[18]: xi–xii The Flushing Remonstrance signed by colonists in 1657 is considered a precursor to the United States Constitution's provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights.

[18]: 1062–1063 Queens played a minor role in the American Revolution, as compared to Brooklyn, where the Battle of Long Island was largely fought.

[23][24] The seat of the county government was located first in Jamaica,[25] but the courthouse was torn down by the British during the American Revolution to use the materials to build barracks.

[59] In one of several notable incidents, TWA Flight 800 took off from the airport on July 17, 1996, and exploded in midair off the coast of Long Island, killing all 230 on board the Boeing 747.

[60] American Airlines Flight 587 took off from the latter airport on November 12, 2001, but ended up crashing in Belle Harbor, killing all 260 on board and five people on the ground.

The Rockaway Peninsula, the southernmost part of all of Queens, sits between Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, featuring 7 miles (11 km) of beaches.

These ZIP codes do not always reflect traditional neighborhood names and boundaries; "East Elmhurst", for example, was largely coined by the USPS and is not an official community.

Areas with high proportions of immigrants and undocumented aliens are traditionally undercounted for a variety of reasons, often based on a mistrust of government officials or an unwillingness to be identified.

[111] In 2011, there were about 198,000 Jews in Queens, making it home to about 13% of all people in Jewish households in the eight-county area consisting of the Five Boroughs and Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties.

Neighborhoods such as Whitestone, College Point, North Flushing, Auburndale, Bayside, Middle Village, and Douglaston–Little Neck have not had a substantial exodus of white residents, but have seen an increase of Asian population, mostly Chinese and Korean.

Queens has experienced a real estate boom making most of its neighborhoods desirable for people who want to reside near Manhattan but in a less urban setting.

[114] The 2021 American Community Survey by the United States Census Bureau, found that – of those over the age of five residing in Queens – 54.53% spoke a language other than English in the home.

[116] Queens has been the center of the punk rock movement, particularly in New York; Ramones originated out of Forest Hills,[117] it has also been the home of such notable artists as Tony Bennett, Francis Ford Coppola, Paul Simon, and Robert Mapplethorpe.

[121] Additionally, many notable hip-hop acts hail from Queens, including Nas, Run-D.M.C., Kool G Rap, A Tribe Called Quest, LL Cool J, MC Shan, Mobb Deep, 50 Cent, Nicki Minaj, Tony Yayo, Tragedy Khadafi, N.O.R.E., Lloyd Banks, Capone, Ja Rule, Heems of Das Racist and Action Bronson.

They range from the historical (such as the John Bowne House) to the scientific (such as the New York Hall of Science), from conventional art galleries (such as the Noguchi Museum) to unique graffiti exhibits (such as 5 Pointz).

[13] The diversification in Queens' economy is reflected in a large amount of employment in the export-oriented portions of its economy—such as transportation, manufacturing, and business services—that serve customers outside the region.

Each of the city's five counties has its criminal court system and District Attorney, the chief public prosecutor who is directly elected by popular vote.

Republican State Senator Serphin Maltese represented a district in central and southern Queens for twenty years until his defeat in 2008 by Democratic City Councilman Joseph Addabbo, Jr.

In 2002, Queens voted against incumbent Republican Governor of New York George Pataki in favor of his Democratic opponent, Carl McCall by a slim margin.

Zipcar, and others, entered New York City market in 2002 offering roundtrip car sharing from private locations, mostly from parking garages.

In 2018, the city partnered with the roundtrip car share companies, led by Zipcar, to launch the nation's largest on-street car-sharing program with the greatest take-up in The Bronx and in Queens – Jackson Heights, Jamaica, and Far Rockaway.

[165] 2019 → pre-COVID-19 pandemic Queens has crucial importance in international and interstate air traffic, with two of the New York metropolitan area's three major airports located there.

The Long Island Expressway (Interstate 495) runs from the Queens Midtown Tunnel on the west through the borough to Nassau County on the east.

The Belt Parkway begins at the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn, and extends east into Queens, past Aqueduct Racetrack and JFK Airport.

Another deviation from the norm is Broad Channel; it maintains the north–south numbering progression but uses only the suffix "Road", as well as the prefixes "West" and "East", depending on location relative to Cross Bay Boulevard, the neighborhood's major through street.

[199] Constructed in 1937, the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge links Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn's longest thoroughfare, with Jacob Riis Park and the western end of the Peninsula.

[205] Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President, lived at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay from the mid-1880s until he died;[206] the area was considered part of Queens until the formation of neighboring Nassau County in 1899.

Musicians raised in the borough include Jazz greats Louis Armstrong and Norman Mapp both resided in Corona, as well as folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel[211] and guitarists Scott Ian and Johnny Ramone.

[213] Actors and actresses such as Adrien Brody,[214] Zoe Saldaña, Lucy Liu,[215] John Leguizamo, Susan Sarandon, and Idina Menzel[216] were born or raised in Queens.

He grew up in Forest Hills with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben,[229] and Archie Bunker of All in the Family, who lived at the fictional 704 Hauser Street in Astoria.