Broad Channel

 Broad Channel

Photo by Dan Guarino

Broad Channel is the only inhabited island in Jamaica Bay, with about three thousand inhabitants. The neighborhood stands on Big Egg Marsh, an area of fill approximately 20 blocks long and four blocks wide; the community is an inholding within the Gateway National Recreation Area, a unit of the U.S National Park Service. The area comprises several artificial canals separating dead- end residential blocks. It is connected to the rest of Queens by road and subway bridges. The community is split by Cross Bay Boulevard with many commuters passing through never getting a sense of the small town feel BC embodies.

It’s a bit isolated, but that’s the way the people seem to like it. It has parks, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and great access to the bay that so much of Rockaway feels is inaccessible. Many locals own boats and are expert fishermen. The bay is part of Broad Channel life. You might even spot youngsters jumping off a real diving board into the bay. The town turns out for sporting events, parades, and its own Mardi Gras. In the 1920s, during Prohibition, speakeasies and homemade distilleries flourished. Being an island had its advantages for illegal rum running, and the Channel was often referred to as “Little Cuba.” Broad Channel is now home to stewards of the environment. Residents demand protection for wildlife and have drawn attention to and gotten protection for the marshlands.

What’s new? A lot! Hook’s Pizza, the Unisex Hair Salon and My Mother’s Place 2 all opened last year and P.S. 47 has completed construction. New local hotspot, Adrienne’s, located on the bay right next to the Cross Bay Bridge, is serving up cold drinks and delicious food!

 

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