Overview and History

The North Shore District includes all the Gateway properties along the north shore of Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn. This District contains over 2,000 acres of open space and facilities at the former naval air base on Floyd Bennett Field, the historic pier and picnic areas of Canarsie Pier, as well as the nearby shore lands of Dead Horse Bay, Plumb Beach, and Bergen Beach.

Floyd Bennett Field
Floyd Bennett Field was dedicated in 1931 as New York City’s first municipal airport. During the pioneering days of aviation, famous aviators including Howard Hughes, Jacqueline Cochran and ‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan, all used the field for their record-breaking flights. Converted to a naval air station in 1941, Floyd Bennett Field was an important military airfield during World War II.

In the northern most corner of Floyd Bennett Field, the North 40, ponds and trails were built with money taxpayers designated to “Return-a-Gift-to-Wildlife.” Birders, hikers, and wildlife all enjoy the habitats of the North 40 where you’d never know you were still in one of the largest cities in the world. Today on Floyd Bennett Field there are many remnants of the military era for visitors to explore, along with recreational opportunities and environmental education activities for area school children and adults.

Canarsie Pier
Canarsie Pier is located in Jamaica Bay along Brooklyn’s Belt Parkway. As far back as the seventeen hundreds there is evidence of the area being used by fisherman. In the 1900’s Canarsie Pier was a pleasure spot due to its recreational swimming, charter fishing, rowboat rentals, yacht club, summer bungalows, and floating bathhouse/dance pavilion and it was the focal point of the Jamaica Bay commercial fishing industry. Development of Canarsie Pier as it exists today was completed in 1926 and in 1973 it was incorporated into Gateway National Recreation Area. Today, this historic pier is a very popular spot for fisherman and picnickers. The area surrounding the pier contains a large grassy picnic area and children’s playground. The protected shoreline surrounding the pier supports valuable salt marsh habitat.

Dead Horse Bay
Strange as the name may sound, Dead Horse Bay is an area rich in cultural and natural history. During the seventeenth century Dutch settlers built mills to utilize the power derived from the changing tides to grind wheat into flour. A remaining millstone can still be found along the Millstone trail. From the nineteenth century to the twentieth century the area has been used in a variety of ways, including manufacturing fertilizer from the remains of dead animals, producing fish oil from the menhaden caught in the bay, and most recently a landfill for the disposal of New York City’s garbage. In 1926, the salt marshes surrounding Dead Horse Bay and the rest of Barren Island were filled and connected to the land mass of Brooklyn. Today school groups are taken to Dead Horse Bay on a regular basis to walk the Millstone trail, seine for a variety of fishes, and learn about the natural and cultural history of the area.