Speculative developers saw potential profits because of the peninsula's seven-and-a-half miles of pristine beaches. In the more affluent western Rockaways neighborhoods of Breezy Point and Neponsit, beaches are well-manicured and crowded. In the center of the peninsula, surfers give the beaches a character all its own. But in the eastern section – near the neighborhoods most affected by overdevelopment by spec developers – the beaches go unused. The boardwalk has crumbled, way-stations are boarded-up, thick brush chokes off access to the water, and the Parks Department long ago ceased to see the area as a priority for city funding.
The Rockaway Peninsula’s tortured development history enters its latest chapter, with ill-fated spec buildings disintegrating next to successful new housing development, and a rezoning belatedly attempting to instill order.
As the state plans to close six juvenile correctional facilities and embrace community-based juvenile justice, some wonder who’ll pay for it.
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