Breezy Point, Queens

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Breezy Point is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, located on the westward end of the Rockaway Peninsula, between Rockaway Inlet / Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. According to the United States Census Bureau, the community's exclusive zip code (11697) has the nation's highest concentration of Irish-Americans, at just above 60%. It functions mainly as a summer get-away for many residents of New York. Estimates put summer residency at 12,000, while year-round residency is estimated at about 5,000.

The Town is run by The Breezy Point Cooperative, in which all residents pay the maintenance, security and community-oriented costs involved with keeping the town private.

1 History
2 Ecology
3 Education
4 Shopping
5 External links

[edit] History

Breezy Point was sold to the Atlantic Improvement State Corporation for $17 million dollars in 1960. The area had become a local getaway for New Yorkers and consisted mostly of bungalows and summer residents. The residents of the community purchased half of the land for approximately $11 million and formed the Breezy Point Cooperative. Today, it consists of about 3,500 homes, more than half of which are year-round housing with more being converted and built every season.

The Breezy Point Cooperative has been the source of controversy for having a history of racial discrimination. Current residents claim that the cooperatives policies were typical for the time.

[edit] Ecology

U.S. Geological Survey Image of Breezy Point & the surrounding area.

According the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, beaches on the Breezy Point peninsula are home one of the most diverse breeding shorebird areas in the Metropolitan area. Shorebirds that breed here include:

- The federally threatened Piping Plover
- The New York State threatened Common Tern
- The New York State threatened Least Tern
- The NY State Species of Special Concern Black Skimmer
- The Migratory Bird Treaty Act-protected American Oystercatcher

The Beaches are owned by the cooperative and are federally and state-protected areas in which development is extremely limited.

[edit] Education

Breezy Point residents are zoned for schools in the New York City Department of Education.

Residents are zoned to P.S. 114 Belle Harbor for grades Kindergarten through 8.

[edit] Shopping

Breezy Point has one small shopping center, located in Rockaway Point. It consists of a grocery store, hardware store, gift shop, liquor store, bar, pharmacy, coffee shop, and a bank. Breezy also has a surf shop, travel agent,one summer bar and three year-round restaurants.