Downsizing in Flushing, Queens

Flushing at a glance

Queens Community Board 7 covers Bay Terrace, College Point, Beechhurst, Flushing, Malba, Queensborough Hill, Whitestone and Willets Point. NYC Planning divides the Flushing area into Flushing-Willets Point, Murray Hill-Broadway Flushing and East Flushing. The board's site highlights Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which hosted two twentieth-century World's Fairs.

Flushing's history is long. The National Park Service notes that residents wrote a demand for religious freedom in 1657, known as the Flushing Remonstrance. Bowne House, a house museum at 37-01 Bowne Street, says it was built around 1661, and the Historic Districts Council lists the Friends Meeting House, enlarged in 1716 to 1719, as a designated individual landmark.

Sources: Queens Community Board 7; National Park Service, Flushing Remonstrance; Bowne House; Historic Districts Council, Flushing.

Condos, co-ops and houses in Flushing

• Apartments. Community Board 7's district needs statement (fiscal year 2018) describes the district as one- and two-family homes and suburban and urban high-rise apartments. This page does not name individual buildings. Confirm whether a building is a condo, co-op or rental from its offering plan or the seller's attorney.
• Co-ops. A co-op is shares plus a proprietary lease, run by a board with its own rules. Ask about the flip tax, the financial statements and how long approval takes.
• Houses. One- and two-family houses are part of the mix, and a smaller house trades a board for its own upkeep, stairs and heating system.

Elevator or walk-up, and the distance to the 7 or the LIRR, decide daily life more than the deed type. Read the co-op and condo buying guide and the comparison of home types, and have a New York attorney review the contract.

Sources: Community Board 7 needs statement (FY2018); NY Attorney General, buying a co-op or condo.

Getting around Flushing

Flushing-Main St is the end of the 7 line; the MTA marks it accessible, with two island platforms. The Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch stops at Flushing-Main Street and at Murray Hill, and the MTA lists Murray Hill as accessible with elevators and connections to the Q12, Q13, Q15, Q28 and Q65 buses.

Community Board 7's needs statement calls Flushing an intermodal hub with 26 bus lines, the 7 and the LIRR. The Queens Public Library's Flushing branch lists about twenty bus routes at Main Street, among them the Q12, Q13, Q15, Q16, Q17, Q20A, Q20B, Q25, Q26, Q27, Q34, Q44, Q48, Q58, Q65 and Q66. The 7 line map shows the Q48 to LaGuardia from Flushing-Main St and Mets-Willets Point.

The MTA's Reduced-Fare program is open to anyone 65 or older; see our guide to getting around after 65. For train times and door-to-door trips, use the MTA trip planner.

Sources: MTA, 7 line map; MTA, Murray Hill LIRR station; Queens Public Library, Flushing branch.

Health care near Flushing

• NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, 56-45 Main Street, describes comprehensive care with centers for cancer, cardiovascular, neurologic and digestive conditions.
• Flushing Hospital Medical Center, 4500 Parsons Boulevard, gives its public transit directions as the 7 to Main Street and then a Q26 or Q27 bus.

Sources: NewYork-Presbyterian Queens; Flushing Hospital Medical Center.

Everyday life in Flushing

• Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Community Board 7 highlights the park, which hosted two World's Fairs.
• Queens Botanical Garden. At 43-50 Main Street, open Tuesday to Sunday. Its site lists a reduced senior admission and free admission from December 16 to March 31; confirm current terms.
• Flushing Town Hall. A performing arts and cultural venue at 137-35 Northern Boulevard.
• Flushing Library. The Queens Public Library branch at 41-17 Main Street lists Sunday hours and has an Adult Learning Center; check its page for current hours.
• Older adult centers. Selfhelp's Benjamin Rosenthal-Prince Street Innovative Older Adult Center is at 45-25 Kissena Boulevard and works in English and Chinese. The Chinese-American Planning Council runs the Nan Shan Older Adult Center at 133-14 41st Avenue for adults 60 and older. Use the NYC Aging center finder for others.

Sources: Queens Botanical Garden; Flushing Town Hall; Selfhelp; Chinese-American Planning Council.

Storms, flooding and insurance in Flushing

Risk varies by block and by building level, so check each address. Queens County was among the counties in the federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.

• Use the city's Hurricane Evacuation Zone Finder. The city explains its six zones on its evacuation page.
• Look up the flood insurance map at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Evacuation zones and FEMA flood zones are separate maps.
• Ask about a separate flood policy, since standard homeowners, condo and co-op policies exclude flood. FloodHelpNY has guidance.

Our flood and storm insurance guide has more.

Property taxes and local government in Flushing

Flushing is in Queens County, and the city bills property tax. Owners 65 or older with combined income of $58,399 or less may apply for the Senior Citizen Homeowners' Exemption on a primary residence, covering one to three family homes, condos and co-ops (co-ops apply separately), by March 15 (March 16 in 2026). Enhanced STAR reduces school taxes for owners 65 and older within its income limit, and a buyer registers with the state. A co-op or condo building can apply for the city's tax abatement on owners' behalf. Transfer taxes on a sale can be estimated in the net proceeds calculator, and costs and money and the senior property tax exemptions guide give more detail. A New York lawyer or CPA should confirm figures for your situation.

Sources: NYC 311, SCHE; NY Tax Department, STAR; NYC Finance, co-op and condo abatement.

Questions to ask before you buy in Flushing

• Is this building a co-op, condo or rental? What do the financial statements show about reserves and planned assessments?
• What is the co-op flip tax, and how long does board approval take?
• Is there an elevator, and how many steps are there to the front door?
• Which is closer, the 7 or an LIRR station, and are the entrances accessible?
• If the address is a house, what do the heating system, roof and any basement flooding history look like?
• What do the evacuation zone finder and FEMA's map show for this address?

Start with the downsizing plan. To be introduced to an agent, get matched with one on the operating team at eXp Realty. Introductions go only to agents on that team, so this is not a search of the whole market.