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Saturday, August 2, 2014

Broad Channel Bits (The Wave)




By Dan Guarino

Seen a little red car rolling up and down the streets of Broad Channel last week? He wasn’t delivering pizzas. The car with the odd apparatus on the roof and the ‘Bing’ logo was doing digital mapping. It is gathering accurate data for the search engine to create accurate maps, street views and directions. They are non-metaphorically putting Broad Channel on the (updated) map.
Thanks to Pete Mahon for noting this on his blog. He says he’s never seen one of these discrete cars in BC before.
The Two Bridges Music Festival is coming to BC, Saturday, Aug. 2. Great live bands will be playing from noon on outside of Grassy’s starting at 1 p.m.!
Broad Channel’s Frank and Mason Porretto are bringing Breakaway, Mr. Big Deal, Rattrap Bumpkin, Dave Kellan Band, Porretto Brothers & Friends, The Kings Heartbeat, Nonstop To Cairo, Ethoscope and Killzone out to play. Admission is free. So’s the toll if you’re a Rockaway resident with EZ Pass! Grassy’s is at 1802 Cross Bay Boulevard.
Bull’s-eye! The Ruffle Bar Pool Tournament is this Saturday, August 2. The entry fee is $20 per player and there are prizes. On Friday, August 18, there will be live music from the talented band Mr. Big Deal from 9 p.m. on. The Ruffle Bar is at 919 Cross Bay Boulevard.All proceeds go to this year’s BC Mardi Gras, and all Mardi Gras fundraising goes to support the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department.
Want to do some good for the community and be involved in things? Call the firehouse and volunteer whatever time you can. You may or may not be a firefighter, but if you can answer a phone, you can help.
The Broad Channel Athletic Club is ready to sign up young soccer players for the fall. The signup is for the BCAC’s in-house teams, ages 3 to 5, and the St. Virgilius/St. Camillus/St. Rose CYO teams, which is for first to eighthgrade girls and first to sixth-grade boys.
New players are more than welcome and no experience is necessary. Registration will be at the BCAC Clubhouse at 125 Cross Bay Boulevard, right next to the American Legion Hall. Sign up on Tuesday, Aug. 5, and Thursday, Aug. 7, from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 9 and 10, and Aug. 16 and 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. In-House registration is $50. CYO is $85; with new uniform it’s $110. Feel free to e-mail rchurchil3@gmail.com for more info.
We all know that Hamberry’s was burglarized overnight recently. I can tell you that while I was out covering the story, the police I talked to- from the cop securing the area to the crime scene investigators- were just as upset about this as we were. They were just more polite about it, and expressed it more professionally.
Two things about this… Well, okay, three. One, if you have any information about this burglary, anything, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), log on to www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All contacts are strictly anonymous.
Two, if you see someone or something in the neighborhood which is suspicious, dangerous, threatening or just not right, call 911, right away. Precinct commander Captain Adelman made this point at a 100th Precinct Community Council months ago. He advised people not to hesitate, to call right away. Don’t assume, “Oh, I am sure it’s nothing.” Let the police check it out and make that determination.
Third, besides what was stolen, Hamberry’s owners- good, hardworking people also lost nearly a whole day of business. Times have been hard enough and our post-Sandy world has not been any easier. Now this happens. In this, the thieves have stolen from all of us.
When you get a chance, stop in at Hamberry’s. Buy something- milk, a coffee, an ice cream pop for your kid. Whatever. Even something you don’t need. Help them out. Show them their Broad Channelcommunity supports them.
Wanna win $10,000? Get in on the raffle for the “Bubba For Mayor” campaign. There will be the big 10-triple zero prize and 18 smaller ones. Only 400 tickets will be sold, at $100. That’s it. Pretty good odds? Contact Cindi Ciappetta at cindi.ciappetta@baml.com or touch base with anyone from Bubba’s campaign right away.
Roll up your sleeves and get ready for St. Camillus-St. Virgilius parish blood drive on Sunday, Aug. 17 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The air-conditioned Bloodmobile will be parked outside of St. Camillus, onRockaway Beach Boulevard and Beach 100th Street. You must be 16-75 years of old; weigh 110 lbs or more and have had no new tattoos for the past 12 months. Eat well and drink fluids on Saturday. Bring photo ID.
Walk-ups are welcome. No appointment necessary. It is easy and quick. Call 718-634-8229 for information.
Kudos to Police Officer Young of the 100th Precinct, whom I met in the Channel last week. This gentleman was a perfect example of a consummate professional with a deep concern for the area he patrols.
Do you have any information or pictures of the Beacon Bar & Restaurant, formerly located at the end ofW. 10th Road in the 1960s? It was previously known as the Brown Derby and Hugo Alt’s. If you have info, call the BC Historical Society’s Barbara Toborg at 718- 474-1127.
Do you have possible photos for the 2015 Historical Calendar? Forward them to a member of the Historical Society: Dorothy Fraher, Dan Guarino, Frank Henglein, Kathy Louis, John McCambridge, Dan Mundy Sr., Mary O’Connell, Barbara Toborg, Jane Mary Tubridy, Joe Young or Judy Zackiewicz.
Please list any people in the picture; the year it was taken or the best estimate. Also please list who should be credited for donating the picture and who took it. Originals will be returned if requested. Thanks!
My thanks to Janet O’Hare for passing on Russell “Salty Russ” Bradley’s photos taken after the 1938 hurricane in Broad Channel. Every picture, every scrap, every bit or writing and artifact helps tell Broad Channel’s story.
Got more BC news? Send it to workingstories@aol.com. Thanks for reading!

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