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The BHYC is our local treasure that should be cared for ... an institution, provided by our predecessors ... we are just temporary custodians who have been given the opportunity to create a place where our friends and neighbors can meet ...
BHYC Board of Directors
The Belle Harbor Yacht Club, (est. 1905) and has been the mainstay organization in the community. Our founding fathers created an organization that prides itself on encouraging social and athletic activities on the Rockaway Peninsula.
The B.H.Y.C. is many things to many people and has been for a century. It is a family club, a home away from home for its members. It is a place to play tennis, to host a party, to dine, to rejoice. Since 1905, its members have come to play bridge, lawn tennis, fashion shows, art showings, Christmas parties and charity events.. The club has hosted everything from weddings, baby showers to fishing tournaments, regattas' and Easter Egg Hunts. In a quiet moment in the clubhouse, if you listen carefully, you might hear the echoes of thousands of feet that have danced throughout the decades, of voices raised in merriment, celebration and friendship . Some of the senior members have claimed to have witnessed a ghost or two in our club.
Surviving the tumultuous 20th century was no easy task for the Belle Harbor Yacht Club. Our predecessors bought property, paid off several mortgages, refurbished the clubhouse (several times) and kept the Club alive through the Great Depression, two World Wars, the Robert Moses era and the periodic hurricanes that battered the eastern shore lines. Indeed the club's waterfront proves to be as resilient as the Belle Harbor Yacht Club's membership.
The B.H.Y.C. is comprised of neighborhood families interested in keeping the tradition of service, volunteering, socializing and entertainment for many years to come. To quote a club-member, "The BHYC is the quintessential gathering place in our Rockaway community" & "Our community's very own landmark".
The club property has two world-class "Har-Tru" tennis courts that are available at a nominal fee to members from April through October depending on tournaments, instructional classes and challenge match schedules. The back yard features a children's play area, full-court basketball and a multi-level deck for BBQ's. In addition to the fully stocked top-shelf bar, we have several large screen HDTV & with several satellite feeds and a high quality sound system. Of course, we have an ample parking for your private parties and summer parking spaces for members. Since the BHYC belongs to the Yacht Club Association of America, your membership entiltles you to guest privileges at some of the most prestigious clubs in the United State of America.
The club bar area and dining room has also been donated to other organizations such as:
Belle Harbor Homeowners Association
Rockaway Park Homeowners Association
Queens County Irish Parade Committee
St. Francis de Sales CYO (all programs)
Local Seniors Clubs
Rockaway Little League
Graybeards Organization
Rockaway Rugby Club
Rockaway Republican Club
... just to name a few. Many fund-raisers have also called on the BHYC in order to raise funds, they include;
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
Cystic Fibrosis Organization
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
Tom "Reegs" Foundation
Rachael Joy's Maternity House
Sisters of Mercy Hospital
St. Mary's By the Sea
Wounded Warrior Project
and various Friend in Need events.
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