City. One in seventeen residents (6%) were unemployed, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 46% in Maspeth and Ridgewood, lower than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Maspeth, Ridgewood, Middle Village, and Glendale are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying. Most people who live in Maspeth are of Polish, Italian, or Irish descent. This is reflected in the many businesses in the neighborhood like Irish pubs and Italian and Polish specialty stores and markets. Many people of Eastern European, German, Chinese, or Hispanic origin (mostly Puerto Ricans from nearby Ridgewood) have also moved to the area. The Polish population in Maspeth is relatively large; the New York metropolitan area is home to the second largest community of Polish Americans behind Chicago. Land use Maspeth is zoned for a mixture of uses. The area consisting of 43rd Street through 58th Street, including the former Furman Island, is mostly industrial lowlands. The blocks from 60th Street to 74th Street are mostly residential, but there is a small industrial presence on Grand Avenue. Industrial The Phelps Dodge Corporation was present from 1920 to 1983, during which matter from their premises contaminated Newtown Creek, which separates northern Brooklyn from western Queens and serves barge traffic. In the 2000s, politicians started to make efforts to clean up the Newtown and Maspeth Creeks. Freight train traffic moves on the Long Island Rail Road Montauk Branch and the lightly used Bushwick Branch, both of which are used by the New York and Atlantic Railway. The LIRR Bay Ridge Branch, a freight-only railway branch, separates the neighborhood from Elmhurst and Middle Village. A new West Maspeth rail freight station has been proposed in connection with a Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel to diminish truck traffic across New York City. It is opposed by residents who do not want more trucks in Maspeth. The Elmhurst gas tanks were formerly located in the area and were demolished in 2001; they are now the site of Elmhurst Park. The Maspeth gas tanks were also located in the area until they were demolished. Residential and commercial Single and multi-family dwellings make up most of Maspeth. There are few apartment buildings, except for the Ridgewood Gardens co-ops along 65th