High Tide

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The Rockaway Times Photo Contest submissions have been flying in fast and furious. The photos have been great so far, so please keep them coming! For more details, please check out page 7.

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Thai Rock is going up for auction! According to a post on the website crexi.com, starting on March 13, the property will be auctioned off with a starting bid of $1.5 million. Thai Rock remains open for now, so get that Pad Thai at the Beach 92nd bayside spot while you can!

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SPAM LIKELY! According to State Senator Joe Addabbo’s office, one of the laws that will go into effect this March will require telemarketers and robocallers to give customers the option to be added to their company’s do-not-call list right after the telemarketer’s name and on whose behalf the solicitation is being made. Is there anyone who makes it that long on those calls?

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Not to sound like a broken record but another whale was found dead in Rockaway this past week. The deceased 25-foot-long whale was discovered on the shoreline of Beach 29th Street. As we have chronicled in these pages, this marks the fifth time a whale has been found dead in New York and the 23rd such occurrence on the east coast since December 1, according to NOAA. Environmental activists even took to the beach in Point Pleasant, NJ to hold a rally calling on President Biden to launch an investigation into the whales’ deaths. “When the whales started dying, they really sent a message to all of us. Whether it’s an alarm or an omen, however you want to look at it, a call for help, they’ve sent the message loud and strong,” said Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action.

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Celebrities have been showing up left and right lately! Last week, heart throbs, George Clooney and Brad Pitt, were spotted filming a new movie at multiple locations in neighboring Howard Beach and on Tuesday, Cardi B was on the peninsula speaking to young folks about her experiences growing up in New York and working her way through the music industry.

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Congratulations to Rockaway’s own Janet McDonald and Jennifer Tubridy on the outstanding accomplishment of being appointed as New York City Criminal Court Judges.

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The NYC Parks Department has extended the lifeguard qualifying tests until March 5. After passing the qualifying test, candidates will then be enrolled in the lifeguard training course. To sign up, please visit: https://www.nycgovparks.org/opportunities/jobs/lifeguards

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Lucas Allen, St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy’s representative at the Diocesan Math Bee, finished in sixth place overall in the upper grades division. Congratulations, Lucas! 

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As first reported by The City, NYC’s Covid-19 supplies are currently being auctioned off for pennies on the dollar with the equipment being labeled “non-functioning.” According to The City, “​​about 9.5 million items purchased by the city government from $224 million in COVID-related contracts at the pandemic’s 2020 peak have been auctioned so far, garnering about $500,000.” That’s less than 1% for those of us that struggle with Math Rocks each week. On top of it all, The City reports that the warehouses that are holding all these leftover supplies are costing the taxpayers a pretty penny. “As of last week, taxpayers had shelled out $17.8 million for the warehouse, city records show.”