A Name for a Hero

Dear Editor:

We wish to respectfully submit a request that our new and beautiful Beach 94th Street Amphitheater be named for a local hero as opposed to the ongoing external effort to have the Amphitheater named for the Punk/Rock band “The Ramones.”

The name of this Rockaway Beach born and raised local hero (now deceased) is: Young Rockaway Surfer – Dylan Smith.

As you may remember, during Superstorm Sandy, Dylan left the safety and security of his own home to enter the historic storm with his surfboard while fighting the crushing winds and water currents with sole determination to save other Rockaway Beach locals … many of whom he did not know.

Dylan went on to be humbly recognized by many for his extraordinary heroism.

Many months later Dylan decided to escape the notoriety for a short adventure excursion to challenge the surf of Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, young Dylan lost his life while surfing the waves of Puerto Rico, all of which left our local Rockaway community with a tremendously endearing sense of loss and sadness.

It is my hope that this great local hero’s memory could be honored with allowing his name to be remembered forever with the winds of our Rockaway Beach passing through our amphitheater and naming this theater in his honor.

Thank you,

Thomas McLaughlin