Formed November 1, 1683 (6th county)
Queens County (2,405,464), Jamaica (2,405,464)
The masonry courthouse was constructed in 1939. The structure is on Sutphin Boulevard at 89th Avenue. Interstate Highway 678 is seven blocks west of the site. The designer is Peter M. Coco. There are also a Criminal Courthouse (1961), a Civil Courthouse (1997), and an augmenting Long Island Courthouse (1876.) The county was organized on November 1, 1683 as an original county (6th county.) Mineola had an earlier 1780 courthouse and Jamaica had a 1903 courthouse. Queens County is reportedly named for Queen Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II. The county seat is named for the Native American tribe. Like all of the New York City counties, there is not a distinction for the county seat other than the neighborhood in which the courthouse is located. Queens County was the birthplace for 3 New York Governors, John A. King, Mario M. Cuomo, and Andrew M. Cuomo.
Queens County government consists of a President, an administrator, a sheriff, a comptroller, an attorney, an assessor, and a clerk (executive). It has 4 Council Members (legislative.) Ninety-two County Court Judges serve Queens, Bronx, Kings, New York, and Richmond counties and Ten Family Court Judges serve Queens County (judicial.) The county is the easternmost county of New York City. The county center is in the Queens section of New York City 2.1 miles North-Northwest of the downtown. The county is surrounded clockwise by Bronx and Nassau counties and the Atlantic Ocean and Richmond, Kings, and New York counties.
The area of the county is 178 square miles. It is 58 out of 62 in the state. It ranks 2 out of 62 in population in the state. It has a density of 13513.8 persons per square mile making it 4 out of 62 in the state. Queens County has 100.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 278 comes into the county from Bronx County and goes southwest into Kings County. Interstate Highway 495 enters from Nassau County, east, and terminates. Interstate Highway 678 comes from Bronx County, north, and terminates. Donald J. Trump, the 45th President, was born in this county. The county looks like a Pacman eating toward the west. Queens County and the Jamaica section of New York City are one in the same therefore there is no separate largest city. The county seat functions in the Jamaica section of New York City. Queens County is 27.3% of New York City’s population. Jamaica is located near the center of the county. The county seat is pronounced JA-MAE-KA. This county is in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island Metropolitan Statistical Area.
