16 The Courier sun • WELCOME TO • june 4, 2015 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com NEIGHBORHOOD welcome to howard beach HISTORY photos from the Queens Courier Archives and Wikimedia Commons s 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. 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. Located at the corner of 159th Avenue and 102nd Street in “Old Howard Beach,” Coleman Square serves as the starting point of the annual Howard Beach Memorial Day parade. Hawtree Creek, which splits the neighborhoods of Old Howard Beach and West Hamilton Beach, leads into the Jamaica Bay. The creek allowed fishing industry in the neighborhood to flourish in the early 1900s. 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. (Photo via Facebook, Ozone Park Photo Archive) Italian-Americans who live in Howard Beach celebrate Columbus Day in style with an annual parade along Cross Bay Boulevard, usually held in late September or early October. Howard Beach suffered devastating flooding during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, and while some residents are still rebuilding, the neighborhood is recovering in a big way. 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 filled 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. This 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. The Joseph P. Addabbo Bridge links Howard Beach and Broad Channel and serves as a popular destination for fishers. 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. There is only one roadway – 104th Street – linking vehicles in Hamilton Beach and Ramblersville to the rest of Howard Beach.
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