The Rockaway Ocean Club Is Coming. Who's Ready?

This summer, 94 years after it laid the foundation for the "People's Beach," and more than 50 years after it was closed and abandoned by the City, the Jacob Riis Bathhouse is being reborn as the Rockaway Ocean Club: a semi-private, $88 million oasis that has stirred up controversy for its members-only, SoHo House-meets-National Park vibe.  

On a scorching hot Wednesday in late June, Ursula Damani, one of the club's co-owners, and Brian Carey, heading up the club's beverage program, were giddy as they gave reporters a tour of all three floors of the bathhouse, a little more than a month ahead of the targeted opening date of August 7. 

Anyone will be able to rent a room at the Ocean Club's hotel, or dine at its restaurants, or grab a bottle of Banana Boat (or, for the tony crowd, Supergoop!) from its beachside store. But in order to ascend to its second-floor members-only lounge, or relax by its U-shaped, 3,200 square-foot pool, people will need to join the club at a range of prices, starting at $1,000 for individual members living in the five zip codes closest to the club, and climbing up to $4,000, plus a $750 joining fee, for the "regular" annual membership for a family of four. Members will also get access to certain areas of the bathhouse and special events, discounts on hotel rooms, and a parking rebate.

As we walked around the space, Damani said the proprietors are trying to be very up front about what beachgoers can realistically expect this summer: limited bar operations, a café, a food truck, and hopefully the backyard outdoor spaces, pool included, Friday through Sunday. The hotel and the full slate of bars, restaurants, and retail aren’t set to open until 2027. 

"I truly believe from a business standpoint in the concept of crawl, walk, run," she explained. "If we actually flipped a switch and turned this all on, that is like a recipe for disaster. We want to make sure that even if we're doing it the limited capacity, we're doing it right—allowing us to figure out those kinks this summer, like, is our Wi-Fi working right, can we process payments, give us a chance to do that, so by next year when we do like our big grand opening, we'll have those pieces figured out."