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QUEENS WEEKLY, MAY 19, 2019
Rockaway Beach sand restoration project complete
BY BILL PARRY
Rockaway Beach is
whole again.
Mayor Bill de Blasio
joined elected officials
at Beach 94th Street on
May 14 to announce the
sand restoration operation
mounted by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers
was successful.
Now, the popular
stretch of the beach from
Beach 92nd Street to Beach
103rd Street, which was
closed all last season due
to erosion that made the
area unsafe for swimming,
will be open in time for
Memorial Day weekend.
“For New Yorkers,
summer means Rockaway
Beach. That’s why I could
not be happier to announce
we will have the entire
beach open in time for the
Memorial Day weekend,”
de Blasio said. “I want to
thank all the stakeholders
who came together to make
the hopes of so many New
Yorkers a reality. We could
not have done it without
your partnership.”
The Corps dredged
the East Rockaway Inlet
and pumped the sand
two and a half miles west
where bulldozers restored
the beach.
“Getting tons of sand
onto Rockaway Beach in
time for summer, and avoid
a repeat disaster of prime
time beach closures, required
every level of government
to dig in deep,”
Senator Charles Schumer
said. “And using the sand
from the East Rockaway
dredge was a win-win plan
because it keeps open a vital
channel and all of Rockaway
Beach.”
The closure last summer
hurt restaurants and bars
in the neighborhood such
as Connolly’s, Bungalow
Bar, Community House,
Thai Rock and Uma’s.
“This is great news,
not only for the residents
of the Rockaways, but also
for the local business owners
who suffered because
of last year’s beach closure,”
Councilman Eric
Ulrich said. “I am looking
forward to a wonderful
beach season where
people from all over the
city can enjoy Rockaway’s
beautiful beaches.”
In 2013, the Army Corps
of Engineers placed 3.5 million
cubic yards of sand on
Rockaway Beach following
Superstorm Sandy but infrastructure
was never constructed
to keep it in place.
The New York District is
awaiting final approvals
from USACE headquarters
for the Rockaway and Jamaica
Bay Reevaluation
Report, which will authorize
construction of erosion
control features such as jetties
and new groins at federal
expense.
“I applaud the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, my
partners in government,
and most importantly our
community for a huge victory
today,” Assemblywoman
Stacey Pheffer Amato
said. “The replenishment
will serve as temporary
relief for the yearslong erosion
plaguing our beaches.
This is a positive first step
and in order to fully protect
our community we need
permanent measures as
soon as possible.”
A fully opened Rockaway
Beach is vital to the
peninsula’s economy.
“Rockaway Beach is the
bedrock of the surrounding
Queens communities
and a lifeblood for the economy,
and we must do everything
we can to protect our
coastal communities from
extreme weather and erosion,”
Comptroller Scott
Stringer said.
The city’s public beaches
will be open for swimming
starting Saturday, May 25,
and remain open through
Sunday, Sept. 8.
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by email at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
New comedy set in Queens explores celebrity, fame & religion
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
Everyone knows or
remembers a beloved
grandma. An amazing,
wise lady whose precious
pearls of wisdom they
hold near and dear to
their hearts.
Whether she’s your favorite
abuela or abuelita
(Spanish), nonna (Italian),
halmoni (Korean), babushka
(Russian) or Jewish
bubbe (pronounced
buh-bee in Yiddish), you
no doubt have fond memories
of special moments
spent together.
If you’re a grandson or
granddaughter, don’t miss
this outrageous, mindblowing
comedy show,
which premiered Mother’s
Day weekend and is playing
at Queens Theatre (located
in blooming Flushing
Meadows Corona Park)
this Wednesday through
May 26. Described as wellacted
and intelligent, with
humor and heart, “Relic,
or, I Was Bubbie’s Favorite”
by Joel Feinman (as told
to Lojo Simon) – kinda reminds
everyone, no matter
their culture, of their own
wonderful grandmothers
(or great grandmas).
Conjured up by playwright
Lojo Simon, directed
by Will Pomerantz, and
set in Queens and beyond,
“Relic” explores the true
meaning of family ties, society’s
all-powerful cult of
celebrity and fame, along
with controversial stuff,
like religion – as experienced
by a lost and questioning
grandson, whose
angst-filled search for
recognition and fortune
ultimately brings him to
a place of peace in a crazy
world.
Rising NYC star Adam
Green becomes struggling
actor Joel Feinman, who
takes audience members
on a totally unexpected
and at times, surreal and
hilarious, truth-finding
journey from his bubbie’s
attic in Rego Park – where
he finds a mysterious ancient
box that transforms
his life – to wondering
about circumcisions, Jesus
Christ, and goats. After
crossing the Atlantic,
Joel finds himself at the
British Museum then discovers
his ancestral roots
in Eastern Europe and
rubs elbows with possible
fortune at Sotheby’s. His
strange trip comes full circle
and ends with … even
more goats. During these
perplexing adventures
Green seamlessly morphs
into a bunch of colorful,
multiple personalities that
he meets along the way.
The actor, who lives in
Brooklyn and grew up in
Manhattan, said he didn’t
call either of his grandmothers
‘bubbe,’ just simply
“Grandma.” Here,
he recalls his maternal,
backgammon-playing
grandma, Sally.
“The grandmother I
was closer to was originally
from Brooklyn.
Who wasn’t? Sally and
my grandfather lived not
terribly far from where
my wife and I live now,”
Green said.
“After my grandfather
passed when I was 9,
Sally became the leader
and true matriarch of the
family. She had this great
gravelly voice, which I’m
going to chalk up to her
75+ years of smoking. And,
you know, she would hold
court at any family gathering.
Conversations would
inevitably turn to her telling
a story about, like, the
Domino Sugar Factory or
her father, who was the
King of the Peddlers down
on Orchard Street during
the Depression.”
He added: “Sally was
extremely sharp. Even
when her body was failing
her as she hit 90, her mind
was as quick as ever. That’s
a blessing.”
For showtimes/tickets:
http://queenstheatre.org/
relic-or-i-was-bubbies-favorite
joel-feinman-toldlojo
simon.
Mayor Bill de Blasio visits Rockaway Beach to announce that it will reopen in time for the
summer, on Tuesday, May 14. Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography
Photos by Jay Rogers/Queens Theatre
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