BHPOA April Meeting to Focus on Beach Readiness

The Belle Harbor Property Owners Association (BHPOA) will hold its annual pre-beach-season general meeting on Tuesday, April 21, 7 p.m., at the Belle Harbor Yacht Club. Key guests include Phil Sparacio, Director of Operations, and Bonnie Williams, Chief of Special Programs (incl. lifeguards) from NYC Parks.

BHPOA moved its pre-summer agenda from May to April this year to allow more time to address lifeguards, wooden jetties, dune crossovers and other key beach issues. Williams will report on Parks’ progress in recruiting lifeguards and how beach closures will be managed in 2026. Sparacio will address the herculean effort required to prepare the Mobi-mat crossovers for beach access and tests that Parks is running to make the crossovers more durable.

The other major agenda item this month is roadway conditions, especially Rockaway Beach Boulevard. The difficult winter only compounded problems with crumbling infrastructure. The potholes, cracks and sink holes are not just a nuisance – they are a safety problem and cause vibrations that damage homes. DOT has begun repairing some streets and has been invited to provide a report and update.

The April BHPOA meeting will also address healthcare. The Rockaway peninsula needs an effective, integrated healthcare system as well as a high-performing hospital. Episcopal Health Services CEO Don Morrish will return along with COO Karen Paige to address the latest developments at St. John’s Hospital and beyond.

BHPOA is also looking forward to its May 19 general meeting that will feature a Candidates’ Night event with Democratic candidates for Assembly, Pesach Osina and Mike Scala. The primary election will take place on June 23. Since there is no Republican primary, Tom Sullivan will not participate. However, BHPOA anticipates a debate between Sullivan and the Democratic primary victor at its October meeting.