In 1897, he bought more land and filled it in and the following year, built 18 cottages and opened a hotel near the water, which he operated until it was destroyed by fire in October 1907.

Development, however, was limited to the areas east of Cross Bay Boulevard near the LIRR station now known as Bernard Coleman Memorial Square (then Lilly Place).

The marshland west of Cross Bay Boulevard was filled in, paving the way for the construction of numerous Cape Cod and High Ranch-style homes on 50-by-100-foot (15 by 30 m) and 60-by-100-foot (18 by 30 m) lots.

In the early 1950s, farmland north of Rockwood Park was transformed with the addition of red-brick, two-story garden-style cooperative apartments, six-story co-op and condo buildings, and private two-family homes.

Griffith, along with Cedric Sandiford and Timothy Grimes, sought assistance in Howard Beach after their car broke down on Cross Bay Boulevard.

Black civil rights activists organized protests in Howard Beach and surrounding neighborhoods, calling for boycotts of white-owned businesses.

[5] Minucci, 20, was found guilty on June 10, 2006 of robbery and the racist attack of Glenn Moore, during which he used a racial slur.

Many residents chose to remain, influenced by the relatively minor impact of Hurricane Irene the previous year.

The Howard Beach post office, heavily damaged during the storm, reopened on April 5, 2013, following significant repairs.

The main section of Howard Beach is a small peninsula bordered by the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue to the north, Jamaica Bay to the south, Hawtree Creek to the east (separating it from Hamilton Beach), and Shellbank Basin to the west, which separates it from Cross Bay Boulevard.

Before incorporation, Hamilton Beach was characterized by dirt roads, bungalow-style homes, and the absence of a sewer system.

Often referred to as West Hamilton Beach,[11] it is one of the few New York City communities with its own volunteer fire department.

The community consists of one main road, 104th Street, with ten dead-end blocks connected to it, surrounded mostly by water.

Gateways Hamilton Beach Park, located south of 165th Avenue, serves as the final stop for the Q11 bus.

A second supermarket, "The Village," opened in the early 1970s but later housed a mall, flea market, bingo hall, private school, and ultimately became a walk-in medical center.

The building was later converted into apartments after the synagogue merged with the Howard Beach Jewish Center in Rockwood Park.

A 1905 Washington Post article described the neighborhood as having houses built on stilts, with a population of 1,000 in the summer and a dozen in the winter.

In 1962, the city replaced the neighborhood’s private water mains; at that time, the population consisted of approximately 130 families.

In 2001, The New York Times compared Ramblersville to a fishing village, having pebbled streets and wooden bungalows built on pilings, surrounded by tall grass and marshy fields.

To the west of 78th Street, the neighborhood's westernmost boundary, lies Spring Creek Park, marking the border between Brooklyn and Queens.

After World War II, marshland west of Cross Bay Boulevard was filled in, leading to the construction of Cape Cod-style houses.

[29] In 2018, an estimated 19% of Howard Beach and South Ozone Park residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City.

Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], Howard Beach and South Ozone Park are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

[26]: 14 The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Howard Beach and South Ozone Park is 0.0068 milligrams per cubic metre (6.8×10−9 oz/cu ft), less than the city average.

[26]: 13  In Howard Beach and South Ozone Park, 27% of residents are obese, 19% are diabetic, and 34% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 22%, 8%, and 23% respectively.

[45] Howard Beach and South Ozone Park generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018[update].

[46] Howard Beach and South Ozone Park's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City.

[27]: 24 (PDF p. 55) [26]: 6  Additionally, 82% of high school students in Howard Beach and South Ozone Park graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.

In July 2020, Our Lady of Grace Catholic School made the announcement that it would no longer be operating, as the Diocese took over the property and decided to close the educational component due to financial strain as an indirect result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Frequent fires on the trestle to Broad Channel forced the LIRR to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the 1950s, which allowed New York City Transit to purchase the line in 1956.