Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the
Rockaway peninsula in the
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
of
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line. Its southern boundary is the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
; it is one of the neighborhoods along
Rockaway Beach.
Far Rockaway is located in
Queens Community District 14 and its ZIP Codes are 11691 and 11693.
It is patrolled by the
New York City Police Department
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
's 101st Precinct.
History
Precolonial and colonial era
The indigenous inhabitants of the Rockaways were the
Canarsie Indians, a band of
Mohegan, whose name was associated with the geography. By 1639, the Mohegan tribe sold most of the Rockaways to the
Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...
. In 1664, the English defeated the Dutch colony and took over their lands in present-day New York.
[See ]New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
In 1685, the band chief, ''Tackapoucha'', and the English governor of the province agreed to sell the Rockaways to a Captain Palmer for 31 pounds sterling.
"Rockaway... 'place of waters bright'"
, rockawave.com. Accessed March 16, 2015.
. Rockaway Memories. Accessed March 16, 2015.
The Rockaway Peninsula was originally designated as part of the
Town of Hempstead, then a part of
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
County. Palmer and the Town of Hempstead disputed over who owned Rockaway, so in 1687 he sold the land to
Richard Cornell, an iron master from
Flushing. Cornell and his family lived on a
homestead on what is now Central Avenue, near the shore of the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
. At his death, Cornell was buried in a small family cemetery,
Cornell Cemetery.
19th century
In the late 19th century, the Rockaway Association wanted to build a hotel on the Rockaway Peninsula, as it was increasingly popular as a summer destination. The association, consisting of many wealthy members who had homes in the area, bought most of Cornell's old homestead property. They developed the
Marine Pavilion on that site, which attracted such guests as
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
Washington Irving
Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...
, and the
Vanderbilt family
The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanth ...
. The Rockaway Association also built the
Rockaway Turnpike. The Marine Hotel burned to the ground in 1864, but more hotels and private residences were built in the area.
In the 19th century, people traveled to the Rockaways by horse-drawn carriages or on horseback. A
ferry
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
powered by steam sailed from
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
to
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. By the 1880s, the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
's
Rockaway Beach Branch was built to serve
Far Rockaway station.
The steam railroad went to
Long Island City and Flatbush Terminal (now
Atlantic Terminal). When it opened in the 1880s, this connection stimulated population growth on the Rockaway Peninsula.
[, p. 120.] Benjamin Mott gave the LIRR of land for a railroad depot. Land values increased and businesses in the area grew, and by 1888, Far Rockaway was a relatively large village.
It incorporated as a village on September 19 of that year.
20th century to present
In 1898, the area was incorporated into the
City of Greater New York
The City of Greater New York was the Merger (politics), consolidation of the New York City, City of New York
with Brooklyn, western Queens County, and Staten Island, which took effect on January 1, 1898. New York had already annexed the Bronx ...
and became part of Queens. The former Village Hall then served as a police precinct and magistrate's court until 1931. It was subsequently demolished to become a parking lot for
FDNY Engine Companies 264 & 328 / Ladder Company 134.
The neighborhoods of Far Rockaway,
Hammels, and
Arverne in Queens tried to secede from the city several times. In 1915 and 1917, a bill approving secession passed in the legislature but was vetoed by the New York City mayor
John Purroy Mitchel. The area saw economic decline in World War I and again during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. New apartment complexes were built in the neighborhood following World War II, but the construction of public housing and medical institutions again caused the reputation of Far Rockaway to decline in the 1960s.
In September 2017, the
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...
voted to rezone 23 blocks in the center of Far Rockaway,
after the
New York City Planning Commission
The Department of City Planning (DCP) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for setting the framework of city's physical and socioeconomic planning. The department is responsible for land use and environmental review, ...
approved the rezoning.
The rezoning would allow as many as 3,100 residences to be built in the neighborhood, as well as community spaces and retail.
Following the rezoning, city officials approved 670 affordable apartments within the area in 2018.
Demographics

Based on data from the
2010 United States Census, the population of Far Rockaway was 50,058, a change of 1,714 (3.4%) from the 48,344 counted in
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .
[Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010](_blank)
, Population Division - New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 25.5% (12,778)
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 44.7% (22,400)
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.3% (175)
Native American, 1.9% (931)
Asian, 0.1% (44)
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 1% (504) from
other races, and 1.7% (860) from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 24.7% (12,366) of the population.
[Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010](_blank)
, Population Division - New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.
Far Rockaway is a diverse neighborhood
with many immigrants from
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
,
Guyana
Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
, and
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
, as well as
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. It also is home to a significant number of
Orthodox Jews
Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tr ...
.
Points of interest
Bungalows

The
Far Rockaway Beach Bungalow Historic District recognizes an area with a distinct character. This and individual properties, such as the
Russell Sage Memorial Church,
Trinity Chapel, and
United States Post Office are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
With its nearby beach, Far Rockaway attracted tourists and vacationers from the other boroughs. Bungalows were the homes of choice for many residents who lived in Far Rockaway. The railroad abandoned the
Rockaway Beach Branch in 1950 because of the shift of many people to driving private cars. In addition, this destination had to compete with the many others that people were visiting by car and air travel, which created access to even more distant destinations and heightened competition for travel dollars.
As the neighborhood's heyday as a resort community declined in the 1950s, the city built substantial numbers of public housing developments to try to replace substandard housing after World War II. Bungalows and other residential housing were converted to year-round use for low-income residents. Some bungalows were used as public housing. The 1970s New York City budget crisis had a negative effect on the provision of social services, and problems of poverty, unemployment and drug use increased in this area.
In September 1984, residents founded the Beachside Bungalow Preservation Association to "improve the quality of the Far Rockaway community through preservation, education, and cultural programs".
The organization donated a collection of materials highlighting its history, correspondence, and activities to the Queens Library Archives in 2008.
Parks
*
O'Donohue Park
*
Bayswater Point State Park
Police and crime
Far Rockaway is patrolled by the
NYPD's 101st Precinct, located at 16-12 Mott Avenue. The 101st Precinct and the adjoining 100th Precinct, which serves the rest of the Rockaways, collectively ranked 10th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. However, the low-income and densely populated 101st Precinct has significantly more crime than the 100th Precinct, which is high-income and more insular.
The 101st Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 74.6% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 6 murders, 26 rapes, 151 robberies, 301 felony assaults, 98 burglaries, 250 grand larcenies, and 31 grand larcenies auto in 2018.
Fire safety
Far Rockaway is served by the
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...
(FDNY)'s Engine Cos. 264 and 328/Ladder Co. 134, located at 16-15 Central Avenue.
Post office and ZIP Code
Far Rockaway is covered by
ZIP Code 11691. The
United States Post Office operates the
Far Rockaway Station at 18-36 Mott Avenue.
Education
Schools
Public schools
The neighborhood, like all of New York City, is served by the
New York City Department of Education. Far Rockaway residents are zoned to several different elementary schools:
* P.S. 43
* P.S. 104 (The Bayswater School) (Kindergarten–6th grade)
* P.S. 105 (The Bay School)
* P.S. 106
* P.S. 197 (The Ocean School)
* P.S. 215 (W.A.V.E Prep)
* P.S. 253
Far Rockaway residents are zoned to M.S. 53 Brian Piccolo.
All New York City residents who wish to attend a public high school must apply to high schools.
Far Rockaway High School was located in Far Rockaway,
[ but was shut down in 2011 as a stand-alone institution. During the administration of Mayor ]Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...
in 2011, many large, underperforming, older traditional high schools were closed in the city. The 1929 building was renovated to operate as the Far Rockaway Educational Campus, home to a number of smaller, specialized academies that share the building. They can provide more individualized attention to their students. The former Beach Channel High School was similarly closed in 2014 and repurposed to house several smaller, specialized academies; it is in Rockaway Park, near Far Rockaway, and draws some of its students from Far Rockaway.
Library
Queens Public Library operates the Far Rockaway branch at 1637 Central Avenue. The library replaced another one that was also located on Central Avenue. In 2013, '' New York'' magazine reported that the city planned to construct a public library in the neighborhood, to be designed by the internationally known architectural firm Snøhetta. Construction started in November 2018, and the new library opened in July 2024 at a cost of $39 million. The current building is across two stories, with a glass facade and a blue roof that collects rainwater; the color of the facade is an allusion to the color of the ocean. The building's facade includes the artwork ''Style Writing'' by José Parlá, while the second floor has the artwork ''Feynman Code'' by Pablo Helguera.
Jewish institutions
During the early and mid-20th century, many Jewish immigrants and their working-class descendants settled in Far Rockaway, sometimes first as summer visitors. They founded numerous synagogues and private schools, including those devoted to all-boys or all-girls institutions for educating Orthodox children. Following World War II, as residential housing was developed in Nassau and later Suffolk counties, many Jewish families left the Rockaways for newer housing. According to ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Far Rockaway had "flourished in the 1940s but withered...1960s" until "a few Jewish families...started the Hebrew Free Loan Society for new home buyers."
Synagogues include Congregation Kneseth Israel in Far Rockaway (The White Shul), which was founded in 1922. Schools include Sh'or Yoshuv Institute of Jewish Studies/Sh'or Yoshuv Yeshiva, Yeshiva Darchei Torah and the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway.
Other synagogues (past and present):
Other schools (past and present):
Transportation
Far Rockaway is served by the following transportation services:
* The New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
's IND Rockaway Line (), which has a terminal at Mott Avenue.
* The Far Rockaway terminal station for the Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
's Far Rockaway Branch.[ The branch had been part of a loop with service along the existing route, continuing through the Rockaway Peninsula and crossing on a trestle across Jamaica Bay through Queens, where it reconnected with other branches. Frequent fires and maintenance problems led the LIRR to abandon the Queens portion of the route. The city acquired this to develop the IND Rockaway Line.
* ]MTA Regional Bus Operations
MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the Public transport bus service, bus operations division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City. The MTA operates local, limited-stop, express, and Select Bus Service (bus rapid transit ...
:
* Nassau Inter-County Express: . Unlike other NICE routes in Queens, these buses operate open-door in Far Rockaway, meaning customers can ride these buses wholly within the neighborhood without going to Nassau County.
Notable people
* Nisson Alpert (1927–1986), rabbi who was Rosh Yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...
at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
* Khaleel Anderson (born 1996), politician who has represented the 31st district of the New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Ass ...
since 2020
* Richard Bey (born 1951), talk show host; went to Far Rockaway High School
* Baruch Samuel Blumberg
Baruch Samuel Blumberg (July 28, 1925 April 5, 2011), known as Barry Blumberg, was an American physician, geneticist, and co-recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (with Daniel Carleton Gajdusek), for his work on the hepat ...
(1925–2011), winner of 1976 Nobel Prize in Medicine; graduated from Far Rockaway High School in 1942["The Best Queens Celebrities 2002"]
''Queens Tribune''. Accessed November 25, 2015.
* Avrohom Blumenkrantz (1944–2007), Orthodox rabbi who was a widely consulted authority on the laws of Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt.
According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...
kashrut
(also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...
* Albert J. Brackley (1874–1937), politician who served in the New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Ass ...
* Steven Brill (born 1950), journalist and founder of Court TV
* Joyce Brothers (1927–2013), family psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
and advice columnist; grew up in Far Rockaway
* Joseph Cassidy (–1920), political boss who served as borough president of Queens
* Chinx (1983–2015), rapper, grew up in both the Redfern Houses and Edgemere Houses (the latter are now known as Ocean Bay Apartments)
* Cormega (born Cory McKay, 1970), rapper, lived in Far Rockaway as a youth
* Mac DeMarco (born 1990), Canadian songwriter and musician; has a house in Far Rockaway, where he recorded his album '' Another One''
* Father MC (born 1967), recording artist with Uptown Records
* Folorunso Fatukasi (born 1995), defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
for the New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
* Olakunle Fatukasi (born 1999), professional football linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League
* Joan Feynman
Joan Feynman (March 31, 1927 – July 21, 2020) was an American astrophysicist and space physicist. She made contributions to the study of solar wind particles and fields, sun-Earth relations, and magnetospheric physics. She was known for cre ...
(1927–2020), astrophysicist and NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal recipient
* Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of t ...
(1918–1988), physicist and Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
winner; grew up in Far Rockaway and graduated from Far Rockaway High School[
* Marcus Gaither (1961–2020), professional basketball player in France and Israel, who played the guard position and led the Israel Basketball Premier League in scoring in 1989–90
* Mary Gordon (born 1949), writer of novels, memoirs, and literary criticism, and professor at ]Barnard College
Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
; born in Far Rockaway and lived there for several years[Don Lee, "About Mary Gordon: A Profile"](_blank)
''Ploughshares'', Issue 73 , Fall 1997; accessed August 14, 2018
* Margo Guryan (1937–2021), singer-songwriter, musician and lyricist who is remembered for her 1968 album " Take A Picture"
* Steven Handel (born 1945), educator and restoration ecologist
* Zander Hollander (1923–2014), sportswriter, journalist, editor and archivist
* Carl Icahn
Carl Celian Icahn (; born February 16, 1936) is an American businessman and investor. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a public company and diversified conglomerate holding company based in Sunny Isles Beach, ...
(born 1936), businessman and philanthropist; grew up in Far Rockaway and went to Far Rockaway High School[
* Christian Izien (born 2000), ]safety
Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
* Al Jaffee (1921–2023), cartoonist best known for his work in the satirical magazine '' Mad'', including his trademark feature, the ''Mad'' Fold-in
* Shlomo Levinger, magician
* Nancy Lieberman (born 1958), women's basketball pioneer; grew up in Far Rockaway
* Deborah Lipstadt
Deborah Esther Lipstadt (born March 18, 1947) is an American historian and diplomat, best known as author of the books ''Denying the Holocaust'' (1993), ''History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier'' (2005), ''The Eichmann Trial'' ...
(born 1947), historian
* Bernard Madoff (1938–2021), former American stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier who was convicted of fraud; went to Far Rockaway High School, where he met his wife, Ruth Alpern
* Steve Madden (born 1958), shoe designer and former CEO of Steve Madden Ltd; born in Far Rockaway
* Cliff Mass (born 1952/53), atmospheric sciences professor and weather and climate blogger; born in Far Rockaway
* Alice Nielsen (1872–1943), Broadway performer and operatic soprano; owned a house in Far Rockaway in the 1920s
* Barbara Novak (born 1929), art historian, novelist, National Book Award for Nonfiction finalist
* Phil Ochs (1940–1976), folk-protest singer; resided here for a period during childhood and died at his sister's home here
* Ryan Pearson (born 1990), professional basketball player
* Kelly Price (born 1973), nine-time Grammy nominated R&B and gospel singer and songwriter grew up in the Edgemere Projects
* Rammellzee (1960–2010), rap pioneer; born and died in Far Rockaway
* Kenneth Alan Ribet (born 1948), mathematician
* Burton Richter (1931–2018), winner of 1976 Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...
; graduated from Far Rockaway High School in 1948
* Gary Schwartz (born 1940), art historian
* MC Serch (born 1967 as Michael Berrin), former member of the hip hop group 3rd Bass
* Raymond Smullyan (1919–2017), mathematician; grew up in Far Rockaway
* Herbert Sturhahn (1902–1979), football player elected to the College Football Hall of Fame; born in Far Rockaway
* Conrad Thibault (1903–1987), baritone
A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
vocalist who frequently appeared on radio, recordings, and concert tours"Conrad Thibault Dies; An Ex-Radio Vocalist"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', August 4, 1987. Accessed March 7, 2024. "Conrad Thibault, a popular baritone from the heyday of radio, died Saturday at St. John's Hospital in Far Rockaway, Queens. He was 83 years old and lived in Far Rockaway."
Notes
References
External links
Old Rockaway, New York, in Early Photographs
by Vincent Seyfried, William Asadorian
a 2009 photo essay by Nathan Kensinger
{{Authority control
Former villages in New York City
Neighborhoods in Queens, New York
Neighborhoods in Rockaway, Queens
Populated coastal places in New York (state)
Orthodox Judaism in New York City