Bayside Hills Going Postal Over Name Change

Few things are quite as annoying as fixing a problem, only to have it come right back again – and that's what's happened to proud Bayside Hills residents.

Barely a year after getting their leafy enclave, bounded by 48^th Ave., Springfield Blvd., the LIE and 211^th St., recognized as its own postal address, recent mailings have reverted to the prior designation.

"Universally it's Oakland Gardens again," according to Michael Feiner, president of the Bayside Hills Civic Association

For years, homeowners in the northern central section of zip code 11364 fought to have their community of single-family homes clearly discernable from Oakland Gardens – where the Post Office is located – with its two-family homes, high rise buildings and "garden apartments."

Finally, with help from Rep. Gary Ackerman and the cooperation of Flushing postmaster William Rogers, Bayside Hills was recognized as an official town designation in late 2009.

"We contacted all the databases and Bayside Hills started turning up on address lists, mailings and GPS results," Feiner said. "Now it's as if all our hard work has gone to waste."

The story begins when the "ZIP" code was introduced in the 1960s. Under the "Zone Improvement Plan" all of Queens was divided up into five "cities" depending on where the regional post office was.

Every zip code beginning with "113" was officially Flushing, which didn't sit well with property owners in more 'desirable' sections such as Bayside and Douglaston.

It took until the late 1990s for Ackerman to convince the USPS to recognize individual Queens neighborhoods by individual zip codes.

But even that had its problems, because the postal route map often diverged from neighborhood lines, which were often determined by real estate development.

The clearly-defined area known as Bayside Hills is distinct in terms of housing stock and the presence of center malls on many Avenues and Bell Boulevard, its central artery, and Feiner's group wanted to highlight the distinction.

"It looks like we have to go back to the beginning, and we're hoping that elected officials can shorten the process," Feiner said.

At a recent civic association meeting, a representative of Rep. Anthony Weiner offered to help. According to a Weiner spokesperson, "Our staff has been in contact with the postal service and we are anticipating a response, hopefully in about a week."