QUEENS, N.Y. - It's definitely one of the cooler views in town from a subway train—the Rockaway Park Shuttle making its way over Jamaica Bay, en route from Broad Channel to the last stop in Rockaway Park.    

Rockaway Park Station, which is a stop for the shuttle and select express A trains, is located in the center of the Rockaway Peninsula between Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It's part of the busy 116th Street business district which includes businesses like Rogers Pub, a century old watering hole, and a restaurant at the station house appropriately named, The Last Stop. Carlos Lazo has been co-owner since 2006.  

Roger Clark: Did you have any other ideas for names but it was always the last stop? 

Carlos Lazo: No always been last stop, when I took it over it was last stop too.

Many of the folks NY1 chatted with there say they couldn't imagine living anywhere else.  

"It's a nice place for the summertime, but now it's quiet, it's off-season," said Howard Cienski, a Rockaway Park resident.

"The comaraderie here is wonderful. People do for each other," said Aviva Goldstein, a Rockaway Park resident.

 

Of course one of the great selling points of life there is the beach. Certainly it's not hopping like it would be on a hot summer day, but nevertheless tranquil and soothing, even in the winter. 

"I meditate a lot. I happen to be a religious sister, so I do go down to the beach," said Rachel Blaney, a Rockaway Park resident.

"I love the ocean, even on the off season I get a tan. On days like this. I wait for days like this put the oil on. It's true," said Tommy Keeney, a Rockaway Park resident.

These Rockaway Park residents, who face commute times of an hour or more to Manhattan, say they wouldn't live anywhere else.  

"I love Rockaway, I wouldn't trade it for a penthouse in Manhattan to tell you the truth. I love it here," Keeney noted.