Interview with John Kilpatrick about College Point

1) How Long have you lived in the neighborhood ?
He has lived in the neighborhood since 1937

2)What attracted you to the neighborhood ?
His parents came from the Bronx. A co worker of his fathers lived in College Point and told them to look at it. His parents fell in love with all the trees/ You weren’t able too see the sky at the time due to the high density of the trees. There was also three beaches and numerous boat yards where people used to catch crabs and lobsters.

3)When did the change in the neighborhood happen ?
The change began around the 1960's and 70's. It went from a small town into an industrial town. At one point there was a Ferry that used to run from the Bronx into College Point and very few cars were around at that time.

4)What changed first ?
The first change to College Point was the development. At one time there were lots that had piles of dirt that they used to play as kids that has now been developed into factories. There were only about three to four factories within the town and now there is around 200.

5)Have you seen any changes in the ethnicity within the neighborhood ?
When he first moved into College Point it was almost all German and over time Asians began moving in and nowadays the Hispanics are moving into the town.

6) What ethnic group has risen or declined ?
The German Population has shown a decrease over the years. In recent years the Asians and Hispanics are rising.

7)What ethnic group is dominant in the neighborhood ?
It has Gone from Germans to Asians to Hispanics.

8)Has the population increased or decreased over the years?
The population has increased dramatically over the years. At one time when you walked down the street you knew everyone by name, and it often took you some time to get to where you wanted since you would acknowledge everyone.

9)What is the biggest change you have witnessed ?
Industry has been the biggest change it went from one and two family homes too industry that began to develop everywhere. All of the empty lots that consisted within College Point has been bought by companies to build factories or multifamily homes.

10) What so you like most about it ?
The best part of College Point is the small town environment. The change came over time which made it subtle and slow so you became accustomed to it.

Extra Information about College Point

One time there were only few families that had cars and there were not more than three cars on a block .

College Point had the most bars in any city in the US.(35)

Car fair was expensive, so it was not a through town , you would come into College Point and then you would have to turn back around to go back.

There were numerous yacht clubs at one time that the kids used to help dock boats.

As kids he used to play tag at night in sailboats with other kids on the water.