Pages

Friday, August 8, 2014

Broad Channel Bits (The WAVE)


By Dan Guarino
As we roll into August and the second month of Mardi Gras, here are a couple of blasts from the past Broad Channel tid-Bits. Found these in one of my late wife Liz’s BC Bits columns from summer 2004.
“Duffy’s Irish Pub will present “An Irish Wake” on Saturday, Aug. 14. From 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. will be The Viewing; at 8:30 will be The Funeral Procession. Then it’s back to Duffy’s for “live” music, singing, bangers (Irish sausages), and Fun!”
“The committee for “Little Nick for Mayor” will sponsor an outdoor singalong at Ed Noonan’s Inn at 818 Cross Bay Boulevard (in Broad Chanel). Music will be by the Banjo Rascals.”“All American Dogs Pee Wee, Pooh and Jake are running bingo, selling hot dogs, t-shirts and other merchandise, and running a dog wash and dog and cat grooming.”
You might remember Ed Noonan’s pub. It was the place on the corner where the unfinished commercial structure sits today. Noonan’s whole building pitched severely to one side, and there were people living in it! Liz and I used to kid that you could never lose anything in there. Everything would just roll down to one end of the room!
Ruffle Bar is still chugging along with its Mardi Gras activities. [Tonight), Friday, August (8), 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.
There are still seats open for Broad Channel’s Educational program, which is located at Christ Presbyterian by the Sea. It is for 3- and 4-year-olds and is curriculum based. The long running, well established program has half-day sessions from 8:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Mondays to Thursdays. Interested? Contact Kerry atkerrylarkin76@gmail.com or Julianna at sanibelle593@aol.com.
St. Camillus-St. Virgilius is having a parish blood drive on Sunday, August 17 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. To give blood, you must weigh 110 lbs. or more and have had no new tattoos for the past 12 months. You also must be 16-75 yearsold. Bring photo ID. Eat well and drink fluids the day before.
The air-conditioned Bloodmobile will be parked outside of Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Beach 100th Street, in front of St. Camillus. Walk-ups are welcome. No appointment necessary. Need more information? Call 718-634-8229.
Soccer sign up is still going on at the BCAC. The registration is for the BCAC’s in-house teams, ages 3 to 5, and the St. Virgilius/St. Camillus/St. Rose CYO teams, which are for 1st to 8th grade girls and first to sixth grade boys. No experience is necessary; new players welcome.
Registration is at the BCAC Clubhouse at 125 Cross Bay Boulevard, next to the American Legion Hall.
Four sign up days are left: 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. For more information e-mailrchurchil3@gmail.com.
If you have any information about the Hamberry’s burglary, or any other crime, 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.
Barbara Toborg from the Broad Channel Historical Society mentions, “Could you now mention that our website www.broadchannelhistoricalsociety.org has a link to a Ph.D. dissertation on Jamaica Bay entitledThe Wild Lands of Gotham: City and Nature in Jamaica Bay, New York, 1880-1994 by Eric Fauss?” It’s an interesting read and mentions Broad Channel quite a bit.
By the way, do you have any info or pictures of the Beacon Bar & Restaurant, (also previously known as the Brown Derby and Hugo Alt’s) that was at the end of W. 10th Road in the 1960s? Contact Barbara at 718-474 1127.
And if you would like to contribute photos for the 2015 Historical Calendar, get them to any member of the Historical Society. The members are Dorothy Fraher, Frank Henglein, Kathy Louis, John McCambridge, Dan Mundy Sr., Mary O’Connell, Barbara Toborg, Jane Mary Tubridy, Joe Young, Judy Zackiewicz and me, Dan Guarino.
If requested, all originals will be returned. All photos, and any other items, will be added to the BC historical collection. With your photos, please list any names of people in the photo. Also please add when it was taken, or at least your best estimate, who took the picture and who we should be crediting for donating. Thanks.
The rain held off, mostly, and the Two Bridges Music Festival went off in Broad Channel last weekend as planned. Organized by BC’s own Frank and Mason Porretto, the fourth annual festival brought great live music from Breakaway, Mr. Big Deal, Rattrap Bumpkin, Dave Kellan Band, Porretto Brothers & friends, The Kings Heartbeat, Nonstop To Cairo, Ethoscope, Killzone and others. Held in the parking lot at Grassy’s, it was like a summer block party, with music, barbecues going and people enjoying themselves. I believe even some of the neighbors sat outside their houses and enjoyed the show.
The New York City Department of City Planning has a few things to learn from us. As part of the Resilient Neighborhoods initiative, they are working with Broad Channel as well as with our neighbors in Old Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach. They’re looking to “identify zoning and land use changes to address specific local conditions not addressed by the citywide Flood Resilience Zoning Text Amendment.” Our neighborhoods were identified “for study as part of the initiative not only because (we) were among the city’s hardest-hit neighborhoods during Hurricane Sandy, but also because of (our) unique challenges and opportunities.”
I have a feeling it was also because, literally, hell or high water, we’re still here. We’re still standing.
Got BC news? Send it to workingstories@aol.com. Thanks for reading.

No comments:

Post a Comment