Neponsit, Queens
Encyclopedia
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 Bay
and the Atlantic Ocean
are the northern and southern borders. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 14. As of January 1, 2007, the neighborhood's population reached just over 2,000, making it one of the smallest communities on the peninsula, as well in the entire borough of Queens.
Neponsit's zoning is residential, R-1, a rarity in New York City. This category of zoning prohibits any commercial structures and only allows single family homes to be built. Due to this, and its secluded beach location, homes may be mansion-like, and the average market price for properties has exceeded $3.1 million since 2006, according to the Neponsit Property Owners Association.
The present community's character has persisted since it was established. In January 1910, the Neponsit Realty Company purchased the land for the development of an exclusive community. It forbade the construction of any homes that were less than 1.5 million dollars, and the homes were built in order to withstand the beach weather and geography of the narrow peninsula. The entrance to the area was originally marked by a massive ornamental gateway. More recently, a stretch of tree-dotted islands, called "the malls", along Rockaway Boulevard, was a distinguishing feature. It extended through Belle Harbor
. By the 1930s, high quality homes were dominant in Neponsit.
The first transatlantic flight departed from Neponsit. On May 8, 1919, four United States Navy-Curtis model seaplanes took off from what is now Beach Channel Drive
in Neponsit to Newfoundland, Canada, the Azores Islands, and Lisbon
, Portugal
. Finally on May 31, 1919, only one plane, piloted by Lt. Commander Albert C. Read, arrived in Plymouth, England.
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...
, 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
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...
to the east and 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,...
on the west. 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...
and 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...
are the northern and southern borders. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 14. As of January 1, 2007, the neighborhood's population reached just over 2,000, making it one of the smallest communities on the peninsula, as well in the entire borough of Queens.
Neponsit's zoning is residential, R-1, a rarity in New York City. This category of zoning prohibits any commercial structures and only allows single family homes to be built. Due to this, and its secluded beach location, homes may be mansion-like, and the average market price for properties has exceeded $3.1 million since 2006, according to the Neponsit Property Owners Association.
History
Neponsit is a Native American name meaning "the place between waters", the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and of Jamaica Bay or Rockaway Inlet.The present community's character has persisted since it was established. In January 1910, the Neponsit Realty Company purchased the land for the development of an exclusive community. It forbade the construction of any homes that were less than 1.5 million dollars, and the homes were built in order to withstand the beach weather and geography of the narrow peninsula. The entrance to the area was originally marked by a massive ornamental gateway. More recently, a stretch of tree-dotted islands, called "the malls", along Rockaway Boulevard, was a distinguishing feature. It extended through 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...
. By the 1930s, high quality homes were dominant in Neponsit.
The first transatlantic flight departed from Neponsit. On May 8, 1919, four United States Navy-Curtis model seaplanes took off from what is now Beach Channel Drive
Beach Channel Drive
Beach Channel Drive is the main thoroughfare in the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It extends from the Nassau County border at Inwood westward to the Marine Parkway Bridge at the end of Jacob Riis Park...
in Neponsit to Newfoundland, Canada, the Azores Islands, and Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. Finally on May 31, 1919, only one plane, piloted by Lt. Commander Albert C. Read, arrived in Plymouth, England.
Pop culture
- The television show, Rescue MeRescue 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...
(FX Network) has regularly filmed in Neponsit using residences to portray the fictional homes of some of the characters, although the article points out that the "story never tells you how a firefighter can afford ... [a] Neponsit home".