Is it me or did it feel like just over this weekend, summer got longer? Before this, it seemed like that season we all live for out here, and the rest of the year, was rushing by. Now? Suddenly not so much.
On this one, I am definitely with the bicycle-riding girl in the Dairy Queen commercial who is mocking the great big “Back To School” sign. In so many words, she is saying “Nope. Summer’s not over till we say it is!”
Hope you got out to enjoy all that was going on in the Channel, like the Flea Market last Saturday and Sunday at the VFW.
On the Mardi Gras side of things, the BCAC has been doing a great job of organizing a near continuous series of things to go to and enjoy. As you know, all funds raised go to support that organization this year.
This past week saw an evening concert with Wine With Sue (WWS) at the BCAC Memorial Field last Saturday. WWS is a solid band who I’ve had the pleasure of hearing, seeing and photographing on the boardwalk. I also had the pleasure of meeting lead singer John Burke, a member of the FDNY, while doing a story on the 100th anniversary of The Beach House, the firehouse on Beach 116th Street. John was graciously my liaison. The Beach House is home to Engine Company 268 and Ladder Company 137.
Anyway, hope you were there and enjoyed the show. On Sunday afternoon the younger set, and quite a number of parents, enjoyed the Kid Whiffle Ball Tournament at the Field. Even as this paper goes to press late on Thursday, Aug 6, I have no doubt families are carting kids, wagons and chairs down there to enjoy a great movie, The Sandlot, under the stars!
What’s next? There’s a Kiddie Car Wash on Saturday, Aug. 8, from 10 a.m. to noon in the BCAC parking lot. It’s $10 a car, and kids get to play with soap and water!
Then, on Aug. 8, it will be Funday with DJ Teddy down at the BCAC Field starting at 3 p.m. It’s $40 for adults 21 and over, and includes beer, soda, food and fun.
Grownups get ready for Adult Bingo on Aug. 13. I have not been to an adult bingo myself (I couldn’t get my mom to sign a permission slip). But if it’s anything like what goes on at the VFW’s games, this should be a blast.
For more info on Mardi Gras events, dates and times, go to www.bcacshamrocks.weebly.com. You may also want to make plans to take the whole family to MCU Park in Coney Island on Aug. 20, at 7 p.m. They’ll be celebrating Frank Sinatra’s 100th Birthday and Italian Heritage Night at the Brooklyn Cyclones game. The Cyclones will be going up against the Lowell Spinners. Tickets are $17, which includes a Cyclone pinstripe jersey, and all proceeds benefit the BCAC. Contact Mike Kelly at 917-868-4453 or michael_ p_ kelly@yahoo.com.
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder is bringing his office to you. He and his staff have been at a number of locations from Hamilton Beach to Far Rockaway. This week his ‘mobile office’ will be at All-American Channel Market, 925 Cross Bay Blvd., on Aug. 12, from 3 to 6 p.m. Stop by with your concerns and observations or just to say ‘hello.’ His regular office is at 95-16 Rockaway Beach Blvd., phone number 718-945- 9550.
Broad Channel welcomes another family back from the storm. John and Julie Blake were able to move back home on Cross Bay in late July. It was rebuilt by Build it Back (BIB).
BIB has had a big hole to climb out of after initially being a governmental disaster on top of a natural one, Sandy. But lately I have been hearing more and more good stories from neighbors, friends and others, rather than bad ones.
If you want to know what the long road back was like for the Blakes and many others, look up the Queens Time Ledger story “Broad Channel Beckons One Year After Sandy,” by Christina Santucci. It’s from Oct. 24, 2013.
We welcome John and Julie and the Blake family back and celebrate all the families who are one step closer to being home and whole again. Our town is that much better now that you are here.
Even the local NYPD precinct commander, Captain Adelman has said it: there is no incident too small to report. If you do not report things like property theft, vandalism, suspicious characters in the area, how will neighborhood police know about them? If they don’t know, how will they deploy resources to resolve those issues?
Did you ever notice that you always end up getting overdue library fines on the books you didn’t open and the videos you didn’t end up watching anyway?
A big ‘thank you’ to the Broad Channel Civic and all our community leaders, Councilman Ulrich, Assemblyman Goldfeder, the MTA, NYPD, DOT, National Parks Service PD and others who have coordinated efforts, moved forward, and kept traffic moving in and out of BC and Rockaway.
We all know that this has been a growing issue, especially since the area has been ‘discovered’. Many people complain. These people did something about it.
With sadness Broad Channel says goodbye to Antoinette ‘Toni’ Tuffy (nee DiPaola). Born in 1927, she passed away in Florida on July 26. She called Broad Channel home from 1962 until she retired to Kissimee in 2012. Our thoughts go out to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and family. She will certainly be missed by her friends, neighbors and Broad Channel community family. A memorial service will be held in BC in September. I will let you know as soon as I have the date, time and details.
Finally, the BCVFD is continuing its fundraising. Take a moment and make out a check today.
Got BC news? Send it to Workingstories@aol.com. Thanks for reading!
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