CM Ariola Brings Parks Commish to Rockaway to Address Beach Concerns

By Katie McFadden

As Memorial Day weekend approaches and beaches open Saturday, Councilwoman Joann Ariola recently invited New York City Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura and First Deputy Commissioner Mark Focht to Rockaway to see some of the issues locals have been complaining about, in hopes of finding solutions.

On Monday, May 18, Ariola brought Shimamura and Focht to some key problem areas, like Beach 116th and uptown beaches, to show some of the problems. “It was important for us to bring the new Parks commissioner down to see our beach to see what we’re experiencing, like why it’s important for Beach 116th to be open, why it’s important for mobimats and ramps accumulating sand to be cleared, and the removal of the wooden jetties. We can show them thousands of pictures, but unless you’re looking at it, you can’t understand the gravity of the dangers for our beachgoers,” Ariola told The Rockaway Times.

One of the areas they visited was Beach 116th, where the U.S. Army Corps continues to have a staging area, and recently started constructing a ramp onto the beach, closing off the Beach 116th Street entrance, unbeknownst to NYC Parks. “We’re really trying to keep 116th vibrant and a main hub for beachgoers so they utilize the stores that exist there. The commissioner understood the full gravity of what the peninsula has gone through with the restoration and resiliency project that should’ve been finished two years ago,” Ariola said. “The Army Corps and Michels dropped the ball, and they’re ending that contract now and putting out a new Request for Proposals, and hopefully we’ll have a new contract come October.

“But without the knowledge of Parks, USACE and Michels built this monstrous ramp so some of their equipment can go up and over onto the sand, and Parks was taken aback when they saw this structure being built. The construction makes it impossible to go on to the beach at Beach 116th, but what we were able to do is make sure all of the equipment leaves Beach 117th Street so it’s completely open, so people can access Beach 116th from the boardwalk and make the short walk to Beach 117th to use the beach. Parks committed to putting very large, bright signs from the train station all the way up to the beach, saying Beach 116th is accessible to get to Beach 117th Street. We need people going up Beach 116th Street, not Beach 117th.

“We were also able to show her the wooden jetty sticks, and the commissioner was horrified when she saw them. We went at high tide, but as the waves pulled back. You could see the tips of the sticks, and she said it was unacceptable. Although they have signage on the beach indicating where they are, Parks is trying to think of other remedies until they’re removed as part of the new contract. It will be done first thing in that project.

“With the crossovers uptown, she agreed that there needed to be more remedies, like more plantings and burlap to keep the sand in place and off of the mobimats. I think it was important that she saw how covered with sand they are. When she was standing where a mobimat was, her feet sank in three feet deep, and that was really eye-opening. She realized the need to have more preventative measures to address it,” Ariola said.

And more sand replenishment could be a factor for Neponsit, and hopefully, more lifeguards. “Replenishment will continue. From Beach 145th to 149th, we haven’t had lifeguards in part because of a lack of usable beach due to erosion. Parks is making great strides in recertifying lifeguards, and we’re hoping to have more across our beaches this summer. We’re going to make sure lifeguards are spread equitably so there’s more coverage of more beaches. We were promised a weekly schedule by Parks,” Ariola said. “Overall, it was a positive meeting.”