Rockaway, Queens
Encyclopedia
The Rockaway Peninsula, informally The Rockaways, is the name of a peninsula of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, all of which is located within the New York City borough of Queens
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
. A popular summer resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
area since the 1830s, Rockaway has become a mixture of lower, middle, and upper-class neighborhoods. Its relative isolation from the urban areas of the city, especially Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, has traditionally made it a popular summer retreat. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 14
Queens Community Board 14
The Queens Community Board 14 is a local government in the New York City borough of Queens, encompassing the neighborhoods of Breezy Point, Belle Harbor, Neponsit, Arverne, Bayswater, Edgemere, Rockaway Park, Rockaway and Far Rockaway...
. As of January 1, 2007, the peninsula's total population is estimated to be just below 130,000.
Rockaway is split between New York's 9th
New York's 9th congressional district
New York's 9th Congressional District is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City. It includes parts of southern Brooklyn and south central Queens...
and 6th
New York's 6th congressional district
New York's Sixth Congressional District is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City. It includes most of Southeastern Queens including the neighborhoods of Cambria Heights, Edgemere, Far Rockaway, Hollis, Jamaica, Laurelton, Queens Village, Rosedale,...
Congressional Districts with the 6th encompassing the easternmost portions of the peninsula and the 9th spanning the western end. All ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
s in Rockaway begin with 116- and the central Post Office is in Far Rockaway
Far Rockaway, Queens
Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens in the United States. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood starts at the Nassau County line and extends west to Beach 32nd Street. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community...
.
Early history
What is now known as Rockaway was inhabited by the LenapeLenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, but sold to the Dutch by the Mohegan
Mohegan
The Mohegan tribe is an Algonquian-speaking tribe that lives in the eastern upper Thames River valley of Connecticut. Mohegan translates to "People of the Wolf". At the time of European contact, the Mohegan and Pequot were one people, historically living in the lower Connecticut region...
tribe along with most of Long Island in 1639, and to the British in 1685. Finally the land was sold to Richard Cornell
Richard Cornell
Richard Cornell was an English Quaker ironmaster and resident of Long Island who is generally considered the first European settler on the Rockaway Peninsula in the present-day Borough of Queens, New York City...
, who settled there. The name "rockaway" is the later corruption of Lenape language
Munsee language
Munsee is an endangered language of the Eastern Algonquian subgroup of the Algonquian language family, itself a branch of the Algic language family. Munsee is one of the two Delaware languages...
word that sounded phonetically something like "rack-a-wak-e", and referred to the area. It may have meant "place of sands"(see: Toponymy of New Netherland
Toponymy of New Netherland
Nieuw-Nederland, or New Netherland, was the seventeenth century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on northeastern coast of North America. The claimed territory were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to southern Cape Cod. Settled areas are now part of the...
).
Prior to the consolidation of Greater New York City in 1898, the Rockaway Peninsula was part of the Town of Hempstead, then a part of Queens County
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
. The village of Rockaway Park became incorporated into the City of Greater New York
City of Greater New York
The City of Greater New York was a term commonly used originally to refer to the expanded city created on January 1, 1898 by the incorporation into the city of Richmond County, Kings County, Queens County, and the eastern part of what is now called The Bronx...
on January 1, 1898.
The playground of New York
Rockaway became a popular area for seaside hotels starting in the 1830s, and popularity grew with the coming of the Long Island Rail RoadLong Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
in the 1880s. The bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
became the most popular type of housing during the summer months. Even today, some of these remain, converted to provide modern amenities, although the vast majority were razed in urban renewal during the 1960s.
In 1893, Hog Island
Hog Island (New York)
Hog Island was a set of two islands off Long Island, New York. One, shown on the map at right, is the present day Barnum Island, part of Island Park, New York...
, a resort known for entertaining Boss Tweed
Boss Tweed
William Magear Tweed – often erroneously referred to as William Marcy Tweed , and widely known as "Boss" Tweed – was an American politician most notable for being the "boss" of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th century...
and Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
, sank into the sea. Located a few miles east of Breezy Point, and also known as Rockaway Island, the entire island disappeared during a storm. Plates, along with older artifacts, still wash up along the shore of Rockaway Beach.
Rockaways' Playland
Rockaways' Playland
Rockaways' Playland was an amusement park located on Beach 98th Street in Rockaway Beach in the Borough of Queens, New York City, at Beach 98 Street between Rockaway Beach Boulevard and the beachfront...
, a world renowned amusement park opened in 1901, and was a popular place for New York families until 1985 when insurance costs and competition from major regional parks made it impossible to continue operations.
The completion of the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
The Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge in New York City, is a toll bridge that carries Cross Bay Boulevard from Broad Channel in Jamaica Bay to the Rockaway Peninsula, and is located in Queens....
in 1939 (at the center of the peninsula which was replaced by a new Cross Bay Bridge in 1969) and the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge
Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge
The Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge in New York City is a vertical lift bridge that crosses Rockaway Inlet and connects the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, with Marine Parkway to Floyd Bennett Field, Flatbush Avenue, and the Marine Park neighborhood in Brooklyn...
in 1937 (at the western end of the peninsula) increased the accessibility to Queens and Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, however, the development of Jones Beach
Jones Beach State Park
Jones Beach State Park is a state park of the U.S. state of New York. It is located in southern Nassau County, in the hamlet of Wantagh, on Jones Beach Island, a barrier island linked to Long Island by the Meadowbrook State Parkway, Wantagh State Parkway and Ocean Parkway .The park is renowned for...
by Robert Moses
Robert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
drew tourism away from both Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
and Rockaway Beach.
Today the area still draws crowds during the summer, with well-tended beaches. Jacob Riis Park
Jacob Riis Park
Jacob Riis Park in the New York City borough of Queens, is part of the Jamaica Bay Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area, and is managed by the National Park Service . It lies at the foot of the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, toward the southwestern end the Rockaway Peninsula,...
and Fort Tilden
Fort Tilden
Fort Tilden, also known as Fort Tilden Historic District, is a former United States Army installation in the New York City borough of Queens and part of Gateway National Recreation Area. It is located on the Rockaway Peninsula between Jacob Riis Park to the east and Breezy Point to the west...
can be found on the western end of the peninsula, part of the Gateway National Recreational Area created in 1972 as one of the first urban national parks. A long boardwalk and long sandy beaches make this a popular summer day trip for New York City residents. Towards the western end of the boardwalk, several portions of the beach are fenced off to preserve the nesting habitat for several species of terns and plovers, making for a unique urban birdwatching
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
locale.
Bedroom community
With the advent of inexpensive travel, air-conditioning, John F. Kennedy International AirportJohn F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
, and the Interstate Highway system, Rockaway lost its luster as a recreation area, and development transformed much of it into residential communities.
The peninsula's main communities are Belle Harbor
Belle Harbor, Queens
Belle Harbor is an upscale neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is a tightly-knit, upper class community located on the western half of the Rockaway Peninsula, the southernmost area of the borough. While there are no formal boundaries for the area, Belle Harbor is often used to...
and Far Rockaway
Far Rockaway, Queens
Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens in the United States. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood starts at the Nassau County line and extends west to Beach 32nd Street. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community...
. Other important neighborhoods on the peninsula include Arverne
Arverne, Queens
Arverne is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, on the Rockaway Peninsula. It was initially developed by Remington Vernam, whose signature "R. Vernam" inspired the name of the neighborhood. Arverne extends from Beach 56th Street to Beach 73rd Street, along its main thoroughfare...
, Neponsit
Neponsit, Queens
Neponsit is a small affluent neighborhood located on the western half of the Rockaway Peninsula, the southernmost area of the borough of Queens. The area starts at 142nd Street and ends at 149th Street. It borders the neighborhood of Belle Harbor to the east and Jacob Riis Park on the west. Jamaica...
, Rockaway Beach
Rockaway Beach, Queens
Rockaway Beach is a neighborhood on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located on the South Shore of Long Island. The neighborhood is bounded by Arverne to the east and Rockaway Park to the west...
, Rockaway Park
Rockaway Park, Queens
Rockaway Park is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The area is on the Rockaway Peninsula, nestled between Jamaica Bay to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The neighborhood of Rockaway Beach lies on its eastern border while the community of Belle Harbor is situated...
, Breezy Point
Breezy Point, Queens
Breezy Point is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, located on the western end of the Rockaway peninsula, between Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay on the landward side, and the Atlantic Ocean. The neighborhood is governed by Queens Community Board 14...
and Edgemere
Edgemere, Queens
Edgemere is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, extending from Beach 32nd to Beach 52nd Street on the Rockaway Peninsula. It contains Rockaway Community Park. Arverne is to the west, and Far Rockaway to the east. Edgemere was founded in 1892 by Frederick J. Lancaster, who...
.
Broad Channel
Broad Channel, Queens
Broad Channel is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It occupies the southern portion of Rulers Bar Hassock , which is the only inhabited island in Jamaica Bay. The neighborhood stands on Big Egg Marsh, an area of fill approximately 20 blocks long and 4 blocks wide...
, located on its own island in Jamaica Bay
Jamaica Bay
Jamaica Bay is located on the southwestern tip of Long Island in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, and the town of Hempstead, New York/hamlet of Inwood...
between the peninsula and the mainland of Queens, is generally considered to be psychographically part of the Rockaways. The Rockaway area, including Broad Channel, is served by the IND Rockaway Line
IND Rockaway Line
The IND Rockaway Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway. It branches from the IND Fulton Street Line at Rockaway Boulevard, extending over the Jamaica Bay, into the Rockaways.-History:...
of the New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
, although both lines run completely above ground locally, using tracks purchased from the Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
in the 1950s (until 1975, an additional fare was charged to passengers either boarding or departing the train at any of the Rockaway-area stations, including Broad Channel, if the trip originated or terminated outside the area).
In the years immediately following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, several public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
projects were built in the region, and these eventually became hotbeds of crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
and related social pathologies. This provoked a backlash from some of the peninsula's more established residents (many of whom are of Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
ethnicity). A strong Jewish community (many of whose members are Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
) also exists in the area south of Far Rockaway.
Redevelopment has started in some areas of the peninsula. Although plans including casinos, sports arenas, and various other real-estate projects had been proposed in the past many of those plans did not come to fruition due to either lack of funds, development stagnation, or resident resistance. However, in 2002, a "revival" began on the peninsula, as a new residential development plan started construction in a large vacant section between Rockaway Beach and Arverne. The new areas have become known as Arverne
Arverne, Queens
Arverne is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, on the Rockaway Peninsula. It was initially developed by Remington Vernam, whose signature "R. Vernam" inspired the name of the neighborhood. Arverne extends from Beach 56th Street to Beach 73rd Street, along its main thoroughfare...
By the Sea and Arverne East.
The new development projects however, have sparked a new building boom in the neighboring communities. This has caused some concern and has led to various debates regarding development within those neighborhoods. The main problem has to do with Rockaway's zoning laws: those laws, decades old, cater to large multiple dwellings because of the hotels that had once existed in the area. This has led to construction of taller and wider buildings in areas that currently contain lower density housing. In response, some communities have approved rezoning plans for their neighborhoods in order to stop "out of character" development.
Opponents also contend that due to the rapidly growing population, the current infrastructure is inadequate and that there are environmental issues to consider. Those in favor of the development, however, contend that the development will help spur economic development and that the infrastructure cannot be upgraded until the population has reached a more noticeable level. Furthermore some developers have questioned the legality of "down zoning". On August 14, 2008, however, a drastic rezoning plan was approved by the New York City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
for five communities on the peninsula covering 280 blocks. The communities that were included are Rockaway Park, Rockaway Beach
Rockaway Beach, Queens
Rockaway Beach is a neighborhood on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located on the South Shore of Long Island. The neighborhood is bounded by Arverne to the east and Rockaway Park to the west...
, Somerville, Edgemere
Edgemere, Queens
Edgemere is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, extending from Beach 32nd to Beach 52nd Street on the Rockaway Peninsula. It contains Rockaway Community Park. Arverne is to the west, and Far Rockaway to the east. Edgemere was founded in 1892 by Frederick J. Lancaster, who...
, and Far Rockaway. The goal of the rezoning plan is to stop overdevelopment in these areas but at the same time allow growth within the context of the neighborhoods.
Art and culture
The Rockaway Arts Council provides a wide range of events throughout the year. Two art groups in Rockaway,the Rockaway Theater Company and the Rockaway Artists' Alliance, hold most of their productions in Fort TildenFort Tilden
Fort Tilden, also known as Fort Tilden Historic District, is a former United States Army installation in the New York City borough of Queens and part of Gateway National Recreation Area. It is located on the Rockaway Peninsula between Jacob Riis Park to the east and Breezy Point to the west...
.
The Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
song "Rockaway Beach" is probably the most common pop culture reference to this region, although Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
refers to it in Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
. Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's Radio Days
Radio Days
Radio Days is a 1987 comedy film directed by Woody Allen. The film looks back on an American family's life during the Golden Age of Radio using both music and memories to tell the story.-Plot:...
was filmed in Rockaway Park, with period facades and cars turning back the clock during the shoot. Jill Eisenstadt's bestselling novel, From Rockaway (Knopf) fictionalizes the world of local lifeguards in the 1980s. Denis Leary
Denis Leary
Denis Colin Leary is an Irish-American actor, comedian, writer and director. Leary is known for his biting, fast paced comedic style and chain smoking...
's TV series Rescue Me
Rescue Me (TV series)
Rescue Me is an American television drama series that premiered on the FX Network on July 21, 2004, and concluded on September 7, 2011. The series focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of New York City firefighters in the fictitious Ladder 62 / Engine 99 firehouse.The show...
filmed in many locations on the Rockaway Peninsula. In the Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
episode "The Marine Biologist
The Marine Biologist
"The Marine Biologist" is the seventy-eighth episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 14th episode of the fifth season. It was originally broadcast on NBC on February 10, 1994. Jerry Seinfeld considers the episode to be one of his favorites...
", Kramer suggests that George and Jerry accompany him to Rockaway to hit golf balls into the ocean. The title of Lawrence Ferlinghetti's book of poems, A Far Rockaway of the Heart is a reference to the region.
Historical events
On June 6, 1993, a ship called the Golden VentureGolden Venture
On June 6, 1993, at around 2 a.m., the Golden Venture — a ship bearing 286 illegal immigrants from China along with 13 crew members — ran aground on Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York after a mutiny by the smugglers. The ship had set sail from Thailand, stopped in Kenya and circled the...
beached on the shore off Fort Tilden, located on the western half of the Rockaway Peninsula. The ship contained 296 Chinese illegal aliens including 13 crew members. Ten people drowned trying to reach the peninsula's shoreline.
On Tuesday, April 5, 2011, Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
medical student Jason Maloney landed a single-engine airplane carrying two passengers on the beach at Beach 56th St and Shore Front Parkway. After initially claiming he was required to make a forced landing due to a sick passenger, the pilot admitted he was inspired to perform a beach landing after watching the Discovery Channel show Flying Wild Alaska. The incident remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
.
Over 70 Rockaways residents were killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
on the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, including people who worked at WTC and FDNY firefighters and EMS personnel dispatched to the location.
On November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587
American Airlines Flight 587
American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300, crashed into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens, a borough of New York City, New York, shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport on November 12, 2001. This is the second deadliest U.S...
crashed in the Rockaway neighborhood of Belle Harbor killing 265 people (260 on board the aircraft and 5 on the ground).
The impact of the two incidents on the community was the subject of the book Braving the Waves: Rockaway Rises, and Rises Again by the former editor of The Wave, Kevin Boyle.
Communities
- ArverneArverne, QueensArverne is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, on the Rockaway Peninsula. It was initially developed by Remington Vernam, whose signature "R. Vernam" inspired the name of the neighborhood. Arverne extends from Beach 56th Street to Beach 73rd Street, along its main thoroughfare...
- BayswaterBayswater, QueensBayswater is a small neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, on the eastern end of the Rockaway Peninsula. The community is located to the northeast of Far Rockaway, along the southeastern shore of Jamaica Bay...
- Belle HarborBelle Harbor, QueensBelle Harbor is an upscale neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is a tightly-knit, upper class community located on the western half of the Rockaway Peninsula, the southernmost area of the borough. While there are no formal boundaries for the area, Belle Harbor is often used to...
- Breezy PointBreezy Point, QueensBreezy Point is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, located on the western end of the Rockaway peninsula, between Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay on the landward side, and the Atlantic Ocean. The neighborhood is governed by Queens Community Board 14...
- Far RockawayFar Rockaway, QueensFar Rockaway is a neighborhood on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens in the United States. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood starts at the Nassau County line and extends west to Beach 32nd Street. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community...
- HammelsHammels, QueensHammels is a section of Rockaway Beach on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located west of Arverne and east of Seaside, and is centered on Beach 84th Street. Its main thoroughfare is Beach Channel Drive. The train passes through the neighborhood...
- NeponsitNeponsit, QueensNeponsit is a small affluent neighborhood located on the western half of the Rockaway Peninsula, the southernmost area of the borough of Queens. The area starts at 142nd Street and ends at 149th Street. It borders the neighborhood of Belle Harbor to the east and Jacob Riis Park on the west. Jamaica...
- Rockaway BeachRockaway Beach, QueensRockaway Beach is a neighborhood on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located on the South Shore of Long Island. The neighborhood is bounded by Arverne to the east and Rockaway Park to the west...
- Rockaway ParkRockaway Park, QueensRockaway Park is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The area is on the Rockaway Peninsula, nestled between Jamaica Bay to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The neighborhood of Rockaway Beach lies on its eastern border while the community of Belle Harbor is situated...
- RoxburyRoxbury, QueensRoxbury is a community on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is just west of the Marine Parkway Bridge and adjoins Fort Tilden...
- SeasideSeaside, QueensSeaside is a section of Rockaway Beach on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered on the east by Hammels and on the west by Rockaway Park. Formerly a resort community of small bungalows, Seaside is today dominated by expensive high rise apartments along its...
High schools
- Far Rockaway High SchoolFar Rockaway High SchoolFar Rockaway High School, a public high school in the public school system of New York City, was located on Bay 25 Street in Far Rockaway in the borough of Queens, as part of the New York City Department of Education. The school was founded in 1897, with Sanford J. Ellsworth as principal for over...
- Beach Channel High SchoolBeach Channel High SchoolBeach Channel High School , is a high school in the public school system of New York City, is located at 100-00 Beach Channel Drive in Rockaway Park in the borough of Queens . The school opened in 1973 and, as of 2006, has an enrollment of 2,175 students. The school was built on the edge of...
- Stella Maris High SchoolStella Maris High SchoolStella Maris High School was an all-girls, private, Roman Catholic high school on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, New York. It was located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn...
- Scholars' Academy High School
Other schools
- St. Francis de Sales
- St. Camillus
- St. Rose of Lima
- West End Temple
- Yeshiva of Far RockawayYeshiva of Far RockawayYeshiva of Far Rockaway is a Haredi yeshiva located on 802 Hicksville Road, Far Rockaway, Queens in New York City. It comprises a high school and beis medrash, or seminary. The school was founded by the current rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Yechiel Yitzchok Perr, and by the late Rabbi Nachman Bulman...
- Beth El Temple
- P.S. 43
- P.S. 104
- P.S. 114
- P.S. 215
- P.S. 225
- M.S. 53
- M.S. 183
- Church Of God Christian Academy
- St. Mary Star of the Sea
- Scholars' AcademyScholars' AcademyScholars' Academy is an accelerated learning middle school for gifted children. The school was started in 2006, and is located in Rockaway Park, New York. The school's address is 320 Beach 104th street, Rockaway Park....
- Channel View School For Research
External links
- History of Rockaway from The Wave
- Downloadable copy of History of the Rockaways from the year 1685 to 1917 by Alfred H. Bellot
- US Geological Survey for Breezy Point
- The Rockaways by Henry Isham Hazelton (1924)
- Far Rockaway High School Alumni Website
- St. Francis de Sales Parish, Belle Harbor
- Gateway National Recreation Area official website
- Housing Mania in The Rockaways by Angelo Guarino