[4] The area picked up the name from the station and it began to develop as people took the train out from Manhattan and Brooklyn to live near or play at Rockaway beach.

[5] The idea for the project was first announced at a Rockaway Chamber of Commerce dinner by a representative of the chairman of the New York City Housing Authority on January 28, 1951.

[8] However, a cut proposed by Congress to the budget for the federally funded housing program threatened to end the project.

[12] A large playground was built the following year that featured slides, swings, a jungle gym, sand pit and wading pool.

The security officer they reported this to found footage from the Housing Authority's surveillance cameras showing city employees removing the belongings and not returning them.

A Regional Plan Association report from July 2020 quoted several Hammel Houses residents voicing concerns about peeling paint, the presence of mold and lead in their homes, leaking plumbing and the poor quality of repairs.

[20] In order to speed up direly needed repairs, the City had allowed the Housing Authority to forego the bidding process for contracts of small monetary value.