Neponsit is a small affluent neighborhood located on the western half of the

Rockaway Peninsula The Rockaway Peninsula, commonly referred to as The Rockaways or Rockaway, is a peninsula at the southern edge of the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, New York. Relatively isolated from Manhattan and other more urban parts of t ...

, the southernmost area of the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. The area starts at Beach 142nd Street and ends at Beach 149th Street. It borders the neighborhood of

Belle Harbor Belle Harbor is a small residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, located on the western half of the Rockaway Peninsula, the southernmost area of the borough. Belle Harbor commonly refers to the area from Beach 126th to B ...

to the east and

Jacob Riis Park Jacob Riis Park, also called Jacob A. Riis Park and Riis Park, is a seaside park on the southwestern portion of the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It lies at the foot of the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Br ...

on the west.

Jamaica Bay Jamaica Bay (also known as Grassy Bay) is an estuary on the southern portion of the western tip of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The estuary is partially man-made, and partially natural. The bay connects with Lo ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

are the northern and southern borders. The neighborhood is part of

Queens Community Board 14 The Queens Community Board 14 is a local government in the New York City borough of Queens, encompassing the neighborhoods of Breezy Point, Belle Harbor, Neponsit, Arverne, Bayswater, Edgemere, Rockaway Park, Rockaway and Far Rockaway. I ...

. As of January 1, 2007, the neighborhood's population reached just over 2,000, making it one of the smallest communities on the peninsula and in the entire borough of Queens.

History

Neponsit is a Native American name meaning "the place between waters", the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and of Jamaica Bay or Rockaway Inlet. The present community's character has persisted since it was established. In January 1910, the Neponsit Realty Company purchased the land for the development of an exclusive community. It forbade the construction of any homes that were inexpensive, and the homes were built in order to withstand the beach weather and geography of the narrow peninsula. The entrance to the area was originally marked by a massive ornamental gateway. More recently, a stretch of tree-dotted islands, called "the malls", situated along

Rockaway Beach Boulevard Rockaway Beach Boulevard, opened in 1886, was the first major east-west thoroughfare on the Rockaway Peninsula in the Borough of Queens in New York City. Much of its route parallels the Rockaway Freeway and the IND Rockaway Line above the Fre ...

, was a distinguishing feature. It extended through

. By the 1930s, high quality homes were dominant in Neponsit. The first transatlantic flight departed from Neponsit on May 8, 1919, when four United States Navy-Curtis model seaplanes took off from what is now

Beach Channel Drive Beach Channel Drive is the main thoroughfare of the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It extends from the Nassau County border at Inwood westward, to the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge at the end of J ...

in Neponsit to

Newfoundland, Canada Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland and the continent ...

, the

Azores Islands The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlant ...

, and

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. On May 31, 1919, a single plane piloted by Lt. Commander Albert C. Read arrived in

Plymouth, England Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Land use and zoning

Neponsit is

zoned In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a ...

for residential, one-or-two-story single-family homes. Due to this, and its secluded beach location, some homes are mansion-like, and the average market price for properties has approached $1 million, according to

Zillow Zillow Group, Inc., or simply Zillow, is an American tech real-estate marketplace company that was founded in 2006 by co-executive chairmen Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink, former Microsoft executives and founders of Microsoft spin-off Expedia; Spen ...

. Nearby

has an area of .

In popular culture

The television show, ''Rescue Me'' (

FX Network FX (originally/formerly Fox Extended) is an American pay television channel owned by FX Networks, a division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Based at the Fox Studios lot in Century City, Los Angeles, F ...

) has regularly filmed in Neponsit using residences to portray the fictional homes of some of the characters, although the article points out that the "story never tells you how a firefighter can afford ... Neponsit home"''.

Notable people

Notable current and former residents of Neponsit include: * Frederic E. Hammer (1909–1980), lawyer and politician who served in the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

* Jason Miller (1939–2001), playwright and actor, who won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play for his play ''

That Championship Season ''That Championship Season'' is a 1972 play by Jason Miller. It was the recipient of the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1973 Tony Award for Best Play. Plot synopsis The setting is 1972 at the Coach's home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. ...

'' * James H. Scheuer (1920–2005), politician who represented New York in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1975 to 1993Lichtenstein, Grace
"Scheuer Makes Esposito Election Issue"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', September 5, 1974. Accessed January 6, 2024. "Instead, he has attacked Mr. Scheuer as a carpetbagger who moved to Neponsit, in Queens, only a year and a half ago and who is now trying to 'buy' the district with a huge campaign treasury."

References

{{authority control Neighborhoods in Queens, New York Neighborhoods in Rockaway, Queens Populated coastal places in New York (state)

History

Land use and zoning

In popular culture

Notable people

See also

References