DEFINING THE BOROUGH OF QUEENS, NY THROUGH ITS PEOPLE
2.3 million people. As many as 138 languages spoken here. Over 125 different neighborhoods.
The Rockaways: Broad Channel
Broad Channel is a small neighborhood between Howard Beach and the Rockaway Peninsula. The neighborhood stands on marshland, is only 20 blocks long & 4 blocks wide, with a population of 3,000. It wasn’t until 1982 that New York City granted the residents of Broad Channel the right to purchase their property. Before this time, the area was owned by Robert Moses’ failed Broad Channel Corporation.
Pictured is the Broad Channel American Legion Hall on Cross Bay Boulevard. The Hall is a beacon of the community and for a time even organized and ran Mardi Gras in the neighborhood.
In 1998, 2 city firefighters & 1 city police officer were fired after they were linked to a float in the Broad Channel Labor Day Parade that parodied the racially motivated dragging death of James Byrd Jr.
The History section is in collaboration with Steve Vazquez of Queenscapes.