New York’s ever-growing and changing beachfront neighborhood Maybe it was the new ferry line, which travels from Pier 11 on Wall Street to Rockaway Beach, or perhaps it was the New York City tradition of building back bigger and better after tragedies like Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Either way, it’s safe to say Rockaway Beach is officially a destination. Referred to as a downtrodden NYC curiosity made locally famous in the 1980s by hometown punk rock band The Ramones, Rockaway has recently become a popular surfing destination that has led to a neighborhood boom. “Covid gave the area a big push; there were a lot of people looking to get away from the city, so there was a big increase in activity in the Rockaway Park area,” says Glenn Davis, a broker with Douglas Elliman Real Estate for over 5 years. “But things have really been changing. Younger demographics are making Rockaway Park home.”