Why I’ll always love my hometown – Bayside, Queens

Most people I knew growing up lived in the same house their whole lives. They had neighborhood friends that they could just go out and meet up on the street to go for a walk to 7/11 or maybe drink a beer on the church steps. I didn’t grow up like that. My family rented several different apartments in Queens. I never understood what it was like to say, “This is where I grew up”. It wasn’t until I started living on my own that I realized Bayside was my hometown. Each time I go back now I remember what makes it so great and why I’m thankful to have grown up there.

Jackson Hole Diner

Jackson Hole was always a good call. It usually was a pit stop after walking all of Bell Boulevard before deciding to continue on to Bay Terrace, the local mall. It is the “home of the 7 oz. burger”, which I am now able to eat all of as an adult. The nachos are also ridiculously good and I can never pass up a shake. The first thing you see when you walk in is a giant figure of Betty Boop. You’ll have a hard time not bumping into people there. I remember I saw Amanda Setton from Gossip Girl eating with her mom.

Crocheron Park

Crocheron Park is one of the most romantic places in New York. It’s like Bayside’s mini version of Central Park. Yes, I went there. It has deep slopes that when covered in snow are perfect to go sledding on. Just down that slope is a little pond surrounded by benches where you can watch the ducks – or make out. They have baseball fields and tennis courts. When the leaves change in the fall it looks like you’re walking in the photo for October in a calendar. Just past the most picturesque gazebo you’ll ever see is a bridge that leads to a bike path alongside little neck pond where there are rocks alongside you can sit.

Walking… walking anywhere

Going out for long walks is one of my fondest memories. I remember leaving the house at noon and coming back as late as I could before the cops picked me up off the street (curfews). We would walk all of Bell, the park, the mall, and wander around the private “Bayside Estates”.  If you lived here you definitely remember doing at least 10 loops around Bay Terrace before killing time in Barnes and Nobles (RIP) for no reason. And if you were wondering, YES the band “Bayside” is from Bayside. If we weren’t walking we were scooting, biking, skateboarding. To know us is to understand the lyrics in every punk rock song from the early 2000’s. Feel our angst.

And all that hometown ish 

Another interesting thing about Bayside is that there are so many different sections. There’s Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bayside Gardens, Bayside North, and Oakland Gardens (sort of Bayside). I’ve lived in each part except for the Estates. It was always cool visiting friends from all the different parts. Spending late nights walking and then crashing in a friends bedroom just talking about music or school was what we lived for. I’d love to go back to my friend’s bedroom in the Estates and just sit in a circle listening to him half talk and half play guitar. It’s moments like that, that remind me I had it good. I might just go back to high school for a week just to get to the weekend again and roam.

Joy rides

Just cruising in your friends car and doing donuts for no reason and feeling like you’re going to die. Driving from Bayside to Little Neck, Douglaston, and back.

Martha’s Country Bakery

I remember the first day this bakery opened in Bayside. I would always have to get the cheesecake and the Green Tea Frappe. This just added to the fairytale feel that Bayside gives off amongst the more busier parts of the suburb. I’m just glad they’re opening up in Williamsburg. Now, I can make this a familiar pit stop in my new town.

This goes out to all my Bayside crew. You may not know it but I love you guys. Party on.