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Neighborhood · Queens

South Jamaica

South Jamaica lies south of downtown Jamaica in southeastern Queens. The Van Wyck Expressway is to the west, St. Albans to the east and Baisley Park and South Ozone Park to the south and west. It is mostly a neighborhood of houses: two-family homes hold about 45% of homes and one-family houses about a quarter. NYCHA's South Jamaica Houses, whose first section opened in 1940, add the largest apartment complex. Detective Keith L. Williams Park on Liberty Avenue and Marconi Park are the largest parks. No subway station lies inside the area. The Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer station (E, J, Z) is about half a kilometer north of its edge.

South Jamaica has 21,089 open HPD housing violations, 3,308 of them Class C (immediately hazardous). Inspectors issued 2,752 new violations here in the last 12 months. That's the 5th most open violations of 60 neighborhoods in Queens.

Check a building in Queens

Open HPD violations
21,089
3,308 Class C
New violations, last 12 months
2,752
542 Class C · 18th in Queens
How serious are the open violations?
Open HPD violations by class
Class C3,308 · 16%Class B11,070 · 52%Class A6,711 · 32%Class A here includes a small number of Class I orders.

Source: NYC HPD Housing Maintenance Code Violations · data as of Oct 16, 2026

New violations in the last 12 months
By class
  • Class C · immediately hazardous542
  • Class B · hazardous877
  • Class A · non-hazardous583

Source: NYC HPD Housing Maintenance Code Violations · data as of Oct 16, 2026

Good to know

  • NYCHA South Jamaica Houses (sections I and II)
  • About 70% of homes are one- or two-family houses (PLUTO)
  • Detective Keith L. Williams Park covers 7.7 acres
  • No subway inside; Jamaica Center (E J Z) is about 0.5 km north
  • Marconi Park covers 4.6 acres

Before you rent or buy here

Check the buildingLook up any address for violations, complaints and owner.Read the violation classesWhat A, B and C mean and how fast owners must fix them.Work out your budgetThe 40× income rule most NYC landlords use.

More neighborhoods in Queens

Astoria (Central)Astoria (East) & Woodside (North)Astoria North, Ditmars & SteinwayAuburndaleBaisley ParkBay Terrace & ClearviewBaysideBelleroseBreezy Point, Belle Harbor, Rockaway Park & Broad ChannelCambria HeightsCollege PointCoronaDouglaston & Little NeckEast ElmhurstEast FlushingElmhurstFar Rockaway & BayswaterFlushing & Willets PointFlushing Meadows–Corona ParkForest HillsFresh Meadows & UtopiaGlen Oaks, Floral Park & New Hyde ParkGlendaleHollisHoward Beach & LindenwoodJackson HeightsJamaicaJamaica Estates & HolliswoodJamaica Hills & BriarwoodKew GardensKew Gardens HillsLaureltonLong Island City & Hunters PointMaspethMiddle VillageMurray Hill & Broadway–FlushingNorth CoronaOakland Gardens & Hollis HillsOld Astoria & Hallets PointOzone Park
Fact-checked October 12, 2026

Location checked against the 2020 NTA boundaries (NYC Open Data 9nt8-h7nd). Housing mix = share of residential units by PLUTO building class for the 2020 census tracts in this NTA (tract-to-NTA equivalency hm78-6dwm); PLUTO year-built values for older buildings are often estimates. South Jamaica I and II were confirmed inside the polygon (NYCHA dataset). Park acreage comes from NYC Parks Properties. The station distance was measured from the NTA boundary (MTA Subway Stations). Baisley Pond Park is its own NTA, so it is not claimed. Re-checked 2026-10-12: South Jamaica Houses first section opened July 1940 (Wikipedia). South Jamaica I and II inside the polygon (NYCHA dataset). Keith L. Williams Park 7.7 ac and Marconi Park 4.6 ac are the largest parks inside. Jamaica Center measured 530 m outside. PLUTO recount: two-family 45%, one-family 24%.

Sources

  1. South Jamaica, Queens (Wikipedia) · Wikipedia (accessed October 12, 2026)
  2. NYCHA Public Housing Developments · New York City Housing Authority (accessed October 12, 2026)
  3. Primary Land Use Tax Lot Output (PLUTO), release 26v2 · NYC Department of City Planning (accessed October 12, 2026)

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change; confirm with the agency or a professional before you act.

“Open” counts every HPD violation not yet recorded as corrected, including old ones owners never certified, so totals can exceed the number of apartments. Statistics: NYC Open Data (HPD violations, 311 service requests, DCP PLUTO) and rent-stabilized counts from DOF tax bills (via JustFix), updated Oct 16, 2026. Heat season runs October 1 to May 31; season-to-date counts compare the same dates.