Flushing is a neighborhood in north-eastern part of Queens. It’s mostly residential, but Main Street is a large commercial and retail area. A hugely diverse neighborhood, Flushing is home to people of Asian, Hispanic, Middle Easter, European, and African ancestry giving the area it’s reputation of a haven of great ethnic foods.
Established by the Dutch in 1654, it was named after the south western city of Vlissingen, which was eventually shortened and Anglicized to Flushing. In 1664 the English control of “New Amsterdam”, and Queens County was established twenty years later with Flushing as one of the five original towns in the county. During the 18th century Flushing continued to grow as it’s proximity to Manhattan made it a fashionable residential place to live.
In the 1970’s a Chinese community developed a stronghold in the neighborhood, and created Queen’s own Chinatown. Many of these new immigrants were from Taiwan, and were so vastly different culturally from the Cantonese immigrants in Chinatown Manhattan that Flushing was a more appealing place to resettle giving Flushing it’s reputation for amazing Chinese food.
