WAVE Editorial: "Meting Fatigue"

Fight Against Meeting Fatigue

Last year there was the Rockaway cough. This year’s malady is meeting fatigue. There are Community Board meetings and committee meetings; there are regular civic association meetings and public meetings to discuss the boardwalk and participatory budgeting. There are Build It Back meetings and Community Rising meetings. There are issues that call for rallies and petitions. People have organized to fight soaring flood insurance rates, to get jetties and more sand, to make the ferry permanent, to reactivate the Rockaway Branch line, and to stop the pipeline. And we could go on.

Some locals seem to be at every meeting and rally. We tip our hat to those who can manage.

Most residents, however, cannot get to a lot of meetings. Families, jobs, and other obligations take understandable precedence. Unfortunately, too many people, therefore, are kept in the dark about community developments and issues. A lot of times things happen and people are left asking, how’d that happen? Who gave permission for that? Why didn’t they do this or that?

This editorial reminds you to try and find the time to check in on meetings (most of which are listed in The Wave). You aren’t expected at every meeting and every rally but your presence matters.

There are meetings almost every night next week. If you’ve got to budget time and can only make one meeting we suggest you set aside Tuesday evening for the Community Board meeting. There will be reports on the Rockaway pipeline and the boardwalk. We expect Parks and the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to be pushed on a completion date. We heard “four years” at a recent meeting. Are you okay with that? And do you want to hear what it might look like?

The meeting will cover other peninsula-wide issues as well. Generally, Community Board meetings offer the chance to hear about a variety of issues. And because there is a Public Speaking segment you can weigh in on any topic important to you.

We urge you to attend. Meet neighbors, make friends, get informed and inform. Sit and listen. Stand up and talk. Your choice.

And if you can’t go to meetings, write (email) letters to The Wave! Our letters section is a meeting place, too.

There are a lot of fights to fight. And the first fight is fighting meeting fatigue. Rockaway needs your input.