Doesn’t Jamaica Bay feel like a world away from the city? Jamaica Bay is a shallow inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. It covers about 20 square miles. That’s 50 square kilometers.
Jamaica Bay is part of the Port of New York. The bay is sheltered by Rockaway Peninsula. Cross Bay Boulevard traverses it. Marshy islands dot the bay. It connects to the ocean via Rockaway Inlet. This inlet is bridged. Coney Island is near the entrance channel. Floyd Bennett Field is on the Brooklyn shore. It was a former U.S. naval air station. Now, it’s part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. John F. Kennedy International Airport is on the northeastern shore.
Jamaica Bay is an estuary on Long Island’s southern point. It connects with Lower New York Bay. Rockaway Inlet is the connection point. It is the westernmost of Long Island’s coastal lagoons. Jamaica Bay covers 25000 acres. That is about 100 square kilometers. The bay is nutrient-rich. It is salty to brackish.
Dredging and development have impacted Jamaica Bay. Originally, the wetlands were 65 square kilometers. Now they have been filled to 49 square kilometers. The bay’s center features open water and low-lying islands. Salt marshes and intertidal flats are vital for waterbirds. Food resources are abundant here. Many benthic crustaceans live here as well as macroalgae. Sea lettuce is everywhere.
There was a plan to develop Jamaica Bay as a seaport. This was in the early twentieth century. The plans were canceled. There was not enough business traffic to support the project. By 1905, manufacturing in New York was valued at $1.5 billion. The project began in 1911. It was halted during World War I. The docklands were to be linked to the Long Island Rail Road. Dredging the Paerdegat Basin was important. It would give ships better access to Canarsie.
Robert Moses proposed parks and parkways along Jamaica Bay. This was in 1949. The Board of Estimate accepted this idea.
Jamaica Bay’s salt marshes are great for migrating birds. They also house other species. The rivers and marshes have been protected since 1972. Marshland was vanishing fast as of Spring 2003. It disappeared at a pace of about 40 acres per year. That is about 160000 square meters. The reasons for this loss are unknown. One theory blames rising sea levels.
The Jamaica Bay Unit is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. The U.S. federal government and New York City own most of the land. Small pockets of private property exist around the bay. These are on the Rockaway Peninsula.
The Coastal Barrier Resources Act protects Jamaica Bay. It prevents incompatible government aid within the area. The New York State Natural Heritage Program protects biodiversity here.
Jamaica Bay hosts many species. Approximately 330 special focus and listed species live here. This includes 48 fish and 120 bird species. This area concentrates marine species. These species travel between the North Atlantic’s New York Bight and the Hudson River estuaries.
The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge covers over 12600 acres. The refuge includes water, salt marshes, and ponds. There are also farms, woodlands, and open bay. It is one of the biggest bird habitats in the northeastern United States.
Robert Moses established the Wildlife Refuge in the 1950s. It became part of Gateway in 1972.
Jamaica Bay contains approximately 16000 acres of surface waters. It also has 3000 acres of islands and marshes. The average depth is about 13 feet. Maximum depths reach 30 to 50 feet in navigation channels. Jamaica Bay lies at the southwestern tip of Long Island. It is mostly within Brooklyn and Queens. A small part is in Nassau County.
Jamaica Bay has evolved over the last 25000 years. It is a complex network of open water and salt marsh. There are also grasslands and coastal woodlands. Maritime shrublands and freshwater wetlands add to its diversity. This supports 91 species of fish and 325 bird species. It is a critical stopover for migrating birds. Jamaica Bay offers recreation. You can enjoy fishing, boating, and bird watching here.