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We’ve announced our Top 10 for The Rockaway Times photo contest. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing them here. All of these photos are in the running for the grand prize of $500, which will be announced on Thursday.
This great shot comes from Johanna Guerra.
Please note this year’s contest is over. Please look out for info about next year’s contest around February.
We’ve announced our Top 10 for The Rockaway Times photo contest. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing them here. All of these photos are in the running for the grand prize of $500, which will be announced on Thursday.
This great shot comes from Don Riepe.
Please note this year’s contest is over. Please look out for info about next year’s contest around February.
We’ve announced our Top 10 for The Rockaway Times photo contest. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing them here. All of these photos are in the running for the grand prize of $500, which will be announced on Thursday.
This great shot comes from Hani Albahr.
Please note this year’s contest is over. Please look out for info about next year’s contest around February.
We’ve announced our Top 10 for The Rockaway Times photo contest. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing them here. All of these photos are in the running for the grand prize of $500, which will be announced on Thursday.
This great shot comes from Theresa Racine.
Please note this year’s contest is over. Please look out for info about next year’s contest around February.
We’ve announced our Top 10 for The Rockaway Times photo contest. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing them here. All of these photos are in the running for the grand prize of $500, which will be announced on Thursday.
This great shot comes from Maisie Courtney.
Please note this year’s contest is over. Please look out for info about next year’s contest around February.
And for the fourth day in a row, Rockaway and Riis will be closed to swimming tomorrow (Tuesday).
We’ve announced our Top 10 for The Rockaway Times photo contest. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing them here. All of these photos are in the running for the grand prize of $500, which will be announced on Thursday.
This great shot comes from Michael Foley.
Please note this year’s contest is over. Please look out for info about next year’s contest around February.
We’ve announced our Top 10 for The Rockaway Times photo contest. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing them here. All of these photos are in the running for the grand prize of $500, which will be announced on Thursday.
This great shot comes from Amanda Magnavito.
Please note this year’s contest is over. Please look out for info about next year’s contest around February.
We’ve announced our Top 10 for The Rockaway Times photo contest. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing them here. All of these photos are in the running for the grand prize of $500, which will be announced on Thursday.
This great shot comes from Isabella Youssef.
Please note this year’s contest is over. Please look out for info about next year’s contest around February.
Did you hear? We’ve announced our Top 10 for The Rockaway Times photo contest. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing them here. All of these photos are in the running for the grand prize of $500, which will be announced on Thursday.
This great shot comes from Lauren Devine.
Fun event for the whole family coming up on Sunday at St. Camillus. Proceeds help support RBAF.
Beach closures continue Monday
Note, this is NOT Rockaway, but it’s a big reason our water is closed for swimming this weekend. A house was pulled off of its foundation in Rodanthe, NC yesterday by the power of the waves and the strong currents in the Atlantic. Several other homes were damaged. Although the storm itself is far off shore, Ernesto is not to be messed with.
Grab your skates and head to the Beach 108th hockey rink for The Roller Wave’s Forever Young skate party. Don’t have skates? They have a few pairs to rent. Party goes til 8p.m.
Sorry kids, water’s closed this weekend
Connolly’s piña coladas turn 40 this year and Rock Soup is playing to celebrate. Grab a pina colada, give Connnolly’s a cheers, rock out with Rock Soup and enjoy DJ Paddy Tubz playing all your favorite 80s classics and more later on tonight 🍻
Rockaway Film Festival Begins!
The seventh annual Rockaway Film Festival is here! From August 17 through August 25, all are welcome to enjoy a full lineup of films, shorts, workshops, performances and more.
The festival opens this weekend at the Arverne Cinema at 72-02 Gouverneur Avenue on Saturday, August 17, with a free bio-art workshop at 4 p.m. Led by Rockaway artist Karen Ingram, participants will create living artworks from gene edited microbes in Petri dishes, to be incubated and photographed over the following days. The photos will then be pieced together to make an animated clip of collaborative bio-art that will be displayed in the Arverne Cinema installation window from August 22-25. This workshop will be followed by a screening of short films “Belong Where,” described as, “a collection of intergenerational memories, these personal poems linger in a limbo between places of belonging.” The full-length feature of the evening at 7 p.m. will be “Alice in the Cities,” with a live music performance before the film. This 1974 German road film by Win Wenders features an opening sequence shot on the old Rockaway boardwalk.
On Sunday, August 18, the Win Wenders love continues at 5 p.m. with “Report from Hollywood,” in which visionary cinematographer Ed Lachman provides a behind-the-scenes account of Wenders’ production of “The State of Things.” This will be followed by “My First Film,” an ultra-meta auto-fictional account of Zia Anger’s experience creating and abandoning her first film, and a live music performance before the screening at 8 p.m.
Click link to read more:
By Katie McFadden The seventh annual Rockaway Film Festival is here! From August 17 through August 25, all are welcome to enjoy a full lineup of films, shorts, workshops, performances and more. The festival opens this weekend at the Arverne Cinema at 72-02 Gouverneur Avenue on Saturday, August 17, w...
Far Rock Grandma Pens a Children’s Book Series to Support Bigger Dreams
“Grandma Has a Mouse in Her House” and Far Rockaway resident Sharmeika Davis-Boyd has a lesson for kids of all ages to treat everyone how you would like to be treated. Since publishing her first children’s book in 2022, Davis-Boyd has been on a mission to get the word out there, doing readings near and far and most recently, pitching her work to be a part of the collection at the brand-new Far Rockaway Library, but it’s all part of a bigger goal to bring something even bigger than “a mouse” to the peninsula.
As a grandparent to nine children, not being able to see her grandkids hit Davis-Boyd hard during the Covid pandemic. “I was so depressed that I couldn’t see them and that sat on my mind. I suffer from anxiety and when the pandemic hit, it hit the ceiling and I said, ‘Sharmeika, you have to figure out a way to turn your energy into something’ and something in my spirit told me to write children’s books. With my grandkids stuck on my mind, the writing just flowed out of me,” Davis-Boyd said, adding that she had never written a book before. Her husband, Laron Boyd, even helped with some characters. “My husband had drawn a character when he was younger and when I was writing, he brought this little boy character to me, and I said we’ll fix him up a bit and put him in the books. That character became Mr. Knozi, a play on nosey, who represents kids’ natural curiosity and encourages them to ask questions and be nosey in a positive way. Mr. Knozi became a central character in her books, and Davis-Boyd wrote each story with the goal of teaching some important life lesson by the end of them.
Before she knew it, she had 13 children’s books. “It took my mind out of this world and off of not being able to see my grandchildren, and I knew when I could see them, I would be reading them all of these stories,” she said. And she did just that. “When everything opened up and my grandchildren came, I started reading the stories to everyone who wanted to listen,” she said.
Click link to read more:
By Katie McFadden “Grandma Has a Mouse in Her House” and Far Rockaway resident Sharmeika Davis-Boyd has a lesson for kids of all ages to treat everyone how you would like to be treated. Since publishing her first children’s book in 2022, Davis-Boyd has been on a mission to get the word out the...
Pat Rorke Passes the Spa Rockaway Torch
For 14 years, Pat Rorke has worked to make Rockaway residents feel their best with spa treatments. But the time has come to pass down the torch. Spa Rockaway is officially under new ownership with Marisa Napoli at the helm but take a deep breath—a smooth transition is underway as Spa Rockaway will continue to offer its relaxing services and Rorke isn’t going anywhere.
In 2010, after a career switch from interior design and time spent in school learning to be an esthetician, Rorke decided to bring Rockaway its first spa services, in a second-floor room above the former Blue Bungalow gift shop on Beach 116th Street. But with a taste of some spa treatments, Rockaway locals’ desire to look and feel their best quickly grew, and so did Blue Bungalow Spa. Rorke hired more estheticians and massage therapists. “I remember one day I was walking down the hall, and all three rooms were booked,” Rorke said. “I continued walking down the hall with a big smile on my face thinking, Rockaway needed a spa.” And from there, she set out on bringing Rockway a full spa experience.
Rorke started making plans to move and expand when in 2015, her son was tragically killed in a car accident. “I could either lock myself up in a room at home and never come out, or I could keep going and keep his spirit going by continuing to make people happy. Around 2016, Rorke rebranded as Spa Rockaway and found a perfect space to bring the spa to ground level at 112-20 Beach Channel Drive. “Spa Rockaway kept me alive by helping other people feel good and that for me is the game in life—to make other people feel good makes you feel good.”
Since making the move, Rorke has grown Spa Rockaway even more, expanding to a neighboring space and building up a solid team of massage therapists and estheticians, offering seven rooms for massage and ever-growing facial treatments. Meanwhile, Rorke has never stopped expanding her own knowledge of the latest, most advanced and effective skin treatments, attending workshops across the country, and doing extensive research online. Her interest in ingredients in various skin products led Rorke to creating her own skincare line, Skin Holistic by Pat Rorke.
Click link to read more:
By Katie McFadden For 14 years, Pat Rorke has worked to make Rockaway residents feel their best with spa treatments. But the time has come to pass down the torch. Spa Rockaway is officially under new ownership with Marisa Napoli at the helm but take a deep breath—a smooth transition is underway as...
Couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day for the Championships! Here’s some of the early afternoon action. Good luck to all of the teams!
Honoring Ava Conklin Way
Hundreds crowded the corner of Beach 108th Street and Rockaway Beach Blvd. on a hot, sunny Saturday, August 3, to honor Ava Mairead Conklin with a heartfelt street co-naming ceremony. They came from Rockaway, Broad Channel, Hell’s Kitchen and beyond to pay tribute to the young woman who tragically lost her life there just over a year ago.
Bagpipers and drummers of NYC Sanitation’s Emerald Society filled the air with “Amazing Grace,” starting things off at 1 p.m. Bearing flowers, balloons and t-shirts with her image, on what would have been her 21st birthday, the packed gathering listened as each speaker shared who Ava was and what she meant to them.
Councilwoman Joann Ariola, instrumental in the street co-naming said, “It is so wonderful to see this outpouring of love for Ava,” adding, “She gave love wherever she went. She loved the Earth, she loved music, she loved her family, she loved Rockaway. And she was not just loved but beloved.”
Click link to read more:
By Dan Guarino Hundreds crowded the corner of Beach 108th Street and Rockaway Beach Blvd. on a hot, sunny Saturday, August 3, to honor Ava Mairead Conklin with a heartfelt street co-naming ceremony. They came from Rockaway, Broad Channel, Hell’s Kitchen and beyond to pay tribute to the young woman...
Local Dad Launches Children’s Book Series Starring His Autistic Son
In Rich Pontieri’s “Mikey and B***y: Best Friends Forever,” the first installation of a children’s book series about the adventures of an autistic boy, Mikey, and his dog, B***y—the Rockaway Beach dad puts forward that with positive friendships and support—“no matter the diagnoses, our special kids could accomplish anything they want to do in life.”
According to Pontieri, with this book and other forthcoming books in the series—he hopes to combat bullying with love, family and friendship: “As a parent, by spreading the message of love and kindness, my goal is to show the world that nothing could hold our kids back. Our special needs children can accomplish anything they want and persevere in this big world of ours on their own terms.” Also, what’s even more special, the book series’ illustrator, Madeline Noone, is a local teen on the autism spectrum, who brings the adventures of “Mikey and B***y” to life.
Pontieri is a proud father of two daughters: Tessa, age 20 and Mackenzie, 27, and his book series’ namesake, autistic son, Mikey, who just celebrated his 14th birthday last month. Pontieri worked in construction for over 16 years, became a stay-at-home dad to keep the household fort down with his wife, Sarah, and is now a top-reviewed published children’s book author through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), which includes eBooks and print. His first book, “Has Anyone Seen My Friend?” released last August, humorously narrates how Pete the sock loses his mate in the laundry and goes on an adventure to find his sock mate. As one reviewer stated on Amazon: “This heartwarming and beautifully written story captures the essence of friendship in the most touching way. The characters are relatable, and their journey together is filled with moments that will make you laugh, cry, and reflect on the importance of companionship.”
Click link to read more:
By Kami-Leigh Agard In Rich Pontieri’s “Mikey and B***y: Best Friends Forever,” the first installation of a children’s book series about the adventures of an autistic boy, Mikey, and his dog, B***y—the Rockaway Beach dad puts forward that with positive friendships and support—“no matte...
Animal Cruelty Warning:
On Monday, August 5, a 22-year-old Manhattan man, Wesley Dahlman, was arrested for attempting to drown 2 kittens in the ocean on Beach 62nd Street.
A witness told police that at 3:30 p.m., Dahlman allegedly brought the carrier containing 2 kittens down to the water, and submerged the carrier in the water for about 30 seconds at a time and repeated this action several times.
He then left the carrier with the kittens on the hot sand and went in the water on the 90 degree day. When 100th Precinct officers spoke with Dahlman, he said, “YES THE CATS ARE MINE, I RESCUED THEM. THE CATS WERE COVERED IN P**P, AND I WAS JUST CLEANING THEM OFF IN THE OCEAN".
Dahlman was arrested and charged with 2 counts of injuring/torturing an animal. The kittens were in poor condition and were taken to an animal hospital to be evaluated.
On Wednesday, August 7, Dahlman was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court. He pled not guilty and was released on his own recognizance, without bail. He is due back in court on October 2. This is Dahlman’s first arrest.
The 101st Precinct’s National Night Out also went on despite the rain at O’Donohue Park!
Photos by
Yea, National Night Out is ON! The 100th precinct is celebrating around the Beach 94th Amphitheater. Rides got scrapped due to the weather, but there’s plenty of food, resources and fun, so come on down!
AI is getting pretty good but maybe it won’t be taking over The Rockaway Times anytime soon. Just for fun, we asked Meta AI to show us some photos of Rockaway, Breezy Point, Broad Channel, a Rockaway lifeguard, the Rockaway boardwalk and Bungalow Bar and these were the results
In a somber ceremony, friends, family and neighbors gathered on the corner of Beach 108th and Rockaway Beach Blvd. for an unveiling of the sign co-naming the corner as Ava Conklin Way, in honor of the 19-year-old girl who was killed there more than a year ago. Today would have been Ava’s 21st birthday.
Photos by Dan Guarino
11404 Beach Channel Drive
Rockaway Park, NY
11694
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Grab your skates and head to the Beach 108th hockey rink for The Roller Wave’s Forever Young skate party. Don’t have skates? They have a few pairs to rent. Party goes til 8p.m.
Connolly’s piña coladas turn 40 this year and Rock Soup is playing to celebrate. Grab a pina colada, give Connnolly’s a cheers, rock out with Rock Soup and enjoy DJ Paddy Tubz playing all your favorite 80s classics and more later on tonight 🍻
Some more ray action by @thewharf_rockaway Been there all week! Video by Glenn DiResto #rockaway #rockawaybeach #thewharf #rays #cownoseray #dance #wildlife #marinelife #nyc
Some rays in Jamaica Bay perform The Wharf Waltz Video by Tamru Veilazoro #rockawaybeach #rockaway #thewharf #jamaicabay #rays #waltz #marinelife #wildlife #animals #dance #nyc #queens
And they’re off! The Graybeards Family Run had hundreds of participants from the St. Camillus Special Olympians, to kids and adults running in one mile and 5K events! #running #graybeards #funrun #familyrun #rockaway #rockawaybeach #belleharbor #queens
The @fdny Fireboat putting on a water show this morning at the Timmy Klein Volleyball Tournament #rockaway #rockawaybeach #nyc #queens #fdny #timmyklein #watershow
The first Rockaway Color Run, hosted by @rockaway.t.c , was a night of colorful fun! The rain held off dozens of folks ran or walked along the boardwalk and returned to Beach 94th for the big color war! #rockaway #rockawaybeach #rockawaytrackclub #colorrun #colorwar #fun #running #summer #activities
The warriors are here! Rockaway turned out to cheer on our wounded veterans as Hope for the Warriors rolled into town this evening for the start of a weekend of fun 🇺🇸 Video by Jen Mollaghan
Move aside sharks, massive sting rays are taking over beaches lately. This one was accidentally reeled in on Beach 135th Street yesterday. It was later released. Thanks to Andy Amplo of @rockawaybeachpads_nyc for the video!
Shark Week starts tonight but if you don’t get Discovery Channel, just turn your eyes to the ocean. Everyone was called out of the water around Beach 9th Street this morning as this little guy claimed his territory. Video by Karl Janker.
Who needs Macy’s? Happy Independence Day, Rockaway! #rockaway #rockawaybeach #fireworks
A parade for our hometown heroes, Tess Howley and Sean Green, who just returned from the Olympic trials in Indianapolis. These two teens came short of making it to Team USA this year but both made it to the final rounds in their best events. Making Rockaway proud! Video by Amanda Agoglia #rockaway #rockawaybeach #hometownheroes #olympics #teamusa #nyc #queens #tesshowley #seangreen
FDNY diver entering the ocean on Bay 1 in Riis Park searching for two people reported to have gone missing in the water shortly after 6 p.m. this evening.
Way to go 101st Precinct for rescuing these puppies on Saturday 🐶
One epic part of this weekend’s Irish Festival was seeing these fine lads and Rockaway music legends come together once again— The Rockaway Troubadors
The Gobsh*tes close out the Rockaway Irish Festival ☘️
It was a good day to be Irish and a bad day to be Jerry Rea. What a throw, Johnny!
Whit got wet! Whitney Aycock of Whit’s End was one of the first in the dunk tank at the Irish Festival today as part of the festival’s fundraising efforts
Sure doesn’t feel like it but it’s Christmas in New York Again. Shilelagh Law takes the stage at the Irish Festival
The Irish Mutts are kicking off the Irish Festival. Come on down to St. Camillus on Beach 100th to catch them and other great music acts until 9 p.m.
