The hospital sat at the southeast corner of the Jacob Riis Park property, adjacent to the residential portion of Neponsit.

[3] The grounds were originally 14.3 acres (5.8 ha) in size, extending west to the end of the roundabout in front of the park, and included the beaches on the coast of Neponsit Bays 1 and 2.

[23][24] The beach directly in front of the hospital (Neponsit Bay 1), now part of Riis Park, is popular among the gay community[25] as well as nudists.

[26] A fence, which had originally been erected to separate the hospital from the park, later isolated this section from the rest of the beach[27] until it was taken down by Hurricane Irene in 2011.

[23][7][34][35] In 1904,[36][37] the city planned to build an oceanside park in the western Rockaways, supported by Riis' Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor.

[36][38][39] On May 15, 1906, an act was passed in the New York State Legislature allowing for the purchase of beach property in or outside of the city for a maximum of $2.5 million.

[13] On March 15, 1907,[13] the New York City Board of Estimate accepted $250,000 from the Association to construct a hospital for people with "non-pulmonary tuberculosis".

[12][56] Upon opening, the hospital was subject to odors and fumes from waste disposal operations on nearby Barren Island (now Floyd Bennett Field).

[12][56] In the 1930s and early 1940s, the hospital was expanded as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, adding the nurses' residence and power plant.

[14][15] In addition, the WPA planned to plant 800 trees and create gardens on the grounds of the hospital,[60][61] and add a 10-foot (3.0 m) high, 1,000-foot (300 m) sea wall.

[27] The hospital was reopened on March 1, 1945, after the United States Public Health Service began leasing it to treat servicemen with tuberculosis.

Neponsit Beach Hospital, the College Point Outpatient Department, and the Ozone Park ambulance station were also absorbed into the new medical center.

[79] In July 1953, the Board of Estimate approved fireproofing and electrical work for the hospital, including fire stairs to replace the original wooden staircases.

[80] However, in January 1955 the city decided to close Neponsit Beach Hospital due to a declining need for tuberculosis treatment.

[79] Following the closure of the hospital, the site was considered a "hot property", located on the beach in the fairly exclusive Neponsit neighborhood.

[8][47] Moses planned to raze the hospital buildings in order to construct sports fields, a swimming pool, and a comfort station, and to extend the beach.

[47][89] New York City Comptroller Lawrence E. Gerosa desired for the property to be turned over to a private owner, in order to get it "back on the tax rolls".

The two members in favor of park expansion were Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. and city councilman Abe Stark, who each cast three votes.

[98][99] On October 27,[100] New York Supreme Court Justice Peter M. Daly ruled in favor of the Park Association, preventing the sale.

This included the conversion of the former Manhattan Beach Hospital (now the site of Kingsborough Community College) in Brooklyn into a nursing home.

[106][109] Between September 10 and 12, 1998, the nursing home was evacuated and closed after bricks fell from the roof of the building due to damage from the Labor Day storm of that year.

[23][110][111][112] City officials under Mayor Rudy Giuliani stated that the buildings were in danger of collapsing, and that renovations were required to make the facility structurally sound.

[114][10] After closing the home, the city initially planned to sell the site, to "get it back on the tax rolls" according to deputy mayor Joe Lhota.

[122] On November 2, 1998, the federal government released a report on the relocation, finding that the Health and Hospitals Corporation endangered the lives of the 300 residents, and deceived them about plans to later return to the Neponsit Home.

[127] In March 2000, a structural evaluation was conducted by the New York City Council, finding the three Neponsit buildings to be in good condition, with repairs estimated at $600,000.

[10] Following a lawsuit over the closure of the facility by former residents and the Legal Aid Society,[113][7] on June 2, 2003, under the administration of Michael Bloomberg, the HHC agreed to pay $5 million out of court, with $18,000 going to each patient or their estate if they had passed away.

[115] On March 9, 2004, the Neponsit Adult Day Health Care moved to a permanent location in the Sands Point Professional Building at Beach 102nd Street in nearby Rockaway Park.

[7][24][130][113] Local politician Lew Simon, in opposition to the city plans, stated it would take "seven years" to rezone the land for other purposes.

[113] In April 2022, the New York City government announced plans to demolish the remains of the Neponsit Beach Hospital.

[133] When plans for the demolition were announced, a school of fish was found living in the Neponsit Hospital site's flooded basement.