page_title: Jacob Riis Park
section_title: Pipeline proposal
hierarchical_section_title: Jacob Riis Park / History / Pipeline proposal
caption_attribution_description: English: People on the beach at New York City's Jacob Riis Park in the Gateway National Recreation Area over Labor Day weekend.
context_page_description: Jacob Riis Park, also called Jacob A. Riis Park and Riis Park, is a seaside park at the southwestern end of the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It lies at the foot of the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, east of Fort Tilden, and west of Neponsit and Rockaway Beach. Originally run by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, it is now part of the Jamaica Bay Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area, and is managed by the National Park Service. It features an extensive sand beach along the Atlantic Ocean coastline and several historic Art Deco structures.
  In 1912, the city, urged on by social journalist Jacob Riis, acquired the land for a park initially called Seaside Park and later Telawana Park. In 1914, the park was renamed for Riis. During World War I, the site was used as the Rockaway Naval Air Station, one of the first naval air stations in the United States and, in 1919, the launching point for the first transatlantic flight.
context_section_description: On July 21, 2011, Staten Island Congressman Michael G. Grimm introduced H.R. 2606, the New York City Natural Gas Supply Enhancement Act, to the U.S. Congress. As proposed in the bill, a 3-mile (4.8 km) natural gas pipeline called the Rockaway Delivery Lateral Project, proposed by Williams Companies, would connect to an existing offshore pipeline and running south-to-north through the sites of Jacob Riis Park and Floyd Bennett Field. The pipeline would run through the golf course of Riis Park, then connect to a new 1.5-mile (2.4 km) along Flatbush Avenue to be constructed by National Grid. The project was supported by the district manager of Queens Community Board 14. Two Queens congressmen also supported the pipeline, as did Anthony Weiner before his resignation. The pipeline was opposed by local environmental groups, who felt it would disturb a nearby artificial reef. Grimm was subsequently found to have received campaign money from both Williams and National Grid.
  Shortly after Hurricane Sandy, on November 7, 2012, the Rockaway Lateral Pipeline bill was signed into law. The pipeline was put in service by May 2015.
caption: People enjoying the beach over Labor Day weekend in August 2013
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 5", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Camera+ 3.9.2", "Image DateTime": "2013:08:31 17:50:42", "Image HostComputer": "iPhone (iPhone OS 6.1.4)", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExposureTime": "1/985", "Image ExifOffset": "258", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "974", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "11505", "EXIF FNumber": "12/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:08:31 17:50:42", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:08:31 17:50:42", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "3928/395", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4312/1707", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "9318/967", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "413/100", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[1631, 1223, 881, 881]", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1352", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "934", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "33", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}