Briarwhere?

Since our first pre-launch worship is this Sunday (Oct. 30) and I haven't profiled all the neighborhoods in the Forest Hills vicinity, I thought I'd add one more (I already profiled Kew Gardens and Rego Park and plan to dedicate a large profile of Forest Hills just prior to our launch in November.).

This week we go to Briarwood, a neighborhood just south and east of Kew Gardens (where I live). As most of you know, I grew up in Queens, but the first time I met someone from Briarwood, my reaction was, "Where's that?" It turns out I'm not alone in my disorientation. Briarwood shares a zip code with neighboring Jamaica and while people who lived there always knew it by this name, most people in Queens (myself included) knew it as that strange, but nice section of Jamaica.

In the 1970s and 80s, Jamaica did not have a kind and gentle reputation amongst Queens neighborhoods and people in Briarwood (especially natives) strongly disassociated themselves from the area with which they shared Postal Service common ground. Eventually, the New York City Transit Authority recognized this, renaming the subway station from Van Wyck Blvd. to Briarwood/Van Wyck. Now, while not everyone in Queens knows where Briarwood is, certainly more know now than ever before.

Speaking of Van Wyck, Briarwood is where the Grand Central Parkway and the Van Wyck Expressway converge. Robert Van Wyck was the first mayor of the Five Borough New York City following the Greater New York Act of 1897. This neighborhood is conveniently located between LaGuardia and Kennedy Airports and has been increasingly marketed as an ideal location for people relocating to the city.

After muscling its way through central Queens, Queens Blvd. loses much of its punch by the time it reaches Briarwood. A pedestrian mall complete with park benches occupies the middle island of the road and by the time it crosses Hillside Ave. it becomes a measley two-lane road quietly ending at Jamaica Ave. It is also dotted with coffee shops and mostly utilitarian stores. Apparently people in Briarwood either cook their own meals or order take-out. I suppose if they want to splurge, they'll drive down Queens Blvd. to the fine dining establishments in Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, or Rego Park.

Another interesting feature is intersection of Queens Blvd. and Main St. Queens Blvd. is arguably the "main" street in the borough, while a case can be made that Main St. is not. This is a reminder of Queens' rural history. Before becomming part of New York City, Queens County was mostly farmland spotted with little towns. This is why addresses name the neighborhood rather than being simply New York, NY or Queens (my address, as you know, is Kew Gardens, NY). The town of Flushing in the northern part of the county had a Main St. that naturally extended to a rural route which connected the town to the city of Jamaica. As the city urbanized and became part of NYC, the entire stretch of road became known as Main St.

This is Archbishop Molloy High School. I only mention this because it is where actor David Caruso ("CSI Miami") attended. When "NYPD Blue" primiered, it paired Caruso with Dennis Franz who has a pronounced Chicago accent. Critics noticed the authenticity of Caruso's accent. Of course it was authentic, he's from Queens.

While Briarwood has a share of typical six-story co-op apartment buildings, it also has a number of typical Queens cookie cutters as well as several quiet serene streets which make it attractive to new residents. The neighborhood sits at the head of a glacial moraine that forms the North and South Forks of Long Island, Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard (get your maps out and check this out for yourselves). This moraine forms a hill and explains why the southern border of Briarwood is Hillside Ave. This hill is quite pronounced and creates an almost San Francisco-like setting. In any event, I go into this sort of detail because several people in our church's launch community are from this neighborhood.

Prayer Concerns: We're almost there folks. Pre-launch is this week, home fellowship groups have begun, the youth program is taking shape. It's all very exciting, but we need it all to be covered in prayer. Please keep it all in your prayers, as well as other programs that have yet to develop. Don't forget my fanancial needs in this Church Planting effort. I'm still significantly short on funds. Please keep this in prayer as well.

Thought: If the Red Sox won the World Series last year and the White Sox won this year, but there are no Blue Sox in the American League, how can they call themselves "American?" With only Red and White Sox available, wouldn't they be more... Canadian?

This Sunday is our first pre-launch worship service, and I've actually scheduled the first Youth meeting for next Wednesday.