Douglaston–Little Neck is a neighborhood in the northeastern part of the New York City borough of Queens. The community is on the North Shore of Long Island, bordered to the east by Great Neck in Nassau County, to the south by Glen Oaks and the North Shore Towers, and to the west by Bayside.

The neighborhood has two main sections. Little Neck generally refers to the area east of Marathon Parkway and/or north of Northern Boulevard, while Douglaston is the rest of the neighborhood; these classifications may overlap depending on different interpretations of boundaries. Each of these areas has several subsections. Douglaston–Little Neck is one of New York City's least traditionally urban communities, with many areas (particularly those north of Northern Boulevard) having a distinctly suburban feel, similar to that of Nassau County towns nearby, such as Great Neck.

The area is also known for its historical society and other civic groups, notably the Douglaston Civic Association and the Douglas Manor Association. Two historic districts, Douglas Manor and Douglaston Hill, and two houses, Allen-Beville House and Cornelius Van Wyck House, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Douglaston–Little Neck is in Queens Community District 11 and its ZIP Codes are 11362 and 11363. It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 111th Precinct. Douglaston–Little Neck is represented by the New York City Council's 19th and 23rd Districts.Current City Council Districts for Queens County, New York City. Accessed May 5, 2017.

Geography Douglaston–Little Neck is bounded by Cross Island Parkway to the west, Grand Central Parkway to the south, the New York City-Nassau County border to the east, and Little Neck Bay to the north.

Douglaston is considered the area west of Marathon Parkway and north of Grand Central Parkway. According to The New York Times, Douglaston has six distinct neighborhoods. Douglas Bay,Mugdan, Walter. (March 28, 2011) Origins of Doug Bay and Udalls Cove Park Bayside Patch. Douglas Manor, and Douglaston Hill are north of Northern Boulevard, on the peninsula abutting Little Neck Bay. Douglas Manor takes up most of the peninsula north of the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch, while Douglaston Hill takes up a small section between the LIRR and Northern Boulevard. Douglaston Park is the area between Northern Boulevard and Interstate 495 (I-495, the Long Island Expressway). There are two areas south of I-495, Winchester Estates and an area simply called Douglaston. Winchester Estates is west of Douglaston Park and the remainder of the area south of I-495 is without a distinct name other than Douglaston.

Little Neck is the area east of Marathon Parkway and north of Grand Central Parkway. Little Neck itself has three subsections: Pines, Westmoreland, and Little Neck Hills.

History Early settlement The earliest known residents of the area that would become Douglaston–Little Neck were the Matinecock Native Americans. They were sustained by the seafood in Little Neck Bay.

Early Dutch settlers were drawn to the area by the rich land and abundant fishing. In the 17th century, European settlers began arriving in the area for its conveniently located harbor. Soon after, the British and Dutch gained control of the Matinecock lands peacefully, except for a small area known as Madnan's Neck (possibly a shortened form of Native American name for the area, Menhaden-ock, or "place of fish"). Thomas Hicks, of the Hicks family that eventually founded Hicksville, and a band of armed settlers forcibly drove out the Matinecock in a battle at today's Northern Boulevard and Marathon Parkway.

19th century In 1796, Hicks's estate passed to Thomas Wickes (1770–1854), and in 1819, to Wyant Van Zandt, a wealthy merchant, who built a large Greek Revival mansion in the area. Today, this mansion houses the Douglaston Club, a private club with tennis courts, social activities and swimming pools. In 1835, George Douglas bought of land along with Van Zandt's mansion. Upon Douglas' death in 1862, the land was inherited by his son, William Douglas.

Douglaston Hill is the oldest area of the community, and is characterized by turn-of-the-20th-century homes in Queen Anne and Victorian styles. It was laid out with very large lots in 1853, at the very beginning of a movement in the United States to create suburban gardens. The area was recognized as a New York City Historic District in December 2004 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.Landmarks Preservation Commission Designates the Douglaston Hill Historic District in Queens , New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, December 14, 2004. The Douglaston Hill Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

The settlers thrived growing produce for the Manhattan market and the area was used as a dock on Little Neck Bay. The Little Neck and Douglaston stations opened in 1866 on the North Shore Railroad (now the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch and the same line featured prominently in the famous F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby) to serve the community and the dock area. Northern Boulevard was developed into a commercial and cultural hub, and the Little Neck Theater, a 576-seat movie theater, was opened in 1929 at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and Morgan Street. The theater was closed in 1983.

From the 1860s through the 1890s, small hard clams (quahogs) from Little Neck Bay were served in the best restaurants of New York and several European capitals.Queens Borough Library Douglaston/Little Neck Branch Community Info . Eventually, the term "littleneck" or "littleneck clam" came to be used as a size category for all hard clams, regardless of origin."littleneck" Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved on May 5, 2009."littleneck" Webster's New World College Dictionary. Retrieved from www.yourdictionary.com on May 5, 2009.

Little Neck was also famous for being the last stop on the Underground Railroad until 1865.

20th century In the early 20th century, the Rickert-Finlay Realty Company of Manhattan purchased of the Douglas' family holdings, and formed the Douglas Manor Association, creating a planned community. Many of the houses in this area were built in architectural styles popular at the time, such as Tudor, Mediterranean, Colonial Revival, and Arts and Crafts. In 1997, New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Douglas Manor as the Douglaston Historic District, ensuring that no new buildings or external alterations could be made without the commission's approval.LIVING IN | Douglas Manor, Queens Where People Stay, and ‘Play Musical Houses’ The New York Times, January 7, 2010. The Douglaston Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

An old Matinecock cemetery remained on Northern Boulevard between Cornell Lane and Jesse Court. One of the last photographs of the cemetery was taken by the Daily News in August 1931, a few months before it was removed to make room for a widened Northern Boulevard. The remains from the cemetery were moved to the Zion Episcopal Church of Douglaston and placed under a stone marker that reads "Here rest the last of the Matinecoc."

Other areas of Douglaston–Little Neck were developed during the latter half of the 20th century. Douglaston Park contains a mixture of large, older homes as well as Capes, Tudors, and ranch-style homes dating from the 1960s. The areas adjacent to the Douglaston Shopping Center are occupied mainly by attached single-family homes built in the 1950s through 1970s (Beech Hills, Deepdale, and another development known colloquially as the "Korvette's Houses" due to the former proximity of an E.J. Korvette department store), as well as four-story condominiums added in the mid-1980s.

In addition to the Douglaston Historic District and Douglaston Hill Historic District, the Allen-Beville House and Cornelius Van Wyck House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Demographics Based on data from the 2010 United States census, the population of Douglaston–Little Neck was 24,739.Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010, Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 53.3% (13,195) White, 1.3% (317) African American, (15) Native American, 35.6% (8,818) Asian, 0.0% (2) Pacific Islander, 0.3% (69) from other races, and 1.2% (308) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.1% (2,015) of the population.Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010, Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.

The entirety of Community Board 11, which comprises both Douglaston–Little Neck and Bayside, had 119,628 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 84.7 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 19% are between the ages of between 0–17, 26% between 25 and 44, and 31% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 6% and 18% respectively.

As of 2017, the median household income in Community Board 11 was $70,155. In 2018, an estimated 14% of Douglaston–Little Neck and Bayside residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in seventeen residents (6%) were unemployed, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 49% in Douglaston–Little Neck and Bayside, lower than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Douglaston–Little Neck and Bayside are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

Community

Every year Douglaston–Little Neck hosts a Memorial Day Parade which runs from Great Neck to Douglaston Parkway along Northern Boulevard.

Other community activities include Theater á la Cartè, which provides live theater at the Douglaston Community Church and the Douglaston Community Theater players, who perform at the Zion Episcopal Church. The National Art League on Douglaston Parkway offers classes and provides a place for artists to show and sell their work. Monthly concerts are held at the Douglaston Community Church.

A local volunteer ambulance corps, the Little Neck–Douglaston Community Ambulance Corps is supported and run by people in the community. It hosts blood drives and free classes to teach the community CPR.

The First Tuesday in August also marks National Night Out, a community building event in Douglaston, held at the Douglaston Plaza. The event is held by the NYPD, in efforts to build a stronger community. The event features bouncy houses, barbecues, raffles, music, face-painting and free medical check ups.

Economy Douglaston–Little Neck has many independently owned and operated restaurants and shops, many of which are located in the area around the intersection of Douglaston Parkway or Little Neck Parkway and Northern Boulevard. This area is home to a distinct cultural presence and traditional New York City–style pizzerias, delis, and bodegas.

The Douglaston Plaza Shopping Center is a major hub of the community's economic activity. It contains a supermarket and other retail outlets and restaurants.

Police and crime