36 THE QUEENS COURIER • LIVING IN HOWARD BEACH • MAY 17, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
living in howard beach
NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY photos from the Queens Courier Archives and Wikimedia Commons
The West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department was established in 1928
and remains one of the few volunteer corps in the city. This 1940s photo shows
that the station house and hardware has changed, but the dedication and
service to the community is still the same.
Howard Beach Facts
The neighborhood was
incorporated in 1897 on
land purchased previously
by William Howard, a glove
manufacturer from Brooklyn.
Much of the landscape was
full of marshes, and Howard
fi lled in certain areas to develop
homes during the early
1900s.
Early development was primarily
concentrated to the
east adjacent to the present
day A train, which was
formerly used by the Long
Island Rail Road. Th is area is
now divided into three small
neighborhoods: Old Howard
Beach, Hamilton Beach (to
its south) and Ramblersville,
at the very southern end of
Hamilton Beach.
Most of what is called New
Howard Beach and Rockwood
Park (generally areas east of
Cross Bay Boulevard) developed
during the post-World
War II building boom.
Th e Joseph P. Addabbo
Bridge links Howard Beach
and Broad Channel and
serves as a popular destination
for fi shers. It was constructed
during the late
1980s to replace the North
Channel Bridge and is named
for Joseph P. Addabbo Sr.,
the late congressman and
father of current state Senator
Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.
Th ere is only one roadway--
104th Street-- linking vehicles
in Hamilton Beach and
Ramblersville to the rest of
Howard Beach.
Hawtree Creek, which splits the neighborhoods of Old
Howard Beach and West Hamilton Beach, leads into the
Jamaica Bay. The creek allowed fi shing industry in the
neighborhood to fl ourish in the early 1900s.
Howard Beach suff ered devastating fl ooding during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, and while some residents are still rebuilding, the neighborhood is recovering
in a big way.
A scene from a recent Howard Beach Columbus Day parade demonstrates the neighborhood's pride in Italian heritage.
This 1934 photo shows Cross Bay Boulevard looking northward,
long before businesses developed along the strip.
For many years, the boulevard served primarily as a conduit
for New Yorkers traveling to and from the Rockaways
for summer getaways.
Photo via Facebook, Ozone Park Photo Archive
For decades, Howard Park General Hospital – located on Cross Bay Boulevard near the Belt Parkway
– provided medical services to thousands of residents from Howard Beach and surrounding
communities. It later became the Bernard Fineson Developmental Center, assisting persons with
developmental disabilities before the state closed it down in the last decade. Today, the center now
provides senior housing under the auspices of the Catholic Charities of New York.