Long before JFK and LaGuardia, New York’s aviation legends took off from a windswept airfield on the edge of Brooklyn.
Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes and a young John Glenn all flew out of Floyd Bennett Field, and now two of its historic hangars are finally getting a second life.
The state is putting $10 million toward restoring Hangars 3 and 4 at Floyd Bennett Field, Governor Kathy Hochul announced earlier this week.
The plan is to turn them into a year-round public space, and these hangars haven’t been open to the public in nearly a century, according to the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, which is leading the project with the National Park Service.
It’s one of NYC’s most exciting upcoming projects, and we have all the details about it.
Amelia Earhart’s Brooklyn airfield
Floyd Bennett Field was New York City’s first municipal airport.
When it was formally dedicated in May 1931, about 25,000 spectators turned out to watch a flyover by 672 Army aircraft, according to the National Park Service.
By 1933, it was the second-busiest airport in the country.
Earhart was a regular presence during its golden age.
In September 1936, she flew in the Bendix Trophy Race from New York to Los Angeles in her brand-new Lockheed Electra, the “flying laboratory” she’d vanish in less than a year later.
She finished fifth, even after her plane developed fuel line problems. And on November 20, 1937, months after she disappeared over the Pacific, a huge air parade was held over the field in her memory.
She was far from the only legend there:
- Wiley Post landed at the field in 1933 after the first solo flight around the world, greeted by a crowd of about 50,000.
- Howard Hughes set a round-the-world record from the field in 1938, circling the globe in just under four days.
- “Wrong Way” Corrigan took off from the field that same year, supposedly bound for California, and landed in Ireland.
- John Glenn finished the first supersonic nonstop flight across the country there in 1957.
What the hangars will become
The redevelopment will add about 50,000 square feet of public space, with each hangar getting its own personality:
- Hangar 3 will focus on park activities like kayaking and biking.
- Hangar 4 will become a hub for climate research with CUNY’s Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay, with labs, classrooms, meeting rooms and a workshop.
The first phase, funded by the state’s $10 million, will restore the interiors and add rooftop solar panels, geothermal energy under the front lawn, bathrooms and upgrades that will let the space host big events like concerts.
A second phase is planned to add an observation terrace and a spot for food and drinks.
Conservancy Executive Director Terri Carta said the hangars will become a destination for arts, education, environmental research, workforce development and community gatherings.
When can you visit?
Patience required!
The conservancy plans to break ground in early 2028, once the National Park Service finishes its exterior work, with the first phase expected to take about a year.
In the meantime, the rest of Floyd Bennett Field is open to explore.
Today it’s part of Gateway National Recreation Area, with wide-open runways, a campground and astronomy nights, so you can still stand where Earhart once took off.
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