I used to live in
Far Rockaway back in the very early 1970s, on
Beach 19th Street and later off of
Mott Avenue. The area started out an
eclectic mix of people and
ethnicities. Some areas were rather
crime-ridden, and the housing project that was used in the
CourtTV show,
The System was near the beach side of Beach 19th Street. I had a few friends that lived there, some who were rather
violence-
prone. Nobody messed with the lone
Italian white boy who was visiting his pals, hehehe.
As the years progressed, areas became very segregated. There was a Jewish section (up the main drag, which ended up being called West Lawrence, as noted by Lith). Lawrence and Cedarhurst were the buffers between Far Rockaway/Queens and Long Island. The beach areas were crime havens for a long while, enough that they set up the aforementioned TV show to follow the folks through "the system".
Some parts are very scenic, and there are still large sections with the old 1930s/40s bungalow-style houses. Far Rockaway was a trendy and hopping place back then, and the parks and beaches were packed from folks in New York City trying to enjoy some clean air and some sunshine.
The last time I visited there, I ran into a classmate from 5th grade. He was a heroin addict begging for money. He still sucked on his index and middle fingers of his right hand, just like he did when we were kids. I haven't been back there since.