Arverne Queens

Original settlement

Remington Vernam originally planned to name the neighborhood Arverne-by-the-Sea. Influenced by his wife Florence, one ambitious plan included a canal running through the neighborhood, similar to the Amstel canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands. When this plan was abandoned, the canal right-of-way was converted into Amstel Boulevard, which, except for a section west of Beach 71st Street, was later incorporated into Beach Channel Drive.

Situated on the Rockaway Boardwalk, Arverne became renowned as a beachfront community featuring inexpensive summer bungalows, hotels of varying expense and luxury, and numerous amusements and boardwalk concessions. It also attracted year-round residents. However, on January 3, 1914, a storm devastated the peninsula’s neighborhoods and swept the 1,200-seat Arverne Pier Theater out to sea. A significant fire on June 15, 1922, destroyed much of Arverne, leaving around 10,000 people homeless, although the neighborhood quickly rebuilt. In 1928, a project to construct 5,000 bungalows in Arverne was announced.

Decline

During the 1950s and 1960s, the rise of commercial jet air travel led people to choose distant destinations for summer vacations, rather than local beaches and resorts. Consequently, many of Arverne’s summer bungalows became vacant. New York City’s urban renewal projects in the 1960s led to the demolition of most summer resorts and some residences, many of which had already been abandoned.

In 1964, the New York City Planning Commission approved the designation of a 302-acre Arverne renewal area, which was expanded by 19 blocks two years later. In anticipation of urban renewal, vacant bungalows were demolished. However, the renewal project faced delays, prompting a grand jury investigation into the causes of the delays. A funding gap from the U.S. federal government added pressure to cancel the redevelopment.

In 1970, the city announced plans to develop 970 apartments in Arverne by 1972, but by then, only about 100 of the original 900 bungalows remained. Controversy arose when the city decided to place 100 mobile homes instead of permanent housing for low-income Puerto Ricans. By 1973, Mayor John Lindsay called for the deletion of 500 of the proposed 3,650 housing units from the Arverne redevelopment plan. As of yet, the 970 apartments had not been developed.