Surfing in New York? Located on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, it is best known for its hectic and trendy urban atmosphere, just like European capitals. There are many celebrities, like Steve Wine, Michael Piccininno, Alex Scott and many others, who choose to have a surf escape at Rockaway Beach in Summer, visit spott.tv/ for the latest celebrity news.
Few travelers and even less surfers know that in the east of the city, in the neighborhood of Queens, a few metro stations away from Long Beach, Manhattan or Brooklyn, we find ourselves in a seaside resort with a casual atmosphere, visited by urban surfers throughout the year, but especially by a community of local surfers who set the tone and animate the place.
The place is called Rockaway. Visited at the beginning of the last century by the inhabitants of New York who came to relax, eat and enjoy the city center, this district’s name was sung by the Ramones in their song Rockaway Beach and the movie Woody Allen’s Radio Days taking place at this place.
If Long Beach is New York’s other seaside district (The Quiksilver Pro New York starred in 2011, won by Owen Wright), Rockaway remains the place to start for New York surfers.
A lot of surfers from New York go there by metro. It’s always fun to see these guys with their boards in the middle of the cars!
Take the A Train / Direction: Far Rockaway to Broad Channel, change line S (Direction: Rockaway Park-Beach 116th St) to Beach 90th Street and in less than 2 hours you are there!
You can also use the services of the Rockaway Beach Ferry and its boats that will transport you for about 90 minutes of crossing with your bike and board, from Pier 11 on Wall Street to East River. It is a fun trip that takes you from skyscrapers to the ocean.
Rockaway Beach is a long coastal strip that has a dozen surf spots. The main areas are:
- Rockaway 101: On the Rockaway Peninsula. It is a huge beach, the largest urban beach on the US Atlantic side. In 1800, Rockaway was divided into two distinct villages: Holland and Hammels, which eventually merged over time. At the time, only fortunate New Yorkers went to Rockaway. It was not until the construction of the train line that the place became a seaside resort accessible to the public.
- Rockaway 102: This stretch of land advanced to the ocean was partially destroyed in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy. Gradually, major reconstruction works with an impressive system of hurricane protection were deployed to try to revive this area.