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JULY 27, 1912.





A STREET SYSTEM FOR THE ROCKAWAY PENINSULA





The Tentative Plans Adopted By the Board of Estimate Will Become Final Without
Many Changes—Far Rockaway Is Included   in  the   General Scheme—New  Parks





THE Board of Estimate and Apportion¬
ment, on the 27th of last month,
adopted tentative plans showing a com¬
plete street system for the entire Rock¬
away peninsula. If they are carried out,
as they probably will be in their salient
phases, it will mean the rapid growth
and idevelopnient of most of the ocean
front section of the City of New York.
Outside of Queens the municipality's
ocean front is composed of Coney Island
and Brighton Beach, in Brooklyn. The
major portion is in Queens and is em¬
braced in the tentative maps adopted.
While there are two maps, the street im¬
provements proposed are practically one
scheme.

One system provides for the area bound¬
ed by the Atlantic Ocean, Seaside Park,
Jamaica Bay, Norton Basin, Far Rock¬
away Boulevard and Beach 32d street in
the Fifth Ward; and the other provides
for the territory bounded approximately
by Rockaway Inlet, Atlantic Ocean,
Beaoh 32d street. Par Rockaway Boule¬
vard, Norton Basin, Jamaica Bay and
the city line in the same ward.

At the meeting before the Board of
Estimate a delegation of property owners
objected to what they thought was the
great width of the proposed boulevard
along Ja.maica Bay; but the Boaj-d ex¬
plained that this thoroughfare was in¬
tended partly for the benefit of the De¬
partment of Docks and therefore it must
necessairily be wide if that Department is
to ibe permanently considered. The width
of the Rockaway Peninsula beyond Far
Rockaway is approximately 1,400 feet
from Jamaica Bay to the ocean.

The street plan tentatively adopted will
cover 2,500 acres of land between Far
Rockaway and the ocean front park of
the city's at Neponsit (including the Rock¬
away Park section), while within Far
Rockaway it covers 1,370 acres, or a total
of 3,870 acres. There is always a pulilic
hearing before a tentative map of a street
system is ultimately adopted, so that con¬
sequently the interests of every property
owner will be taken care of. There will
probably 'be some corrections or changes
of this map, but its prime features will
remain.

Area   Covered  By   the   Alap.

The section of the Rockaways beyond
Far Rockaway includes Arverne, Edge-
mere, Rockaway Park, Neponsit. Rock¬
away Beach, Holland, Hammel, Belle
Harbor and Seaside. Far Rockaway forms
an area on the mainland of Long Island,
while the other communities are on the
long peninsula that is joined to Far Rock¬
away and which extends from East Rock¬
away Inlet on the east to Rockaway Inlet
on the west. The western part of this
peninsula has the more important front¬
age on Jamaica Bay, The extreme point
overlooking Rockaway Inlet is owned by
the Federal Government. Arverne is an
old established summer cottage and hotel
community that was developed about
twenty years ago by the late Remington
Vernajn; it was originally known as Ar-
A-erne-by-the iSea. Property values here
have increased tremendously since the in¬
ception of the place. Edgemere, Rock¬
away Park, Xeponsit and Belle Harbor
are newer, but, nevertheless, fine cottage
colonies; and in late years many ot the
cottages in these places have been occu¬
pied the year through. All of the places
•tientioned extend from Jamaica Bay to
the  ocean.

The Rockaway peninsula, west of Far
Rockaway, is traversed by a 'longitudinal
street known in various parts as .Atlaii-
tic avenue, Arverne Boulevard, Rock-
I away Boulevard and 'Washington avenue
with a width ranging from fifty to one
hundred feet and having a total length
of 5.5 -miles. Provision is made on the
tentative map for treating this continuous
thoroughfare of varied names as the prin¬





cipal artery of traffic for the business
section and the area south of the railroad.
It will be widened between Vernam ave¬
nue, at Arverne and Ninth avenue, at
Rockaway Park to seventy feet; and the
treatment will involve damage to build¬
ings having an aggregate assessed valu¬
ation of about $440,000. The Board of
Estimate says that this width is the mini¬
mum that could be reasonably considered.
The traffic needs along the waterfront
of Jamaica Bay are to be served by the
Far Rockaway Boulevard and the Beach
Channel Drive; and these thoroughfares
will be scA-enty-five and eighty feet in
width respective!}'. Provision is made for
laying out an ocean parkway closely ad¬
joining hlghwater mark on the south side
of the peninsula and for including the area
intervening between this and the high
water mark in the park system of the
city, similar to the plan adopted for a
similar situation at Rockaway Park. No
general plan of treatment for this park¬
way has been definitely decided upon,
but it is probable that it will embrace a
boardwalk or something more substantial
for pedestrian traffic. It is deemed es¬
sential that the improvement should be so
planned as to render substantial benefit
to tile aljutting property in order to justify
the expense. This intervening space 'be¬
tween the ocean parkway and the ocean
front of the peninsula, includes an area of
Fixteen acres.

Grade  Crossings.

The Rockaway Beach and Far Rock¬
away divisions of the Long Island Rail¬
road present in themselves a question of
eliminating grade crossings and it is
very likely that these roads will be ele-
A'ated and this will sa\-e modifying the
grades of many streets. This cannot be
expediently done just now.

The Board of Estimate is of the opinion
that the marginal street along Jamaica
Bay and embraced in the scheme ot de¬
velopment of that broad waterway should
be eliminated if it is to interfere with a
boulevard along the bay front; but this
idea is not relished very -much by the
Commissioner of Docks. If the idea was
carried out it would mean, too, the aboli¬
tion of the marginal street through the
seaside park of the city.

The final maps of Queens are to pro¬
vide for the retention of all existing high¬
ways where the titles cannot be adjusted
to conform with the tentative plan in
discussion; and it is contemplated to alter
the treatment in so far as it relates to
Barbadoes Basin and the proposed ad¬
joining basin on the east so as to harmo¬
nize with the plans of the Dock Commis¬
sioner, unless in the interval the bulk¬
heads desired are legalized.

The notable feature a'bout the proposed
street system in so far as it relates to
Far Rockaway is that it will invade the
country estate sections known as "Wave
Crest, Bayswater and Cedar Lawn as well
as the ocean front section known as Os-
tend where all of the bathing pavilions
and several large summer hotels in Far
Rockaway are situated. Wave Crest and
Cedar Lawn are situated high above the
surf and command sweeping views of the
ocean, wliile Bayswater is the fine resi¬
dential section of Par Rockaway over¬
looking Jamaica Bay and whose water¬
front is lined with fine private grounds
and homes of various yacht clubs. The
meaning of this extensive street system
is that another decade will w-itness the
elimination of many fine estates as the
cutting through of streets will destroy
their utility as private properties. Many
prominent tamilies have their summer
homes at Wave Crest especially. In the
final analysis these estate colonies will
become improved with cottages on ordi¬
nary sized plots. Such is the history of
large estates elsewhere within the city
limits,   although   Far  Rockaway  because





of  its   geographical   location  must  neces¬
sarily remain suburban to' a great degree.

Prominent among the stsreets to be laid
out are the Rockaway Bo'ulevard, with a
width of seventy-flve feet; Ocean Park¬
way, with a width of eighty feet; Sea¬
girt avenue, with a width ranging from
sixty to one hundred feet; Beach Ninth
street, with a width of seventy-five feet;
Reads lane, with a width ranging from
seventy to seventy-three feet; McNeil
avenue, with a width ; ranging from
seventy to seventy-five feet; and Norton
Drive, with an even width of eighty feet.
Existing highways mark a portion of the
length of some of these proposed new
streets, which in many cases will be
widened to make street harmony. Prac¬
tically all of the remairiing streets are
now in use and the linesi that have pre¬
viously prevailed will be retained, ex¬
cepting where a widening' is necessar.v to
secure the minimum width of fifty feet.
Tlie Par Rockaway Boulevard will be a
continuation of the general artery of ap¬
proach to the entire peninsula, while the
lines of improvement will involve dam¬
age to a number of structures in the
area 'between Gansevoort; (Park) avenue
and Mott avenue, the latter of which is
a very important street; in Par Rock¬
away. Ocean Parkway is .planned to meet
traffic demands for the ajdjoining section
on the west and will extend close to the
ocean front. The Intervening space will
be transformed ijito a .public park aggre¬
gating 3.6 acres, and it is probable that
a boardwalk will be built here. Norton
Drive will adjoin the bulkhead line of
Norton Basin most of -its length and
skirting Jamaica Bay, as it does, it is
hoped to preserve in this instance the
fine residential character of the section.
.\ssessments against property owners tor
the building of this street will be heavy
and it is not likely that it will be used
eventually for commercial purposes be¬
cause the particular character of the
waterfront does not strongly invite it. It
is planned to create a public park in the
triangular area bounded by Bayswater
street, Mott aA-enue and Beach Twenty-
fourth street, embracing 0.4 acre. Al¬
though the elevation pt this section
ranges from 4.5 feet to about 28.5 feet, it
is planned to establish grddes that closely
conform with present conditions, except in
the cases of the railroad crossings of the
Far Rockaway branch in. the section be¬
tween Par Rockaway :Boule\-ard and
Townly (CaJ-lton) avenue,; where the roal
will be depressed; and it will be elevated
elsewhere in this area. The elevations at
Far Rockaway and Townly avenue cross¬
ings will do some damage to ibuildings.
To    Connect   with    >nssau    County.

The Board of Estimate deems it de¬
sirable that when the Borough ot Queens
completes its final maps of this section
that it omit the waterfront street adjoin¬
ing Norton Basin and Jamaica Bay, and
the widening of Seagirt avenue east of
Beach Ninth street, so that a route can
be formed to connect w-ith the adjoining
section in Nassau County (outside the
city) and Redfern avenue can be widened
between Townly and :McXeil avenues,
where a franchise has been granted for a
double track trolley road.

Because of the adoption of the tenta¬
tive maps in discussion another year will
witness a marked increment in property
values in the Rockaways and very likely
a big speculative movement in real es¬
tate will take place in this ocean front
area. The general growth of popu¬
lation and increase in building construc¬
tion in Queens during the last three years
is one of the phenomenons of real estate
activity in the greater city: and the city
has foreseen the ultimate outcome of it—
the grow-th toward the ocean front the
same as previously transpired in Brook-
lyn^pnd it is taking time by the forelocK,