Rodman's Neck facts for kids

Former private mansion on Rodman's Neck

Rodman's Neck is a piece of land shaped like a finger that sticks out into Long Island Sound in the Bronx, New York City. It used to be called Ann Hook's Neck.

The southern part of Rodman's Neck is a firing range used by the New York City Police Department (NYPD). The rest of the land is a wooded area that is part of Pelham Bay Park. To the north, Rodman's Neck connects to what used to be Hunters Island and Twin Island. Together, these areas now form Orchard Beach and a large parking lot.

Rodman's Neck has three open grassy areas called meadows. One is a natural saltwater meadow. The other two are freshwater meadows made by people, including one created during projects led by Robert Moses. You can also find the City Island Traffic Circle and some small sports fields here. All the old buildings that once stood on Rodman's Neck have been taken down.

A landfill area for City Island Road crosses a marsh called Turtle Cove Saltwater Marsh. A concrete tunnel connects this area to the saltwater Eastchester Bay. An old path for horse-drawn carts was updated with a new bridge.

History of Rodman's Neck

The first people to live on the land we now call Rodman's Neck were the Siwanoy, who were the native people of this area. In 1654, Thomas Pell bought this land. Rodman's Neck is named after Samuel Rodman, a local person. The very tip of the peninsula is called "Pell's Point." This is where the British soldiers landed during the American Revolutionary War's Battle of Pell's Point.

The area was first named "Anne's Hoeck" (or Ann Hook's Neck). This name came from Anne Hutchinson and later from a local leader named Wampage.

Samuel Rodman used to run a ferry service between Minneford Island (now called City Island) and Anne's Hoeck, where a bridge is now. Later, a man named L.R. Marshall built a large mansion on his property at the southern tip of Rodman's Neck. He called his estate "Hawkswood." This mansion was later turned into an inn. In 1888, the New York City Parks Department bought the property for Pelham Bay Park. In 1891, money was set aside to build a dock on the eastern shore of Rodman's Neck.

Because a nearby campsite on Hunter Island was too crowded, the NYC Parks Department opened a new campsite on the south tip of Rodman's Neck in 1906. This new camp had 100 bathhouses.

Military Use Over Time

From 1917 to 1919, during World War I, the United States Army used the land for training soldiers. In the 1920s, it became part of the park, but it was not used very often.

Between 1930 and 1936, the southern tip of Rodman's Neck was used by the New York City Police Academy. They used it for summer training and for safely blowing up explosives. It was also part of Camp Mulrooney, a summer camp for the NYPD.

In 1941, during World War II, the United States Department of War started using the area as a Navy base. The Army used Rodman's Neck again in the 1950s during the Cold War. They built a radar station there to help control weapons.

In 1959, the NYPD took over the area. They built the firing range that is still there today at the southern tip of the peninsula. Early signs at the entrance simply said, "NYPD Pistol Range." In 1976, an NYPD officer was hurt when an old bomb accidentally went off in a special crater called "The Pit."

NYPD Firing Range

The NYPD operates a large training facility on 54 acres of land at Rodman's Neck. This facility is used for many types of training. Police officers practice shooting handguns and rifles here. Other groups like the FBI, Fire Department Fire Marshals, and Correction Department also train here. It is also used to train new police officers and for special units like the Emergency Service Units.

The training facility has seven rifle ranges with a total of 230 places for people to shoot. There is also a school building with a lecture hall and seven classrooms. The base has a training area that looks like a city neighborhood. This helps officers practice real-life situations. It also has one of the world's largest police armories, which is a place where weapons are stored. There is also a machine shop for fixing weapons and trying out new ones.

Training Facilities

The grounds include buildings that look like a city, called the Urban Training Center or Tactical Village, and a Tactics House. These are used for practicing city training situations. There is also a FireArms Training Simulator building (FATS) with an interactive video simulator. The FBI helped pay for these. The facility also has a special vehicle called "The War Wagon." It is used for controlling large crowds if there are riots.

In the 1960s, the United States National Guard used the base to train riot troops. It was also an important emergency base after the September 11, 2001 attacks. This area is only for police and military use. It has a helipad for helicopters and docks for police boats.

Bomb Disposal

The area is also used for safely getting rid of unexploded bombs. Many bombs have been detonated here since 1930. These include explosives from different groups and people. These explosives are always blown up at the southernmost point that sticks out into Eastchester Bay, in a crater called "The Pit." Around July 2 each year, impressive displays happen when illegal fireworks that have been taken by the police are safely destroyed.

Future of the Range

The firing range was originally meant to be a temporary place. However, Mayor Ed Koch wanted it to become a permanent facility. The range used to be part of Pelham Bay Park. In the late 1980s, Governor Mario Cuomo signed a law that officially separated this land from the park. This law gave the NYPD the right to keep the range permanently. The range was even considered to be the Olympic Firing Range if New York City had won its bid to host the 2012 Olympics.

The range has special labs to handle very dangerous materials, including radiological devices, biological weapons, and chemical weapons.

A common paper target used for shooting practice is officially known as "Advanced Silhouette SP-83A" or target "B-60." It might have been designed in the early 1960s to look like Sergeant Fred V. Worell, who was an instructor at the range. People often call this target "The Thug."

In April 2007, the NYPD announced that all gun practice would move to a new indoor facility in College Point, Queens. But because of money problems, the move was canceled. It was decided that it would be cheaper to fix up Rodman's Neck for $275 million instead.

Images for kids

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  Former private mansion on Rodman's Neck

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  Map showing Rodman's Neck

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  Map showing the US Naval Reserve Training Station at Rodman's Neck