Beach 8th Street, Queens

Beach 8th Street, Queens

New York, USA East
map
Entry Map
directions
Directions
photos
Photos
Difficulty
Unrated
Viz (last reported 20572h ago)
Max Depth
Unknown

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Beach 8th Street, Queens

A Paradise Not Lost By Bob Sterner (http://www.sternereditorial.com) http://www.nedivenews.com What's old is new is the good news about Almost Paradise. Beach 9th Street, Far Rockaway, Queens, N.Y., is back to being called Beach 8th Street, for the traditional hole in the fence that's given so much pleasure to generations of divers, local fishermen and kids splashing into the cool eddy between the jetties that form the site. Diving here no longer costs $20 a head for everyone in the car to park in the now closed Almost Paradise lot, although I'd still be glad to do so for the showers and facilities to rinse salt out of gear while getting a burger and a soda after a nice dive. Riding the tide change to the bridge and back is discouraged in post-9/11 days, although serious tautog spear-fishers still return from there with dinner. At least they know what they're bagging. Shore fishers bring home lots of dinner too from this thriving patch of sand just off JFK Airport's runways. When dinner divers miss a shot, they missed it. When shore fishers lose a fish, their bottom tackle stays on the bottom hooking and killing sea creatures for decades. A fish killed wantonly that Barbara Krooss caught me looking at not long ago tells the story of glittery bottom tackle underwater. It's there to kill generations of fish unless you cut it off and remove it from pilings and other underwater obstructions. It might sound counter-productive, but you can make friends with the shore fishers who hate you for blowing bubbles around their favorite cast sites if you return the bounty of hooks, weights, spinners and other lures that they lost underwater. At the base of the piling where this fish lost its life to a lure we found a horseshoe crab barely alive and hopelessly snarled in a tangle of fishing line. It didn't stick around for a portrait after being freed. Otherwise little has changed at the humble beach where thousands of divers have earned their c-cards. Divers still queue up a half-hour before high and low slack tide for optimum visibility. Many still avoid the crowd by diving as the current runs by ducking behind pilings. It's great training for low-vis conditions at a place where you can't get lost so long as you can follow a compass needle north to the shore. At mid-channel, high-tide, it is about 40 feet to the surface, but you don't want to go there because of heavy boat traffic. Lobsters, crabs, flounders, bergals, sponges, mussels and plants galore that drew divers to this humble site decades ago are still there for those willing to venture through the hole in the fence to see what's beneath the waves of Reynolds Channel. See more photos and stories of diving this and other sites at Sterner Editorial (http://www.sternereditorial.com). Found in the Rockaways, near JFK Airport in New York City
Access
shore
entry map
View
Nearby Shops
Tide Report
5
4
3
2
1
3.3
(11)
Currently viewing a specific review. View all reviews
Jason NYC
Jason NYC
Nov 5, 2004, 12:00 AM
scuba
This review is being written based on what Almost Paradise NOW looks like after a developer purchased the property. At one time, this spot was a great place to do a nice one hour dive with nice facilities and a secure parking lot in an area of NYC that can be described as tough if you didn't grow up here. The visibility rarely exceeds 10-15 ft., the temp rarely goes above 70 at the surface, and the current will take you out to sea if you don't dive it at slack. The boat traffic is very busy. Marine life is plentiful for a low viz dive. Lobster, crab, tons of horseshoe crab, starfish and a few other fish. While I did see some trash, the water was surprisingly clean for a NYC shore dive. No needles or beer bottles, but that may change now that divers aren't protecting the water. In the late summer some folks saw tropicals. A small fee was gladly paid for the facilities that used to exist. Rumors exist that the developer is going to build a compressor on the new property (housing) and open again in the future but this has not yet been confirmed as of 11/3/04. Now, you have to crawl through a fence (read 'maybe illegal') to dive here and the parking options are scary at best. The beach isn't bad so bring a non diver with you to watch your car and stuff. The non diver shouldn't need someone to watch him or her. It's not that bad. I almost wrote this review under the "Beach 8th Street" name because another name for Almost Paradise was Beach 9th Street. Yep, just one street away in Queens, NY. Just a short drive from JFK airport if you aren't familiar with the area. The big difference was the small fee for the secure facilities and parking offered. Worth it! Too bad we lost this one. Some still dive it, but I haven't been back since it was "Almost" Paradise, if ya know what I mean.
Other Locations Nearby