Beachcomber

“With great power…” We’re not saying that The Wave has a magic wand. But on the same day a Beachcomber item appeared requesting divine intervention in getting the streets painted, the yellow and white lines also began to appear.The Wave promises to use this power for good and not evil.

Kudos to the Beach 116th Street Partnership, all the Beach 116th merchants, vendors, musicians andRockaway for throwing one heck of a block party.The Beach 116th Fall Fest put a big smile across the face of the peninsula.

Look out for the Rockaway Fall Festival at Bayswater Park on Sunday, October 12, 12-3. Then plan on the Rockaway Beach Merchant Association free Fall Fest on Saturday, October 18, noon to 5 p.m.

Volunteers  Needed: The Far Rockaway and Bayswater divisions of Night Patrols are in need of volunteers to patrol once or twice per month between 9 p.m. and 12 midnight. E-mail your name and cell number to dispatch@rockawaypatrol.org.

Councilman Donovan Richards will be honored by the National Council of Negro Women‘s Nassau County Section at a special luncheon next week. State Senator James Sanders will introduce him.

Beacon Rehabilitation and Nursing Center is putting its best foot forward as the staff is having their first annual walk against breast cancer on Tuesday, October 14.They will walk from Beacon on Beach 113th Street to Beach 116th Street and back to raise funds to fight the disease.

The Graybeards held a successful blood drive on Sunday, October 5. They put the bite on…uh, accepted donations from many residents ready to roll up their sleeves and give.

Boo! Some Rockawayites are collecting Fall/Halloween decorations for redistribution to those in need.

Kudos to Cuisine By Claudette and Thai Rock for representing Rockaway’s culinary culture in Queens Restaurant Week 2014. Most establishments will offer pre fixe dinners and lunches. Bon appétit on the Rock.

A recent internet headline reads “Coffee expert reviews pumpkin spice lattes.” One wonders what kind of training and qualifications does it take to become a “coffee expert.” And what is the burnout rate in that profession?

Filing is now open to take the exam and try to become part of the New York Sanitation Department. Go to www.nyc.gov/examsforjobs before October 31.

The “Things To Do In Rockaway Park” Facebook page is a treasure trove of Rockaway restaurants, pubs, pizzerias and other points of interest. An entry reposted from Gone Cat notes “the Playland Motel lets nyc ‘mainlanders’ taste the Rockaway’s beach ... Playland Tavern offers weekly dj parties, open mic nights and more ...”

A resident recently asked, “Has anyone but me received a letter from Homeland Security disaster relief asking for the miserable $1600 they gave me for my damages back.? … I lost everything and they want the miserable $1600 to rebuild my entire life, back. Are you frigging kidding me!”

If the ferry is approved, AOL, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets are bracing for a dizzying drop in e-mail, postings and “Save The Ferry” notifications.

To anyone who has said, “Well, I haven’t read it recently but I remember The Wave years ago and…” Get with it. It’s a new Wave. Buy a copy and try it out.

Retail estate reality check. Despite heavy speculation, the Irish Circle is still for sale. White Castle? Taco Bell? The former bankturned 99 cent store-turned empty property still has an “Available “ sign on it. Latest rumor has it that former Key Food at Beach 104th Street will be an Ace Hardware by April. Actually that’s a 2013 rumor with a new coat of paint.

Can’t stop the rain, but that won’t stop the VFW Flea Market in Broad Channel which is making up for last week’s soaked Saturday by doing it all again this coming weekend, October 11/12, from 10 to 3.

A “Rockaway Against Gentrification,” is a Facebook page “designed for like-minded people to engage in open, respectful, factbased discussion of the issues surrounding the community-at-large both ends of the peninsula…”

Stop right there! Heads up unwary drivers: there a new stop light at Beach 102nd Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard. It does not, as expected, replace the stop sign at the Irish Circle corner, but is a half block away near the Sands Point Professional building driveway. 

Art is happening in Rockaway.This weekend the Rockaway Beach Surf Club is hosting a group exhibition, Peripheral Vision on October 11. Next weekend on October 18, Rockaway Artists Alliance hosts an array of well-known spoken word artists and musicians for Talkingstick: Music and Storytelling, against the backdrop of their current ARTSplash! exhibition.Also on the 18th,YANA center is having an opening reception for an exhibition by artist Christian Le Gars and the Whether Again Gallery and Vellum magazine are hosting an ice cream and music closing for the group showcase, Burn.The following weekend, on Saturday, October 25, RAA is opening the Inksplash printmakers’ exhibition and a show by renowned watercolorist Arlene Cornell. The last Sunday of the month, October 26, Temple Beth-El hosts author Marina Rubin for a book author brunch! Whew!

Local business CROM Martial Training is competing for a Chase Mission Main Street Grant.You can help by voting for them at www.missionmainstreetgrants.com.

A sharp eyed Wave reader points out that a whole section of fencing is lying flat in the road, blocking off one lane of Rockaway Freeway between Beach 108th and Beach 109th Street. He’s called all the city agencies he can think of, but no luck. Can anybody out there get this potentially dangerous situation cleared up?

Among interesting items that people bring to, and often leave at The Wave is a metal placard with a reproduction of an ad from 1877. Touting the “Seashore Delights of Rockaway Beach” it shows a huge paddlewheel ferry, dubbed “The Columbia.” She and four other ships of “The Rockaway Fleet” left from eight Manhattan ports and carried hundreds of passengers a day to the peninsula. With “music on every boat” the Columbia delighted eager tourists with “Conterno’s 23rd Regimental Band and the Columbia Glee Club.” Those were the days.

“If you can’t keep it working, you won’t make any money.”- Amusement Products, Chattanooga,TN
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