The debut screening last week of Jennifer Callahan’s hour-long documentary “The Bungalows of Rockaway” at the Museum of the City of New York opened with an informal poll: How many people in the audience either grew up in, or owned a home in the Rockaways? About a third of the crowd raised their hands, and before long, there was little doubt about where they were sitting. During the screening, Rockaway loyalists cheered at references to local history and folklore, and mentions of less savory elements — namely the villainous Robert Moses and Breezy Point, a gated community on the southern tip of the peninsula — elicited boos.
For New Yorkers of a certain age, the Rockaways hold a special place in the collective imagination. Up until the early 20th century, there were few options for working New Yorkers looking to escape the sweltering city summers. The rich had resorts and vacation homes, but those who couldn’t afford to spend like Tammany Hall were left to brave a string of buses and trains and camp out on Rockaway beaches. Tent communities cropped up and disappeared during the summer, and in the first two decades of the 20th century, these informal beachside settlements took a more permanent form in the bungalows that began to colonize the Long Island peninsula.
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