As groin (jetty) construction continues, there have been a few frequently asked questions about the project. We reached out to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) project manager Dan Falt for some answers that can hopefully explain why certain beaches are being worked on right now, and why others will come later.

The project began with Beach 32nd and Beach 36th Streets in October. In March, work began on the groins at Beach 149th and Beach 145th. Those have recently wrapped up and ahead of

 Primary voting is underway! On June 12, early voting began for the primary election in many important races and it all wraps up on election day on Tuesday, June 22. For the first time, many voters may be greeted with the new system of ranked choice voting on their ballot. For those who haven’t cast their ballot yet, here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll see at the voting booth.

With so many candidates running in various primary races this election season, ranked choice voting may come into

 You never know what you’ll see when your office backyard is Jamaica Bay. One Tuesday we yelled Bon Voyage to the three guys rowing to Ireland. On Wednesday, Fireboat 343 passed us and then turned around to give us a water show!

I’ve moved from wearing a mask to a t-shirt that says: I came, I saw, I made things awkward.

These days, when I go to shake someone’s hand, I grab somebody’s fist bump or elbow. When I offer a fist bump, they shake my balled up hand. It’s a world where dance moves don’t match. I’m doing the lindy and everybody else is doing the tango. I try to waltz, they break dance.

The bright side is, people are more stingy with hugging.

Weird times. I had to check the history books. How the hell did

 The 15th Annual RockStock and Barrels was one for the record books. Despite overcast skies early in the day, the crowds came out as Rockaway came together to enjoy a day of live music, surfing, skating and shopping in a much-needed reunion after a year of lockdowns. 

Jimmy Dowd of St. James NYC, Steve and Christian Stathis of Boarders and Walker Hornung of Into the Whip Records did it again, pulling off an epic summer kickoff on Beach 90th Street. “RockStock and Barrels 15 was arguably one

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Happy Father’s Day!  To all the dear old dads, we hope you have a great day.

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On Tuesday afternoon, we glanced out the backdoor and saw three men on The Hard Way Home. Three guys are rowing to Ireland. Rowing, yep. We yelled, Bon Voyage! and wished the young men well. Katie McFadden did a story on them in the May 13 issue. Unbelievable!

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So, by next week’s edition, 6/24, the robocalls will stop (or should stop) as Primary Day is Tuesday, June 22 but it’s unlikely we’ll know

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Happy Father’s Day!  To all the dear old dads, we hope you have a great day.

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On Tuesday afternoon, we glanced out the backdoor and saw three men on The Hard Way Home. Three guys are rowing to Ireland. Rowing, yep. We yelled, Bon Voyage! and wished the young men well. Katie McFadden did a story on them in the May 13 issue. Unbelievable!

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So, by next week’s edition, 6/24, the robocalls will stop (or should stop) as Primary Day is Tuesday, June 22 but it’s unlikely we’ll know

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Start sending us your Dear Old Dad photos so we can publish them in our Father’s Day issue, June 17. Send to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Early voting starts, Saturday, June 12. Rockaway’s early voting site is the YMCA on Beach 73rd Street.

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In many City Council primaries, there’s a clear favorite. District 32 (Eric Ulrich is term limited) really does seem up in the air with Mike Scala, Felicia Singh, Kaled Alamarie, Helal Sheikh, and Bella Matias looking to win the Dem primary

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The Rockaway Times Summer & Community Guide is out and will be distributed through the 4th of July. Keep an eye out for your copy at local businesses and at our orange news racks. We’re thrilled with the response. Thank you for the compliments!

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Are you proud of the grad(s) in the house? Or maybe you’re proud grandparents who want to give a shout out to the youngsters who will soon be donning the cap and gown. Why not take out a congratulatory ad in The Rockaway Times?  You

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Here’s to a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend for all. And please take time to remember those who died while serving in the Armed Forces.

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Maureen Walsh, one of the stewards of Memorial Circle in Rockaway Park, alerted us to a missing marker, a concrete block with a brass plaque indicating the names and branch of service of the fallen, etc. Apparently when trees were planted, one went missing. Know anything about it? Contact Maureen (no questions asked!) at 347-731-0285.

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Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato wrote a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg  requesting funding to rebuild and restore the Rockaway Beach Rail Line, which would drastically cut the commuting time to the City. The MTA produced a study indicating it (Queenslink) would cost several billion dollars. Amato suggested the Biden administration send some of those billions from any infrastructure bill. Good idea. But if Stacey really wants this to get traction, she will enlist the

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Friday Night -12:01 Saturday morning -warning: Parking restrictions go into effect once the clock strikes midnight and you know some ticket writers love to nab you minutes after the restrictions go in place. Move your car or wake up with a costly note on the windshield. The parking rules begin May 15 and run through September 30.

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Procrastinators of the world unite, tomorrow! That old joke reminds us to remind you that Monday, May 17 is the deadline to file your federal and state

 Dear Editor

Anyone familiar with Jamaica Bay should not be surprised by the story about poachers (RT 6/10 issue). When it comes to fishing, Jamaica Bay is known as the poaching capital of the Northeast. Fish that are shorter than the regulations allow, known as "shorts" or fish that are out of season, are routinely kept by fishermen in the Bay, including those who fish from shore.

The NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has a list of fishing regulations on their website

Dear Editor:

On behalf of the Daniel M. O`Connell Post 272 of the American Legion and Auxiliary, we would like to express our appreciation to the community at large for participating and attending Memorial Day services. A special thanks to the priests of St. Francis de Sales Church, Robby Schwach for the research and publication of pamphlets with soldier`s biographies and to Ray for graciously providing van transportation. We hope to see you all again next year as we continue our tradition in

Dear Editor:

I’ve been reading your paper now for a couple of years. Your section listed “Contact the Elected” is a lot of BS. These people are into the work for themselves. You say contact them, so I did. I wrote seven letters, one to each of them. These people are so important, there’s no way in hell that they would even think of answering just one letter. I even went next door from where I live and tried to speak to Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato. I’ve lived in Rockaway Beach since

 Dear Editor:

Whether you’re a Rockaway native or a visitor, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with the piping plover, the threatened shorebird that commands entire beaches to be shut down to allow for its undisturbed breeding. Did you know that the dunes and marshes of Far Rockaway are also home to the Yellow Crown Night Heron? How about the ring-necked pheasant? Probably not. 

Did you know that Rockaway is home to a 4,000 square foot brewery? Did you know that the Arverne East

 Dear Editor:

I want to thank Katie McFadden for her beautiful article about NurtureU Wellness as they celebrated their fifth anniversary. My experience at NurtureU Wellness has brought me a new life.

In August of 2020, I was diagnosed with Lymphedema that affected my left leg.  This was a result of a traumatic injury followed by a major surgery. Not a common result but a possible one.

My life had changed and my doctor, a vascular surgeon suggested I find a therapist who was trained in

 Dear Editor:

Congratulations on the first-rate Rockaway Summer Guide. I read it from cover to cover and appreciate all the information in it. I am just here for the summer and appreciate all the new things, etc. I will also patronize as many of the advertisers as I can. The cover of the magician on the beach was an inspired choice and even though the weekend weather was not friendly, I too believe “the magic is back.”

Pat McNally

Over the years my family, friends and I have all worked in the restaurant industry. I used to say everyone should have to do a semester of hospitality work to become empathetic with the workers and understand walking a mile in their shoes. Unfortunately, not everyone has taken that semester of working in the restaurant industry, so a lesson in restaurant etiquette is needed. Since I know so many people in the industry, I sent out a few texts to servers from local restaurants and this is what

Thank you so much for all of your emails this past week. Everyone seems to be on the same page with people needing beach etiquette. I just want to note these rules are for everyone, not just our visitors. I just am so sad we had such a poor weather weekend that we could not try to implement the rules. 

Here are some we ran out of room for last week:

Rule 4: PDA. Our beach is a public beach, not a private beach on a romantic getaway. You may hold hands but do not make out in the water or on

I should have had this column in last week, but I did not know it was going to be such a spectacular weekend. I usually do not go swimming this early in the year and I almost went in for a dip!

Here is my annual beach etiquette column and it is for all of our new residents and our visitors that were pouring off of the ferry this past week. One loyal reader said Kevin should place my column as one of the photos on the boardwalk, but my suggestion has been ignored! 

Rule 1: When you get to the

For those of you who read my column regularly, you know I am a high school English teacher. One of the reasons I love being an English teacher is I get paid to do what I love: teaching reading and writing and oftentimes spreading that love to my students. Being an English teacher is challenging, but there is nothing greater than when students inform you about their enjoyment for a novel or short story you just finished.

During the last month of “regular school” in 2020, my ninth grade class

Mother’s Day has a long history. According of History.com, the Greeks and Romans had festivals honoring mothers and England had celebrations during Lent to honor mothers. The American holiday can be traced back to Anna Jarvis from West Virginia, who around the time of the Civil War, started “Mother’s Day Work Clubs,” which helped mothers learn skills to raise their children. Ms. Jarvis then changed the focus of the club to “Mother’s Friendship Day,” where mothers of former Confederate and Union

During the last year, many of us have realized that the news media is sensationalized. I think we always knew that it was, but the events of the last year have really brought it out. I remember as a young elementary school student learning about yellow journalism, and I feel that has truly taken hold in our mainstream news media. Not all news publications have great covers such as “Smells Like Summer” or “April Fools: No Joke Connolly’s to Reopen!”

I have taken to Twitter quite often to see