The New Hamilton Beach Civic Association represents Hamilton Beach, a quiet community in Southern Queens New York that was established in the early 1900s. The community started out as a collection of small fishermen’s shacks and became a year round community by the 1920s, remaining that way until the early 2000s when the city auctioned the available vacant lots to developers. Many of the new structures in Hamilton Beach are out of character for the neighborhood and overtax the limited infrastructure that is currently in place.
As one of the oldest sections of Howard Beach, Hamilton Beach is one of the few communities in New York City that has its own volunteer fire department. Hamilton Beach Park, at the southern end of Hamilton Beach, is part of the Gateway National Parks System and features a 200-foot baseball field, a basketball court, a handball court, a small playground area, and a beach.
Hamilton Beach has always been prone to tidal flooding and is severely affected by coastal storms, with the worst to date being Superstorm Sandy, during which the neighborhood saw a tidal inundation of over 8 feet in some areas. Every home in Hamilton Beach, almost 400 in total, took on water. Recently, many homes in Hamilton Beach have been elevated or rebuilt by the New York City Build it Back program, which aimed to make homes and communities more resilient. However, the community experiences street flooding during rain events and spring high tide, and will likely see increased flooding with sea level rise. By the 2050s, sea levels are expected to be as much as 30 inches higher in New York’s coastal area, which will put Hamilton Beach at great risk.
