In the heart of Woodside, Queens, a seemingly inconspicuous plaque at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 58th Street has sparked curiosity and controversy. Declaring itself as the "geographic center of NYC," this marker has turned out to be nothing more than an urban myth, as both the city's geographers and officials have pinpointed New York City's true geographic center miles away in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Despite this, some residents, entwined with neighborhood pride, aren't all too concerned with the plaque's accuracy or the actual central coordinates set forth by the Department of City Planning, as reported by Gothamist.
A Gothamist investigation found that the origins of the mysterious plaque remain unclear, with no city agency claiming responsibility or providing any record of its installation. Statements from the Landmark Preservation Commission, the Department of Transportation, and the Queens Historical Society have offered little information, leaving the question of who placed the geographic marker in the concrete unanswered. Some residents of Woodside have speculated that the plaque may be linked to a vision of a larger New York that includes Long Island, or that it serves as a local landmark for the neighborhood.
The unresolved nature of the plaque's presence inspired a deeper dive into its history. A resourceful dig by a Gothamist journalist led to John Cola, who made a breakthrough revelation about the marker's creation at his father-in-law's machine shop. Despite this lead linking the marker back to a family-owned metal caster and an assembly date around 1994, the customer behind the commission and the installer remained a dead end.
Former Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe put forward a theory, claiming in an interview with the Gothamist that his predecessor, Henry Stern, could have been the prankster or mastermind behind the plaque's placement. Known for his unique humor and love for numerical conundrums, Stern might have had the motivations for such a stunt, although no concrete evidence has surfaced to confirm his involvement, with his passing in 2019 only adding more intrigue to the lore of Woodside's most peculiar landmark.
Woodside residents, unperturbed by the geographic inaccuracy of the marker, appear more enamored with the notion of a distinctive neighborhood trait. As highlighted by NY1, many locals, including patrons of the venerable Donovan's Pub, are more embroiled in a shared sentiment of community rather than the precision of the city's cartographic midpoint.
