Belle Harbor, Queens
Encyclopedia
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 refer to the area between Beach 126th and Beach 142nd Streets. According to a map from 1909, Belle Harbor is located in the area between Beach 125th (west side) and Beach 141st Streets. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 14
.
Belle Harbor is the site of the fatal 2001 crash of American Airlines Flight 587
.
, facilitated population growth on the Rockaways Peninsula
.
Belle Harbor was developed in 1907 by Frederick J. Lancaster
, who had earlier developed the Edgemere
neighborhood.
sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean
to the south and Jamaica Bay
to the north. Expansive views of the Manhattan
skyline can be seen across the bay. Broad, white sandy beaches have drawn residents to the area. Although the beach is ostensibly open to the public, rigorously enforced street parking restrictions in effect on weekends and holidays from May 15 to September 30, combined with limited direct access to the insular area via public transportation, limits access for non-residents. West of Belle Harbor is the Neponsit
neighborhood.
, bound for Santo Domingo
in the Dominican Republic
, crashed in the center of Belle Harbor, killing all 260 passengers and crew on board the plane as well as five people on the ground. Many of the passengers on the plane were from the Dominican
community in Washington Heights
. After consultation with the families in the Belle Harbor and Washington Heights communities, a memorial was erected at Beach 116th Street in Rockaway Park
, a major shopping district and transportation hub in the area, accessible to all. Although a temporary memorial was developed at the actual site of the disaster, on Newport Avenue, many still annually gravitate towards that area for commemoration.
Catholic
upper class residents. Due to the high concentration of single-family homes and private estates, residences tend to be mansion-like and well exceed over $1 million. The community also has Italian-American and Jewish American populations, and is home to a large number of New York City police officers
and firefighters
, both active and retired.
In 2001, a resident stated to The Guardian
: "It's impossible to understand unless you live here ... Father Michael Geraghty, a priest quoted in the same article, said that it was common for people to live in the houses that their parents lived in and that many families lived in the same houses for generations. The neighborhood suffered heavy losses from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."
A commercial center is located on Beach 129th Street. A larger shopping area used by some residents of Belle Harbor is located on Beach 116th Street in the neighborhood of Rockaway Park, east of Belle Harbor on the Rockaway Peninsula.
providing access to Brooklyn
and the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
heading to Broad Channel and mainland Queens.
The A
and Rockaway Park Shuttle of the New York City Subway
is available at the Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street station. MTA Bus lines Q22 and Q35 also serve this neighborhood. The QM16 line provides express service between Belle Harbor and Manhattan, and the Q53 is available between the Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street station and Queens.
. Residents are zoned to P.S. 114 for grades K
-8.
A middle school, Scholars' Academy, opened on Beach 104th Street. In September 2007, Scholars' added a high school division. Priority will go to continuing 8th graders, but there will be a limited number of seats for students from other schools.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
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...
of Queens
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....
. 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 refer to the area between Beach 126th and Beach 142nd Streets. According to a map from 1909, Belle Harbor is located in the area between Beach 125th (west side) and Beach 141st Streets. 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...
.
Belle Harbor is the site of the fatal 2001 crash of 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...
.
History
The opening of passenger railroad service in 1880 to Rockaway Park from Long Island City and from Flatbush Terminal (now Atlantic Terminal) in downtown Brooklyn, via the Long Island Railroad's Rockaway Beach BranchRockaway Beach Branch
The Rockaway Beach Branch was a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in Queens, New York City, United States. The line left the Main Line at Whitepot Junction in Rego Park heading south via Ozone Park and across Jamaica Bay to Hammels in the Rockaways turning west there to a...
, facilitated population growth on the Rockaways Peninsula
Rockaway, Queens
The Rockaway Peninsula, informally The Rockaways, is the name of a peninsula of Long Island, all of which is located within the New York City borough of Queens. A popular summer resort area since the 1830s, Rockaway has become a mixture of lower, middle, and upper-class neighborhoods...
.
Belle Harbor was developed in 1907 by Frederick J. Lancaster
Frederick J. Lancaster
Frederick J. Lancaster was a land developer who in the 1890s, with a group of investors, founded the community of Edgemere, on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens County. Originally the investors planned to call the community "New Venice" and develop it with canals and gondoliers...
, who had earlier developed the 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...
neighborhood.
Geography
Belle Harbor is a suburban enclave on the Rockaway Peninsula, on a narrow barrier peninsulaPeninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to the south and 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...
to the north. Expansive views of the 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...
skyline can be seen across the bay. Broad, white sandy beaches have drawn residents to the area. Although the beach is ostensibly open to the public, rigorously enforced street parking restrictions in effect on weekends and holidays from May 15 to September 30, combined with limited direct access to the insular area via public transportation, limits access for non-residents. West of Belle Harbor is the 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...
neighborhood.
The Crash of Flight 587
On November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587American 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...
, bound for Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, crashed in the center of Belle Harbor, killing all 260 passengers and crew on board the plane as well as five people on the ground. Many of the passengers on the plane were from the Dominican
Dominican American
A Dominican American is any American who has origins in the Dominican Republic.Immigration records of Dominicans in the United States date from the late 19th century, and New York City has had a Dominican community since the 1930s...
community in Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
. After consultation with the families in the Belle Harbor and Washington Heights communities, a memorial was erected at Beach 116th Street in 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...
, a major shopping district and transportation hub in the area, accessible to all. Although a temporary memorial was developed at the actual site of the disaster, on Newport Avenue, many still annually gravitate towards that area for commemoration.
Community
Belle Harbor is primarily made up of single-family homes with a majority of third and fourth generation IrishIrish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
upper class residents. Due to the high concentration of single-family homes and private estates, residences tend to be mansion-like and well exceed over $1 million. The community also has Italian-American and Jewish American populations, and is home to a large number of New York City police officers
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
and firefighters
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department or the Fire Department of the City of New York has the responsibility for protecting the citizens and property of New York City's five boroughs from fires and fire hazards, providing emergency medical services, technical rescue as well as providing first response...
, both active and retired.
In 2001, a resident stated to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
: "It's impossible to understand unless you live here ... Father Michael Geraghty, a priest quoted in the same article, said that it was common for people to live in the houses that their parents lived in and that many families lived in the same houses for generations. The neighborhood suffered heavy losses from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."
A commercial center is located on Beach 129th Street. A larger shopping area used by some residents of Belle Harbor is located on Beach 116th Street in the neighborhood of Rockaway Park, east of Belle Harbor on the Rockaway Peninsula.
Transportation
Passenger car access to the area is available via the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial BridgeMarine 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...
providing access to 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...
and 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....
heading to Broad Channel and mainland Queens.
The A
A (New York City Subway service)
The A Eighth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. Its route bullet is colored blue on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map since it runs on the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan....
and Rockaway Park Shuttle 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...
is available at the Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street station. MTA Bus lines Q22 and Q35 also serve this neighborhood. The QM16 line provides express service between Belle Harbor and Manhattan, and the Q53 is available between the Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street station and Queens.
Education
Belle Harbor residents are zoned for schools in the New York City Department of EducationNew York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
. Residents are zoned to P.S. 114 for grades K
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
-8.
A middle school, Scholars' Academy, opened on Beach 104th Street. In September 2007, Scholars' added a high school division. Priority will go to continuing 8th graders, but there will be a limited number of seats for students from other schools.
Private schools in Belle Harbor
- Saint Francis De Sales (Roman Catholic)
- West End Temple Nursery School (Jewish)
- Yeshiva of Belle Harbor (Jewish)
- Yeshiva Mercaz Hatorah of Belle Harbor (Jewish)