The Queens neighborhood of Addisleigh Park feels miles away from the city. The Tudor homes and suburban charm is what initially attracted some of the most famous black Americans of their time to the community, from Ella Fitzgerald and Jackie Robinson, to Count Basie.

When James Brown lived here, his home had a moat and a drawbridge. Boxer Joe Louis called this community home after he retired from the ring.

"It's just a long proud history we have in this community," says William Scarborough, a former state assemblyman who represented the district.

Ironically, it once was a community that excluded African-Americans.

Addisleigh Park was developed in the 1920's as a whites-only neighborhood. Beginning in the 1930s, homebuyers here were asked to sign restrictive covenants before they moved in banning them from selling their houses to black families.

"So blacks couldn't live here, apparently a few neighbors didn't believe in that, so they sold homes to black people. So then their neighbors took them to court," said Lisa Wade, the head of the Addisleigh Park Civic Organization’s history and tourism board.

A judge initially upheld the covenants, but a year later, in 1948, they were overturned after a landmark Supreme Court ruling forbid judges from enforcing any restrictions on African-Americans buying real estate.

"My father, I call him the 'Barrier Breaker,'" says Judith Johnson, an Addisleigh Park resident.

Johnson's father first attempted to buy their house in 1947. He was turned down, but came back a year later and was successful. They were the second black family on the block, but by the 1950s the neighborhood had become a largely black enclave.

In 2020, it still is. The community now has a very active civic group dedicated to keeping its history alive. In 2011, residents succeeded in having Addisleigh Park declared a landmark district, protecting 422 of its homes from significant changes or demolition.

"I think it's transitioned to more business professionals. And I think there are still a lot of creatives here. A lot of photographers and artists that still live in the neighborhood," said Michael Scotland, President of the Addisleigh Park Civic Organization.

Although it's no longer known as a haven for celebrities, it's very muuch a community that celebrates its past.