COMPLIMENTARY – PLEASE TAKE ONLY ONE
VOL. 1 • NUMBER 2 • JULY 3, 2014
Rockaway Revival
ROCKAWAY! drew thousands from all over the city and beyond to enjoy the much talked about art and music festival launched on Sunday at Ft. Tilden.
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Wounded Warriors Coming To Town
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More Sand Needed
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Rockaway Ferry A No Go
Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014 | 1
Rockaway! Art Show Draw Thousands Fort Tilden The Place To Be
James Franco reads poetry to the crowd.
By Bianca Fortis Rockaway! deserved its exclamation point! The opening of the art show, Rockaway!, made the peninsula the place to be on Sunday. Locals as well as thousands of visitors (DFDs), from far and wide, spent the day in Fort Tilden to experience a lot of art and a little bit of music. The show supports the reopening of Fort Tilden as well as other recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy. It’s also an opportunity to introduce outsiders to the peninsula. The creative forces behind the show are rock star and artist Patti Smith as well as Klaus Biesenbach, the director of MoMA PS1, both of whom have homes in Rockaway. The show, open until September 1, is a joint collaboration between the Rockaway Artists Alliance, MoMA PS1, the National Park Service, the Honolulu Biennial and the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parts Conservancy. The centerpiece of the show is Pat-
RAA President Dan Guarino welcomes the crowd.
ti Smith’s own “The Resilience of the Dreamer,” an ornate, golden four-post bed draped in sheer white linens, placed at the center an abandoned automotive repair station still filled with junk. The bed juxtaposed against the industrial warehouse is startling. Over time, the bed will deteriorate, but will remain in place, a metaphor for the residents of the peninsula and the struggles they have faced since trying to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. Betty Harrington, who lives in Rockaway, said she was grateful toward Smith. “Her work is beautiful,” she said. “She’s bringing so much needed attention down here. I wish these exhibits were permanent.” She said that while her home was not badly damaged during the storm, she has seen how it has affected local residents’ lives both immediately afterward as well as now, nearly two years later. “It’s been devastating,” she said. The Rockaway Beach Surf Club, on Beach 87th Street, will also house a group exhibition of local and international art-
The field was full to watch James Franco and Patti Smith.
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Patti Smith performs on stage.
ists. Those works are largely beach and surf-inspired. In a separate solo project, the Argentinian artist Adrian Villar Rojas created small sculptures inspired by nests created by “horneros,” a type of Argentinian bird. The sculptures are located throughout Fort Tilden. Locating some of them in some obscure spots (high up in a broken window frame in the warehouse) was a fun challenge for many visitors. In an additional solo project, the Fort Tilden chapel had been renovated and became the stage for Janet Cardiff’s “40 Part Motet,” an 14-minute sound installation that is a recording of a choir performing “Spem in Alium,” a composition written 500 years ago. Each individual voice emanates from a separate speaker, and together the voices they create a beautiful harmony, an ethereal sound that seems to fill the chapel. Visitors have the opportunity to either walk up to each speaker to focus on one voice or sit on a bench at the center of the space. The installation, created in 2001, had previously been housed at the Cloisters
in Manhattan. Melissa Day, 24, of Brooklyn, said the sound installation was her favorite piece in the entire Rockaway! show. “It was absolutely moving,” she said. “It was so powerful, it was like a religious experience. I’m going to tell the rest of my friends to come see it.” Cardiff, herself, was at the Sunday exhibit. She remarked that Fort Tilden might not no longer be be one of New York’s best kept secrets. Jacob McKinnon, 28, came all the way from Manhattan to see the show and spend the day at the beach. “These are big names, this is a big deal,” he said about the show. “We’ve got great art, food the beach,” he continued, gesturing around Fort Tilden. “This is why New York is great.” In the evening, actor James Franco read poetry from a stage set up before a few thousand people. And Patti Smith sung a number of songs. An after party, celebrating the successful debut was held at the Rockaway Beach Surf Club. Photos by Bianca Fortis
Art Festival Transforms Sleepy Ft. Tilden Big Crowd For Rockaway!
By Bianca Fortis The smell of burning sage permeated the air as the sun set over Rockaway on Sunday evening. A huge crowd had amassed for the final event of the opening day of Rockaway!: a poetry reading by recording artist Patti Smith and actor James Franco. The mostly young crowd that had assembled, many of whom had been bussed and ferried in from Manhattan and Brooklyn, helped transform Fort Tilden into a scene that seemed almost reminiscent of Woodstock, except perhaps a little more low-key. The spoken word performance marked the end of a successful first day for the summerlong art show, which runs until September 1.MoMA PS1 Director Klaus Biesenbach shared with the audience some of the story that led up to the creation of Rockaway!: how he and Franco surprised Smith on her birthday just weeks after Hurricane Sandy had devastated the peninsula, how they drove around Rockaway and found toys and photo albums left behind on the ground, how they came across a pile of old mattresses on the beach. “Knowing Patti, and know how much a bed is a safe place to be warm and dry -- I think that really inspired her,” Biesenbach said, referring to the artist’s outdoor installation, the “Resilience of the
The bed in the middle of a run is a creation of Patti Smith.
Dreamer,” a four-post bed set up in an abandoned warehouse. Smith and Franco alternated between reading several Whitman poems during the performance. Smith had also used the American poet as inspiration for another installation: granite cubes dotted along the shoreline inscribed with lines from Whitman. After the poems, Smith performed a short concert alongside her guitarist Lenny Kaye and her daughter and keyboardist, Jesse Paris Smith. Smith, known best for her song “Because the Night” dedicated a song to the audience: “We all have dreams,” she said. “We all have loss and failure, and we go on and rebuild our lives.”
Photos by Bianca Fortis
Her last song, “People have the power” even featured a special guest: Michael Stipe, the former frontman of REM, who, according to Smith, helped with cleanup after Sandy. Julia Donohue, 28, who lives in Astoria, said she came to Rockaway for the full day, having spent the morning at the beach and the afternoon touring the art exhibits.“I had to stay for Patti Smith,” she said. “My parents listened to her when I was growing up so I love her too. I can’t believe I just got to see her.” Michael Garcia, who moved to New York City a year ago from Texas, said Sunday was the first time he’d ever been to Rockaway.“I didn’t realize New York
Klaus Biesenbach recognizes the efforts of others.
basically has a beach town,” he said. “It seems like it’s almost been a secret.” He said that he will continue to visit Rockaway in the future. “I’ll definitely be back this summer,” he said. “I’d come out here every weekend if I could.” Mary Carlson, 47, of Far Rockaway said she is excited to see so many new visitors to the peninsula. “Rockaway is beautiful and it’s my home,” she said. “I’m happy to share it with others. Those of us who are from here -- we’re going to benefit from that.” Mark Evans, 63, of Arverne, echoed similar sentiments.“We’re friendly in Rockaway,” he said. “As long as visitors are respectful and clean, we’re happy to have them.”
Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014 | 3
For 10 Years The Rockaway Community has been committed to helping out returning Wounded Warriors fight the battle back home, making sure they get the attention and support they deserve.
A Decade of Service
10th Annual Adaptive Water Sports Festival JULY 9-13, 2014 Wednesday July 9th Welcoming parade into town. At approximately 6 p.m. the parade will pass along State Road, Roxbury, and continue into Breezy Point, making a turn at the ball field. At approximately 6:30 p.m., the parade will then travel along Rockaway Beach Blvd. & continue to the Memorial Circle at Beach 120th Street. Please stand along State Road and/or RBB with flags, signs and your Red, White and Blue!
Thursday July 10th 9 a.m. - The Warriors are treated to a morning fishing charter, while their female guests enjoy a day of beauty courtesy of Strands Salon. Ladies enjoy lunch at the Bell Harbor Steak House. In the evening, the Warriors enjoy a dinner atop 7 World Trade Center.
Friday July 11th 9 a.m. - The Warriors spend the day trying several adaptive sports, including scuba diving, surfing, kayaking, stand up paddle (SUP) and water skiing! Noon to 1 p.m. – Lunch with families. 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. - The Warriors resume adaptive sports. 7 p.m. - The Warriors will enjoy a dinner cruise around Manhattan.
Saturday, July 12th 9 a.m. - The Warriors spend the day trying several adaptive sports including scuba diving, surfing, kayaking, stand up paddle (SUP) and water skiing! Noon to 1 p.m. – Lunch with families. 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. – The Warriors resume adaptive sports. In the evening, join the Warriors, who are the special guests at the Rockaway Special Olympics Fundraiser. The festivities begin at 6 p.m. at the home of Fli p and Rita Mullen, 147 Beach 134th Street. A donation of $40 for adults and $5 for children who accompany a paying adult. Come see old friends for a Rockaway reunion.
Sunday July 13th 9 a.m. - Celebrate Mass at Breezy Point 9/11 Memorial site, followed by a community meet and greet with the Warriors.
For more information, contact Flip Mullen (917) 848-9213 or Mary Ellen Olsen (917) 603-8008
Legendsinvalor.com info@legendsinvaolr.com
Vision Statement: Legends in Valor’s vision is to ensure that all generations understand that simple selfless acts create true heroes. Legends in Valor believes that it is our purpose to ensure that the sacrifices of everyday heroes are never forgotten and that future generations learn from these selfless actions and carry on the spirit of those everyday heroes that we have lost through their actions everyday. Mission Statement: Legends in Valor is an organization rooted in the efforts of the Wounded Warrior Project. The mission of Legends in Valor is to honor the Firefighters and Police Officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting for their country as well as serving the Wounded Warriors upon their return home Legends in Valor is a recognized 501(c) (3) not for profit organization.
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Wounded Warriors Return to Rockaway Event will challenge veterans
By Bianca Fortis Rockaway will, for the tenth year in a row, play host to wounded United States veterans when they come to the peninsula for the annual Wounded Warriors event. This year the event takes place from July 9 through the 13. About 55 veterans will participate in activities such as adaptive water skiing, kayaking, stand-up paddling, as well as adaptive scuba diving and surfing. Some of the events will take place along the beach in Roxbury, and others at 63rd Street near Arverne by the Sea. Many of the veterans are leaving the hospital for the first time after suffering injuries during service, according to Flip Mullen of the Legends in Valor. The injuries can be severe, including the loss of the use of limbs. “The point is to challenge them and get them to believe in themselves,” Mullen said. “We want to show them, ‘You thought you couldn’t do this, but Wounded Warriors having fun in the water at last year’s event. you can.”
File Photo
During their stay, the veterans and their families will take part in several other activities, including a fishing trip out on a commercial boat, a dinner cruise out to the Statue of Liberty and another dinner at the World Trade Center, according to Mullen. There the family of Cpt. John McKenna will receive the Legend in Valor Award. McKenna, of Brooklyn, died in Fallujah in August 2006 when he attempted to rescue the body of another fallen soldier, Lance Cpl. Michael Glover, who was born in Belle Harbor. Glover had been hit by a sniper during foot patrol. McKenna was also fatally shot. Mullen said the event started ten years ago as a way to challenge the veterans in a safe space where they had the support of their loved ones. “We wanted to show them it’s all possible, that they can do these things,” he said. “They can rise to the occasion. It’s been a wonderful source of renewal to them.” Mullen said it also gives the community to show the veterans that their sacrifices have not gone in vain.
The ShoreLine • A Little of This And That One reason The Rockaway Times looked so good last week is because of the photographs we used. But among our missteps was not giving credit to topflight photogs, Lou Romas and Michael Schor, who supplied a couple of the pics. Lou supplied the surfing action photo and Michael’s glorious ocean scene accompanied the Be Well, Be Happy column. As Sinatra might sing: Mistakes, we’ve made a few …but not enough room to mention! One reader wondered about those cash cow speed cameras popping up. He suggested a percentage of the fines collected go to local services (such as the ferry). We like the idea but that would require the City to do some thinking. If the name fits, we wear it. We chuckled when we heard Juliette Geary noted that her Rockaway Times edition showed up on Friday (the paper came out on Thursday) and said the paper
Yoga on the Beach Beach 108th Street Boardwalk at 8 a.m. through Sept. 6 Parks presents yoga on the beach with Helen Kilgallen from Elaine’s Dance School in this beginner hatha yoga class. Bring mat, large towel or blanket.
was on Rockaway Time. Well, if we can’t laugh ourselves…. Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder stopped by the new office and was effusive in his praise of the first edition. (Why wouldn’t he be, he was on Page 3!) He took issue with the name of this column, however. He wasn’t crazy about Shoreline. Hey, it’s a work in progress. Maybe we’ll have a contest to rename it. We hear Fr. Peter Rayder somehow worked The Rockaway Times into his homily at Mass last Sunday in Breezy. We’re not sure of the context but any publicity is good publicity (we think!). Friends of Tribute Park invited students in area schools on the west end to submit their reflections of Tribute Park. Among those who contributed were students of Ms. Feeney at MS 318 - Waterside School. Go to rockawaytributepark.org for some of their thoughts. We’re not sure if this is a sure sign that Rockaway is on the map but The
Gap, the clothing giant is producing Rockaway, Queens adult-sized t-shirts. Rockaway is now its own power brand. Council members voted unanimously for the budget – one member abstained. We’re wondering why our local council members didn’t abstain as well. That would have been a real signal the fight for the ferry isn’t over. Have you tried Rockaway Beer? The Rockaway Brewing Company sells it on tap at the concessions and some places around the city. What they want to do now is put it cans so you can keep some in the fridge or in your cooler. They want to raise some money to make canning possible. They want to raise $30 grand and have launched a Kickstarter campaign to get there. Visit Kickstarter and just search for Rockaway beer. Some joyous members of the Rockaway Theater Company were singing outside the theater on Sunday at the art festival at Fort Tilden. It seems someone told them to shush! The fear was that their vocals would make their way
to the nearby Janet Cardiff installation which is a moving audio art piece. Speaking of the art festival, there were a few gripes (ain’t there always?) but the almost 5000 people who came enjoyed it immensely. Major thumbs up to the Rockaway Artists Alliance in particular. Their volunteer efforts made the day a joy for the many visitors. Klaus Biesenbach and Patti Smith are superstars in their respective worlds of the arts. But they live here, too. They’re not DFDs. They’re DFGs as in, Down For Good. It’s bad enough the ferry is in danger of going away. The recent boats Seastreak has been using aren’t nearly as nice as their main boats. Conspiracy theorists say it’s the City’s plan to make it seem like the Q35 or Q22 on water! They figure riders will get discouraged and not care if it goes away! Sources say, the main boats are under repair and will return. In the meantime, enjoy the view!
Rock Republicans To Meet Gov Candidate The Rockaway Republicans are hosting a “Meet & Greet” with Rob Astorino, twice-elected Westchester County Executive, who is challenging Governor Cuomo for the top job in the State. The club will hold the event next Monday evening, July 7th, at the Belle Harbor Yacht at 8:30PM. Rockaway Repblicans President Alan Zwirn says, ‘Rob Astorino is uniquely qualified to improve the life of all New York families… from the city to the southern tier. Take a minute to say hello next Monday night.’ The meeting is open to all. There will be a cash bar, and light appetizers. The Yacht Club Parking Lot is on Beach 126 and Beach Channel Drive. Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014 | 5
Riis To Get Sand Too But Feds Can’t Say When
By Bianca Fortis There is a lot of new sand in Rockaway but the job is a long way from over. Sand replenishment on some Rockaway beaches is currently on hold until the end of the hatching season for the piping plover, the endangered species of bird that breeds along the Atlantic coast. The hatching season is, essentially, the summertime, according to Dan Falt, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson. Sand replacement from Beach 149th through Beach 60th Streets is complete, according to Falt. “The sand that’s there in place is fully functional,” he said. “That will help prevent storm damage from everything immediately behind it.” The sand replenishment project involves adding 3.5 million cubic yards of sand to the shoreline in Rockaway, which was severely eroded by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Once the piping plover hatching season is over, contractors will then begin to work on the stretch of beach between Beach 60th and Beach 19th Streets. Previously 600,000 cubic yards had been added from Beach 86th to Beach 149th Streets. Some of the sand is being used to cover geotextile sandbags, which were installed from Beach 55th to Beach 149th
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Streets. The purpose of the bags is to provide further shoreline protection. But the shoreline protection ends sharply at Beach 149th. A high wall of sand overlooks a barren shoreline at Riis Park, right next door. As for the Rockaway beaches that await sand, Falt said there is not yet a schedule for when this will happen, but it will likely be in August or early September. In 2013 the Army Corps announced that the sand replensihment project would begin in September and be completed by Memorial Day. Weeks Marine, the company which won the bid, however, pulled its equipment to work elsewhere. The sand pumping did not begin until Spring, 2014. Falt said much of the “disruptive” pipeline that has been sitting on the beach in the past few weeks will be moved out of the way within the next few days. Josh Laird of the National Park Service said funding has been secured for sand placement at Jacob Riis Park, between Beach 149th and Beach 169th Streets. The NPS will work with the Army Corps of Engineers to tag the new project onto the current Rockaway Beach project this year, he said. About $5 million has been approved for the Riis project. While there is not yet a timeline set
A wall of sand shows how high and plentiful sand is in Neponsit and further east. Riis Park, however, needs replenishment.
for that project, it should also take place later this year, according to Mindi Rambo, a spokesperson for the NPS. The vagueness of a start has many in Rockaway concerned. One Rockaway resident said, “This is ridiculous. And it’s dangerous. We get all this new sand to protect us but they left the side door open. The water can come rushing through from Riis Park. The National Park Service should be ashamed.” The Riis project will provide 200,000 cubic yards of sand. It is expected that this will return the beach to its condition before it was walloped by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The National Park Service announced Tuesday that national park land within Jamaica Bay and Rockaway will be included in the East Rockaway Inlet to Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay Re-
File Photos
A house on Beach 149th can barely be seen from the beach side of Riis Park.
formulation Study, which will evaluate long-term solutions for protecting local shorelines from storm damage. “Faced with increasing threats posed by sea level rise and global climate change, Gateway National Recreation Area seeks to better understand how it can contribute to the protection of important resources and neighboring communities through Jamaica Bay and the Rockaways,” Laird said in a statement. Falt, of the Army Corps, said the agency is currently negotiating a contract with the National Park Service for sand replenishment at Fort Tilden.
Queens Library Tables Galante’s Contract Talks By Phil Corso The Queens Public Library’s board of trustees called off a controversial meeting discussing its embattled CEO’s golden parachute after borough leaders argued against any action until his legal troubles subside. Borough President Melinda Katz has been on Library boss Thomas Galante’s case since reports surfaced earlier this year detailing his six-figure salary earned during a time when the system laid off union workers and outsourced contracts. She called out the library last Thursday and accused its board of trying to negotiate a buyout deal before state reforms go into effect. “This ‘amendment’ to Tom’s contract gives him almost $800,000 in taxpayer money to remain in the library for the next 18 months and is being shamefully rammed through the board on two days’ notice,” Katz said in a statement. “The short notice and speed of the meeting is purposeful. Two pieces of legislation making the success of this proposal more difficult will become law in the next few weeks and it is the board’s intent to beat the clock.” Galante’s position has remained under the microscope for months amid various legal investigations into his handling of library funds and several lawmakers calling for his resignation. Officials were outraged earlier this year when reports
Photo by William Alatriste/NYC Council
The Queens Library's board of trustees cancelled a special meeting last week after Borough President Melinda Katz pressured the system to reconsider green-lighting a lofty golden parachute for embattled CEO Thomas Galante.
revealed he was making $392,000 each year as the library CEO at a time when funding for the system was dwindling. Katz also accused the CEO and trustees of failing to cooperate with a City Comptroller Scott Stringer request to open the library’s books for a full-fledged audit of the system. “This is another painful example of how several of the trustees of this board have consistently blocked any sort of good governance or increased oversight reforms,” Katz said. “Since February, I have been asking the library board to
implement basic nonprofit best practices such as limiting outside employment by key staff, abolishing the current administrative committee, mandating financial disclosure and requiring board approval for the hiring key library staff.” A spokeswoman for the Queens Public Library confirmed the meeting was called off the same day Katz came out against any more movement on the board’s behalf. But Katz also said she was not alone. “Other trustees also asked that the meeting be postponed so that a full
discussion could be had by the entire board,” Katz said. “If this proposed contract amendment is determined to be good policy for the library, then it should still be good policy after the two laws come into effect and it would be disingenuous for the trustees to claim otherwise.” Those laws Katz mentioned included one bill the state Legislature passed earlier this month that set out to reform the board of trustees’ role with the library. One facet of the measures also blocked Galante from negotiating his own exit package, which the meeting was initially scheduled to accomplish, Katz said. That same day, state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) came out to confirm Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed the bill into law, making it effective immediately. “Effective immediately, my bill will rein in the excesses revealed in recent reports and provide a long-term blueprint for an efficient, transparent and accountable library system of which every Queens resident can be proud,” Gianaris said. “I am thankful for the way just about everyone in Queens came together to fight for these much-needed reforms, and I look forward to the day when taxpayers in Queens can be confident their dollars support a library system built to enrich our understanding of the world and not to enrich a select few at the expense of many.”
State Passes Queens Library Reforms
Lawmakers passed sweeping reforms after reports showed Queens Library CEO Thomas Galante (r.) was earning a six-figure salary while the system laid off employees and signed off on expansive reconstruction plans. File Photo
By Phil Corso After months of debate, the state gave the go-ahead to sweeping reforms at the Queens Library – specifically changing how its board of trustees operates. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law last Thursday one week after the state Legislature approved the reforms – much earlier than lawmakers initially anticipated. Queens officials helped craft the legislation in an attempt to alleviate transparency issues after li-
brary CEO Thomas Galante’s lofty salary made headlines earlier this year. News reports exposed Galante to have earned a roughly $400,000 salary while jobs were being outsourced and expensive construction projects were put into motion. State Sen. Mike Gianaris (D-Astoria) first introduced the legislation back in April with help from Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, who has been a harsh critic of Galante over Continued on page 28
Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014 | 7
Write to the Editor at THE ROCKAWAY TIMES 114-04 Beach Channel Drive, Rockaway Park, NY 11694 news@rockawaytimes.com
Just Follow The Law Dear Editor: I'm not sure why people can't just drive the speed limit. Is speeding so ingrained and acceptable that we have shifted our focus to blaming the Police Department for enforcing the law? I will await the shock/outrage that will inevitably follow when a young child is tragically struck and killed by a speeding vehicle this Summer, and the people (without a hint of irony or self awareness) yell about careless drivers. JP Quinn
RAA Is Welcoming Dear Editor: The Rockaway Artists Alliance Board is made up of local artists who volunteer their time and work hard to bring the best in exhibitions, music, adult education, after school programs, and our exceptional summer camp KidsmArt. As a long time Board member, I am proud of what has been accomplished by this organization, both today and in the past 20 Years. Any one interested in volunteering their time to make this festival great can contact the RAA office. Anyone looking to join the organization can also contact us. We support the communities’ local artists, and bring to our peninsula great activities. Thank you. John Grillo
Fresh Air Delivered Dear Editor: Just a note to say what a pleasurable read your new paper is. It's a breath of fresh air. I usually get my Forum in the HB Post office and was sad Friday AM - when it wasn't there but thrilled when I got The Rockaway Times at the Channel Market on Friday! Loved the introduction
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Letters of the Week given by Peter Mahon - I did not know him -- but feel like now I do ! The Beef Chip column had many meaty comments. Your column and others were fantastic. Reading The Rockaway Times was like reading a good author. It leaves you wanting more! Congratulations on a job well done! Just how we like it. Dorothy Fraher
have kids in those schools but I am a mother and I do think people should follow the rules and drive slower. I am sure he would feel very differently if a speeding car had a negative impact on his life. I think he looks like an ignorant, uneducated person standing out there holding a sign like that! Kelly Witkowski
Fishing Fan Dear Editor:
DOT Puts Up Another Speed Camera Dear Editor: After receiving at least one ticket and in some cases several before even receiving one in the mail, most motorists in Rockaway are onto DOT’s game of Gotcha, at the cost of fifty dollars a pop. Since making their original camera at BCD and B106th St. permanent, they have now moved their mobile automated speed trap to Rockaway Beach Blvd and 110th St. Both DOT ATMs appear to be operating in the Eastbound direction only. The one on the Boulevard appears to be operating between 9 AM and 5 PM. How long till that one is permanent too? How many more of these things are in our future? DOT is still “studying” whether warning signs would slow people down. Are they serious? Rick Horan
Speed Warner Scolded Dear Editor: I totally get that Rick doesn't want to pay the city for a speeding ticket and is trying to warn others in our neighborhood about the camera. However, isn't that what a speed limit sign is for?!?! I bet if Rick had kids in either of those two schools located near the camera he would feel different I don't currently
This guy (Matt Whalen, The Fishing Report) is TERRIFIC. I so appreciate his knowledge about the hardcore fishermen of our island(s). But he gets both the professional AND the recreational. This guy is a winner -- knowledgable of the true seasoned fishermen and yet at the same time captures the hearts of the casual 'fisherman' - the man and the son just out for a day (but of course, mostly the 'real' fisherman! LOL) Kudos. Both Thumbs UP from this 'Islander.'
on the old White Pot Junction Long Island Rail Road branch abandoned in the early 1960's. This and others can take years or even decades until completion of environmental reviews, planning, design, engineering, real estate acquisition, permits, procurements and actual construction before reaching beneficial use. Completing all of the above along with finding funding for ferry boats, docks and parking with costs in the millions may be easier than finding the billions of dollars necessary for construction of new or extended subway, commuter rail or highways. Utilization of ferry boats equipped with modern fuel efficient engines can make a positive contribution to air quality. In April 1967, the old Jersey Central Rail Road ended ferry service between Liberty Street and Pavonia, New Jersey. Later that year, in November 1967, the old Erie Lackawana Rail Road
suspended ferry service between Barclay Street and Hoboken. Fast forward to today. Thousands of daily commuters use ferries from Hoboken, New Jersey to the World Financial Center in downtown Manhattan. There are also 66,000 daily patrons of the Staten Island Ferry System which connects St. George, Staten Island with the Whitehall Street Ferry Terminal. Unlike the other four boroughs, 500,000 Richmond County residents have no direct subway or commuter rail system linking them with the rest of NYC. Over two years ago, thousands of riders began utilizing the East River ferry connecting various waterfront neighborhoods including Long Island City, East 34th Street, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Wall Street and Governors Island. Residents in Bayside and other northeast Queens neighborhoods are con't on page 9
Malibu Sue
Rockaway Ferry Dear Editor:
The answer to "Queens Leaders Rally to Save Rockaway Ferry" (June 19) will be found buried in the soon to be adopted new municipal budget for the period July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2015. Will additional funding be included in this budget to support ferry service for the Rockaways? The proof will be in the fine print. Ferry services are the wave of the future. Our waterways are an underutilized natural asset which can offer significant transportation alternatives for thousands of New Yorkers. Most of our existing public transportation and roadways are already operating at or above capacity. New ferry services can be implemented far more quickly than construction of new subway, commuter rail or highways. Consider the idea for resumption of service
CO-PUBLISHERS Patricia L. Adams Kevin Boyle EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kevin Boyle EXECUTIVE EDITOR Patricia Adams REPORTERS Bianca Fortis Phil Corso SALES Fred Marino Kathleen Lalsie PHOTOGRAPHERS Robert Stridiron Richard York
THE ROCKAWAY TIMES 114-04 Beach Channel Drive, Rockaway Park, NY 11694 phone • 718-634-3030 | e-mail • news@rockawaytimes.com THE ROCKAWAY TIMES publishes every Thursday. Ad space reservations by Monday, 12 noon, preceding date of publication. Editorial submission must be made by Monday, 3 P.M., preceding date of publication. All letters to THE ROCKAWAY TIMES should be brief and are subject to editing. Writers should include a full address and home / office telephone number. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without permission of THE ROCKAWAY TIMES. The publisher will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE ROCKAWAY TIMES within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. THE ROCKAWAY TIMES assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold THE ROCKAWAY TIMES and its employees harmless from all costs, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.
EDITORIAL Have you heard of Kyle Kimball? Have you even heard of the EDC (the New York Economic Development Corporation)? You’ve got to follow city politics pretty closely for those names to register. Kimball is the President of the EDC which calls itself the “City’s primary engine for economic development charged with leveraging the City’s assets to drive growth, create jobs and improve quality of life.” When the ferry was launched a couple of weeks after Sandy, the EDC and Mayor Bloomberg found the money. And they found the money outside the City budget. That was then. Now EDC moans about the cost. Recently, Kimball wrote to a ferry supporter to say the ferry money now must come from the City budget, “the same budget we use to pay teachers, firefighters, sanitation workers, and police, and provide other essential services.” Yeah, okay, Kyle. Give us a break. You want to talk about money in the budget helping undocumented immigrants, too? You act as if the ferry, a fraction of a fraction subsidy in the overall city budget, is a threat to Mom and apple pie. Please.
New York’s Engine Failure
The EDC, the City’s “primary engine for economic development” is also a major player in, get ready, the boardwalk reconstruction. How’s that going? Kyle, time for a major tune-up, your engine is sputtering. It so happens, the boardwalk is Rockaway’s economic engine. The EDC has done a perfectly fine job pouring bad gas into Rockaway’s engine. When’s the boardwalk going to be done? Who knows! EDC is partners with the Parks Department. That’s a scary thought. We can’t get a straight answer from either. What else can the EDC take credit for? Apparently, at least at one point, the EDC thought Rockaway needed an extreme makeover. More than a year ago, they announced the “Game Changer” competition in which a winner or winners would get $18 million dollars to make a major economic impact in Rockaway. The EDC – some engine! – hasn’t even announced a winner! Presumably, a winner would need a few years to build or develop its project. So, Rockaway needs a “game changer” but the game won’t be changed for years. Some urgency, some engine!
The Game Changer money comes from the Sandy Relief fund. There is actually $84 million dollars set aside for five Sandy-impacted areas. The money is sitting there, untouched, unused. Build It Back has been a disaster, we know. Unused Game Changer money is its own scandal. That’s on you, EDC. It must be that EDC figures no one is watching or cares. Well, The Rockaway Times will do what it can to steer some scrutiny their way. The EDC is the arm of City government that awarded the courthouse to a group in 2012. (Why they thought a medical building would be good use of that building is another debate). But here we are in 2014. The courthouse remains untouched, still crumbling. We last heard construction was supposed to start in the spring. And we heard there might be zoning issues causing the delay. Wouldn’t zoning be something the “economic engine” would be aware of before awarding rights? Yea, we get it. The Mayor is just not into Rockaway. Every interest group in the city yells at the mayor so our voice gets lost in the crowd. But, here’s the thing, the mayor is
the driver but it’s the engine that needs attention. At a real estate conference Kimball was asked about the next “breakout neighborhood.” He noted the “young, hip crowd” moving to Rockaway and added, “We’re astounded by what we’re seeing there.” No thanks to you! We asked an EDC spokesperson what they’ve done in Rockaway. After listing some projects dating back to 2007, the spokesperson said, “Most of our Rockaway work has not been not Sandy-driven.” You mean, when it’s been needed most?! Multiple ferry operators submitted bids to run the Rockaway service. Those bids should be made public. Let the public examine the options. Let’s find out exactly how they calculate the subsidy. The EDC is a secretive organization that cannot be trusted. It’s time to shine a piercing light on them. It’s time to overhaul the engine. Rallies on the steps of city hall might as well be on the moon (a place that’s just about as easy to get to). Everybody yells at the mayor – start putting Kyle Kimball’s name on protest posters. Start the Wake Up! EDC rallies.
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Letters Cont'd from page 8 lobbying for new ferry service. Who would not want to enjoy the fresh air and breeze that only waterborne transportation can provide. Riding a ferry can be less stressful than being packed in a subway car like sardines in a can. There are thousands of residents in the Rockaways and adjacent neighborhoods who would welcome the opportunity on a year around basis. Larry Penner
Please Revive Rockaway Dear Voice of the People: I read a news article today regarding a new beach in Manhattan. Is that where the extra money goes when you don't have full lifeguard staffing in Rockaway Beach, Queens? This past Friday, 29 beaches in Rockaway were open to swimming. 111 beaches were closed for some pathetic and dishonest excuse. Please Mr. Mayor, investigate and audit the City Parks Department. Why take the Queens Rockaway Ferry or go
to a Rockaway restaurant or shop if our beaches are closed to swimming? Are we being set up to fail? Thirty-two days since Memorial Day Weekend without a full staff of lifeguards? This is unacceptable. Our beach is our protection, recreation and a major source of revenue. Please help us. Philip McManus
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THE ROCKAWAY TIMES Email news@ rockawaytimes.com Address 114-04 Beach Channel Drive, Rockaway Park, NY 11694 We welcome letters on any topic of interest. Please limit them to 500 words. We reserve the right to edit letters Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014 | 9
West Hamilton Beach Volunteers Rally for Emergency Response Boost By Phil Corso Lawmakers stood with southern Queens emergency responders this week to call on the city to take whatever steps necessary to beef up its ability to respond when residents are most vulnerable. State Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park) said the city Fire Department would benefit from some preemptive measures like GPS technology to help volunteers and other emergency responders deliver the care southern Queens deserves. He joined with members of the West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department and several others to demand the Transportation Department hits the gas. “Response times are critical in an emergency and due to southern Queens and Rockaway’s geographical isolation, time is not always on our side,” Goldfeder said. “This GPS technology, already in use on Long Island and across the country, will provide unique and precise control that will help responders reach their destinations quickly and reduce crash rates by nearly 70 percent.” Goldfeder said one of the biggest obstacles before emergency responders came in the form of car accidents, second only to heart attacks. These preemptive measures, the lawmaker argued, would reduce the potential of accidents
Photo courtesy Assemblyman Goldfeder
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder stood with southern Queens volunteer fire departments to call on the city Department of Transportation and Fire Department to install a potentially lifesaving traffic pre-emption system for emergency care.
involving emergency response vehicles throughout the city. Jonah Cohen, chief of the West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance, said technology like that would be a gem to his team, which has been relied on heavily in southern Queens in times of crisis. “The GPS tracking will greatly enhance our response time getting patients to hospitals. Reducing our travel time to the hospital can in some instances save
Ulrich Supports Sandy Money Monitor
a life,” he said. “Whenever you can save time getting to an injured person and then getting that person to a hospital, you greatly increase their chances for survival.” Dennis Graham, who helped start the Center for the Study of Healthcare Delivery, said his group was established to advocate for delivering quality care to residents in need as efficiently as possible. He stood alongside emergency responders last week with Goldfeder to throw his
support behind him. “We are committed to supporting the use of a traffic pre-emption system for the Rockaways and southern Queens to ensure residents and visitors receive rapid emergency care,” he said. “We believe that where you live should not determine whether you live.” The GPS technology, Goldfeder said, would kick into effect when responders answer a 911 call. The system located inside their vehicles would calculate speed, direction, longitude and latitude information. The measure would have traffic lights programmed with an approach map in order to detect when emergency vehicles are approaching and therefore light up green for them as they approach, he said. Once the emergency response vehicle is out of range, the controllers inside the lights would return back to normal flows of traffic and could be remotely tracked at any given time, he said. “Our families in Rockaway are severely lacking when it comes to emergency care, and this inexpensive GPS technology can help first responders in an emergency make it to their destinations quickly and safely,” Goldfeder said. “I strongly urge the Department of Transportation and FDNY to take action and install this new technology immediately to help our families.”
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ONS I T A V R RESE GESTED SUG Photo courtesy Councilman Ulrich
Councilman Eric Ulrich (r.) is calling on the city to implement a watchdog in regards to Superstorm Sandy relief money.
By Phil Corso Lawmakers have spent months trying to comprehend the ins and outs of distributing relief dollars as communities like Howard Beach and the Rockaways recover from Superstorm Sandy. So much so, that City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) called on the city to install a monitor to oversee that money. Ulrich, along with City Councilman Mark Treyger (D-Brooklyn), introduced legislation this week that would require the city to inject a monitor into the Department of Investigations to make sure
10 | Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014
taxpayer dollars go the right way in regards to Sandy relief. “Whether it’s holding Build it Back more accountable, or making sure the city properly investigates cases of fraud and abuse, I am introducing this bill to ensure that every penny is spent wisely and honestly,” Ulrich said. “This is commonsense that will increase transparency and I look forward to its passage.” This monitor, similar to the one Ulrich opposed in regards to the Police Department’s stop-and-frisk questionContinued on page 28
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Rockstock: Surf and Sounds Abound
Waves were small but surfers were game.
Music was a big draw at Rockstock.
By Bianca Fortis They came for the music as well the waves. Rockaway welcomed skaters, surfers and beachgoers alike on Saturday during the eighth annual Rockstock and Barrels festival at Beach 90th Street.Thousands came for the annual skate, surf and music festival, which was first founded in 2006 by Steve Stathis, of Boarders Surf Shop, Jimmy Dowd of St. James Clothing and Walker Hornung of Invisible Sun Book Agency and Into the Whip Records. “We are so blessed,” Dowd said while on stage during the event. “We’ve got the man in the sky looking over us giv-
ing us sunshine. We have all these beautiful people playing rock and roll. It’s a beautiful time. And that’s what we do, we come together to make Rockaway Beach the best place it can be. And that’s why we’re here.” “I just want to give my homage to every one of you,” a thoroughly excited Dowd continued. “‘Cause you’re all beautiful.” David Hunter, 26, of Astoria, said he wanted to check out the local music scene. He liked the Wordy Bums, a band that hails from Queens, for one. “I like local music because it’s important to support your community,” he said. “And this is New York. There’s
some real talent here.” Several bands played, but not all bands were local: for example, the Disfunction traveled from Rincon, Puerto Rico to perform, but had no problem working up a crowd in front of the second stage. Jake Diaz, 20, of Brooklyn, came to surf.“I’ve come almost every year since I was a kid,” he said about the event. “But I love Rockaway. It’s a chill place.” Brendan Flanagan, 21, made the trek from central Long Island along with some of his friends. “Skating, surfing -this is the stuff I’m into,” he said. “This festival is great.” According to the Rockstock web-
site, the mission of the event is to be a launchpad for Rockaway.“This year, in particular, celebrates the recovery of a community that stayed together, prayed together and rebuilt together after Superstorm Sandy,” the website says. Lindsay Wilcox, 38, of Far Rockaway, said the annual event has been a boon for the peninsula. “For one, it helps bring in money and attention to the Rockaways,” she said. “But it’s also a reminder that we can bounce back from what we’ve been hit with. I come every year. There’s nothing else like it in New York.” Photos by Bianca Fortis
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Pavilion Money Pleases Queens Pols
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Lawmakers celebrated a significant chunk of money set aside in the city budget to preserve and renovate the New York State Pavilion.
By Phil Corso The New York State Pavilion has finally gotten its fair share, elected officials said. Leaders from across the borough came out in support of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s city budget this week, particularly because it allocated more than $4.8 million towards restoring the storied site in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Borough President Melinda Katz has been one of many officials pushing for funding to help renovate the site in wake of the April 22, 1964 anniversary on Queens natives’ minds for months. She said the money was long overdue to help bring the spot back to the status it once held at its inception. The borough president took to the historic location with other elected officials several times this year to advocate for city money in order to keep it from falling into severe disrepair. “Along with the nearby Unisphere, the New York State Pavilion has become a symbol of the borough of Queens that reminds us of the excitement and hopefulness the world felt at the beginning of the Space Age,” Katz said. “The Pavilion keeps us connected to that history while it also serves as an icon of Queens that is recognized around the world. Its preservation will aid our efforts to rebrand the Queens as a top-level tourist destination that we call ‘The World’s Borough.’” De Blasio set a total $628,000 aside, while Mark-Viverito and the Council helped secure $979,000, Katz said. The overall funding also included $1 million Katz had set aside from her capital budget dollars, bringing a total $5.806 million allocated for restoration efforts. Those dollars, Katz said, will be
14 | Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014
used to upgrade the structure’s electrical system, rebuild the staircases inside its three towers and repair the concrete platforms supporting the observation decks at the top of each tower. Advocates have been calling for a Pavilion makeover for months with the 50th anniversary celebrations of the 1964 World’s Fair fresh in the borough’s collective mind. The National Trust for Historic Preservation donated the site as one of its national treasures back in April, making it one of only 44 sites to receive such designation. Peg Breen, president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, has been working in tandem with Katz and the City Council to advocate for preservation and restoration in the Pavilion’s footprint. “Restoring the Pavilion is the right thing to do at just the right time,” she said. “We agree with the borough president that the restored Pavilion will be a wonderful representation of the vitality of the borough and provide a space for all kinds of events that will draw not just people from Queens, but people from around the city and visitors from around the world.” Years of neglect left some borough leaders worried about the Pavilion’s fate, which led to a special spotlight being shined on the site with the anniversary celebration approaching. It was estimated that $14 million would be the magic number to tear down the Pavilion, but that option was widely opposed. The Parks Department also released several engineering studies on the Pavilion, including one in 2012, which found it would cost close to $40 million to preserve the Pavilion’s architecture and another $50 million to preserve its facility and preserve public access.
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Ferry Grim News
City Budget Leaves Boat At The Dock
Photo by Laura Deckelman
Protests, rallies, and signs didn’t move City Hall. The ferry was left out of the budget.
By Bianca Fortis The fraction of the city budget, less than one tenth of one percent, that the ferry subsidy would cost the city proved to be a budget buster. Somehow the $6 million dollar ferry subsidy could not be squeezed into the city’s $75 billion behemoth. Barring some surprise funding, the ferry service is expected to close in October. The news came as a blow to Rockaway residents who have come to rely on the ferry as a quicker and more efficient way to get to Manhattan. The ferry is currently being funded by FEMA money, which will expire in October. Local residents, as well as elected officials, hoped the city would keep it going.
Photo courtesy Phil McManus
Rallers draw attention to the ferry plight on Shore Front Parkway.
Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) said the failure to include the ferry in the budget was ultimately the decision of Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Economic Development Corporation. “I am outraged and disappointed,” he said. “Knowing how the budget process works, I will be like a dog with a bone -- fighting until the very last day of ferry operation to extend ferry service.” De Blasio still has the option to extend service past October, which he has done once before. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg extended it twice. Another extension will likely rely on ridership numbers, Ulrich said. “This decision rests solely on the lap of Mayor de Blasio and his administration,” he said. “If the ferry stays, he’ll
get the credit. If it goes, he’ll get all the blame.” The ferry has been in service since November 2012 when the A Train was damaged during Hurricane Sandy. Although the ferry was intended by the city to be temporary, service has been extended several times. In January the New York City Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals for ferry service between Rockaway, Brooklyn and Manhattan. Kate Blumm, a spokesperson for the EDC, said the agency is still reviewing the proposals. She said a timeline is not yet available. Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (DRockaway Park) Goldfeder, who lives in Rockaway, said he knows all too well the struggles residents face to travel in and
out of the peninsula. “It’s not a luxury,” he said about how critical the ferry is to the peninsula. “It’s a necessity.” Goldfeder said he will work with other electeds to find alternative funding streams, such as pots of federal or state transportation money, to use to keep the ferry in operation. “We need to be creative to find a way to make it happen,” he said. “If the city is not going to do their job and provide for families, then someone else will.” Alex Blenkinsopp, the director of the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association, pointed out that Rockaway is not the only Queens neighborhood that will be affected by the lack of a ferry. He expressed frustration that traffic, especially on already-congested Cross Bay and Woodhaven Boulevards, may worsen come October. “This is wrong for the people of the Rockaways who have relied on the ferry for a lifeline to connect them to the rest of the city,” he said. “But it’s also wrong for those in other parts of Queens who are affected by the traffic flows up from the Rockaway peninsula.” Phil McManus, the head of the Queens Public Transit Committee, who has been among the most vocal of ferry advocates, said the bad news has helped to further galvanize the community.“If the mayor doesn’t see the benefit, it doesn’t mean we’re wrong,” McManus said. “We believe we’re correct. We need to keep pushing our government to take care of what we need.”
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Back In The Day Ahoy Rockaway!
Bernie Matzen's 19" fluke on Sat. caught drifting in "Jones Inlet."
By Matt Whalen Welcome to the Rockaway Times fishing report. I should have said Ahoy! last week in the first edition of the RT. Must’ve had fishing on the brain. Anyway, my name is Matt Whalen and it's my pleasure to bring you the fishing information from other anglers and fishing stations on what’s biting every week in and around Rockaway. This report will also include our good friends in Howard Beach, Broad Channel, and the surrounding estuaries. We try and cover everything from simple dockside bait fishing on the bay, to sport fishing in the surf. If it's eating bait or hitting a lure in Rockaway, we want you to know about it.
Photo by C. Whalen
About me: I was born in the blizzard of 1961 on B-19th St (St. Joseph's Hospital) where my parents worked. My Father was an M.D. serving the Rockaway community for many years and my mother was an R.N. there. We lived in Valley Stream but, often my parents got called in to the hospital so off to Rockaway we went. I no longer live in Rockaway but, it's actually a goal of mine to get back there (E.T. phone home) but, I guess that the Rockaway sand never really leaves your shoes once it get's in there! And now onto the report: Jamaica Bay: We checked in with "Tom" at "Tom's Wave Service Station/Bait & Tackle" on Beach Channel Drive and he told us
Long before the Surfing Beach was made official these locals ruled the waves. Who do we got here? Patrick Hurley, John Schaeffer, John Kearns, John McNamara, Eddie Gallagher and Peter Zogas. And that’s Steve Stathis reading his last newspaper until The Rockaway Times published last week.
that this year Jamaica Bay is giving up larger fluke than usual. Tom mentioned that his customers have reported seeing and catching larger fluke up to the 11 and 12 pound range. "This year the fluke are larger", Tom said. Tom also tells us that the bite is still "ON", and that he has plenty of bait (bunker, spearing, and squid) on hand, so get down there ! East end bays: Pauly T. returned our call to report that he is in Merrick bay fishing, There IS fluke action but all he's gotten is about 6 short fluke (all are too short, fluke must be at least 18" to keep and a limit of five fish per person). Paul returned all fish to the bay. Paul also told us that there is some fluke action drifting the "Squaw Island" cut. Paul also
landed a NICE fluke 20" and 3.0+ lbs. while on anchor at "Haunts creek" with a buck tail lure. Dawn at "Big Ron's Bait and tackle" in Howard beach informs us that sporadic porgy action is starting to show up in Jamaica bay. Porgies are showing up off of Floyd Bennett field. The porgy action is far from "full on" but, they are at least starting to show up. Dawn also tells us of some exciting news off of Floyd Bennett Field with weak fish action heating up. Bernie Matzen nailed a nice fluke off of "Lido Golf Course" at 22" last week. Bernie also drifted "Jones Inlet" and caught himself a nice dinner with a 19" fluke on Saturday.
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Tubular Views Results of the 8th Annual Rock, Stock and Barrels Contest:
ASF Rolls into town By Alex Karinsky Waking at dawn we knew it was going to be a cracker of a day. Sun was out in force, winds light and a glassy lick to the surface of the ocean. Only problem, barely any waves with the tide filling in for the Atlantic Surfing Federation’s first contest of the season in Rockaway as a part of the Rock, Stock and Barrels festival. Local Rick Anthony, as the Director of the ASF NY/NJ region, has seen this plenty of times before and knew just to wait out the tide and the contest would be in full swing. By 10:30 or so another local, Scott “the lifeguard”, threw the ASF a bone and let the contest move from the main jetty to Inbetweens (the area in-between the next set of jetties. DFD’s call it the Box) where the waves started to break and there already was a thick crowd of surfers and beginners glomming all over anything that moved. Rick had a formidable
Photos by Davina Grincevicius
Brandon and John are stoked at Rock Stock.
team of talent to help him with judging, there is his son Jeff Anthony taking time off from running the Rockaway Skudin Surf Camp, his best buddy and stand out surfing legend Alex Fawess along with the equally talented and upstanding kids in the Reen brothers Liam and Nial. They ran such a tight ship there was next to no delays inbetween heats, so the contest ran and finished at a great time.
Wave action at the surf festival.
Photo by Alex Karinsky
Kids rocked the waves all day.
Let me tell you, parents really appreciate that fine point ;-) Another thing that separates the ASF from other surfing associations, such as the ESA (Eastern Surfing Association), is that contestants can “surf up” their age. Meaning that a 10yo can surf in their main U12 category but also the U14, U16, U18 and even the Open division. And when you’re a surfer this is great news because you get that much more water time. One great example of this was 11yo Patrick Murphy who contested in all those divisions just mentioned and placed in all of them. Other standouts during the day was the hotly contested Microgroms division, with Maya Carl up against Parker Karinsky. Again, another great feature of the ASF in this division is that parents are allowed
to push their kids into waves, helping those kids build their confidence and still having the ability to put on a show. With Parker and Maya poking their tongues out at each other, each dad knew it was going to be a blood bath. At the end of the day it was a draw and there was all smiles holding the over sized trophies. Local hell-man John Guiterrez stirred up a fair bit of controversy online, calling out all the “non-locals” to compete against him and prove that they’re worthy of any kind of Rockaway status. I asked John “So if any of these guys beat you, are they then allowed to be a ‘local’?” John laughed as hard as I’ve ever seen him and walked away. If you’d like to sponsor a contest, please contact me at tubularviews@gmail.com
Under 10 Boys/Girls: 1 Parker Karinsky; 1 Maya Karl Under 12 Boys: 1 Sandon Karinsky; 2 Patrick Murphy; 3 Timothy McGuinness; Under 14 Girls: 1 Summer Ejnes 2 Rosalyn Lim; Under 14 Boys: 1 Patrick Murphy; 2 Andrey Dagayev ; Under 16 Girls: 1 Dakota Ejnes; 2 Liz Kohler; 3 Summer Ejnes; 4 Anissa Maimone; Under 16 Boys: 1 Chris Stone; 2 Noah Wilson; 3 Patrick Murphy; 4 Teddy Stathis Under 18 Girls, Under 18 Boys: 1 Erin Kohler; 1 Chris Stone; 2 Selena Moberly; 2 Noah Wilson; 3 Dakota Ejnes: 3 Ryan Williams; 4 Sklyar Eiskowitz; Under 18 Girls Longboard: 1 Erin Kohler; 2 Summer Ejnes; 3 Anissa Maimone ; 4 Dakota Ejnes; Men: 1 Christian Rojas; 2 Alexander Dumont; 3 David Dileo; 4 Martin Dileo Women 18+ : 1 Grace Lee; 2 Lauren Brown; 3 Katazyna Turowska: Open: 1 Alexander Dumont; 2 David Dileo; 3 Christian Rojas; 4 John Gutierrez
“WOW: ROCKAWAY: Stories to Remember” at Yana Photo Exhibition Captures Storm’s Wrath and Aftermath
A photographic project created during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, by artist and new Rockaway resident Victoria Barber, will be on view this summer at YANA from July 5 through Labor Day. The venue was a strong pillar to the
Rockaway community serving as a relief hub during the storm and continues to serve the community as an umbrella to many social service organizations. The show is scheduled to compliment the ROCKAWAY! summer festival and will feature new prints from her
ongoing project, along with a selection of more than 20 images shown previously at YANA. The public is invited to the opening reception on Saturday, July 5, from 6- 10 PM. YANA is located at 112-34 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Rockaway, NY.
Barber’s images were initially bound into a 22 page full color book, “WOW: ROCKAWAY: Stories to Remember”, as a memory and token of love to her extended family, the Lachner’s, who reside in Belle Harbor. Photos by Victoria Barber
Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014 | 19
Broad Channel • Between the Bridges
C’mon, admit it. The Rockaway Times rocks! By Peter J. Mahon In addition to in-depth coverage of all our local issues, where else will you see columns by a “surfer dude”, a "Beefeater" loving secret bartender, a “Rockaway Catwoman” with nine lives, a former NYC Lifeguard who tells us all "Be Well, Be Happy", John Cori who is apparently stuck "Between the Groins" and an ex-Warden from Rikers Island who himself is stuck "Between the Bridges"?Answer: Only in the Rockaway Times! Last Thursday I traveled to Governor’s Island in New York Harbor for the graduations of two of Broad Channel’s latest high school graduates, Kyle Steinhoff and Victoria Mahon, from New York Harbor School.Located in the heart of New York Harbor (accessible only by ferry) the Harbor School offers a unique, on-water learning experience for all its students.In addition to providing a college-preparatory education built upon New York City’s maritime experience, the school works to instill the ethics of environmental stewardship and the skills associated with careers on the water in all stu-
20 | Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014
dents. They learn to build and operate boats; design submersible, remotelyoperated vehicles; conduct real-life research; and dive underwater. Students also go on field trips, tour colleges, hear and learn from experts in related fields of marine science and industry, and participate in the school’s on-going and much publicized oyster restoration research program.The students maintain a “first name” relationship with their teachers and it is not uncommon for them to share email addresses as well! (Due diligence now requires that I inform you that the only “relationship” I shared with my high school teachers was a very close and continual one with Brother Dennis, Dean of Discipline at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn.We were most certainly not on a first name basis!)Nevertheless, Harbor School is a unique educational experience which tends to be overshadowed by the myriad of other N.Y.C. high schools but, in my humble opinion, a perfect fit for any Broad Channel student who loves the water! This past Saturday West 12th Road
was closed to all traffic and all cars were removed from the block.No, it was not because of start of construction on the new bulkheads and street raisings.It was the 2nd Annual Post-Sandy West 12th Road Block Party hosted once again by Gwen and Frank O’Toole. The afternoon belonged to the little ones who were kept busy with the huge and colorful bounce castle, the Dragon Swing and numerous other games and activities. As evening approached, our local purveyor of ice cream showed up with his truck with plenty of delicious treats for everyone!Shortly after 6 p.m., the DJ arrived and West 12th Road came alive with the sound of music which lasted well into the night.Everyone, young and old, seemed to have a request for a particular song which was immediately accommodated. Well…except for mine.I requested my personal favorite, Deep Purple, by Nino Tempo and April Stevens and all I got for my effort was a long blank stare accompanied by a curt two word response- What? Who?” No matter, the weather was perfect, the food and libation abundant and
cold and the company of and conversation with our neighbors memorably enjoyable.A big shout out to Gwen and Frank O’Toole for their annual efforts in this regard.I hope the block party on W12thRd remains a Broad Channel tradition for many years to come. On a more somber note, last week the heart of our small community in Broad Channel was saddened with the unexpected passing of Suzanne Grillman (nee Corbett).There is an old English Proverb which states “Death always comes too early or too late.”In Suzanne’s case, a young mother, loving wife and vibrant individual, her departure from her family and all her friends here in the Channel surely came much too early.Suzanne (she really hated Susan!) is but a few steps ahead of all of us on a road that we all must ultimately travel.Until we catch up with her on that road, Suzanne can rest assured she will remain a Broad Channel memory to be treasured! See y'all next week! Broad Channel - why would anyone want to live anywhere else? E-mail: rtbetweenthebridges@gmail.com
Be Well, Be Happy By Paulette Mancuso I moved to Rockaway in 1992. From then until 2005 I worked in Manhattan at a very demanding stressful job. Drove in and out every day, long hours, lots of responsibility, but, night after night, in the spring, summer and early fall, with the windows opened, approaching the bridge, outside temperature decreasing by the second and the smell of the ocean air entering my nose, that inner smile enveloped me: I was grateful to be here and come home to peace, open sky and fresh air. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to have a consulting business and really take time to come to know some parts of this community through yoga classes. People were coming together to “get well,” not only exercise. There was something about the yoga practice that calmed and reju-
venated us. At the same time, I was exploring organic gardening. What is all this food talk about? Think: if you eat a pear that has been sprayed with pesticide, where do you think the pesticide goes? It’s possible that it stays in our bodies. It’s possible, that these foreign toxic substances wreak havoc on our amazingly complex harmonious bodies. I eat out of my garden all spring summer and fall. I don’t have many “mouths” to feed so it works for me with supplemental shopping, of course. So how does one achieve this with a busy lifestyle – family, kids, games, parents, etc. etc.? Just be on the lookout for fresh food – no packages, no ingredients’ list that exceeds the letters in your name and address! Whenever possible, that is. Soon you will see how easy it is to make a salad dressing, for example, and how deli-
cious it tastes. And you know exactly what is in it. Back to basics. Less is more. Moderation. Less stress is best. Breathe. Deep breathing (as we learn through our yoga practice) helps to calm the nervous system and reduce stress. 10 deep belly breaths – long inhalations and long exhalations - after rushing around and before going to sleep will do wonders. The mind/ body becomes centered. Try it. Try it a few times – it only takes a few minutes. Slow down and be in the minutes just for a few minutes. No one has to know. It’s yours – something to do for yourself. Remember that it is not selfish to be well and happy, in fact, it becomes contagious. Those around you will be affected in a positive way. A few years ago, a friend gave me a Louise Hay book. I read it casually and then started to repeat some
positive affirmations to myself before sleeping, every night for several months. My attitude changed. Noticeably. I firmly believe that what we think and say become part of us. You can say to yourself, “I am happy.” “I am grateful for what I have.” “I let go of that which doesn’t serve me well.” I have inner peace.” Or something like that. Then, notice the shift in your mind and heart. Stop and take in nature. Begin to seek out food, real food. Breathe. Be kind to yourself by repeating positive affirmations. Paulette is a retail development consultant who has recently been moving in the direction of living a healthful life by becoming a certified yoga and therapeutic yoga guide. She lives to be in balance and enjoys making people feel better.
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718-474-1915 e-mail: mquig44441@aol.com Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014 | 21
The Beef Chip with Team Cyclops
Insider Intel After last week’s column in which the Health Department got the lashing it deserved, you may have thought this was just a rant column.Far from it! A Beef Chip is a human who knows many useless facts and shares them freely.A Beef Chip loves snacks but may not share as freely as information. Snacks aside, Beef Chip and Team Cyclops gathered some important intel. Here’s our list of crafty veteran information that you may want to employ. There’s a red-light camera on the light on 140th looking over the bay. Wake up and smell the coffee before you ruin your day.The light by Vetro at the beginning of Howard Beach has a camera and loves taking a photo.If the “don’t walk” sign is already blinking, you’re better off going slow. The longest light in Rockaway is on 102nd under the train.Don’t make the left after cyber zone, unless you want to go insane.The new camera on Beach Channel and 106th street has people up in arms. Try not to speed by schools, and put our children in harm. We don’t think it’s speeding, it’s just trying to elude the wretched smell of the sewage plant, and our lunches being spewed. If you’re coming off Shorefront and make the right on Beach 108, take the left shortcut by Daltons, and save yourself the wait at the light.The pot holes by Hammels are brutal and eat at your car’s suspensionCruise up shorefront parkway and you won’t have to dip into your pension. Uma’s white sauce is delicious and deserves more recognition. The food is plentiful and you can skip a trip to your local dietitian.Elegante has great pizza and always delivers quick. The chicken roll is underrated and is served pretty thick. The Rockaway Beach Surf Club is chill, and has a great backyard vibe.We’d eat that BBQ Truck out of business if they ever accepted bribes. Bungalow Bar has a deck that was 22 | Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014
built for a party. You’re not making it to work the next day if you get a bar seat next to Marty. Connolly’s pumps out frozens like they’re going out of style. Sunburned beachgoers seek refuge there and always leave with a smile. Whit’s End is changing the face of pizza, and everyone wants a bite.Don’t sleep on the pork belly tacos, everything is prepared on site.Rockaway Taco has made a name for itself, and it’s only getting better. The only time there’s not a line around the block is if it’s cloudy weather.Playland is back, and a very welcomed addition. The backyard isn’t open yet, we hope the neighbors don’t sign a petition.The Concessions are rocking. And all are great to watch the World Cup games.Seems like everywhere is mobbed, no need to name names. Healy’s crushes country music every Friday night.Happy hour starts early, so stop by Daltons before for a bite.Brendan’s Bar is open and the renovations look amazing. Bar games everywhere- perfect for dart league hazing. Rogers has the finest juke box and pours the best pint of Guinness on the beach, Brendan Jones is the best bartender in Rockaway, no one else is in reach. The “Rockaway Sprint” is the new challenge for Rockaway bike rides.It’s the bus clogged, narrow boulevard between Beach 108th Street and 1116th. Jameson’s pub food is one of the tops in Rock. 129th street is filled with good food, all on one block. PICO does work when it comes to Mexican cuisine, If you want a milkshake, stop by Maria’s -she’s the queen. The Sugar Bowl has expanded and construction will start in the fall. Good luck getting home from The Blarney, cabs hate getting that call. These are just a few places we have gathered valuable information for, stay tuned.Right now, we have turn this in to Kevin Boyle so he stops yelling about deadlines and word counts.
Fund Site Nets $60K for Sanitation Worker Killed in Maspeth By Debbie Cohen It did not take long for Steven Frosch’s family and friends to come together in memory of the late city sanitation worker, who died last week in a street sweeper accident in Maspeth. A fundraising site sprouted up late last week in memory of Frosch, 43, who died June 21 after getting pinned between two street sweepers in Maspeth. Since then, friends and family helped raise more than $60,000 in memory of the Garden City South native. “Our family has been shaken to the core and as we continue to grieve and console each other, I ask you to never forget him and his family,” said Lisa Modica, Frosch’s cousin. “There is a hole in our hearts that will never be filled. A void in our lives that will never be replaced.” Modica provided several detailed updates on the family’s grieving over Frosch’s death and expressed her gratitude in the wake of his June 27 funeral, which drew hundreds. “[The funeral] was absolutely beautiful and a send off that Steve truly deserved,” she said. “Some may say it looked like a hero’s tribute. And in our eyes it was.”
When it was first launched, the fundraising site had a humbler goal of $10,000 – but that figure was surpassed six times over as of press time. A total of 783 donors contributed as of Tuesday afternoon, resulting in $61,655 raised. Frosch left behind a wife and four children. Mayor Bill de Blasio made an appearance at Frosch’s funeral last week at Saint Catherine of Siena Church in Franklin Square, L.I. to pay his respect to the 15-year sanitation veteran. “It’s a painful day for New York’s strongest, especially for the Frosch family and all who knew Steven,” de Blasio said in front of the large crowd. “I think we all know that our city reveals its true character through our people and Steve was a New Yorker to the core. He represented the very best of New York City.” Kathryn Garcia, commissioner of the Department of Sanitation, said the outpouring of support since Frosch’s death underscored how tragic his death was to the city and his community. “Visits to Frosch’s garage reveal a man deeply admired and loved by his colleagues, many of whom were his dear friends,” Garcia said. “We are all reminded that this is a dangerous job that requires constant vigilance for ourselves, our partners and the public.”
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WALSH MANAGEMENT CORP. Prayer for our troops. Lord, hold our troops in your hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen. 24 | Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014
Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014 | 25
Crossword
CLUES ACROSS 1. Sanford, FL school 4. Indicates outer 8. Container counterbalance 10. Domestic cat genus 11. Cools down 12. Intolerant people 13. Take hold of 15. Corner bar 16. By way of 17. Microwave amplifier 18. Take up again 20. "Hawaii Five-O" star 23. A sphere 24. 007's creator 25. Downton Abbey network 26. Rapper __ Lo 27. Taxi 28. Romaine 29. Mum of China 36. From Haiti 37. Fatuous 38. Make fun of 39. A doctrine 40. African plant species 41. Dry red wine 43. Korean monetary unit 44. US airbase in Krygyzstan 45. Do work 46. Czech capital (alt. sp.) 47. Crafty
26 | Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014
Fun & Games
CLUES DOWN 1. Mark of infamy 2. Of the lower back 3. Crimp 4. Brain wave test 5. Pulled apart 6. Leatherwoods 7. Thessaly mountain 9. R. Devereux, 1st Earl of 10. Leg bones 12. Most branchy 14. Favorable argument 15. Wooden plug 18. Stroke 19. Fukien dialect 21. Special interest influencer 22. Many not ands 25. Political organizations 26. Bunco game 27. 22nd Greek letter 28. Metal container 29. Beach shelter 30. Detective Spade 31. Strike 32. Establish by law 33. Massive compact halo objects 34. Unwind 35. In a base manner 36. ___ mass: abnormal growth 38. Canadian law enforcers 42. Scrap of cloth
sudoku
Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!
Good Luck solutions
Please find the solutions to THIS WEEK's puzzles below. Come back every week for more puzzles and brain teasers.
Boyleing Points
Boyleing Pints and Rockaway Algebra By Kevin Boyle Two things. Starting this newspaper was like giving birth to an elephant. And it’s 4th of July weekend; the summer’s over. And it’s a good thing. There’s one thing about all the summer fun that makes me long for the dead of winter. It’ the generosity of others. I can’t take it. I’m begging you, I’m begging you. Don’t buy me a drink or send over a round. I have never been able to answer the question the late Barbara Eisenstadt asked of me: is he socially awkward or socially inept? I think inept gets the edge. I just don’t get the rules.It was in the sorely missed Harbor Light that I was at my worst. I’d be on the way out, taking my last sip, when the bartender would lean towards me and say, “This is on, Tommy (or Steve or Pat or Sean or another
Kevin).”Oh, boy, here we go. I raise the bottle to acknowledge the generosity, discretely gritting my teeth because now I can’t leave until I send a drink back, right?Or do I just graciously accept and stop worrying about it? I wish it was so simple. With Rockaway being Rockaway you can easily find yourself down the rabbit’s watering hole. You never know when you might be the victim of someone’s generosity. All of sudden, you might hear somebody say, “Back those guys up,” That means somebody else has just paid for your next drink. And now you’re thinking about returning the favor for two or more. It’s like Rockaway algebra. Rounds grow exponentially. On days and nights like this “Honey, I’m home” is never received with joy. Part of me thinks the whole thing is dumb. He buys me one now I have to buy him one? Why don’t we just buy
Rockaway Beach – Gateway to “THE ROCKAWAYS” By Dolores Orr The Rockaway Beach Civic Association (RBCA)formed in 1962 (under the leadership of John Fletcher) as a result of a battle with the city over the planned demolition of homes on Beach 92 to Beach 94th.It was either for the new Cross Bay Bridge or for BCHS-I was too young at the time to remember - but that was my first introduction to
community involvement. I lived on Beach 93 Street and along with all the other families on our street. My parents took all six of us kids to the steps of City Hall to fight the demolition of our home – AND WE WON!I have lived my whole live in Rockaway – in fact my Dad grew up on Beach 91 Street and my parents met in Boggiano’s in the summer of 1948. But back to Rockaway Beach - We
ourselves what we want?What can I say, I’m inept. What do you do when you’re just walking the beach and someone offers you a drink from their cooler? How do you reciprocate?I was riding my bike one fine day when someone called from their porch. They offered a drink. I’ve been sitting on my porch ever since waiting for them to pass on a bike so I can return the favor. If I don’t reciprocate I’m always wondering if people just think I’m a cheapskate. And worse. I think – please don’t tell me I was wrong --- I think I did the right thing recently in the new wine bar. Someone sent over drinks to wish me luck after I filed my last column for the other paper in town.The anxiety washed over me, how do I handle this, how do I reciprocate? Finally, I just accepted, no strings attached. (But Jerry and Maureen, I’m no cheapskate, I got you next time).
Oh, and Terence Tubridy, what am I supposed to do with you? You own a bar and got me one on the house. Now I’m thinking, what do I do about that? This generosity thing is torture. Good thing it’s the Fourth and summer’s over.
are a very diverse community from Beach 108 Street to Beach 73rd Street and Ocean to Bay. On the Oceanside we are fronted by Shore Front Parkway – built by Robert Moses in the 1950’swith the Towers of Surfside, Dayton Towers and Dayton Beach Park on the west and east ends. Nestled between those towers is ‘the village’ of 1-2 family homes, many nearly 100 years old and many new. On the Bayside are 1-2 family homes, Bay Towers, Madelaine Chocolate, The Scholars’ Academy, Beach Channel HS Campus, Hammel Houses, Knights of Columbus (“the meeting place for Rockaway”) and the Court House. Rockaway Beach is the backbone or mechanics of “The Rockaways” with the electrical substation, the waste treatment plant, the 100th Precinct Police Station, the Rockaway Ferry. We are the home of NYC’s First Surfing Beach and welcome millions of visitors each summer or as us locals call them DFDs (Down For the Day). The roadblocks we encounter from government agencies with no sense of urgency, makes each day a challenge both in day to day quality of life issues and Sandy recovery.But recover we will and stronger we have become. Good Things are happening in Rockaway Beach. The sewer/wa-
ter main project, started long before Sandy, is finally done and our roads and sidewalks will finally be repaired beginning June 30th. There are new restaurants in the Beach 90’s along Rockaway Beach Blvd – if you missed The Taste of Rockaway Beach in May, you missed a GREAT TIME!Hope you can make the next one!RBCA Annual 5K Run in September, Paddle Ball Tournament a couple of weeks ago,neighborhood cleanups, visiting artists painting murals (B97/RBB; B91/ RBB; B95/Freeway). And our Beach and Boardwalk Boardwalk construction begun, stopped, begun again and stopped again ….Army Corps finally removing the pipe…there’s been no swimming allowed on any beaches in Rockaway Beach – Parks Dept. says by July 4th –all those people getting off the trains and buses with no place to swim…..but as the Ramones sing“the sun is out, I want some. It’s not hard, not far to reach. We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach… Rock Rock Rockaway Beach. ” Interested in joining? Any resident living between Beach 108 & Beach 73 is welcomed to become a member.Just send an email to rockawaybeachcivicassociation@msn.com also visit RockawayBeachCivicAssociation.org or follow us on Facebook.
* * * The Rockaway Times got all sorts of good publicity lately but nothing like getting a shout out at mass in Breezy. Father Peter Rayder somehow worked The Rockaway Times into the homily.And I always work The Rockaway Times into my confessions. * * * You got to give the city credit for being clever about one thing. They set up a speed trap right in front of the stinking poop plant, the one place you HAVE to speed past. * * * Shoutout to The Shens and Ann Simon. Secret fans no longer!
101st Precinct Community Council Beth Abraham Health Services 1821 Cornaga Ave. 6:30 p.m. Every third Wednesday of the month, members of the 101st Precinct Community Council gather to talk about the latest issues facing the community. Members of the precinct will be in attendance to discuss the latest crime trends and how to keep the community safe. Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014 | 27
Between The Groins By John Cori Way back in the early 1980’s, when I was in my late teens, it was a Rockaway right of passage for many local young people in their teens to work for the NYC Parks Department. If you were a good swimmer, you became a lifeguard and made sure people were safe while swimming. If you could stab a piece of garbage with a pointy stick, you became a Parky and made sure the beaches were kept clean. Parkies, for the most part, were assigned to clean the beaches closest to their home. Back then, NYC Parks would hire over a hundred and fifty, local young people from throughout the peninsula to do a very clear cut job: pick up garbage! And it was done! Today, there are bigger problems than garbage. I am dumbfounded by what Parks has turned our beaches into. Gone is the ultra importance of beach cleanliness and swim safety. Today we are riddled with filthy beaches and overflowing beach trashcans. Today we would be lucky to find 600 trash cans, when 1200 are needed. We are held hostage waiting for too many lifeguards to finish their winter jobs! Parks now only employs
less than a third of the staff to clean our beaches than they did in the 1980’s! Half those jobs can only be obtained through a social welfare programs. What message does that send to our local young ? Many people may not realize, but Rockaway beach, is nearly 3 times the size of Coney island/Brighton Beach. They have 2.5 miles of beach compared to our 6.5, yet for some unexplained reason we have only one third of the operating equipment to prepare and maintain our beach on the Rockaway Peninsula each year. The Coney/Brighton beaches have nine orange beach dump trucks; we have only four. Coney/Brighten beaches have four frontend loaders compared to our two. And they have three times as many tractors with beach rakes. They also have three times as many permanent workers, working year round to prepare their beaches! Now while this may seem like a swipe at the men and women who are doing the day to day job maintaining our beaches for Parks, it is not! They are doing the best they can with what they have. Unfortunately they just don’t have the support from upper Parks Management to get the job done or enough beach experience to maintain a beach.
There needs to major changes in Parks Management here on Rockaway Beach. First we need a new NYC Parks BEACH Commissioner, dealing exclusively with beach issues. This Beach Commissioner should have complete control of each and every aspect of dealing with the yearly operation of our beaches, maintaining proper equipment, dealing with budgets and overseeing the operations of our lifeguards. This Commissioner also needs to have jurisdiction over Parks enforcement on our Beaches. The Commissioner should ban the use of All Terrain Vehicles during non-emergency situations. Second. We need our Park Manager of Rockaway Beach to return to the exclusive management of Rockaway Beach. Several years ago, our Park Manager was given several more parks to maintain in southern Queens, therefore diluting his abilities and duties here on the Peninsula. Lastly local elected officials who love to use the all too common buzz words “ JOBS JOBS JOBS “ need to put thier money where there mouth is and fund the hiring of local youth to bring back our beaches to there former glory! If Councilman Walter Ward was able to do it back in the 1980’s, anyone can!
Ulrich Supports Sandy Money Monitor Continued From page 10
ing methods, would investigate fraud and abuse in order to maximize the amount of money going towards the most vulnerable residents, he said. Days later, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed legislation into law on Tuesday allowing the Buildings Department to waive building fees for New Yorkers still recovering from the devastating 2012 storm through the Build It Back program. Projects like Build It Back have been under intense scrutiny over recent months as those who needed money reported long waits and inefficient red tape holding them back. “By speeding up the rebuilding process and waiving these fees, we are bringing coastal communities throughout the city one step closer to full restoration,” Ulrich said of the measure. “The day when people can finally move back home cannot come soon enough.” So while the city moved forward with speeding up the Build It Back access, Ulrich and Treyger argued there was no better time than the present to have a watchful eye overlooking the Sandy dollars.
28 | Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014
“With so much money at stake, we have an obligation to prevent fraud and abuse so that storm victims can have full confidence in our ability to help every victim rebuild their homes, businesses and lives,” Treyger said. “This law is an important step towards making sure that all funding is used in an appropriate and efficient manner and goes directly to the many storm victims who are still waiting for help nearly two years after the storm.” The legislation, de Blasio said, was only one part of the greater effort to overhaul Sandy recover programs. Under the new law, the mayor said Build It Back no longer needed to pay the Buildings Department on behalf of homeowners until they are reimbursed. “Allowing New Yorkers to more quickly rebuild from damages caused by Hurricane Sandy is crucial to the recovery process,” said City Council Speaker Melissa MarkViverito. “We’re grateful that the de Blasio administration shares this priority with the Council, and we look forward to continuing a productive dialogue about measures that will best serve New Yorkers still recovering from Hurricane Sandy.”
Schumer to FDA: Update Warnings
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require childproof safety caps and clear warning labels on e-cigarette liquid containers in order to address the alarming increase in related poisonings, particularly in children. Schumer said that the CDC has warned that national poison control calls related to e-cigarettes have jumped from 1 per month in 2010 to about 200 per month in 2014, and more than half of e-cigarette related poisonings have involved children under the age of five years old. In order to combat this alarming and growing issue, Schumer is urging the FDA to include in their final e-cigarette regulations a requirement that the containers for this potentially lethal liquid be equipped with a child safety cap, similar to prescription medication. E-cigarettes are battery-operated
devices that are designed to resemble traditional cigarettes. E-cigarettes contain a mechanism inside the device that heats up liquid nicotine and turns it into a vapor that smokers then inhale and exhale. Unlike conventional cigarettes, however, e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco. This key difference has led some to deem e-cigarettes safer to smoke – and to be exposed to – than conventional cigarettes, but the recent study in JAMA Pediatrics clearly shows that this is not the case, as these products are leading to increased tobacco use. Many e-cigarettes are refillable, and e-liquid is sold in small vials that can easily be opened by children that are attracted by the colors and smells of flavors. “The FDA should also require clear warning labels on these products so that parents can better understand the danger of this candyflavored threat,” Schumer said.
State Passes Queens Library Reforms Continued From page 7
recent months. With Cuomo’s approval, the library must now file financial disclosure forms, put limits on outside employment and require an annual budget hearing along with a 30-day public comment period before it is adopted, lawmakers said. Katz, along with other lawmakers, called on the CEO to take a temporary leave of absence out of fear that the city would cut funding to the library if he was still in charge. She applauded the mayor and state Legislature for moving the new reforms through so quickly as a means to prevent any future steps the library’s board of trustees might take to protect Galante’s salary. “This new law will now dramatically improve the governance and oversight of the Queens Library, which is 85 percent funded by taxpayer dollars,” Katz said. “It will also help guarantee that the library continues to be a quality provider of
educational, cultural and enrichment services to our borough’s 2.3 million residents.” The city’s Department of Investigation and FBI delved into the Queens Library’s financial and governance practices, focusing on library trustees’ refusal to open the library’s financial records to City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office as well as troubling expenditures by Galante, including a reported $27,000 private smoking deck. Lawmakers have since kept a keen eye on Galante and the board, with the latest set of reforms marking the first official check in place from the state Legislature. “I applaud the state legislature for successfully bringing more accountability and transparency to the Queens Public Library,” said Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), in a statement. “With this reform bill, we will help ensure our tax dollars are being spent properly and give the public access to information they deserve to know.”
The Rockaway Times Sports & Recreation
Get Ready, Get Set
Graybeards Family Fun Run Is July 25 The 12th annual Graybeards Family Run will kick off on Friday July 25, at 6:30 PM at St. Francis de Sales. The night will begin with the Kids Races. These will vary in distance according to age, and will start and finish at Beach 127 Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard. The Rockaway Special Olympians will follow with their always-inspiring Quarter Mile Run. The 1 Mile Run will begin at 7:00 PM. The races will be capped by the 5K Run. Post-race activities will follow immediately in the St. Francis Schoolyard and will include music by the Grayriders along with the awards presentations, raffles, children’s rides, and
plenty of food and beverages. Advance registration will be at St. Francis de Sales on July 19 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., July 20 from 10 a.m- 1 p.m. and July 24 from 6- 9 p.m. D Day of Race registration is from 4-6 p.m..You may also contact the Graybeards office and website, www.graybeards.com. If you just want to take part in the festivities, a $10 contribution will be accepted as you enter the yard. Race directors Keith Goldberg and Joe Featherston say “Come One, Come All” for an evening of fun for the entire family. A large turnout is anticipated so please register early.
Summer Classic Underway The 30th season of the St. Francis Summer Classic is now underway. With Sandy in the rearview mirror and the schoolyard intact, resumption of the summer basketball league is a welcome sight on the west end. According to Keith Goldberg, The Graybeards Young Guns and Legends divisions are already well into their season with games on Thursday nights at St. Francis, St. Camillus, and St. Thomas More gyms. The Women’s Open began their Monday-Tuesday tripleheaders at St. Francis on June 16 and will transition to St. Camillus next week. The Men’s Open launched on June 24 with games on Tuesday and Thursday and settles into a
regular Thursday night schedule beginning next week. Most other divisions are set to begin on Monday July 7th. The Girls High School and 2nd grade divisions are still being worked on. In a new wrinkle, games will be on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. Wednesday replaces Friday as the day to make up any rain-outs. Playoff week is 8/18-22 with championships tentatively scheduled Thursday August 21 and Friday August 22. All are welcome to catch the action at the Fr. Grogan Memorial Schoolyard on Beach 129th Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard.
City Ends Ban on Atlantic Ocean Kayaking
After a ban on beach launched kayaks that spanned decades, New York City has agreed to synchronize its regulations with New York State’s Health Codes and allow beach launched kayaks, rowing shells, SUPs and the like. The Gateway Bike & Boathouse has been advocating for humanpowered access to the
Atlantic Ocean for years but finally stepped up efforts with its “AccessAtlantic” initiative early this year. “We had several meetings with Liam Kavanaugh, First Deputy Parks Comm. and Dorothy Lewandowski, Queens Parks Comm. and many politicians on this issue,” said Rick Horan, Gateway’s Director. “Every-
one seemed genuinely interested in finding a solution to giving kayakers access to the Atlantic Ocean from City beaches but thought that NYS health regulations that control bathing rules would first need to be changed.” “State Assemblyman, Phil Goldfeder, was instrumental in bridging the gap between State regulators and NYC Parks Dept. In the end, it was just a matter of interpretation. No law or regulation needed to be changed,” said Horan. The revised rules, effective immediately, allow human powered watercraft to launch from any beach during nonswimming hours (before 10 AM or after 6 PM) or anytime from any unprotected beach.
The Baseball Champs
It’s not every year a team wins a championship. When the Dolphins of Beach Channel won the PSAL B Championship not all the players got recognized in various media outlets. Here are all members of the 2014 Champions. Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014 | 29
THE HAPPENINGS Resorts World Casino
Every Wednesday Sandy Sessions
1526 Central Ave. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Every Wednesday, NHJS will be offering Sandy case management services and grants, connecting people with the various programs available to help in the ongoing efforts of recovery. Call (718) 291-7400 for more information.
Every Third Wednesday
101st Precinct Community Council Beth Abraham Health Services 1821 Cornaga Ave. 6:30 p.m. Every third Wednesday of the month, members of the 101st Precinct Community Council gather to talk about the latest issues facing the community. Members of the precinct will be in attendance to discuss the latest crime trends and how to keep the community safe.
Through Aug. 27 Free Zumba
Beach 108th Street Hockey Rink 7:30 p.m. Get in shape with this popular form of exercise and dance that combines Latin and African dance steps. Classes will be free of charge and open to all.
Yoga on the Beach
Through Aug. 31
Saturday, July 12
Be a Bird Detective/ Observe Ospreys
German American Festival
Plattduetsche Park 1132 Hempstead Tpke, Franklin Square Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge 10 a.m. Gates open at 12 p.m. Learn to use binoculars and a bird detective checklist. Binoculars The two-day German American Festival includes fun for the whole and guides will be available to share. Hear stories of osprey’s family, including live music, German food and beer, a queen and annual long-distance migrations and their recovery in the U.S. princess contest, Bavarian dancing, children’s games, a magic act Dress for the weather. performance, and much more. Admission is $10, and children under the age of 12 are free. For more information, call (516) 354-3131.
Through Sept. 6 Yoga on the Beach
Beach 108th Street Boardwalk 8 a.m. Parks presents yoga on the beach with Helen Kilgallen from Elaine’s Dance School in this beginner hatha yoga class. Bring mat, large towel or blanket.
Through Labor Day
Yoga/Human Movement
Beach 104 Street Monday-Friday at 8:00 am The cost is $5 to attend this class. Bring a mat or towel.
Resorts World Casino
Sunday, July 13
German American Festival
Gates open at 12 p.m. Plattduetsche Park 1132 Hempstead Tpke, Franklin Square The two-day German American Festival includes fun for the whole family, including live music, German food and beer, a queen and princess contest, Bavarian dancing, children’s games, a magic act performance, and much more. Admission is $10, and children under the age of 12 are free. For more information, call (516) 354-3131.
Sunday, July 20
Friday, July 4th
Victorian Strawberry Social
PHOTO: fireworks 74-110 Rockaway Blvd. 7:00 pm Resorts World Casino will be holding a 4th of July fireworks viewing event at Bar360 and on their 6th floor parking lot at 74-110 Rockaway Blvd., Jamaica, Queens, and beginning at 7:00 p.m. The 6th floor parking lot is the perfect viewing spot for the Independence Day fireworks.
Free Zumba 30 | Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014
you would like to include in The Rockaway Times’ Happenings, please email information and photos to news@rockawaytimes.com with the subject RT HAPPENINGS or call 718-634-3030
Forest Park Carousel Forest Park 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy strawberry desserts, unlimited carousel rides, entertainment and more, including a barbershop quartet. Don’t forget your Victorian hats. RSVP is required. Members pay $8 and non-members pay $10 for admission. For more information, call (718) 704-9317 or email Richmond.hill.historical@gmail.com.
Be a Bird Detective/Observe Ospreys
MULTIVIZ
Keeping Our Community Healthy One Family Member At A Time
GRAND OPENING OF OUR
URGENT CARE CENTER • Reduced Waiting Time • State-Of-The-Art Diagnostic Equipment • Walk-Ins Welcome
EKG • LAB WORK • ALLERGIES ASTHMA TREATMENTS • EAR INFECTIONS • FRACTURES MINOR LACERATIONS • CUTS & BRUISES • STITCHES Adults, Adolescents & Children Welcomed NO APPOINTMENTS NECESSARY OPEN 7 DAYS Evenings, Weekends & Most Holidays
Mon., Wed., Thurs. 9am – Midnight
Tues. & Fri. 9am – 10pm
Saturday & Sunday: 9am – 5pm
Multiviz Health Services Welcomes Dr. Uthman
and
Cardiologist
Most Insurances Accepted
Dr. Salomon
Digital X-Ray Available On Site
Pain Management Specialist We speak English, Spanish, Russian
Parking Available
529 Beach 20th Street, Far Rockaway, NY 11691
(718) 327-7307
Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014 | 31
Finally! A Manhattan Medical Spa in Rockaway
E
xperience sophistication and pampering at Rockaway's first medical spa, Nicole Frontera Beauty. From Botox® to Vanquish™ non-surgical fat reduction and medical waxing (you'll swear by our numbing cream), you can finally experience the best beauty services that Manhattan has to offer, right here in Rockaway Park.
From July 7th to July 12th, receive one complimentary waxing of a small area as Nicole's gift to you! By Appointment Only
Call Now! 718.945.1100 104-02 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Rockaway Park, New York 11694 718.945.1100 Nicole@NicoleFronteraBeauty.com NicoleFronteraBeauty.com Mon, Tues, Thurs: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm Wed: Closed Fri: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Sat: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Sun: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
INJECTABLES & DERMAL FILLERS • PHOTO FACIAL • LASER ACNE TREATMENT • LASER VEIN THERAPY • VANQUISH ™ SIGNATURE FACIAL • RADIOFREQUENCY SKIN TIGHTENING • ORGANIC FACIAL • CHEMICAL PEELS • MICRODERMABRASION THE OXYGEN FACIAL • TCA PEEL • FASCIAL STRETCH THERAPY ™ • MASSAGES • WAXING • LASER HAIR REMOVAL Special promotion valid through 7.7.14 to 7.12.14 only, and may not be combined. One small area as defined as: underarms, bikini, lip or eyebrows. Must mention this ad to receive specials. Individual results vary. Other restrictions may apply.
32 | Rockaway Times • July 3, 2014