Between ocean and city : the transformation of Rockaway, New York

Rockaway Beach was once a popular seaside resort in southern Queens with a small permanent population.

Shortly after World War II, large parts of this narrow peninsula between the ocean and the bay became one of New York City's worst slums.

A historian who grew up in the community and his wife, a social worker, have written an account of this transformation, exploring issues of race, class, and social policy and offering a revision of the larger story of New York City's development.

In particular, the authors qualify some of the negative assessments of Robert Moses, suggesting that the "Power Broker" was responsible for many positive initiatives affecting Rockaway.Based on extensive archival research and hundreds of hours of interviews with residents, urban specialists and government officials, past and present, "Between Ocean and City" is a story of a largely African American community's struggles in the face of grinding poverty, urban renewal schemes gone wrong and forced ghettoization.