A stretch of Rockaway Beach near Beach 116th Street is back open after closures for construction began in 2023.

Carlos Laco, owner of the Last Stop Gourmet Shop restaurant in Rockaway Park, said he’s getting much more foot traffic now.

“I see more people coming from the train and the buses. More people than I’ve seen in a long time,” he said.

What You Need To Know

  • A stretch of Rockaway Beach near Beach 116th Street is back open after closures for construction began in 2023

  • Businesses in the area say they are seeing more foot traffic

  • The beach near Beach 116th Street officially opened back in June, but the Fourth of July is the first major holiday to occur since then
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Atlantic Shorefront Resiliency Project began in 2020 and is projected to be completed in 2026

Beach 116th Street was the beginning of a stretch of Rockaway Beach extending to Beach 143rd Street that closed back in 2023 due to a $336 million effort to reinforce the peninsula’s coastline, according to the city’s Parks Department.

The Parks Department said 10-15 block sections would be closed at a time to strengthen, stabilize, replenish and expand the beach after damaging erosion from storms like Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The beach closure, however, also caused a drop in profits for nearby businesses, and at a time when they were still hurting from profit losses following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Nobody was coming this way. Everybody was staying on the other beaches when they were open,” Laco said. “No tourists. Nobody from Manhattan.”

“Always worried about the beach being closed because it’s really affecting business a lot,” Sam Omairat, owner of Pickles and Pies Food Market and Deli, said.

The beach near Beach 116th Street officially opened back in June, but the Fourth of July is the first major holiday to occur since then.

With New Yorkers flocking to soak up the sun for the holiday weekend, owners say the registers at their stores on Beach 116th Street are ringing more than they have in years.

“The business is better. A lot more people on the street and we are very happy,” Omairat said.

Beachgoers say they’re happy too.

“The new concessions. The new sand is really nice. And just the fact that people can enjoy it again,” Chloe Ward said of what she enjoys most about the reopening.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Atlantic Shorefront Resiliency Project began in 2020 and is projected to be completed in 2026, but the work and disruptions it caused near Beach 116th Street are now complete.

Visitors can swim in the water when lifeguards are on duty from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. until September 7.