State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), left, presents a proclamation congratulating Ozone Park on the 130th anniversary of its founding to Ozone Park Civic Association President Howie Kamph.
Ozone Park and the western part of Long Island was settled around 1660 by Dutch and English settlers due to a land grant by the Dutch West India Company. Settlers established themselves alongside the Rockaway and Jameco Native American tribes, who were already in the area. The land around Ozone Park was dotted with farms until 1882, when developers Benjamin Hitchcock and Charles Denton converted farm land into homes that were sold to people looking to enjoy the “ozone,” or the clean, fresh air of the ocean and bay that washed over the area, namely “Ozone Park”. In 1907, developer David Leahy began buying up farms in the area to build small, single-family homes.
A planned expansion of the Long Island Railroad through the community made it accessible to the city. Crossbay Boulevard.
Once home to a large Italian-American community, the area has grown increasingly diverse of the years.
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