March 10, 2019 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
LOCAL
CL ASSIFIEDS
PA GE 19
City looks to restore Rockaway Beach
Offi cials say restoration would provide boost for local businesses this summer
BY BILL PARRY
Rockaway Beach business
owners were horrified to learn
just days ahead of the summer
swim season last year that an 11-
block stretch would be closed due
to beach erosion that had created
unsafe conditions for beachgoers.
Now Mayor Bill de Blasio,
Sen. Charles Schumer, Congressman
Gregory Meeks and Queens
Borough President Melinda Katz
announced on March 4 a plan to
replenish and restore the popular
stretch from Beach 91st to Beach
102nd Streets.
They have reached an agreement
with the Army Corps of
Engineers to use the sand from
the East Rockaway Dredging
project and use it to replenish the
beach and allow it to reopen this
coming summer.
“Rockaway Beach defines
summer in New York City,” de
Blasio said. “Reopening this
beach means a lot to this community
and families all over the city.
We’ve worked months with the
Army Corps and our federal partners
on a solution to get it done.”
The closure last summer hurt
restaurants and bars in the neighborhood,
including Connolly’s,
Community House, Thai Rock,
Uma’s and Bungalow Bar.
“Rockaway Beach is not only
an iconic part of the city of New
York where families can enjoy
the beach weather, it is where
many local businesses earn their
entire year’s revenue throughout
the summer months,” Meeks
said. “The closure of this stretch
of beach last year was economically
damaging to the local community
and I am determined to
see the beach reopen in time for
this season.”
Whether the beach opens up
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The Prize Patrol surprises Jamaica resident Crystal Crawford with a check after she won the $5,000 a
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St. Mary’s
expansion
now complete
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
St. Mary’s Healthcare System
for Children held a ribboncutting
ceremony to celebrate
the completion of its new Center
for Pediatric Respiratory
care, a 22,300-square-foot
expansion of the hospital’s
pediatric facilities.
St. Mary’s President and
CEO Dr. Edwin Simpser was
joined by Cindy Johnson, Norman
Feinberg, Attilio and Beverly
Petrocelli, and the Kids for
Kids Foundation, whose generosity
was instrumental in the
completion of the project at the
hospital, located at 29-01 216th
St. in Bayside.
“Today marks a historic moment
in the history of our hospital,”
Simpser said at the March
4 ceremony. “Expanding the
number of ventilator-equipped
beds will allow us to care for
more children than ever, helping
us fulfill our mission of serving
New York’s most critically ill and
injured children. We’re so deeply
grateful to the Johnson fam-
Continued on Page 18 Continued on Page 18
Van Bramer calls cops
after texting ‘threat’ BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
BY BILL PARRY
The Long Island City restaurant owner who
flew to Seattle last week to try and rescue the
Amazon HQ2 deal may have gone too far in
his campaign against the elected leaders he
blames for chasing the e-commerce giant out
Whitestone march gets donation
Planning for the Whitestone
Veterans Memorial
Day Parade this May is well
underway, as the community
works to keep alive the
tradition of celebrating and
honoring its veterans.
Jay Vigorito, vice president
of Dwarf Giraffe Athletic
League, a local nonprofit
sports organization
in Whitestone, said they’re
sponsoring the upcoming
parade with a $10,000
donation.
“We’re hoping to get
more donations. We are
raising money at our basketball
games, and we’re
trying to raise the $10,000
in different ways,” said
Vigorito. “We just wanted
to take the burden off of the
veteran’s this year of raising
the money.”
The organizers of the annual
Whitestone Memorial Day Parade are
receiving a big donation.
Photo by Dominick Totino Photography
Continued on Page 16 Continued on Page 16
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