Breezy Point, Queens: Difference between revisions
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=== Hurricane Sandy === |
=== Hurricane Sandy === |
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[[File:B217 beach houses shoved off piers Sandy jeh.jpg|thumb|right|Hurricane Sandy damage]] |
[[File:B217 beach houses shoved off piers Sandy jeh.jpg|thumb|right|Hurricane Sandy damage]] |
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On October 29, 2012, Breezy Point was hit hard by [[Hurricane Sandy]]. [[Jamaica Bay]] and the [[New York Bight|Atlantic Ocean]] flooded the land between these bodies of water. Most Breezy Point homes were damaged or destroyed by high water, and basements and vehicles were ruined.<ref name="seattlepl">{{cite news|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/At-least-80-flooded-houses-destroyed-by-NYC-fire-3991949.php#photo-3662958 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |df= }}{{dead link|date=January 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> That night, a six-alarm fire |
On October 29, 2012, Breezy Point was hit hard by [[Hurricane Sandy]]. [[Jamaica Bay]] and the [[New York Bight|Atlantic Ocean]] flooded the land between these bodies of water. Most Breezy Point homes were damaged or destroyed by high water, and basements and vehicles were ruined.<ref name="seattlepl">{{cite news|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/At-least-80-flooded-houses-destroyed-by-NYC-fire-3991949.php#photo-3662958 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |df= }}{{dead link|date=January 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> That night, a six-alarm fire arose at 173 Ocean Avenue. Local volunteer firefighters were trapped in place for several hours due to the flooding. Once the waters receded, the Rockaway Point Fire Department rescued more than 41 civilians, and the FDNY and Roxbury FD found 130 homes burned to the ground.<ref>http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/30/superstorm-sandys-wrath/ hpt=hp_t1</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.breakingnews.com/item/ahZzfmJyZWFraW5nbmV3cy13d3ctaHJkcg0LEgRTZWVkGLyPtQsM/2012/10/30/update-breezy-point-queens-blaze-upgraded-to-6-alarm-fire-at-least|title=Update: Breezy Point, Queens blaze upgraded to 6-alarm fire, at least 50 homes completely destroyed by fire - @FDNY|work=breakingnews.com|accessdate=4 June 2015}}</ref> Nearby, another 50 homes were damaged by the fire.<ref name="seattlepl" /> According to an official report in December, rising seawater caused the fire by contacting a house's electrical wires.<ref>[http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Cause-Breezy-Point-Queens-Rockaway-Fires-During-Sandy-Determined-184715051.html Cause of Breezy Point Fire During Sandy Determined: City Fire Marshals say that rising sea water came in contact with electrical wires] WNBC News, Dec 24, 2012</ref> |
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== Ecology == |
== Ecology == |
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Revision as of 16:28, 14 November 2019
Breezy Point | |
|---|---|
 Breezy Point Shopping Center | |
| Nicknames: Irish Riviera, Cois Farraige | |
 Location within New York City | |
| Coordinates: 40°33′18″N 73°55′30″W / 40.555°N 73.925°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New York |
| City |  New York City |
| County/Borough |  Queens |
| Community District | Queens 14[1] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.78 sq mi (2.0 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 4,079 |
| Ethnicity | |
| • White | 98.2% |
| • Black | 0.1% |
| • Hispanic | 1.2% |
| • Asian | 0.6% |
| • Other | 0.1% |
| Economics | |
| • Median income | $86,941 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Code | 11697 |
| Area codes | 718, 347, 929, and 917 |
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 to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. The community is run by the Breezy Point Cooperative, in which all residents pay the maintenance, security, and community-oriented costs involved with keeping the community private. The cooperative owns the entire 500-acre (2 km2) community; residents own their homes and hold shares in the cooperative.[2] Breezy Point is less urbanized than most of the rest of New York City.
Breezy Point Tip, to the west of the community, is part of Gateway National Recreation Area, which is run by the National Park Service. This isolated, 200-acre (0.81 km2) area includes an ocean-facing beach, a shoreline on Jamaica Bay, sand dunes, and marshland. It is a breeding spot for the piping plover, least tern, black skimmer, American oystercatcher and common tern.[3]
Breezy Point is part of Queens Community District 14[1] and is patrolled by the 100th Precinct of the New York City Police Department.[4] Its ZIP Code is 11697.
Demographics
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of the combined area of Breezy Point/Belle Harbor/Rockaway Park/Broad Channel was 28,018, an increase of 1,307 (4.9%) from the 26,711 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 2,033.88 acres (823.08 ha), the four neighborhoods had a population density of 13.8 inhabitants per acre (8,800/sq mi).[5]
The racial makeup of the neighborhoods was 78.3% (21,946) White, 7.5% (2,095) African American, 0.1% (29) Native American, 2.1% (595) Asian, 0.0% (8) Pacific Islander, 0.2% (66) from other races, and 0.9% (259) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.8% (3,020) of the population.[6]
However, according to the United States Census Bureau, the community's ZIP code (11697) is 98.2% white and has the nation's 2nd highest concentration of Irish-Americans, at 60.3% as of the United States Census, 2000 (Squantum, in Quincy, Massachusetts, is #1, at 65%).[7] The community's demographics are maintained as a result of a Cooperative rule that a person, prior to buying a house, must be recommended by three members of the Cooperative and approved by its board of directors.[2][8] Breezy Point functions mainly as a summer get-away for many residents of New York. Estimates put summer residency at 12,000, while year-round residency was 4,337 in the most recent Census.[7]
Due to its history of population by Irish-Americans, Breezy Point has been called the "Irish Riviera." Since the mid-1990s, Italians and Jews have also moved into Breezy Point, making the concentration of Irish-Americans drop.[9]
History
The community began as summer beach bungalows, in the "early 1900s", according to the New York Times although this is impossible because at the time the shoreline was further east until landfil extended the rockaways.[9] Breezy Point was sold to the Atlantic Improvement State Corporation for $17 million in 1960. The residents of the community purchased half of the land for approximately $11 million and formed the Breezy Point Cooperative. Today, it consists of about 3,500 homes.[10] The construction of apartment buildings commenced in the late 1960s and was halted by City ordinance.[11]
Breezy Point is patrolled by its own private security force that restricts access to owners, renters and their guests. It also features three of New York City's nine remaining volunteer fire departments.[12]
On September 8, 2012, the community was struck by a tornado shortly before 11 a.m. that started as a waterspout over the Atlantic Ocean and came ashore at the Breezy Point Surf Club.[13]
Hurricane Sandy
On October 29, 2012, Breezy Point was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean flooded the land between these bodies of water. Most Breezy Point homes were damaged or destroyed by high water, and basements and vehicles were ruined.[14] That night, a six-alarm fire arose at 173 Ocean Avenue. Local volunteer firefighters were trapped in place for several hours due to the flooding. Once the waters receded, the Rockaway Point Fire Department rescued more than 41 civilians, and the FDNY and Roxbury FD found 130 homes burned to the ground.[15][16] Nearby, another 50 homes were damaged by the fire.[14] According to an official report in December, rising seawater caused the fire by contacting a house's electrical wires.[17]
Ecology
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According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, beaches on the Breezy Point peninsula are home to one of the most diverse breeding shorebird areas in the Metropolitan area. Shorebirds that breed here include:
- The piping plover, federally designated as threatened
- The Migratory Bird Treaty Act-protected American oystercatcher
- The New York State Species of Special Concern, black skimmer
- The common tern, designated threatened in New York State
- The least tern, designated threatened in New York State
The beaches in Breezy Point Tip are owned by the federal government and are federally and state-protected areas in which development is extremely limited. The beaches in Breezy Point are owned by the Breezy Point Cooperative as a consequence of litigation with the federal government in the 1980s.
Education
Breezy Point residents are zoned for schools in the New York City Department of Education. Residents are zoned to PS/MS 114 Belle Harbor School for grades K-8.[18]
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Breezy Point include:
- Charles Hynes, district attorney of Kings County, New York from 1990 until 2013 (d. 2019)
- Brian McNamee, former strength and conditioning coach for the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays[19]
- Jimmy Ring, Major League Baseball player
References
- ^ a b "NYC Planning | Community Profiles". communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov. New York City Department of City Planning. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
- ^ a b Sciolino, Elaine. "A Cooperative on the Beach Loves Privacy", The New York Times, September 10, 1984. Accessed November 21, 2007.
- ^ Breezy Point Archived 2008-09-17 at the Wayback Machine Brooklyn Bird Club, Accessed November 24, 2008.
- ^ "NYPD – 100th Precinct". www.nyc.gov. New York City Police Department. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010, Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed July 16, 2016.
- ^ Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010, Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed July 16, 2016.
- ^ a b QT-P13. Ancestry: 2000 for 11697 5-Digit ZCTA, United States Census Bureau. Accessed October 2, 2007.
- ^ Richardson, John H. (March 2013). "The Neighborhood". Esquire. 159 (3): 192–203. ISSN 0014-0791. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
- ^ a b Herszenhorn, David M. "THE CENSUS -- A Region of Enclaves: Breezy Point, Queens; Bounded by Gates, Over a Toll Bridge", The New York Times, June 18, 2001. Accessed November 1, 2007. "The neighborhood, started in the early 1900s as a summer bungalow community and called the Irish Riviera..."
- ^ "Rockaway - www.rockawave.com - Wave of Long Island". rockawave.com. Archived from the original on 27 November 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ Documerica 1973, The Atlantic Magazine
- ^ Hamill, Denis. "Brave firehouse heroes get my vote"[permanent dead link], New York Daily News, April 26, 2007. Accessed September 8, 2008.
- ^ "NYC Neighborhood Startled By Unexpected Tornado". Huffington Post. September 8, 2012.
- ^ a b Seattle Post-Intelligencer http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/At-least-80-flooded-houses-destroyed-by-NYC-fire-3991949.php#photo-3662958.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)[dead link] - ^ http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/30/superstorm-sandys-wrath/ hpt=hp_t1
- ^ "Update: Breezy Point, Queens blaze upgraded to 6-alarm fire, at least 50 homes completely destroyed by fire - @FDNY". breakingnews.com. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ Cause of Breezy Point Fire During Sandy Determined: City Fire Marshals say that rising sea water came in contact with electrical wires WNBC News, Dec 24, 2012
- ^ Home. PS/MS 114 Belle Harbor School. Retrieved on September 16, 2017. Archived February 12, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kovaleski, Serge F. "A Baseball Lover, Key to Tarnishing a Yankee Era", The New York Times, December 15, 2007. Accessed February 19, 2008. "Mr. McNamee was raised in the Breezy Point section of Queens, on the westward end of the Rockaway Peninsula, an area with many police officers, like his father."
External links
- Breezy Point Tip visitor information
- Breezy Point 9/11 Memorial
- Breezy Point Catholic Club Pipes & Drums Band
