High Tide

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The Rockaway Times Photo Contest is back! Now launching season eight (!!), The Rockaway Times Photo Contest, if we do say so ourselves, has become one of the great Rockaway traditions and one that boasts community pride and talent and beautifies Rockaway in the process. We are excited to have our co-sponsors, The Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy and NYC Ferry, both back on board for another year. We look forward to reviewing your submissions and are thrilled that so many of you participate. Important note: To be eligible for the contest, photos must be delivered by email to Contest@Rockawaytimes.com. We’ll still run our popular Local Color feature each week, but those photos should be sent to Mail@Rockawaytimes.com. For some more important information about this year’s contest, check out page 15.

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Hearings for the newest draft of New York State Assembly district lines in Queens will be held today, Thursday, February 16, at York College in Jamaica beginning at 4 p.m. As it currently stands, the proposed new lines would split the peninsula in half, similar to the City Council District lines, whereas the current lines keep the entire peninsula solely under District 23.

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Congratulations to Rocco’s of Roc Beach for bringing home the gold in this year’s Queens Chamber of Commerce pizza competition. After beating out more than 130 others, Rocco’s was awarded Best Pizza in Queens. Guess you’ll have to go out and try for yourself!

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Mayor Adams confirmed last week that while workers who were fired for refusing to get the Covid-19 shot could reapply for their old jobs, that job would not be guaranteed, nor would any previous seniority or assignment. He also stressed that workers would not be receiving any back pay for the time that they missed. In response, several unions have already begun to file lawsuits, arguing for back pay saying that their members should have been working but were not allowed to.

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The application period for the Education Council Elections for 32 Community Education Councils and four Citywide Education Councils has been extended until February 23. You must have a child in the NYC public school system to be eligible to apply. The voting process is set to take place in April and May. 

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This past Tuesday, family members of those who lost loved ones on city streets took to the steps of City Hall to speak out before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held an oversight hearing on street safety infrastructure. One of the families in attendance was that of 10-year-old Davina Afokoba who was killed on her way home from school on Beach Channel Drive near Dix Ave. just over a year ago. Last year was the deadliest year on record in the Vision Zero era.

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Long time Rockaway Park Resident, Teresa Donimirska Piechocka, has published a book titled My Memoir: Nazis and Communists. Growing up in 1940s War-Torn Poland. The book is described as a collection of true stories that inform and inspire anyone who seeks knowledge about what it was like to grow up during WWII. The book is now available on Amazon.

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Last week the New York Dippers Club was highlighted in an article in the Times, The New York Times that is. The Rockaway Times featured them in November. The NY Times piece highlights the Dippers who have been living up to their name and taking a dip in the ocean on Beach 67th St. almost every morning at 9 a.m. since they began in October. Interested? Go give them a visit and give it a try!