backbone here — Kumon and a couple of academic-focused programs keep the academic crowd covered — but there's real variety beyond homework help. A music school, a dance studio, and a gymnastics club offer hands-on outlets, while a small museum and a movie theater handle rainy days and weekend outings. The roster isn't exhaustive, but what's here covers the bases well for a neighborhood with a steady stream of families.
Daycare & informal care1 place
Kew Gardens Hills packs a deep bench of Pre-K options — the neighborhood leans heavily into universal Pre-K, with just a single standalone daycare among the bunch. Most spots run on religious or parochial lines (you'll see plenty of "Gan" and "Hebrew day school" names on the roster), so families looking for secular care have thinner pickings. Drop-off traffic on Main Street and Parsons can get snappy during morning rush, so scope out your route in advance.
Family Resources5 places
Kew Gardens Hills keeps things simple when it comes to family anchors — a solid spread of playgrounds including Cedar Grove, Freedom Square and Queens Valley give kids room to burn off energy on most blocks. The Kew Gardens Hills library on Vleigh Place handles the quiet stuff, with programs and a reliable homework spot. What you won't find here is a dedicated community center with organized programming, but the playground-to-library combo covers the basics for everyday family life.
Healthcare4 places
Kew Gardens Hills has a deep bench of pediatric dentists clustered around Jewel Avenue — four practices within a short walk of each other, which is genuinely rare in this part of Queens. But beyond dental care, the healthcare landscape thins out considerably. There's no hospital in the immediate area, and pediatricians and urgent care options are sparse locally — families typically travel to Flushing or further afield for primary care and non-dental emergencies.
Compare with nearby neighborhoods
Best schools in Kew Gardens Hills
Schools in Kew Gardens Hills
15
- John Bowne High School
- MESIVTA YESODEI YESHURUN
- North Queens Community High School
- P.S. 164 Queens Valley
- P.S. 165 Edith K. Bergtraum
- P.S. 219 Paul Klapper
- RABBINICAL SEMINARY OF AMERICA
- Robert F. Kennedy Community High School
- SHEVACH HIGH SCHOOL
- SOLOMON SCHECHTER SCHOOL-QUEENS
- ST NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINE CATHOLIC
- The Queens College School for Math, Science and Technology
- Townsend Harris High School
- YESHIVA OF CENTRAL QUEENS
- YESHIVAT BNEI TORAH
Early education in Kew Gardens Hills
20
- 75-21 Main Street
- CONG. AHAVAS YISROEL
- GAN DEVORA INC
- Ivy Day School
- Judi's Nursery, Inc.
- P.S. 164 Queens Valley
- P.S. 165 EDITH K. BERGTRAUM
- P.S. 219 Paul Klapper
- Positive Beginnings II
- Saint Nicolas of Tolentine School
- SHOLOM DAYCARE
- Sholom Sholom Inc.
- SOLOMON SCHECHTER SCHOOL-QUEENS
- ST NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINE CATHOLIC
- Stepping Stone Day School, Inc.
- STEPPINGSTONE DAY SCHOOL, INC.
- The Queens College School for Math, Science and Technology
- The Solomon Schechter School of Queens
- YESHIVA OF CENTRAL QUEENS
- YESHIVAT BNEI TORAH
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Kew Gardens Hills a good neighborhood for families?
- Kew Gardens Hills scores 69/100 for families on Motley — ahead of most NYC neighborhoods. The Family Fit score blends six parts: how many families live there, schools, affordability, weekday-morning transit time to job centers, safety, and air quality and child health.
- What are the pros and cons of Kew Gardens Hills for families?
- For families, Kew Gardens Hills stands out for strong results at the public and charter schools serving it; quick weekday-morning transit to the city's main job centers; and cleaner air and better child-health measures. None of its Family Fit scores is below average; its lowest is Family-Friendly Vibe (42/100). Each score compares it with NYC's other residential neighborhoods. They don't measure how a block feels on foot or whether a particular school suits your child, so walk it before you decide.
- Is Kew Gardens Hills safe?
- Kew Gardens Hills scores 67/100 on safety — ahead of most NYC neighborhoods. We build the score from NYPD crime complaints, pedestrian and cyclist injuries, and serious (Class C) housing violations, each counted per 1,000 residents.
- How are the schools in Kew Gardens Hills?
- Kew Gardens Hills has 15 schools mapped inside its boundary and scores 86/100 for schools — ahead of most NYC neighborhoods.
- How do middle and high school admissions work from Kew Gardens Hills?
- Middle school: families in Kew Gardens Hills apply in 5th grade through the citywide middle school application. District 25's 18 middle school programs admit by method: 14 unscreened, 3 zoned and 1 screened. High school: one citywide application in 8th grade lets a family rank programs anywhere in the city, and the eight specialized high schools admit on the SHSAT alone.
- Is Kew Gardens Hills affordable?
- Kew Gardens Hills scores 71/100 for affordability on Motley — more affordable than most NYC neighborhoods.
- Which borough is Kew Gardens Hills in?
- Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in Queens, New York City.
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