Long before Bayside became one of New York City’s most coveted residential neighborhoods for high-income families during the last century, the land in northeast Queens belonged to the Matinecock Native Americans until the Dutch West India Company acquired the area alongside the western edge of Little Neck Bay from the tribe in 1639 as part of a broader New Netherland settlement.
Most of the region remained as farmland through the 17th and 18th centuries, but that began to change with the first commercial center in the locality, known as “The Alley,” which emerged in the mid-1700s. Rapid development began after the arrival of the North Shore Railroad of Long Island, which opened the Bayside train station in 1886. Bell Avenue became the commercial hub in the region early in the 20th century.
In the 1910s, Bayside became a film actors’ haven after The Famous Players-Lasky Corporation built studios in Astoria in what is now known as Kaufman Astoria Studios. W.C. Fields settled into a home on Corbett Road near Norma Talmadge and John Barrymore. Years after the film industry moved to Hollywood, Paul Newman lived on Corbett Road for a few years, near Crocheron Park, named after James Crocheron, a gambler and hotelier.
He opened the Crocheron House in 1865, which became a favorite summer resort for prominent New Yorkers and Tammany Hall politicians. Boss Tweed used Crocheron House as a hideout after his escape from prison in 1875. After the hotel burned down in 1907, community members collected funds to purchase the 42-acre property, which they donated to New York City for use as a park.
Corbett Road has its own interesting history. A house near 221st Street bears a memorial plaque marking it as the former home of “Gentleman” Jim Corbett. Corbett was the world heavyweight champion from 1892, when he knocked out the great John L. Sullivan in the first-ever bout using padded leather boxing gloves, to 1897, when he lost to Briton Bob Fitzsimmons. After failing in a comeback attempt, Corbett became a vaudeville entertainer and made appearances in silent films. He bought the home in 1902 and remained there until his wife, Vera, died in 1933. Corbett Road fronting Crocheron Park is named for him, and the plaque was installed by the Bayside Historical Society in 1971.
Other famous Bayside residents over the years included Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, actor Robert Wagner, actress Susan Lucci, porn star Ron Jeremy, and former Mets pitchers Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, and Dwight Gooden. “Jaws” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” star Richard Dreyfuss was raised on 218th Street. He would later portray Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, who also lived in Bayside after his marriage to Ruth Alpern in 1959.
Visitors to Bayside are drawn to the bars and restaurants on Bell Boulevard, the commercial center of the neighborhood, but there are other destinations of interest nearby.
To the north is historic Fort Totten, built on land purchased from Charles Willets. Plans were initially prepared by Captain Robert E. Lee in 1857, and construction of the fortification began in 1862. Fort Totten was initially charged with defending the eastern approach to New York Harbor. Soon after its completion, however, with the rapid advances made in fortification design by battlefield engineers and commanders fighting the Civil War in the South, Fort Totten became obsolete as a defensive structure, and its facilities were remanded to the position of casualty support and hospital care from 1864 to 1965.
While the Army and the Coast Guard still maintain a presence at Fort Totten, it is also home to the FDNY EMS Training Facility, which served as a staging area for EMS crews from across the country when Queens became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. NYC Parks runs the year-round Fort Totten Park, a scenic green space around the preserved fortress, where it hosts special events, including the Fourth of July fireworks.
Just over a mile south of Fort Totten, NYC Parks operates another gem on Little Neck Bay, the Bayside Marina, which reopened this summer following an $8 million FEMA-funded reconstruction project after it was devastated by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. New concessionaire Dave Schmitt invested $2.2 million in upgrades and enhancements to the Marina’s many public amenities and opened the DJ’s at Bayside cafe.
“For as long as I can remember, Bayside Marina has been a landmark for this community, and that’s why I’m so proud of the work that’s been done here to revitalize it,” Council Member Vickie Paladino said during the July ribbon-cutting ceremony. “By revitalizing the Sandy-ravaged Bayside Marina, Northeast Queens families now have an exciting place to boat, fish, eat, and enjoy the sights of Little Neck Bay.”
