What ever happened to the Rockaways in Queens NY?

It was a Jewish paradise for our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents in the summer and all-year-round. My father vividly recalls walking to his school in the Rockaways where his family lived when he was a child.

Here are the links to some fascinating answers from the Times about what happened to the Rockaways in Queens NY.

Ask About Rockaway, Queens
by The New York Times

Lawrence Kaplan and Carol P. Kaplan, the authors of “Between Ocean and City: The Transformation of Rockaway, New York,” answered questions about the history of this once popular seaside resort in southern Queens.

• Read the first set of responses, May 20.
• Read the second set of responses, May 21.
• Read the third set of responses, May 22.

Shortly after World War II, large parts of this narrow peninsula between the ocean and the bay became some of New York City’s worst slums.

Mr. Kaplan, a historian who grew up in the community, and his wife, a social worker, together present an illuminating account of this transformation, exploring issues of race, class, and social policy and offering a significant revision of the larger story of New York City’s development. For example, the authors qualify some of the negative assessments of Robert Moses, suggesting that he attempted many positive initiatives for Rockaway.

Based on extensive archival research and hundreds of hours of interviews with residents, urban specialists and government officials past and present, “Between Ocean and City” is a clear-eyed and harrowing story of this community’s struggles and resiliency in the face of grinding poverty, urban renewal schemes gone wrong, and a forced ghettoization by the sea.

Lawrence Kaplan, who has taught British and American history at the City College of New York, spent his formative years in Rockaway. Carol P. Kaplan is a practicing social worker and an associate professor at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service.