Naval Air Station Rockaway

The primary reason for its final closure was the large-scale post-World War II military drawdown. With the end of hostilities, the strategic need for a major coastal patrol air station directly at the mouth of New York Harbor diminished significantly. The land was subsequently transferred to other government agencies and the City of New York for public and civilian use.

The former site of Naval Air Station Rockaway is now almost entirely public parkland. The land was redeveloped into Jacob Riis Park and parts of Fort Tilden, which are now managed by the National Park Service as units of the Gateway National Recreation Area. The original hangars and aviation infrastructure have been removed, replaced by beaches, recreational fields, parking lots, and the iconic Jacob Riis Park bathhouse. While no runways or active aviation facilities remain, the area serves millions of visitors annually as a popular recreational destination.

Naval Air Station Rockaway holds a significant place in aviation and military history. Established in 1917 during World War I, it was one of the key coastal air patrol stations protecting the Atlantic seaboard. Its most famous historical event occurred in May 1919, when it served as the starting point for the U.S. Navy's Curtiss NC-4 flying boat, which completed the first-ever successful transatlantic flight. During World War II, the station was a vital hub for anti-submarine warfare, operating seaplanes like the PBY Catalina and blimps to patrol the crucial shipping lanes leading to New York Harbor and combat the German U-boat threat in the Battle of the Atlantic. It also conducted air-sea rescue missions.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening the site as an airport. The land is now federally protected parkland and is surrounded by the dense residential communities of the Rockaway Peninsula and Breezy Point. The environmental, political, and logistical challenges of converting a major public park back into an airport in the middle of a New York City borough make any such proposal completely unfeasible.