History

The area known as North Hills, situated in Little Neck, New York, is roughly rectangular in shape. It is bounded westerly by the Long Island Expressway, southerly by the Douglaston Parkway, northerly by Nassau County and easterly, by the Grand Central Parkway service road. A part of North Hills also extends into Nassau County.

The early settlers of what is now the North Hills section of Little Neck were Matinecock Native Americans, who later sold the land to Thomas Foster in 1676. In the early 18th century, residents began calling the area Little Neck, as a “little neck” of land from the Douglaston Manor estate extended in the Little Neck Bay. During the American Revolution, the area became a stronghold for Loyalists.

Farming was the main economic activity. Goods were taken to market in Brooklyn by wagon. Improvements in transportation came in 1886, with the extension of the Long Island Railroad from Flushing. The area boasted a trolley service from 1910 to 1920.

By 1900, there were 200 telephones in town. Gossip was the order of the day; residents were able to eavesdrop on their neighbors’ calls, given the party line technology of the time.

In 1929, Little Neck became incorporated in order to enact its own zoning laws. Many estates were converted into housing developments and gated communities in the 1970s. Between 1970 and 1990, the area underwent a 25% population increase, from only 295 to 3453 residents respectively. The Westmoreland Civic Association has been very active in curtailing urban sprawl.

Library service to the North Hills area began when a traveling station was opened in a real estate office in Douglaston in 1914 and in Little Neck, in 1915, at Public School 42.

The two libraries were combined and relocated to Douglaston in 1935.

The residents of the North Hills area, however, longed for their own library. Their dreams were realized on February 3, 1964. The branch was renovated and reopened on June 22, 1987. The redesigned building is unique among the branches, as it features a 6000 square foot circular, domed edifice capped in the center by a crown celebrating the mythological Celtic warrior, Queen Medb. For their unique use of space and color, the architects won The Percent for the Arts and the Queens Chamber of Commerce Annual Building awards.

References

The Encyclopedia of New York City edited by Kenneth Jackson

The Encyclopedia of New York State, edited by Peter Eisenstadt

The Chronicle of Little Neck and Douglaston, by Lester Riley, 1936