Edgemere | |
Settlement Type: | Neighborhood of Queens |
Coordinates: | 40.595°N -73.775°W |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | United States |
Subdivision Type1: | State |
Subdivision Type2: | City |
Subdivision Type3: | County/Borough |
Subdivision Name3: | Queens |
Subdivision Type4: | Community District |
Subdivision Name4: | Queens 14[1] |
Named For: | "Edge of the sea" |
Population Total: | 18,100 [2] |
Population As Of: | 2019 |
Demographics Type1: | Race and Ethnicity |
Demographics1 Title1: | Non-Hispanic White |
Demographics1 Info1: | 7% |
Demographics1 Title2: | Black or African-American |
Demographics1 Info2: | 56% |
Demographics1 Title3: | Hispanic or Latino of any race |
Demographics1 Info3: | 32% |
Demographics1 Title4: | Asian |
Demographics1 Info4: | 2% |
Demographics1 Title5: | other |
Demographics1 Info5: | 3% |
Demographics Type2: | Economics |
Demographics2 Title1: | Median income |
Demographics2 Info1: | $32,785 [3] |
Timezone: | EST |
Utc Offset: | −5 |
Timezone Dst: | EDT |
Utc Offset Dst: | −4 |
Postal Code Type: | ZIP Code |
Postal Code: | 11691 |
Area Code Type: | Area codes |
Area Code: | 718, 347, 929, and 917 |
Edgemere is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, extending from Beach 32nd to Beach 52nd Street on the Rockaway Peninsula. It contains Rockaway Community Park.[4] Arverne is to the west, and Far Rockaway to the east. Edgemere was founded in 1892 by Frederick J. Lancaster, who originally called it New Venice.[5] [6]
Edgemere is located in Queens Community District 14 and its ZIP Code is 11691.[1] It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 101st Precinct.
Much like neighboring Arverne, Edgemere was developed as a beachfront tourist district with easy access to Brooklyn and Manhattan by railway. After World War II, the late 19th and early 20th century resorts and cheap bungalows that lined the boardwalk were considered outdated and undesirable by city officials. East of Beach 32nd Street, the original pattern of development can still be seen: rows of very small, single-story bungalows packed close together on narrow streets. As part of an urban renewal project, nearly all structures south of Rockaway Freeway, from Beach 32nd Street to Beach 90th Street, were acquired and demolished by 1970. Despite many ambitious plans for proposed development, no construction occurred until after 1984 and the coastline of Edgemere and Arverne remained lined with hundreds of acres of vacant wasteland for decades.[7] Arverne has since been redeveloped, but the coastal section of Edgemere remains entirely undeveloped. In April 2024, the vacant land became the 35acres Taverne East Nature Preserve, a public park.[8] [9] In addition, as part of the Arverne East development, a welcome building for the nature preserve was built.[10]