What's in store for the Rockaways - notes from the CB 14 meeting on Tuesday

Image source: Charles Le Brigand

The good folks at rockawayhelp live-tweeted the Community Board 14 meeting on Tuesday evening that took place at the Knights of Columbus (GMAP). They then compiled their tweets (they used the hashtag #cb14) into a blog post. Here are some particularly interesting tidbits.

The general idea about the meeting: “This meeting focused on the Parks department and opening the beaches this summer. It was not about a long term rebuilding strategy. It was focused primarily on short-term solutions.” The next CB14 meeting on February 12th will be with the Army Corps of Engineers, and that will be focused on more long-term rebuild issues.

Dorothy Lewandowski, Queens Parks Commissioner, was there and spoke to the attendees about the beaches and boardwalk.

Utilities: 7500 LIPA meters are still off;  1265, are in Arverne (Governor Cuomo wants to privatize the utility – right now it’s a state authority). DOT is still working on restoring street and traffic lights.

Libraries: The Queens Libraries in the Rockaways had close to $5 million in damage – Seaside Branch will get $2.5 million and Peninsula Branch will need $2.9 million to fix. FEMA money will pay for some of it. Both of these branches are open; the Broad Channel Library should open in the next few weeks.

Beaches: For the beaches, the goal is to open on Memorial Day, Monday May 27. To get the beaches ready they have a three part process in mind – 1. Clean up. 2. Safe up. 3. Open up. The beaches will not be the same as they have been. There will be as many lifeguards this year as last year. New beach walls will be built in some areas. Bathrooms will be back, save for the one at Beach 116th.

There is approximately 70 thousand cubic yards of sand sitting in Jacob Riis Park.

Image source: Charles Le Brigand – sand pyramids at Jacob Riis Park

Boardwalk: Concessions at the Boardwalk will return as small “island” platforms. “We will not have a continuous boardwalk but we will have little boardwalk islands off the main buildings at Beach 86. 97 and 106.” Boardwalk that was in the streets has been saved for potential “adaptive rebuild.” Some of the boardwalk will be fixed, some replaced. Community input is welcome regarding longer-term rebuild.

Some community (CB members and residents) concerns: There are a lot of people concerned that short-term fixes may not protect them from future storms. Many residents would like to see a restoration of Hockey Rink at Beach 108/109. Any buildings red-tagged will get an interest free property tax extension until April 1. There is a distaste among some residents of a concrete boardwalk. Resident John Cori would like to see meetings like this better publicized.

Notes from January 8th Community Board 14 meeting with the Parks Department [rockawayhelp]
Charles Le Brigand captures images sad and eerie in the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy [QNYC]
No more wooden boardwalks ever, says Mayor Bloomberg [QNYC]
Hurricane Sandy’s affect on Rockaway boardwalk food vendors [QNYC]
Hurricane Sandy utterly destroyed the Rockaway boardwalk [QNYC]