If you’re familiar with New York City, you know that space is at a premium. Dirty shoebox apartments command hefty rents, and shiny new condos have risen even in the far reaches of the city. Thus, it’s quite surprising to learn of a forgotten neighborhood within city limits. Facing the Atlantic Ocean, Edgemere in Queens is a de-mapped community, devoid of buildings and (normal) people, overrun by plant life and vicious packs of wild dogs. Photographer Nathan Kensinger took pictures of the strangest place in NYC.
In a different era, Edgemere’s seaside was a thriving resort, with grand hotels, a bustling boardwalk, and thousands of residents. Today, it is devoid of buildings and permanent residents, and “has stood vacant, except for plant life and wild dogs, for more than 35 years, when thousands of summer bungalows and stores were plowed under as part of a massive building project that was put on hold and never revived.”
Over the decades nature has reclaimed southern Edgemere. Groves of trees, acres of bushes, wild flowers, rabbits, and flocks of birds all thrive within sight of the nearby elevated MTA line. However, few people can be seen walking through this no-mans-land, perhaps because of its history of wild dog attacks. In 2001, two Rockaway residents “were brutalized by a pack of wild dogs.”
