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I have never been to the Rockaways, but when I go through the Google Street Views of Averne between Beach 56 and Beach 32, they are all vacant. What happened to this area?
All beach front communities on the east coast looked like this post WWII, Ashbury Park, NJ, Atlantic City, NJ, Coney Island, Brooklyn, Rockaway(s), QUeens.
People were moving to the suburbs, building pools in their backyard and air travel became much easier and people would rather go to Florida to vacation rather than these northeast cities.
I remember there being an Astroland somewhere on B111th street. I might be wrong tho.
There was supposed to be a huge renewal project in the Rockaways, which never came to pass. All those blocks were demolished...and then remained that way. It's still very eerie to see them (and even eerier if you walk along them!)
I was born and raised in the Rockaways. It is widely believed out there that the vast tract of ocean-front property was left vacant in the specific hope that casino gambling would be legalized in New York State, and that what had been attractive and solid year-round and summer properties would be replaced by casinos.
I was born and raised in the Rockaways. It is widely believed out there that the vast tract of ocean-front property was left vacant in the specific hope that casino gambling would be legalized in New York State, and that what had been attractive and solid year-round and summer properties would be replaced by casinos.
Isn't there a push to legalize gambling in NY? If so, it might happen.
All beach front communities on the east coast looked like this post WWII, Ashbury Park, NJ, Atlantic City, NJ, Coney Island, Brooklyn, Rockaway(s), QUeens.
People were moving to the suburbs, building pools in their backyard and air travel became much easier and people would rather go to Florida to vacation rather than these northeast cities.
I remember there being an Astroland somewhere on B111th street. I might be wrong tho.
I have never been to the Rockaways, but when I go through the Google Street Views of Averne between Beach 56 and Beach 32, they are all vacant. What happened to this area?
The real story is as follows:
The Rockaways were once home to a vast bungalow community, populated by out of towners from the city during the summer. These bungalows were designed for summer living - no heating systems. As times changed, and other summer getaways like the Hamptons became popular because they were easily accessed now by automobile, the downfall of the Rockaways became unavoidable. People started stealing the copper pipes out of the bungalows to sell as scrap, and the bungalow communities became slums.
Fast forward to 1964
The Arverne Urban Renewal project was supposed to transform
Rockaway. In this initiative, all bungalows south of the elevated A train from Beach 32nd Street west to Beach 84th Street were razed. Currently, the land from Beach 32nd to Beach 56th Place is vacant save one building, P.S. 106 at 180 Beach 35th Street.
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