About Floyd Bennett Field
Floyd Bennett Field opened in 1931 as New York City’s first municipal airport and became closely associated with the golden age of aviation, when record-setting pilots used its long concrete runways for ambitious transcontinental and international flights. The United States Navy acquired the airfield in 1941 and developed it as Naval Air Station New York, an important East Coast hub for aircraft delivery, maritime patrol, convoy protection, training, and wartime logistics. The site continued to support naval reserve activity during the early Cold War before becoming part of Gateway National Recreation Area.
Today the expansive former airfield contains surviving runways, hangars, the historic terminal and control tower, grasslands, salt marshes, tidal areas, and recreational facilities. Visitors can bike or walk through the aviation landscape, watch birds, fish in designated areas, and explore a setting that still communicates the scale of an early twentieth-century airport. The William Fitts Ryan Visitor Center is currently closed, and the campground and camp store also remain closed, but the grounds offer a rare opportunity to experience aviation, military, and environmental history within New York City.
