Text size:

New York real estate: Howard Beach

By Joe Filippazzo | Special to amNewYork

July 17, 2008

Uncle Louie's is at 158-50B Cross Bay Boulevard. (Katya Pronin / July 16, 2008)

For better and for worse, Howard Beach, Queens, has long been a neighborhood on the periphery and an area defined by sharp contrasts. It's where tradition is confronted by modernism, and old and new stand side by side on the borough's border with Brooklyn.

In some cases, the clash between classic and contemporary is very explicit. The peninsula is bisected by the Shell Bank Basin, which runs parallel to Cross Bay Boulevard, the neighborhood's principal commercial strip. And to the east and west of the inlet are what locals refer to as "old" and "new" Howard Beach, respectively.

"I've been here 30 years and I've definitely seen a lot of changes," said resident Sandy Calderaro. "It's a good, safe neighborhood on both sides [of the inlet]. It's all my neighborhood and here, everyone knows everyone."

Though it was primarily a beach town at the turn of the 20th century, Howard Beach is now host to a very wide variety of architectural styles and sizes for year-round residents. Old Howard Beach has more classic single-family residences and bungalows that used to be New York summer homes. New Howard Beach, at one time a vast marshland, was filled in by developers and then populated with bigger, more modern looking structures on larger pieces of property.

But this dichotomy has allowed the area to maintain certain aspects of its unique flavor without becoming stagnant or boring. And a delightfully active bike lane runs all the way across Howard Beach, taking its passengers on a beautiful tour through Queens' history, from the weatherworn lawn jockeys of yester-year to the burnished Grecian and Christian statues of late. But bringing it all together is the artery known as Cross Bay Boulevard

"Cross Bay Boulevard is Howard Beach," said John McCusker, a resident of six years. "Not just the shopping and the restaurants, but everyone's social life is there too." But friendly as it is, some younger residents take a polar opposite view of life on Cross Bay.

"There's nothing really to do," said Samantha Albergo, 18, who works in Howard Beach but lives just to the north in Ozone Park. "It's a pain to go out every night, though it's pretty easy to escape with all the transportation."

Over the years, there have been several high profile racial incidents in the neighborhood that have demonstrated a strong, sometimes violent clash of differences -- an unfortunate reality the locals would prefer not to talk about. But it is an otherwise close-knit, welcoming and safe community of contrasts.

The Basics

Find it: Howard Beach is on the border of Brooklyn and Queens and is bounded by the Belt Parkway to the north, 102nd and 104th streets to the east, 78th Street to the west, and Jamaica Bay to the south.

Schools: P.S. 146 The Howard Beach School, 9801 159th Ave., (718) 843-4880; P.S. 207, 4011 Fillmore Ave., (718) 645-6291; P.S. 232 The Walter Ward School, 153-23 83rd St., (718) 848-9247; Our Lady of Grace School, 10005 159th Ave., (718) 848-7440; Saint Helen School, 8309 157th Ave., (718) 835-4155.

Transportation: Howard Beach is home to a variety of trains, plains and automobiles and buses. It has the Howard Beach-JFK stop on the A train and is also the location of the AirTrain, which is the straphanger's route of choice to the airport. Route 27 and the Belt Parkway make it accessible by car and the Q11, 21, 41 and 53 buses move throughout.

Police: The 106th Precinct covers the larger areas of Howard Beach, Ozone Park and South Ozone Park, which are all made up of smaller neighborhoods.

Crime Statistics: The 106th precinct reported three murders, 20 rapes, 316 robberies, 197 felony assaults and 335 burglaries in 2007. Year to date, the 106th precinct has reported five murders, 14 rapes, 171 robberies, 82 felony assaults and 142 burglaries.

Post Office: 16050 Cross Bay Blvd., (718) 848-5491; 10212 159th Ave., (718) 848-0667.

Libraries: The Queens Borough Public Library, 9206 156th Ave., (718) 641-7086.

To Do

One of the only complaints by locals is that there is not much to do in Howard Beach itself. There are a fair amount of activities but they usually require a short trip out of the area. Luckily, the great transportation options in this part of southern Queens make it a cinch.

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

Part of the Gateway National Recreation Area at the end of Cross Bay Boulevard, this small island occupies the center of scenic Jamaica Bay. Its 9,000 acres are home to more than 325 species of bird. You can also hike, fish or take a tour, though the bird-watching is pretty great. (718) 318-4340.