*****

Queens Park Commissioner, Dorothy “Dottie” Lewandowski is retiring. A Queens native, Dottie was with Parks for almost 40 years. She was a regular visitor to Rockaway, had her critics here for sure, but we thought she cared and was accessible. We wish her the best in retirement.

*****

Nate Tabor from Far Rockaway announced that he’ll be playing basketball for St. John’s next year, according to the New York Post. He plays for a high school in Connecticut and was recruited by a number of

*****

Sorry we're late! The mid-week holiday pushed us back a day. As a heads up, next week will be the same! Look out for the RT on Friday.

*****

Happy New Year! Good riddance to 2018. Best of luck to all who pledge to do better in 2019.

*****

We’re not in the TV morning show or Hallmark movie business, but how about that story of Dr. Galvin and his newfound family in last week’s Rockaway Times?  You’re raised as an only child and decades later you find out you’ve got seven siblings

*****

Santa gets to reclaim his reputation after Santacon, the annual pub crawl last week at which many bad Santas act naughty. It’s time for some Santapro. On Saturday, December 15, the annual Santa Shuffle takes place. The fun run/walk with everybody wearing a Santa suit kicks off at 11 a.m. on the boardwalk. Registration (9:30-10:45 a.m.), suit pick up and after-party occur at Glider’s gym, 114-04 Beach Channel Drive. Even if you’re not a runner, here’s your chance to walk around with a red

*****

Congrats to Sean and Eun-Chong (EJ) Thorsen, the proud parents of a baby boy who was the first Rockaway baby of 2019. They’re still deciding on a name. The young lad was actually born on January 2. In other years, newborns have arrived just minutes after the ball drops in Times Square.

*****

Maybe it’s time to hoard some Forever stamps (not that they’ll be available!) Stamps are going up a nickel as of January 27. A nickel sounded like a lot and sure enough it’s the biggest hike since

*****

Merry Christmas from The Rockaway Times!

*****

Holiday schedule heads-up. We’ll be publishing on Friday, December 28 (our New Year’s issue) and Friday, January 4. Paper and email delivery will both be on Friday of those weeks.

*****

Disaster was averted on Tuesday, December 18 on the bay block of Beach 119th. A house fire broke out but the FDNY responded quickly and the fire under the second floor eaves was quickly extinguished.

*****

There’s still time to get tickets for the

*****

Friendly neighbors with shared driveways often share car keys as well to make car jockeying a bit easier. Our tip for the week is, don’t leave the shared keys in the car. A regular thief turned into a car thief when he came across a set of keys after entering a car to look for loose change and other valuables. Oh, another tip: lock your car.

*****

We said it was an easy, well-paying job that has no real value. So far 21 people, most facing term limits, have announced plans to run for