Neponsit, Queens

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Neponsit is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is one of the more affluent communities that are located on the western half of the Rockaway Peninsula, the southernmost area of the borough. The area is small starting from 142nd Street and ending at 149th Street. It borders the neighborhood of Belle Harbor to the east and Jacob Riis Park on the west. Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean fulfill the northern and southern borders, respectively.

Neponsit is unique in that its land usage is zoned as R-1 Zone, a rarity in New York City. This category of zoning prohibits any commercial structures and only allows single family homes to be built. Due to this, and its secluded beach location within the boundaries of New York City, homes in the area are mansion-like and can go for well over one million dollars when on the market.^[1]

[edit] History

Neponsit is a Native American name, signifying "The Place Between Waters" -- the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and of Jamaica Bay or Rockaway Inlet.^[2]

The community still has the same character from when it was first established. In January 1910, the Neponsit Realty Company purchased the land for development. However, it forbade the construction of any homes that were less than three-thousand dollars. The homes were built in order to withstand the beach weather and geography of the narrow peninsula. By the 1930s, high quality homes were predominant and have remained so ever since.

Neponsit is also home to where the first transatlantic flight had departed. On May 8, 1919, four United States Navy Navy-Curtis model seaplanes had taken off from what is now Beach Channel Drive in Neponsit to Newfoundland, Canada, the Azores Islands, and Lisbon, Portugal. Finally on May 31, 1919, only one plane, piloted by Lt. Commander Albert C. Read, arrived in Plymouth, England.^[3]