Arverne, Queens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arverne is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, on the Rockaway Peninsula. It was initially developed by Remington Vernam, whose signature "R. Vernam" inspired the name of the neighborhood. Arverne extends from approximately Beach 54th Street to Beach 74th Street, its main thoroughfare Beach Channel Drive, alternatively known as Rev. Joseph H. May Drive.
Vernam's original plan was to name the neighborhood Arverne-by-the-Sea, and one grandiose plan included a canal running through the neighborhood, reminiscent of the Amstel canal in Amsterdam, Holland. When this plan fell through, the canal right-of-way was converted into a thoroughfare, Amstel Boulevard, which, except for a stub west of Beach 71st Street, was later incorporated into Beach Channel Drive.
While Arverne became well-known as a beachfront community with inexpensive summer bungalows and hotels as well as boardwalk concessions, it also attracted a year-round residential community. On June 15, 1922, a large part of Arverne was leveled by a disastrous fire which left about 3,000 people homeless, although the neighborhood was quick to rebuild.
New York city's abortive urban renewal projects of the 1960's leveled most of the summer resorts and even some residences to the ground and left most of Arverne, from Rockaway Beach Boulevard southward to the beachfront, a wasteland. However, a new residential development, known by a return to Vernam's Arverne-by-the-Sea designation, has succeeded in restoring vitality to the neighborhood.
