About the Rockaway Times

Here’s a little more about us: The Rockaway Times is a free weekly paper published on Thursdays. We deliver door-to-door from Beach 149th to Beach 84th Street and make more than 70 bulk drops from Broad Channel to Breezy Point to Far Rockaway.

Our tagline is “First and Free,” and we are distributed without charge, ensuring that every resident has access to the news that shapes their community. Our commitment to free distribution is a reflection of our dedication to keeping the public informed and engaged. The Rockaway Times is more than just a newspaper; it’s a community hub where local events, concerns, and triumphs are shared.

Hard to believe, but we’ll be celebrating our Tenth (!!) Anniversary this June 26, 2024. Our first headquarters was in “the booth” which is now occupied by Belle Rock Car Service at 114-04 Beach Channel Drive. A couple of years back, we moved just about 100 feet across the parking lot to another office. And then we moved a few more steps north so we now occupy an office facing the bay.

The Rockaway Times is a free paper (and so is this 100-page Summer Guide) but its quality has been officially recognized by the New York Press Association. The paper has won awards every year since its inception at the Better Newspaper Contest.

Contests aside, we’re more than just a newspaper. We’re on Facebook– with more than 21,000 Likes and 50,000 followers! Instagram is getting more and more popular, and we’re thrilled to say we’ve got over 15,000 followers. In addition to the print copy, thousands of others receive their Rockaway Times by email each week.

We get a newspaper out, keep active on social media, produce this guide, sell t-shirts, sponsor a Sandcastle contest and the Photo expo — all with a small staff and a slightly larger army of volunteer columnists.

There’s more. But we’ve got to get this week’s paper out!