“It's officially go time,” proclaimed an elated Jerry Rea, the official blabbermouth of the Rockaway Mermaid Brigade. The Seventh Annual Poseidon’s Parade will kick off this Saturday, September 25 at high noon from Caracas on Beach 106th Street. As Jerry whizzed by on a shiny sissy scooter, he stopped and shouted “The parade is Saturday, hip hip hooray, Jerry Rea” repeatedly through a megaphone, seemingly unaware of the angry motorists that formed a growing line behind him. It’s as close to an

  On Sunday, September 19 more than 100 alumni of Far Rockaway High School gathered for a reunion on Beach 17th Street on the Boardwalk at the Dredsurfer Grill This was the 4th annual reunion of classes from the 1950s up until 1979. (Photo Courtesy of Andrew Rubin).

Bismarck, North Dakota (RT) – September 21.

I always wanted to write a dateline. Like a real reporter. I guess I didn’t have to drive 2,000 miles to do it, but I never thought of it before.

When you drive 2,000 miles, you can think of a lot of things. Like how families don’t do drive vacations much anymore. They drive three or four hours, tops, to a single destination (Lake George or Windham) otherwise it’s all aboard the 747.

In the old days, kids would be jammed in the station wagon, and

*****

Wow, we’d gotten used to the idea that the old Neponsit Home was going to be there like the Egyptian pyramids. But no, it’s coming down. As we reported, back in February, the NYC Health and Hospitals Corp handed over the Neponsit Home to NYC Parks which made plans to raze the structure which hasn’t had patients since 1998. Parks plans to select a contractor to do the demo by the end of the year.

*****

The New York State Independent Redistricting Commission is a bipartisan Commission

Bill Gehlhaus often posts Hipster of the Day (HOTD) photos online. Well, Bill, a local guy with an offbeat eye, is now sharing his stuff with The Rockaway Times. Bill was off for a couple of weeks so he did some catching up with multiple hipsters of the day at Beach 88th and the Boulevard.

September 23

Al Bags was born.

Maureen McGee was born.

Kathy Moriarty-Courtney was born.

1779 - John Paul Jones declared "I have not yet begun to fight!" aboard the American warship Bonhomme Richard in a battle against the British.

1806 - After a three-year journey to the Pacific Northwest, the Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis.

September 24

Barbara Serena was born.

John Fitzgerald was born.

1957 - The Brooklyn Dodgers played their last game at Ebbets

*****

Wow, we’d gotten used to the idea that the old Neponsit Home was going to be there like the Egyptian pyramids. But no, it’s coming down. As we reported, back in February, the NYC Health and Hospitals Corp handed over the Neponsit Home to NYC Parks which made plans to raze the structure which hasn’t had patients since 1998. Parks plans to select a contractor to do the demo by the end of the year.

*****

The New York State Independent Redistricting Commission is a bipartisan Commission

*****

To our Jewish friends: Gmar chatima tova as they observe Yom Kippur.

*****

Our thoughts are with the friends and family of Mike Melfi, a young, local ironworker who died in a work-related incident on Tuesday. Melfi also bartended at Bungalow Bar and was known as the life of the party. He will be missed.

*****

This past September 11 was particularly hard for many people. The Friends of Tribute Park, the people who do so much to make that oasis a special place, deserve heaps of credit

*****

The seashell flag tribute on our cover was made by Editor Katie McFadden and her boyfriend, Paul Zinskie. It's surrounded by 20 flags to mark the 9/11 anniversary, and 13 at top as a tribute to the troops recently killed in Afghanistan. Check it out on Beach 127th.

*****

The twentieth anniversary of 9/11 is Saturday. “Never forget” is an appropriate term because we never will and never can. There is no right way to honor those who were taken that day. The day remains extraordinarily

*****

Happy Labor Day weekend.  Labor Day first became a federal holiday in 1894.

*****

Another comment about decrepit Riis Park. As bad as the concrete boardwalk is and as bad as the rest of the place looks, the most concerning thing is the disappearing beaches. The ocean regularly rolls right onto the boardwalk at Bay 4 and 5. National Parks had no interest in getting jetty protection and therefore Riis is a disaster waiting to happen. And that is a danger to the nearby communities. Riis

*****

Life is a bit sadder around here this week with the heartbreaking news that Patricia McFadden, mother of Katie McFadden, our Managing Editor, and a great supporter of The Rockaway Times herself, died this week. Arrangements are pending.

*****

You know what they say, you don’t want to own a boat, you want a friend with a boat. If you’re short on such friends, you still have the option of renting a boat. And if you do, you can do worse than renting a pontoon boat out of Marina 59 in

Well, how great was Katie McFadden’s story last week about George Johnson and his friendship with a Kentucky man, first begun when George was a bone marrow match with the young Forrest Nichols 25 years ago?  They loved it in Kentucky, too. A chain of Kentucky newspapers will run the story around September 11. 

*****

From our star marine reporter: The Jamaica Bay subway bridge, a swing bridge just east of the Cross Bay Bridge, has been stuck in the closed position since early July. When

 Dear Editor:

Just a quick thank you to all the friends and neighbors who stopped me to ask about and knew that my son, James, was in a tight spot through Instagram or whatever communication is out there. It really meant a lot to me. I’m not on any of that stuff so it was a bit of a surprise when I was asked about him in such a serious and concerning way. I didn’t even think that others were thinking and or praying that this situation didn’t go sideways. Prayers do matter. Happy to report that

 Dear Editor:

I completely agree with Glenn Lawson in his letter about Rockaway being dumped upon.

Vancouver, among many cities world-wide, has a city planner. Neither political party here has heard of such a thing, obviously, as whatever capricious move the feds, the state or the city itself decides is fitting at the moment, happens! Take for example, the monstrous rest room lifeguard contraptions on the boardwalk and 115th,  the fits and starts of berms and, now, from the Feds, the proposed

 Dear Editor:

 Katie McFadden's eulogy (RT 9-2-21) was a beautiful, heartfelt tribute and celebration of her mother Patricia's life. The process of writing it, reminded me to be mindful of our present life and the people in it. Katie captured the essence of her mother’s life. I am sure it was cathartic for her as well as for the readers. I am a devotee of eulogies and obituaries having eulogized my father, mother, sister and brother. I have read the New York Times Book of the Dead. It is an

 Dear Editor:

 Good morning!  IT WAS NOT!  Tuesday September 7. We were already a little bummed out that our summer was over, save the lifeguards being on duty until Sunday September 12, thank goodness for that.

Then the bulldozers arrived. 8 a.m.  Unannounced. Started tearing apart and levelling the sand dunes and sand grass with extraordinary speed - center line 116th Street, then to the east and west.

Who told us? Why, or should I add, why weren't we forewarned? So much for democracy. Do

Dear Editor:

 One day last week, while waiting to cross at the corner outside of Pickles & Pies, a deranged homeless man attempted to attack

me for no reason whatsoever. I ran into the middle of the street waving my arms for someone to help me. No one did. The man proceeded to pick up a huge green garbage bin in front of Sweet Sixteen corner store and throw it at me.  I ran into Kings Pharmacy where I was told that "this goes on all day every day."  I understand why no one helped.  Fear

 Dear Editor:

(Sent to Gerald Walsh, CEO St John’s Episcopal Hospital)

I am writing this letter to acknowledge the incredible care I received at St John’s Episcopal Hospital’s Emergency Room. I had misfortune of taking a fall last week that required surgery to my arm to repair some tendon damage. After arriving home following the surgery, I had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia sending me into anaphylaxis shock. After several unsuccessful attempts to reach the Surgical Center Orvis and

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