Rockaway, Queens, New York City
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The Rockaway Peninsula, also known as The Rockaways, is the name of a peninsula of Long Island, most of which is located within the borough of Queens in New York City. A popular summer resort area since the 1830s, Rockaway - or, as it is informally known, "The Rockaways" - has become a mixture of lower, middle, and upper-class neighborhoods. Its remoteness from Manhattan has made it a popular retreat, but also has provided an out-of-the-way area to relocate communities destroyed by urban renewal.
Rockaway is split between New York's 9th and 6th Congressional Districts with the 6th encompassing the easternmost portions of the peninsula and the 9th spanning the western end.
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 Road in the 1880s. The bungalow 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, a resort known for entertaining Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall 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, 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 in 1925 and the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge in 1937 increased the accessibility to Queens and Brooklyn, however, the development of Jones Beach by Robert Moses drew tourism away from both Coney Island and Rockaway Beach.
Today the area still draws crowds during the summer, with well-tended beaches. Jacob Riis Park and Fort Tilden can be found on the western end of the peninsula, part of the Gateway National Recreational Area 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.
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