The Rockaways & Broad Channel
Neighborhood Intelligence

The Rockaways and Broad Channel form Queens Community District 14, a narrow Atlantic Ocean barrier peninsula stretching roughly ten miles along the southern edge of Queens. Rockaway Beach is one of the largest urban public beaches in the United States, and the peninsula includes Far Rockaway, Arverne, Edgemere, Bayswater, Belle Harbor, Rockaway Park, and Rockaway Beach. Broad Channel is a small island community in the middle of Jamaica Bay accessible by the A train and by road via the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge.

The Rockaways suffered severe flooding and structural damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and resilience and elevation have shaped much of the subsequent development and permitting activity. The community is economically diverse — Far Rockaway on the eastern end has significant public housing, while the western beach communities (Belle Harbor, Rockaway Park) are more affluent. The A subway line serves the Far Rockaway branch of the peninsula, while the Rockaway Park Shuttle (S train) connects Broad Channel to Rockaway Park, and LIRR's Far Rockaway branch serves the eastern end.