Broad Channel, Queens
Encyclopedia
Broad Channel is a neighborhood in the New York City
borough
of Queens
. It occupies the southern portion of Rulers Bar Hassock (known colloquially as "Broad Channel Island"), which is the only inhabited island (pop. about 3,000) in Jamaica Bay
. The neighborhood stands on Big Egg Marsh, an area of fill approximately 20 blocks long and 4 blocks wide. The community is an inholding
within the Gateway National Recreation Area
, a unit of the U.S National Park Service
Lying between Howard Beach
and the Rockaway Peninsula
, it is connected to those communities by bridges at either end of the island—the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
and the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge
—which carry vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Cross Bay Boulevard
is the only through road. The area consists of artificial canals separating dead-end residential blocks.
The IND Rockaway Line
of the New York City Subway
( trains) serves the Broad Channel
station.
During the 1960s and 1970s, some mapmakers have shown the streets of Broad Channel numbered along the same continuum found in the rest of Queens besides the Rockaways, with the numbers of "Streets" increasing from west to east, the numbers of "Avenues" increasing from north to south, etc. However, Broad Channel streets have always had their own numbering format, including "Roads" numbered north to south, independent of that used elsewhere in the borough.
Native Americans frequented this area. During the 17th century, Dutch settlers established a community on the island and began harvesting oysters, clams, shrimp, and fish.
in 1898. The northern (and larger) portion of the island is part of Gateway National Recreation Area
and is managed as part of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, the only wildlife refuge in the National Park System. The waters and marsh islands of the refuge entirely surround the community.
in 1923, Broad Channel underwent a surge in popularity.
wanted to build a park on the island. His plan was for recreation on the shore with a wildlife sanctuary on the north end of the island. In 1939 the Cross Bay Parkway Bridge opened. That same year, the Broad Channel Corporation declared bankruptcy. The City acquired the island’s property titles but, for many years, denied residents the right to purchase the land under their houses. The City made many attempts to alter the island’s purpose, but the local community resisted them all. Proposed changes included the construction of a commercial port and the extension of John F. Kennedy International Airport
. In 1982, New York City
granted Broad Channel residents the right to purchase their property. Broad Channel has two churches, a volunteer fire department, one elementary school, and a public library.
was made public. The float carried white men wearing blackface
and Afro
wigs, and was entitled "Black to the Future - Broad Channel in 2098". Three white participants on the float, two city firefighters and a city police officer, were later fired from their jobs as a result of the parade incident. They sued the city for wrongful termination, and had their claims upheld in federal district court in 2003. Local residents expressed support for and relief at the ruling, hoping that an end to the court battle would help to rehabilitate the image of the town. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the ruling in 2006, holding that the firings could stand.
.
Elementary school students attend P.S 47. The school has pre-kindergarten through eighth grades; the school facilities were completely remodeled during the 1990s.
Broad Channel was also home to St. Virgilius School, a Roman Catholic School that was part of the Diocese of Brooklyn. However, after a lengthy battle between parents and the Diocese, the school closed in 2006, as part of Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio's effort to close, en masse, Catholic schools with low enrollment. The school, a staple of the community for over sixty years, fell just a few students shy of the minimum number required by the Diocese. The school building is currently being used as a parish office and meeting area.
The Broad Channel Historical Society was founded in 1994. Their mission is to document and preserve the history of Broad Channel, often referred to as the “Venice
” of New York. The committee was initiated by then President of the Civic Association Danny Mundy, who came up with the idea from reading the “Glimpse of the Past” column in the town newsletter, Channel News. With seed money from New York State Senator
Ada Smith, loose-leaf notebooks with plastic sleeves were purchased in order to begin documenting the colorful history of “The Channel”. After one year of articles, written memories, and videotaped interviews, they held their first Annual Historical Day in June 1995. This event brings out the townspeople and folks from the surrounding area to enjoy the collection, usually housed in the Broad Channel Public Library.
The Queens Borough Public Library
has been the home for the historical collection. The collection was microfilmed in 1997. The microfilm is available for viewing at the Central Branch in Jamaica, Queens
. Also in 1997 the first annual Historical Calendar was published. The calendars feature old pictures of Broad Channel and tidal information.
In 1956, then Deputy Chief Robert H. Russell, Sr. added volunteer ambulance services to provide first aid and ambulatory care to the residents of Broad Channel. Robert H. Russell, Sr. would go on to be elected to the rank of Chief of Department 21 times from 1957–1973, 1975–1977, and again in 1984. By the early 1960s the department was growing rapidly in both stature in the community and as an organization as a whole.
On summer weekends during the 1950s and 1960s, the FDNY would send Rockaway Eng Co. #267 to the Broad Channel Volunteers quarters to assist in answering alarms on the island. The bridges North and South of the island were draw bridges and were frequently opened for large passing ships. This would impede response by FDNY, EMS & NYPD companies to the island for any type of major emergency. Also, Cross Bay Boulevard
would be jammed by beach goers and those looking to vacation at Rockaways bungalows and hotels and its famous Rockaway Playland. FDNY firefighters would leave their engine parked and join the volunteers on their engines because they were much newer and more dependable then the apparatus FDNY had at the time.
Over the years the Broad Channel Volunteers have been in service, they have created a close working relationship with the local FDNY companies as well as the volunteer companies from Nassau & Suffolk Counties. The Broad Channel Volunteers are also dues paying members of many organizations such as the Southern New York Volunteer Firemans Association, the Firemans Association of the State of New York, and along with the 9 other volunteer fire departments in the 5 boroughs of New York City, they are members of Volunteer Firemans Association of the City of New York.
In the late 1970s, The Broad Channel Junior Fire Department was organized to help train young teens in the aspects of the fire and EMS service as well as dispatching and clerical duties while still cleaning the firehouse and its apparatus. When its members turned 18, they were allowed to begin riding the apparatus as firefighters or start training as EMT's. The benefit was these teens were already knowledgeable in the operations of the department and it became a breeding ground for the departments future firefighters, officers and chiefs. They would later become a Boy Scout Explorer
Post, #3069.
In 1994 under Chief Dan McIntyre, the volunteer ambulance corps were granted their New York State Certification. Since then, the department took the initiative to require all its firefighters to be New York State Certified in all aspects of the fire service as well as EMS. In 1994, Chief Dan McIntyre also started the departments Marine Company which is still in service to present day. The department operates a small Coast Guard-like Zodiac
as a swift water rescue team with certified EMT's on board and in some instances certified divers as well.
The Broad Channel Volunteers, Inc., is a 501(C)3 not-for-profit organization that relies solely on door to door fundraising, grants from politicians and from the state, and since 1905 has operated 100% volunteer.
. The park features two grass baseball
fields, one asphalt baseball field, benches, water fountains, a parking area, four basketball
standards, a roller hockey
rink, and a small play area. The flagpole area is surrounded by a nautically themed sitting area. The park was given its present name in March 1998.
and later moved to Hell's Kitchen
in Manhattan
. After attending college, Gray married Lorraine Baker (1929–1977) with whom he had three children: Michael, Gary and Gregory. Gray later moved to Broad Channel and became involved in various neighborhood youth programs, including the Broad Channel Athletic Club, an organization for which he served as president. A community football coach for more than twenty years, Grey also helped to shape and maintain the Broad Channel football league and assisted in the creation of the local Teen Club, which provided safe recreational activities for the area’s youth.
Before his death on September 14, 1973, Eugene Gray also supported the construction of this site, the first adventure playground to be built in Broad Channel. In recognition of his dedication to the playground’s construction and lifetime of work for the neighborhood’s youth, the Broad Channel Civic Association and Queens Community Board 14
motioned to have the playground named in Gray’s honor. Their undertaking was successful in 1987, when a local law passed naming the park Gene Gray Playground.
Located on the corner of Cross Bay Boulevard and East 9th Street, Gene Gray Playground opened on November 12, 1987 and was built at a cost of $457,688. In honor of Broad Channel’s seafaring past, award-winning architect Richard Dattner incorporated a nautical fortress theme into the park’s wooden play equipment. The playground
contains a walkway bridge intended to resemble a sailing ship, complete with bow, stern, and gangplank-like ramp. The park also contains a 75-year-old willow tree (Salix spp.), nine red maple
trees (Acer rubrum), and ninety burning bushes (Euonymus atropurpureus) along the perimeter.
Following the construction of the Cross Bay Parkway bridge in 1939, a drawbridge connecting Broad Channel With the Rockaway Peninsula, the island became easily accessible by car. However, the drawbridge opened up many times per day, and whenever it opened, there was bad traffic that extended all the way to Howard Beach, as well as on the Rockaway Peninsula. In the mid to late 1960s, a new bridge was constructed, and opened on May 28, 1970. It was renamed the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
in 1977. It is maintained by MTA Bridges and Tunnels, and a toll must be paid to use the bridge.
The Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge connects Broad Channel to Howard Beach and the mainland. It was formerly known as the North Channel Bridge and it replaced an old North Channel Bridge which was deteriorate to the point where it is beyond repair. It is maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation, and is free.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
. It occupies the southern portion of Rulers Bar Hassock (known colloquially as "Broad Channel Island"), which is the only inhabited island (pop. about 3,000) in Jamaica Bay
Jamaica Bay
Jamaica Bay is located on the southwestern tip of Long Island in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, and the town of Hempstead, New York/hamlet of Inwood...
. The neighborhood stands on Big Egg Marsh, an area of fill approximately 20 blocks long and 4 blocks wide. The community is an inholding
Inholding
An inholding is privately owned land inside the boundary of a national park, national forest, state park, or similar publicly owned, protected area...
within the Gateway National Recreation Area
Gateway National Recreation Area
Gateway National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area in the Port of New York and New Jersey. Scattered over Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, New York and Monmouth County, New Jersey, it provides recreational opportunities that are rare for a dense urban environment, including ocean...
, a unit of the U.S National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
Lying between Howard Beach
Howard Beach, Queens
Howard Beach is a suburban neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bordered in the north by the Belt Parkway and South Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, the south by Jamaica Bay in Broad Channel, the east by 102nd-104th streets, and the west by 78th...
and the Rockaway Peninsula
Rockaway, Queens
The Rockaway Peninsula, informally The Rockaways, is the name of a peninsula of Long Island, all of which is located within the New York City borough of Queens. A popular summer resort area since the 1830s, Rockaway has become a mixture of lower, middle, and upper-class neighborhoods...
, it is connected to those communities by bridges at either end of the island—the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
The Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge in New York City, is a toll bridge that carries Cross Bay Boulevard from Broad Channel in Jamaica Bay to the Rockaway Peninsula, and is located in Queens....
and the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge
Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge
The Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge located in the New York City borough of Queens, is a bridge that runs south from Howard Beach, crosses the Grassy Bay portion of Jamaica Bay to Broad Channel. The bridge is named for the late Joseph P...
—which carry vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Cross Bay Boulevard
Cross Bay Boulevard
Cross Bay Boulevard is the main north–south road in Howard Beach, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. In the south, it originates in The Rockaways, runs over the Cross Bay Bridge into Broad Channel and then over the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge into Howard Beach...
is the only through road. The area consists of artificial canals separating dead-end residential blocks.
The IND Rockaway Line
IND Rockaway Line
The IND Rockaway Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway. It branches from the IND Fulton Street Line at Rockaway Boulevard, extending over the Jamaica Bay, into the Rockaways.-History:...
of the New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
( trains) serves the Broad Channel
Broad Channel (IND Rockaway Line)
Broad Channel is a station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway. Located at Noel Road and West Road in the Broad Channel neighborhood of the borough of Queens, it is served by the A train and the Rockaway Park Shuttle at all times, the latter of which terminates here.-History and...
station.
During the 1960s and 1970s, some mapmakers have shown the streets of Broad Channel numbered along the same continuum found in the rest of Queens besides the Rockaways, with the numbers of "Streets" increasing from west to east, the numbers of "Avenues" increasing from north to south, etc. However, Broad Channel streets have always had their own numbering format, including "Roads" numbered north to south, independent of that used elsewhere in the borough.
Early New York
Prior to European settlement, the Jameco and Canarsie bands of LenapeLenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
Native Americans frequented this area. During the 17th century, Dutch settlers established a community on the island and began harvesting oysters, clams, shrimp, and fish.
1898 - 1915
Broad Channel remained a parcel within the Town of Jamaica until the consolidation of New York CityHistory of New York City (1898-1945)
The history of New York City began with the formation of the consolidated city of the five boroughs in 1898. New transportation links, most notably the New York City Subway, first opened 1904, helped bind the new city together. Increased European immigration brought social upheaval...
in 1898. The northern (and larger) portion of the island is part of Gateway National Recreation Area
Gateway National Recreation Area
Gateway National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area in the Port of New York and New Jersey. Scattered over Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, New York and Monmouth County, New Jersey, it provides recreational opportunities that are rare for a dense urban environment, including ocean...
and is managed as part of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, the only wildlife refuge in the National Park System. The waters and marsh islands of the refuge entirely surround the community.
1915 - 1938
In 1915, the City leased the island to the Broad Channel Corporation, which in turn leased properties to private individuals for the development of summer bungalows and houses. The island prospered as an exclusive retreat for city residents. After the construction of the Cross Bay BoulevardCross Bay Boulevard
Cross Bay Boulevard is the main north–south road in Howard Beach, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. In the south, it originates in The Rockaways, runs over the Cross Bay Bridge into Broad Channel and then over the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge into Howard Beach...
in 1923, Broad Channel underwent a surge in popularity.
1938 - 1982
In 1938, Parks Commissioner Robert MosesRobert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
wanted to build a park on the island. His plan was for recreation on the shore with a wildlife sanctuary on the north end of the island. In 1939 the Cross Bay Parkway Bridge opened. That same year, the Broad Channel Corporation declared bankruptcy. The City acquired the island’s property titles but, for many years, denied residents the right to purchase the land under their houses. The City made many attempts to alter the island’s purpose, but the local community resisted them all. Proposed changes included the construction of a commercial port and the extension of John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
. In 1982, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
granted Broad Channel residents the right to purchase their property. Broad Channel has two churches, a volunteer fire department, one elementary school, and a public library.
1998
In 1998, Broad Channel's Labor Day parade received extensive negative media attention after video of a float that parodied the racially-motivated dragging death of an African American manJames Byrd, Jr.
James Byrd, Jr. was an African-American who was murdered by three white men, asserted to be white supremacists, during a racially motivated crime in Jasper, Texas, on June 7, 1998. Shawn Berry, Lawrence Brewer, and John King dragged Byrd behind a pick-up truck along an asphalt road after they...
was made public. The float carried white men wearing blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
and Afro
Afro
Afro, sometimes shortened to fro and also known as a "natural", is a hairstyle worn naturally by people with lengthy kinky hair texture or specifically styled in such a fashion by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair...
wigs, and was entitled "Black to the Future - Broad Channel in 2098". Three white participants on the float, two city firefighters and a city police officer, were later fired from their jobs as a result of the parade incident. They sued the city for wrongful termination, and had their claims upheld in federal district court in 2003. Local residents expressed support for and relief at the ruling, hoping that an end to the court battle would help to rehabilitate the image of the town. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the ruling in 2006, holding that the firings could stand.
2008
Upon the retirement of its administrator, Rev. John P. Maloney, St. Virgilius Parish of Broad Channel merges with St. Camillus Parish of Rockaway Park, New York. Rev. Richard J. Ahlemeyer, pastor of St. Camillus, remains pastor of the new "Parish Family of Saint Camillus - St. Virgilius Roman Catholic Church."Education
Like all areas of New York City, Broad Channel is served by the New York City Department of EducationNew York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
.
Elementary school students attend P.S 47. The school has pre-kindergarten through eighth grades; the school facilities were completely remodeled during the 1990s.
Broad Channel was also home to St. Virgilius School, a Roman Catholic School that was part of the Diocese of Brooklyn. However, after a lengthy battle between parents and the Diocese, the school closed in 2006, as part of Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio's effort to close, en masse, Catholic schools with low enrollment. The school, a staple of the community for over sixty years, fell just a few students shy of the minimum number required by the Diocese. The school building is currently being used as a parish office and meeting area.
Broad Channel Athletic Club
The non-profit Broad Channel Athletic Club was established in 1961. The baseball teams are registered with Little League and host an in-house baseball league, and participate in the Catholic Youth Organization. The football league plays in the Nassau and Suffolk Football League. The soccer league is completely run by the organization and participates in the Catholic Youth Organization. The swimming team participates in the Police Athletic League and the Catholic Youth Organization. The basketball league also participates in the Catholic Youth Organization.The Broad Channel Historical Society
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
” of New York. The committee was initiated by then President of the Civic Association Danny Mundy, who came up with the idea from reading the “Glimpse of the Past” column in the town newsletter, Channel News. With seed money from New York State Senator
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
Ada Smith, loose-leaf notebooks with plastic sleeves were purchased in order to begin documenting the colorful history of “The Channel”. After one year of articles, written memories, and videotaped interviews, they held their first Annual Historical Day in June 1995. This event brings out the townspeople and folks from the surrounding area to enjoy the collection, usually housed in the Broad Channel Public Library.
The Queens Borough Public Library
Queens Borough Public Library
The Queens Library, also known as the Queens Borough Public Library, is the public library for the Borough of Queens and one of three library systems serving New York City. It was the No. 1 library system in the United States by circulation, having loaned 21 million items in the 2007 fiscal year.It...
has been the home for the historical collection. The collection was microfilmed in 1997. The microfilm is available for viewing at the Central Branch in Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. It was settled under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland as Rustdorp. Under British rule, the Village of Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"...
. Also in 1997 the first annual Historical Calendar was published. The calendars feature old pictures of Broad Channel and tidal information.
The Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department
The department originally started in 1905 as bucket brigade to help minimize property loss due to fires. In 1907, this brigade was formally organized into the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Association under its first Chief, Edward H.Schleuter. The current firehouse at 15 Noel Road was opened in the summer of 1908. In 1913, Chief Chris Hoobs died of a heart attack responding to a fire. This would be the only line of duty death to our knowledge in the departments history even to present day. They received their fire charter from the state of New York in 1917 and were known from then on as the Broad Channel Volunteers.In 1956, then Deputy Chief Robert H. Russell, Sr. added volunteer ambulance services to provide first aid and ambulatory care to the residents of Broad Channel. Robert H. Russell, Sr. would go on to be elected to the rank of Chief of Department 21 times from 1957–1973, 1975–1977, and again in 1984. By the early 1960s the department was growing rapidly in both stature in the community and as an organization as a whole.
On summer weekends during the 1950s and 1960s, the FDNY would send Rockaway Eng Co. #267 to the Broad Channel Volunteers quarters to assist in answering alarms on the island. The bridges North and South of the island were draw bridges and were frequently opened for large passing ships. This would impede response by FDNY, EMS & NYPD companies to the island for any type of major emergency. Also, Cross Bay Boulevard
Cross Bay Boulevard
Cross Bay Boulevard is the main north–south road in Howard Beach, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. In the south, it originates in The Rockaways, runs over the Cross Bay Bridge into Broad Channel and then over the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge into Howard Beach...
would be jammed by beach goers and those looking to vacation at Rockaways bungalows and hotels and its famous Rockaway Playland. FDNY firefighters would leave their engine parked and join the volunteers on their engines because they were much newer and more dependable then the apparatus FDNY had at the time.
Over the years the Broad Channel Volunteers have been in service, they have created a close working relationship with the local FDNY companies as well as the volunteer companies from Nassau & Suffolk Counties. The Broad Channel Volunteers are also dues paying members of many organizations such as the Southern New York Volunteer Firemans Association, the Firemans Association of the State of New York, and along with the 9 other volunteer fire departments in the 5 boroughs of New York City, they are members of Volunteer Firemans Association of the City of New York.
In the late 1970s, The Broad Channel Junior Fire Department was organized to help train young teens in the aspects of the fire and EMS service as well as dispatching and clerical duties while still cleaning the firehouse and its apparatus. When its members turned 18, they were allowed to begin riding the apparatus as firefighters or start training as EMT's. The benefit was these teens were already knowledgeable in the operations of the department and it became a breeding ground for the departments future firefighters, officers and chiefs. They would later become a Boy Scout Explorer
Exploring (Learning for Life)
Exploring is a worksite-based program of Learning for Life, a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America, for young men and women who are 14 through 20 years old...
Post, #3069.
In 1994 under Chief Dan McIntyre, the volunteer ambulance corps were granted their New York State Certification. Since then, the department took the initiative to require all its firefighters to be New York State Certified in all aspects of the fire service as well as EMS. In 1994, Chief Dan McIntyre also started the departments Marine Company which is still in service to present day. The department operates a small Coast Guard-like Zodiac
Zodiac Group
Zodiac, which became Zodiac Aerospace in 2007, is a French corporation, specialized in the production and development of on-board systems, safety systems and cabin interiors...
as a swift water rescue team with certified EMT's on board and in some instances certified divers as well.
The Broad Channel Volunteers, Inc., is a 501(C)3 not-for-profit organization that relies solely on door to door fundraising, grants from politicians and from the state, and since 1905 has operated 100% volunteer.
Broad Channel Park
Broad Channel Park opened in May 1995, located at the southern most end of Broad Channel, sits along Jamaica BayJamaica Bay
Jamaica Bay is located on the southwestern tip of Long Island in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, and the town of Hempstead, New York/hamlet of Inwood...
. The park features two grass baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
fields, one asphalt baseball field, benches, water fountains, a parking area, four basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
standards, a roller hockey
Roller hockey
Roller Hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using skates with wheels. The term "Roller Hockey" is often used interchangeably to refer to two variant forms chiefly differentiated by the type of skate used. There is traditional "Roller Hockey," played with quad roller skates, and...
rink, and a small play area. The flagpole area is surrounded by a nautically themed sitting area. The park was given its present name in March 1998.
Gene Gray Park
This playground is named in honor of Broad Channel community activist Eugene Gray (1927–1973). Gray was born on March 14, 1927 in Park Slope, BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and later moved to Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. After attending college, Gray married Lorraine Baker (1929–1977) with whom he had three children: Michael, Gary and Gregory. Gray later moved to Broad Channel and became involved in various neighborhood youth programs, including the Broad Channel Athletic Club, an organization for which he served as president. A community football coach for more than twenty years, Grey also helped to shape and maintain the Broad Channel football league and assisted in the creation of the local Teen Club, which provided safe recreational activities for the area’s youth.
Before his death on September 14, 1973, Eugene Gray also supported the construction of this site, the first adventure playground to be built in Broad Channel. In recognition of his dedication to the playground’s construction and lifetime of work for the neighborhood’s youth, the Broad Channel Civic Association and Queens Community Board 14
Queens Community Board 14
The Queens Community Board 14 is a local government in the New York City borough of Queens, encompassing the neighborhoods of Breezy Point, Belle Harbor, Neponsit, Arverne, Bayswater, Edgemere, Rockaway Park, Rockaway and Far Rockaway...
motioned to have the playground named in Gray’s honor. Their undertaking was successful in 1987, when a local law passed naming the park Gene Gray Playground.
Located on the corner of Cross Bay Boulevard and East 9th Street, Gene Gray Playground opened on November 12, 1987 and was built at a cost of $457,688. In honor of Broad Channel’s seafaring past, award-winning architect Richard Dattner incorporated a nautical fortress theme into the park’s wooden play equipment. The playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
contains a walkway bridge intended to resemble a sailing ship, complete with bow, stern, and gangplank-like ramp. The park also contains a 75-year-old willow tree (Salix spp.), nine red maple
Red Maple
Acer rubrum , is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas...
trees (Acer rubrum), and ninety burning bushes (Euonymus atropurpureus) along the perimeter.
Bridges in Broad Channel
Broad Channel has two bridges. They are the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge to the south, and the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge to the north. Cross Bay Boulevard uses both bridges.Following the construction of the Cross Bay Parkway bridge in 1939, a drawbridge connecting Broad Channel With the Rockaway Peninsula, the island became easily accessible by car. However, the drawbridge opened up many times per day, and whenever it opened, there was bad traffic that extended all the way to Howard Beach, as well as on the Rockaway Peninsula. In the mid to late 1960s, a new bridge was constructed, and opened on May 28, 1970. It was renamed the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
The Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge in New York City, is a toll bridge that carries Cross Bay Boulevard from Broad Channel in Jamaica Bay to the Rockaway Peninsula, and is located in Queens....
in 1977. It is maintained by MTA Bridges and Tunnels, and a toll must be paid to use the bridge.
The Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge connects Broad Channel to Howard Beach and the mainland. It was formerly known as the North Channel Bridge and it replaced an old North Channel Bridge which was deteriorate to the point where it is beyond repair. It is maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation, and is free.