Rockaway Naval Air Station, one of the first naval air stations in the United States and, in 1919, the launching point for the first transatlantic flight. The Art Deco-style bathhouse was built in 1932, but much of the park's infrastructure and approaches were built between 1936 and 1937 by New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, who envisioned it as a getaway for New York City residents, like Jones Beach State Park further east on Long Island. The park was built along with the Marine Parkway Bridge and the Belt Parkway
in nearby Brooklyn, which provided access to the park.
After a period of decline, Jacob Riis Park was transferred in 1974 to the control of the National Park Service. The Jacob Riis Park Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. The Neponsit Beach Hospital, which occupies part of the park's site, was razed in 2023. In addition to the bathhouse, the park contains a north–south central mall; a boardwalk to the north of the beach; a large parking lot; an 18-hole golf course; and several sporting fields. The beaches at Jacob Riis Park, on the south side of the Rockaway peninsula, consists of 14 bays on the Atlantic coast.
Name
The park was originally known as Seaside Park.[4]: 5 (PDF p.11) It was later renamed Telawana Park[5]: 321 (PDF p.42) [6]: 2 after Culluloo Telewana, who was believed to be the last surviving member of the Rockaway Lenape tribe until his death in 1818.[6]: 2 [7] A monument to Telawana stands in Woodsburgh, Long Island, east of Far Rockaway.[6]: 2 [8] In 1914, the park was renamed for Jacob Riis, a famous New York City muckraker journalist and photographer who documented the plight of the poor and working class.[4]: 5 (PDF p.11) [9]
History
Early years
What is now the site of Jacob Riis Park on the western Rockaway Peninsula was under water as recently as the early 19th century. The peninsula was gradually expanded westward by the natural accretion of sand from tidal action. By 1878, the peninsula extended as far as the current western boundaries of the park. The peninsula reached its current extents by the turn of the 20th century.[4]: 5 (PDF p.11) [10]: 2 [11]: 22 During the War of 1812, the United States Army erected a blockhouse west of the future park site, on what was then an island.[4]: 5 (PDF p.11) [6]: 99 It was demolished in 1818.[10]: 1–3 [11]: 23
In 1880, the
Rockaway Park.[12]: 2·3 [10]: 4–5 In 1879 with the railroad under construction, several New York businessmen formed the Rockaway Beach Improvement Company and drafted plans to create a landscaped park and amusement area in the western Rockaways. This development would include hotels and a horse racing track. At the approximate location of modern Riis Park would be a pavilion for beach-goers. The company purchased 750 acres (300 ha) of land between what are now Rockaway Park and Breezy Point, and later purchased 750 additional acres farther east. Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park, was contracted to survey the site.[10]: 7–8 [6]: 89 Part of one hotel, called the Rockaway Beach Hotel or the "Hotel Imperial", was opened in August 1881, with other hotels following it, but the park plans never materialized as the park company had gone bankrupt. This incomplete hotel was demolished by 1889.[4]: 5 (PDF p.11) [10]: 9 [12]: 2·3 [6]: 89 A streetcar line running across the peninsula, operated by the Ocean Electric Railway, opened in 1897, with its western end past Beach 149th Street within the modern park site.[4]: 5 (PDF p.11) [10]
: 9–10
Acquisition of park property
In 1900, the property that would later would become Riis Park was acquired by Edward P. Hatch as part of two lots totaling 1,000 acres (404.685642240 ha) in size. The first plot, the "Hatch Tract," was 350 acres (142 ha) while the second "
Coney Island and Staten Island, due to its large beach area continuously extended by tidal action, and beaches and surf of higher quality than the other sites.[10]: 16–17 Because Hatch was offering the property at a much higher price than its appraised value of $200,000, the city sought to acquire the site via condemnation.[10]: 17 Efforts to develop the park, then called Seaside Park, and the hospital were suspended on November 1, 1907,[10]: 18 [13][18] due to the panic of 1907,[10]: 18 [19] but resurrected in 1909 after campaigning from citizens and philanthropic groups.[10]: 18 [18]
Following the death of Hatch in 1908, the Hatch tract was acquired first by the West Rockaway Land Company.
New York City Parks Department.[10]: 26 The site for the hospital at the east end of the beach was transferred from the Parks Department on April 24, 1913.[21][22]
After Riis died in May 1914, former United States President
Neponsit Beach Hospital for Children opened on April 16, 1915.[24] Beginning in late 1915, jetties were installed along the beach in order to prevent beach erosion, and to capture sand from tidal action in order to extend the beach. The jetties were based on similar structures used in nearby Neponsit. By 1917, 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land were added to the beach.[10]: 34–36 [25][26]
The original plan for the park was created by Parks Department landscape architect Carl F. Pilat in 1913.[12]: 2·3 [10]: 29 [27][28] Pilat was the nephew of Ignatz Anton Pilát,[29] and had also designed Astoria Park around the same time.[30] Pilat's design would have deviated significantly from the current layout. Much of the property north of Rockaway Beach Boulevard (then called Washington Avenue) would have been developed into recreational space with fields and courts for sports. Pilat's layout of the park utilized Beaux-Arts planning, characterized by pedestrian pathways organized in an axial arrangement, with focal points at the southern beach "esplanade", and at a bandstand at the north end of the park. The Jamaica Bay coastline at the north end of the site would have been utilized for an additional beach and boardwalk, along with a marine basin for boats, and a lagoon. In addition to the space on the Atlantic Ocean coast used by Neponsit Hospital, an additional tract on the west end of the beach would be utilized for a second health facility; only one-third of the beach would have been part of the park.[12]: 2·4 [27][28][31] The Parks Department had held a contest in 1913 accepting submission of designs for the park. Pilat's plan incorporated elements of the six finalists in the competition.[12]: 2·4 [28] At the time, the Pilat plan was considered too expensive and was not implemented.[27] Because of this and the onset of World War I, Riis Park remained largely undeveloped into the 1930s.[12]: 2·5 [10]: 40 Similar Beaux-Arts planning would later be incorporated into the fairgrounds of Flushing Meadows during the 1939 New York World's Fair.[32][33][34]
Use as a military base
In 1917, with the emergence of World War I, the park site was leased to the
NC-4.[4]: 5 (PDF p.11) [35] By the time the base was complete, the remaining 168 acres (68 ha) of the park had little development occurring.[10]
: 40
On January 20, 1921, US Navy Rear Admiral James H. Glennon requested that the city cede the 94-acre (38 ha) site to the federal government in order to maintain the naval station.[10]: 51 [2] The request was initially refused, but the dispute continued on for the rest of the decade.[10]: 52–56 The station was inactive from 1922 to 1925 and became an armory for the New York Naval Militia from 1928 to 1929.[10]: 50–51 The dispute finally ended in 1930, when the Navy moved to facilities in Valley Stream, Long Island, North Beach Airport (now LaGuardia Airport), and later Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn directly across from Riis Park.[10]: 55 [36] The base was vacated by June 1930, and demolition of the base was ordered in October 1930.[10]: 57 [37]
Initial development of Riis Park
On October 17, 1925, a ferry service was opened between
major expansion plan for the New York City Subway. One of the new routes in the plan involved recapturing the New York, Woodhaven and Rockaway Railroad, which by this time became the Rockaway Beach Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, and extending it as a subway line west from Rockaway Park to Jacob Riis Park. The extension of the line to the park was never constructed.[42][43][44]
After the remainder of Riis Park was relinquished by the Navy, in fall 1930 Queens Parks Commissioner Albert C. Benninger proposed the construction of a bathing pavilion at Jacob Riis Park. Benninger had been inspired by the design of the bathhouse at Jones Beach State Park, completed in August 1929 by then-Long Island Parks Commissioner Robert Moses.[10]: 60 [45] Prior to this, beach-goers were forced to change their clothes in their cars.[40]: 13 The designs were prepared by architect John L. Plock in November 1930.[46] The project was approved by the mayor's office in February 1931.[46] The foundation of the building was completed in August 1931.[46][10]: 60 Contracts were let for building construction in September 1931.[46][10]: 61 Later that month, Benninger requested an additional $105,000 for the project from the New York City Board of Estimate, on top of the initial $425,000 appropriated.[47] Construction began on November 23, 1931.[48][49] The bathhouse was opened on August 6, 1932. At the time, it was only 60 percent completed.[12]: 2·5 [46][50][51] Additional work was completed in May 1933, including lockers, the restaurant, and the solarium.[46][10]: 64 [52] The solarium was expected to be the largest in the world at the time.[52][53] A seawall running in front of the bathhouse along the beach and parking facilities for 5,000 cars were also completed by 1933.[10]: 64 [54] At this time, Riis Park received 25,000 daily visitors during summer months.[55]
While the bathhouse was being constructed, several plans were evaluated for developing Riis Park.
Gilmore D. Clarke, then the landscape architect for Westchester County, New York.[57] Three plans were later created by independent groups, none of which were developed. The first was from Harold A. Caparn of the City Club's park committee in 1931. The second was created by Earl Morrow of the Regional Plan Association (RPA) in 1932. The third was drawn up by Julius V. Burgevin & Joseph Gatringer of the New York City Park Board in 1933. All the plans suggested developing the northern portion of the property in addition to the southern beach.[12]: 2·6 to 2·7 [56] When presenting the RPA's plans in May 1932, RPA president George McAneny referred to Pilat's plans as "no longer practical", due to the lack of provisions for highways and automobile parking.[56] While presenting the park plan, McAneny also put forward plans for a vehicular bridge or tunnel between Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn and the Riis Park/Fort Tilden area, acting as an extension of Flatbush Avenue.[58] Although the bathhouse was built based on the RPA plans, it and the other plans were rejected in part due to the difficulty and high cost of landscaping and planting in the area.[59]
Expansion under Robert Moses
In January 1934, Robert Moses was appointed commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, newly unified from the five borough departments.[12]: 2·10 [46][10]: 70 Moses wished to develop Riis Park into an urban iteration of Jones Beach for working-class New York City residents.[12]: 2·10 [46][54] Under Moses, alterations to the bathhouse began in April 1934 with funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA).[46] Moses was critical of the previous operation of the park, including the contracting of an outside firm to operate concessions and services, leading to deteriorating conditions in the park.[10]: 72–73 Moses canceled nearly all outside contracts and formed the Riis Management Corporation to run services.[10]: 77 Improvements to the other park structures were also completed as WPA projects.[10]: 77 From 1934 to 1935, Riis Park was the only facility run by the Parks Department to generate revenue.[60]
On August 6, 1934, Moses released his plan for Riis Park, designed by
Gilmore D. Clarke, Julius Burgevin, W. Earle Andrews, and Clinton Loyd. The plan, designed in Beaux-Arts style, featured elements of the final design: the massive parking area for 15,000 cars, the road plan with a roundabout, and a central pedestrian mall running north to south. A second bathhouse structure would be built on the west side of the park, containing a swimming pool. Also included were a causeway and/or bridge linking to Brooklyn.[12]: 2·11 to 2·12 [46][10]: 81–85 [54] Moses was also critical of several aspects of earlier park plans and the layout created under Benninger, including the placement of the bathhouse and seawall too close to the shore, and the lack of parking spaces. Moses believed the location of the bathhouse and bulkhead left a minimal portion of beach during high tide, and limited future expansion of the beach. The lack of parking, meanwhile, limited the use of the bathhouse, which could accommodate more people than the lot could fit cars.[10]: 89 [54] Under Moses's plan, the large parking lot would facilitate traffic from the Belt Parkway and the Marine Parkway Bridge.[9][14] The 1934 plan was not implemented due to opposition from the local communities. Among the reasons for the resistance were fears of bringing in individuals from other parts of the city to the Rockaways, and the possibility of Riis Park out-competing privately owned beaches and resorts, leading to declines in property values.[12]: 2·12 [46]
In 1936, Moses released what would be the final plan for Jacob Riis Park, designed by Clarke, Loyd, and Parks Department architect
Marine Parkway Bridge.[12]: 2·12 Jacob Riis Park was completed for a total of $3.5 million, mostly from the WPA.[62]
: 476
Work to enlarge the beach from 8 to 24 acres began on April 1, 1936.
Cross Bay Boulevard.[64][65] The upgraded Jacob Riis Park was initially set to open along with Orchard Beach on June 19, 1937,[66] but the openings were pushed back due to unfinished work.[67] Both beaches were opened on June 25, 1937.[68] Work on the parking lot and bathhouse were completed at this time.[12]
: 2·15
The Marine Parkway Bridge was opened July 3, 1937,
B2 bus route to Riis Park.[72][73]: 167, 500 Due to increasing bus traffic, the Parks Department and the Brooklyn Bus Corporation constructed an enclosed bus shelter with turnstiles to expedite passenger boarding.[73]: 167 On Friday August 6, 1937, the park began holding weekly fireworks shows.[74] The park's pitch and putt golf course was opened on May 14, 1938.[75] The Belt Parkway system was opened in June 1940, connecting to the Marine Parkway Bridge.[76]
A lighted softball field just west of the bathhouse was created in summer 1940.[10]: 168 A bust of Jacob Riis at the western mall building was completed on October 14, 1940.[10]: 175 The Wise and Son street clock was installed on the boardwalk on March 4, 1941.[77] The bathhouse and other structures were waterproofed in 1943.[46][10]: 188, 198 The stairs from the beach and boardwalk to the second floor of the bathhouse were removed between 1948 and 1949. The second-floor cafeteria, meanwhile, was replaced with additional lockers, while a new cafeteria was built on the first floor.[10]: 188–189 Numerous other renovations took place between 1949 and 1958.[10]: 181–201
Acquisition of Neponsit Hospital property
Neponsit Beach Hospital was closed on April 21, 1955, due to a declining need for tuberculosis treatment.[78][79] Following the closure of the hospital, the site was considered a "hot property", located on the beach in the fairly exclusive Neponsit neighborhood.[21] The 14.3 acres (5.8 ha) site of the hospital was valued at $1 million.[78][80] Numerous groups had conflicting interests in the future of the site,[21] with Parks Commissioner Moses wishing to absorb the site back into Riis Park in order to construct sports fields, a swimming pool, and a comfort station, and to extend the beach.[78][81][82] Others including New York City ComptrollerLawrence E. Gerosa desired for the property to be sold and developed, which would draw income from both the sale and taxes.[21][82][83][84] After the Board of Estimate including Gerosa voted 10 to 6 to block the park expansion,[85] and angry exchanges between Moses and Gerosa,[21][86][87][88] on October 27, 1956, New York Supreme Court Justice Peter M. Daly ruled in favor of Moses in a lawsuit by the Park Association of New York City, preventing the sale. The ruling was upheld by the Appellate Court in Brooklyn on July 9, 1956. The ruling referred to the original 1906 act which zoned the property exclusively for park or hospital use.[89][90]
In 1958, a compromise was reached in which the hospital would be converted into a nursing home called the Neponsit Home for the Aged. Meanwhile, the remaining 10 acres (4.0 ha) of the property were turned over to the Parks Department to expand Riis Park, adding 1,000 feet (300 m) of beach.[10]: 164 [89][91][92] The plan was approved by New York City Board of Estimate in February 1959.[93] A field with two baseball diamonds was created adjacent to the west of the former hospital in 1961, with a comfort station and concession stand erected at the southwest corner of the field.[12]: 2·20 [10]: 205
Decline and creation of Gateway National Recreation Area
By the 1960s, Riis Park had fallen into a state of disrepair; debris "[blanketed] huge areas" of the beach, the toilet and bathhouse facilities were suffering from a lack of maintenance, and the underpass between the bathhouse and the parking lot frequently flooded after rainfall.[10]: 165–168 The park was damaged by the Ash Wednesday Storm in March 1962.[10]: 200–201 Riis Park also experienced an increase in crime: an 18-year-old was fatally stabbed at the beach in May 1962,[94] and the bust of Jacob Riis at the Central Mall was stolen in June 1964.[23] In addition to vandalism,[10]: 165–166 there were increasing arrests for drug-related offenses on the beach.[95]
In 1972, the National Park Service established the Gateway National Recreation Area around Jamaica Bay. Jacob Riis Park was ceded to the NPS two years later, on March 4, 1974.[96][10]: 208 [97]: 4 [9] Upon takeover, focus was put on Riis Park due to it being the most heavily visited part of the Gateway Area.[98] Under NPS' purview, several renovations occurred, including the installation of new roofing on the bathhouse and mall buildings, and the restoration of the Wise Clock which had been taken out of operation.[10]: 208 The NPS also began to crack down on nude bathing on the beach.[10]: 209 In mid-July 1974, Federal Magistrate Vincent A. Catoggio suggested that the entire park be shuttered if "it is going to be a gathering place of nudists"[99] and around the same time, United States Park Police started issuing summonses to nude bathers who ignored orders to put clothes on.[100] On July 24, 1974, a bill was introduced to the New York City Council to ban nude bathing.[101] In spite of this, NPS rangers and officers maintained a policy of allowing nude bathers to remain so long as they "minded their own business."[96] Nudity in the park was ended by a state law in 1983.[102]
On June 29, 1976, Riis Park was closed due to raw sewage in the water.
eight syringes washed up onto the beach. Beaches at South Beach, Midland Beach, and Great Kills Park in Staten Island had previously been closed due to the same issue.[106][107] The beach was reopened on July 22.[108] Much of the waste that had washed up on the beaches in the area had originated in Fresh Kills Landfill or the city sewer system.[109]
In the 1980s during summer months on weekends, the
In May 1988, the National Park Service planned to put the Riis Park bathhouse and mall buildings up for lease, along with other buildings in the Gateway Area. The developers would then pay for renovations and upgrades to the park and its facilities, which the NPS did not have the money to fund. The bathhouse in particular was in a state of disrepair, with its showering and changing facilities closed. The plan proposed constructing a 15,000-seat performance amphitheater, and a water park. Both attractions would be erected on the site of the golf course at the west end of the park. The amphitheater would occupy the northern half of the golf course site, facing south towards the beach. The water park would sit at the south end, and have a 7,500 person capacity. The golf course would be relocated to the east end of the park.[114]: 34 [115][116] Features would also be added to the bathhouse, including a restaurant, skating rinks, a public garden, and/or a swimming pool.[4]: 6 (PDF p.12) [114]: 34 [117]
The plan was opposed by local residents and conservation groups, including the
National Audubon Society. Among the points of contention were the idea of using federal parkland for amusement development, the additional noise and traffic created by the attractions, and the potential of disturbing the bird habitats in the area.[115][118] The debate was reflective of issues with the country's national parks as a whole.[115]Queens Community Board 14 (representing the Rockaways) voted unanimously to block the plans.[117]
By July 1989, the amphitheater was removed from the development plan. The proposed water park was downsized from 10 acres (4.0 ha) to 2 acres (0.81 ha), and would only occupy a small corner at the southwest section of the golf course.[4]: PDF p.70 [117] The changes did not eliminate opposition from the community or environmental groups.[117] By October of that year, the development plans were dropped and instead $934,000 was allocated for renovations to the park.[118]
1990s and early-21st-century renovation attempts
Looking at the Riis Park parking lot in 2012, used as a temporary dump to store debris after Hurricane Sandy
On August 31, 1991, the beach was closed again due to the presence of medical waste, with over 500 items found including needles and medicine vials of the painkiller
Nubain. The beach was closed for a single day.[109][119] Due in part to the reoccurrence of waste on the beach, the park saw declining patronage that year.[95] During that year, a $20 million rehabilitation of the bathhouse began, which included the removal of asbestos. However, the project was not completed, and the bathhouse remained closed and continued to decay.[120][95][121]
In 1999, the federal government earmarked $450,000 for the rehabilitation of Riis Park, which was projected to be complete within five years.[122] By 2001, then-Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer and then-Congressman Anthony Weiner had secured another $4 million in funds, most of which were targeted toward the renovation of the bathhouse.[123][124] A press release from Senator Schumer alluded to the possible construction of a pool with the $4 million, possibly located in the bathhouse. On the other hand, the National Park Service planned to use the money for general renovations. However, the pool plan was canceled after a preliminary study, which determined that the operation of the pool would result in a negative profit margin.[125][126][127]
Through 2005, numerous improvements were performed on the bathhouse, with plans to repave the central courtyard.[128][129] By July 2006, however, the repairs had not been finished.[121] However, a new bust depicting Jacob Riis had been installed at the Central Mall that April.[23][130][131]
In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck the New York City area, particularly affecting the Rockaway Peninsula. At Riis Park, sand was pushed north from the beach onto the back beach areas. The bathhouse was flooded and damaged.[97]: 4 [132] However, structures like the Wise Clock and the new Jacob Riis bust were generally unscathed.[133][134] During the recovery effort, the large parking lot was used as a temporary dump for debris from the park and the entire peninsula. This included excess sand, trees, cars, boats, and household debris.[132][135][136] The parking lot was selected as a waste facility due to its size, location on the peninsula, and connection to highways and roads.[137] Afterwards, the parking lot was used to clean sand before it returned to the beaches on the peninsula. Because of this the lot was filled with numerous man-made dunes.[135][138] The park reopened in May 2013.[139] Repairs to the bathhouse occurred from 2015 to 2016,[97]: 8 [140] after which the NPS solicited requests for proposals to reuse the entry pavilion and bathhouse.[97]: 7