Beachcomber

Kudos to the firefighter spotted on Beach 116th Street Friday morning. Not only did he sweep the sidewalk clean in front of his ‘house,’ he went and swept in front of his neighbors across the street.

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” From the Rockaway’s Sandy Relief Free Flea Market Facebook page.

If Sandy taught us anything, it is that there is more than one way to solve a problem.

There were standing ovations on the Rockaway Theatre Company’sGodspell opening night. Applause to the cast, the phenomenal band, director Frank Ciaiti, and all the crew and company that made this high energy performance possible.

AM New York newspaper, in its “Outer BoroTransit Dreams:A Wishlist Of Service Improvements” article, concedes that “Manhattan is still the center of New York’s universe when it comes to planning transportation projects.” But it does note “Queenstransit advocates believe a 3.5-mile piece of Long Island Rail Road track that has been abandoned since 1962 is the best hope to slash travel times to Manhattan and other far-flung neighborhoods in the city’s largest borough.”

There is a larger than you think space in Rockaway, between just letting things happen here and stomping your feet and yelling “no, no, no” to everything. That’s the space where progress happens.

Bard on Rockaway. Acting the part of a traveling troupe of gypsy players, Brooklyn’s Dzieci theatre group will perform a mesmerizing, one of a kind Macbeth at RAA’s T-7 Gallery on Saturday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m.

Noted without comment: Forgotten New York website article headline, “Borderline Crazy Part III: FarRockaway, Queens.” (Okay, one comment: the “borderline” refers to Far Rock being right next to the Five Towns and Nassau County.)

Rockaway Artists Alliance’s ARTSplash, the first exhibition after the successfulRockaway!, clocked in an impressive 67 participating artists, more than 150 artworks and more than 200 people at its Sunday opening reception. Among others, former RAA presidents Geoff Rawling and Stephen Yaeger each stopped in. “Best of…” ribbons were awarded by exhibition judge Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, executive director of the QueensCouncil on the Arts.

“I won’t give away the subway stop that I take to Far Rockaway, as our spot is not crowded and I want to keep it that way. HINT - it’s next to the surfer’s beach. Far Rockaway is the cleanest and quietest beach I’ve found in NYC thus far, which is why it’s our favorite!” –From a contributor’s review of Rockaway’s beach on Tripadvisor.com. The site also advises “Recommended length of visit: More than three hours,” and describes Rockaway as a “popular destination for New Yorkers in mid- 20th century, still pleasant to visit.”

In recent weeks, a wedding photo that was found near 9/11’s Ground Zero 13 years ago was returned to its owner. A bracelet honoring a lost 9/11 firefighter was returned to his widow, after it was lost 10 years ago. Small items, perhaps. But they speak largely to the endurance of memory and loudly to the relentless human instinct to reach out and help.

HBO’s 1920’s era Boardwalk Empire may have folded its tent, so to speak, but Rockaway and Broad Channel retain their own, real life Prohibition legacies. So popular a spot was island-bound Broad Channel with rumrunners, that it was nicknamed “Little Cuba.’ Some older homes in Rockaway still have the hidden hatch in the floor where illegal booze could be offloaded from beneath the house—usually by cover of night.

This week’s Monday Motivation from the ArverneYMCA:“If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse.”

It might be new news to the New York Times, but there’s no surprise that many New Yorkers, as well as all of us local residents, are dedicated to stretching the Rockaway summer well past the “Labor Day deadline.”

From the Epoch Times: “Two jet skiers were rescued Sunday morning (9/14) after falling off their watercraft in the Ambrose Channel several miles west of Breezy Point in FarRockaway.” Other than the geographical impossibility of being several miles west of Breezy Point and ending up in Far Rockaway, we’re glad the jet skiers were OK.

It has been heard, but not yet confirmed, that the renovated supermarket building on Beach 105th andRockaway Beach Boulevard will reopen as a (somewhat smaller) Key Food.

Several new stores are set to open up on Rockaway Beach Boulevard in the Beach 90s. One is “Rockaway Rosters” gourmet coffee and organic juice bar.The other will be a sit-down Chinese restaurant. The third has a red and yellow awning that says “Dollar Value Liquid” and has a big phone number. Can’t wait to see how this all turns out. A special Beachcomber shout-out to all the Rockaway scrimshaw enthusiasts out there.

Coffee sales all over Rockaway may be expected to dip, if and when the roads are finally repaved. There will be less of the hot beverage spilled inside of cars and less of a reason for drivers to buy more as they navigate the peninsula.

The Far Rockaway library branch is now accepting letters for Santa. Parents need bring their children, from newborn to age 12, to register i.e. write a letter to the jolly man in red. This would be during library opening hours up to Friday, September 26, 2014. It might too early for Christmas shopping, but it’s never too early to bring a smile to children.

We are sad to note that Susan Schwach (nee’ Calvin), wife of former Wave editor Howard Schwach, passed away on Tuesday, September 9, 2014 at the age of 72. She was raised inArverne and Far Rockaway, grew up in Wavecrest and attended Far Rockaway High School. She raised her children in Bayswater and later moved to Rockaway Park. You can’t get any more Rockaway than that. Our condolences to Howie and her children Robby (Belinda) and Amy (Miguel) and grandchildren Ryan, Corey, and Lauren, family and friends
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