Arverne, Queens
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Arverne is a neighborhood 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 ...
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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 ...
, on the Rockaway Peninsula. It was initially developed by Remington Vernam, whose signature "R. Vernam" inspired the name of the neighborhood. Arverne extends from Beach 54th Street to Beach 79th Street, along its main thoroughfare Beach Channel Drive, alternatively known as Rev. Joseph H. May Drive. Arverne is located in Queens Community District 14 and its ZIP Code is 11692. 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 100th Precinct.


History


Original settlement

Vernam's original plan was to name the neighborhood Arverne-by-the-Sea. One grandiose plan, influenced by his wife Florence, included a canal running through the neighborhood, reminiscent of the
Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam, to which the rive ...
canal in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. When this plan fell through, the canal right-of-way was converted into a thoroughfare, Amstel Boulevard, which, except for a stub west of Beach 71st Street, was later incorporated into Beach Channel Drive. Located on the Rockaway Boardwalk, Arverne became well known as a beachfront community with inexpensive summer bungalows, hotels of varying expense and luxury, and amusements and
boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway typically built with wooden planks, which functions as a type of low water bridge or small viaduct that enables pedestrians to ...
concessions. It also attracted year-round residents. On January 3, 1914, a storm devastated the peninsula's neighborhoods and swept the 1,200-seat Arverne Pier Theater out to sea. On June 15, 1922, a fire leveled a large part of Arverne, leaving about 10,000 people homeless, although the neighborhood was quick to rebuild. In 1928, a project to build 5,000 bungalows in Arverne was announced.


Decline

During the 1950s and 1960s, the advent of commercial jet air travel encouraged people to travel to distant destinations during the summer, rather than to local beaches and resorts. As a result, many of Arverne's summer bungalows became vacant. New York City's
urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...
projects of the 1960s leveled most of the summer resorts and some of the residences, many of which had been abandoned. In 1964, the New York City Planning Commission approved the designation of a Arverne renewal area. Two years later, the renewal area was expanded by 19 blocks. In expectation of the upcoming urban renewal, vacant bungalows were demolished. However, the renewal project was delayed, and a
grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...
was convened to find the causes of the delay. A gap in funding from the U.S. federal government contributed to pressures to cancel the redevelopment. In 1970, the city announced it would develop 970 apartments in Arverne by 1972. By then, only about 100 of the original 900 bungalows remained. Controversy later arose when the city decided to place 100
mobile home A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabrication, prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or ...
s instead of permanent housing for low-income Puerto Ricans. By 1973, Mayor
John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, the mayor of New York City, and a candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regu ...
was calling for 500 of 3,650 proposed housing units to be deleted from the Arverne redevelopment plan. As of yet, the 970 apartments in Arverne had not been developed. When the city re-opened Arverne to redevelopment in 1984, a patch of Arverne only contained one structure: PS 106. In 1988, the administration of mayor
Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. Koch was a lifelong Democrat who ...
started asking private developers to build on the site. The Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary was designated that year as part of the plans for redevelopment. By 1991, the plans called for the construction of 7,500 apartments over 10 years at a cost of $1.5 billion. Finally, the late 1990s saw construction begin on a 322-unit development of two-family houses, the first such development in the 35-year-old Arverne renewal area. The rest of the area's redevelopment was canceled after an economic downturn in the 1990s. People started dumping garbage in Dubos Point, to the consternation of residents. In 2003, ''
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 ...
'' wrote:


Redevelopment

In the early 2000s, 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 ...
started to revitalize Arverne with new housing and parks. This built upon a movement started in 1999, when 40 houses were built in the portion of the Arverne renewal area between Beach 59th and 61st Streets. , of the "Edgemere Urban Renewal Area" was to have 400 houses built within it. Of these, would be houses, would be a nature preserve, and would be a segment of preserved dunes on the beach.Large-Scale Development: Arverne
, nyc.gov
Arverne and other parts of the Rockaways increasingly got attention and press as the redevelopment of the beachfront continued. To improve pedestrian accessibility, a section of Rockaway Freeway beneath the station was closed to through traffic and the Beach 67th Street–Gaston Avenue station was renamed Beach 67th Street–Arverne by the Sea as a symbolic recognition of the neighborhood's rebirth as a residential area and a summer waterfront destination. One of the largest developments, the 2,300-unit Arverne by the Sea, first opened to residents in 2006. Despite an economic downturn in 2008, the $1 billion development was mostly successful, and units sold at prices of up to $1 million. By 2012, Arverne by the Sea was largely developed. New restaurants and retail establishments arrived as part of an effort to make shopping available to local residents at a hub near the Beach 67th Street station. Phase I was completed in 2011; Phase II was begun in 2006. In October 2018, construction began on the Tides development. By mid-2019, Arverne was undergoing gentrification as new businesses were opening in the area, which was still over 60% black and 20% Hispanic/Latino. According to census data from the 2019
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
, black declined as a percentage of the population to 56.8%.


Education

The
New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (more commonly known as New York City Publ ...
operates Arverne's public schools. These schools include PS/MS 42 Robert Vernam School and PS 183 Dr. Richard R. Green. The Queens Public Library operates the Arverne branch at 312 Beach 54th Street.


Housing

*NYCHA **Ocean Bay Houses (Oceanside), formerly Arverne Houses, **Ocean Bay Houses (Bayside), formerly Edgemere Houses, **Carleton Manor *Mitchell-Lama **Nordeck Apartments (co-operative) *DHCR


Transportation

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 Beach 67th Street and Beach 60th Street stations, served by the , are located in Arverne. The MTA Bus routes also serve the neighborhood.


Parks

The Kohlreiter Square is located on the north side of Rockaway Freeway between Beach 67th and Beach 69th Streets. There are three wildlife sanctuaries in Arverne, all part of the
Gateway National Recreation Area Gateway National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area in New York City and Monmouth County, New Jersey. It provides recreational opportunities that are not commonly found in a dense urban environment, including ocean swimming, b ...
. The Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary is northeast of the intersection of Da Costa Avenue and Beach 65th Street, fronting
Jamaica Bay Jamaica Bay (also known as Grassy Bay) is an estuary on the southern portion of the western tip of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The estuary is partially man-made, and partially natural. The bay connects with Lo ...
. It was acquired in 1988 and named for microbiologist Dr. René Dubos. At the northwest corner of Arverne is Brant Point Wildlife Sanctuary, located west of Beach 72nd Street and north of Hillmeyer Avenue on Jamaica Bay. It was transferred to the jurisdiction of the
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...
in 1992. A third sanctuary, Vernam Barbadoes Preserve, is on Terrapeninsula, a peninsula between two inlets of Jamaica Bay west of Beach 75th Street and north of Amstel Boulevard. It was designated as the "Terrapeninsula Preserve" in 1997, but is commonly referred to as Vernam.


Notes


References


Freelibrary.com article on Arverne development



External links


New York City government website
{{authority control Neighborhoods in Queens, New York Neighborhoods in Rockaway, Queens Populated coastal places in New York (state)