All Aboard The Seven Line
BY GLORIA SANDERS T
he next stop on the route of the International Express as the No. 7 train wends its way to Manhattan is 69th Street/Fisk Avenue in the T heart of Woodside. Originally Winfield, Woodside was renamed for the large wooded area that its boundaries encompassed at the time of its founding.

Woodside was once home to a primarily Irish community. Hundreds of Irish pubs where area residents could drink, dance and listen to Irish folk music lined the streets. Now Woodside holds a mix of different nationalities, including people of Hispanic, Asian and Middle Eastern descent, mainly of the working class socioeconomic stratum. Some of the most popular Thai, Colombian, Ecuadorian and Filipino eateries in the city have sprung up—so many Filipino establishments, in fact, that the area is also called “Little Manila”.

Roosevelt Avenue and Northern Boulevard are the area’s major shopping streets. Retail stores, car dealerships and nightclubs, as well as some of the area’s many restaurants, make up most of the commercial establishments. Many shoppers come from out of the area, as the Brooklyn Queens Expressway runs near the train stop and the neighborhood is easily accessible by car as well as public transportation.

Most of the population lives in apartment buildings built before World War II. The neighborhood also has many houses of worship and some Catholic churches offer Mass in Spanish in acknowledgement of the large number of Latino worshippers. Woodside was a primary gathering spot for mourning and media attention in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Next week our journey on the No. 7 line will go further into Woodside at the 61st Street stop.