Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 90, no. 2315]: July 27, 1912

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^^^mm^^m. 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,