A BLOCK IN BRIARWOOD

By PATRICK O’CONNOR
Forgotten NY guest post

BRIARWOOD, Queens was developed in stages beginning in 1905 by the Briarwood Land Company and bounded by the Van Wyck Expressway to the west, Union Turnpike to the north, Parsons Boulevard to the east and Hillside Avenue to the south.  The noisy edges belie the quiet nature of this community that lies on the top and south slope of the Harbor Hill Moraine.  Notable residents have included Governor Mario Cuomo, Activist Roy Wilkins and Indian spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy.

Development spanned decades and included the Parkway Village that was constructed as housing for United Nations dignitaries and employees.  Briarwood has some portions with a street grid layout and other sections with twists and turns.  Residences range from large single-family Colonial and Tudor style houses, attached single family brick houses, attached multi-unit houses and typical six story apartment buildings.

143^rd Street offers a unique view of the southern tier of Queens, including a glimpse of a passing AirTrain heading for Jamaica.

In this article, I want to focus on a specific large and unique block.  Some years ago, during a walk around, I noticed an unusual feature of the area.  It is a single block on the hillside, bound by 144^th and 148^th Streets and 85^th and 87^th Avenues.  This block is unusual in that there are residential homes occupying most of the street frontage and several public facilities are located in the center of the block, behind the homes.

Silvercrest occupies most of 87^th Avenue between 144^th and 148^th Streets with residential homes on both ends of the block.  Silvercrest dates to 1989 and has a distinctive fluted concrete panel façade.  Originally operated by The Salvation Army, it has since changed hands and is now under the auspices of New York Presbyterian Hospital. 

A second building affiliated with Silvercrest was constructed around 2010 with a more institutional type of look with its only entrance from a driveway on 144^th Street.

On 148^th Street, midway between 85^th and 87^th Avenues is the SCO Family of Services that includes the Ottilie Residential Treatment Facility, tending to troubled children and adolescents.  Entrance is only through a secure gate on 148^th Street.  Ottilie is a female given name in German and French that translates to “wealthy warrior” and derives from Old German “ot”, meaning wealth and “hild” meaning battle or strength.  The original facility at this location was the Ottilie Orphan Home dating back to 1892. More history of the facilities can be found here.

The 85^th Avenue side of this block is entirely occupied by JHS-217, Robert A. Van Wyck Junior High School.  It dates to 1988 and is named for the first mayor of New York City after the consolidation of the five boroughs. 

I was curious as to how this block developed; I went back to the NYC ARC-GIS aerial photos.  Aerial maps are publicly available for 1924, 1951, 1996 and then more frequently past 2000.  You can see the Ottilie Orphan Home in the center of the 1924 photo, along with some private homes.

Patrick O’Connor is a lifelong resident of Queens, retired with 40 years of service for City of New York Department of Environmental Protection and as a licensed sightseeing guide in New York City.

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6/6/26