High Tide
Happy Easter!
*****
On Monday evening, tragedy struck this city — this time in our own backyard. NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, 31, was tragically shot and killed in Far Rockaway during a traffic stop. Words don’t do much at a time like this. Nothing can be said to right the terrible wrong that has occurred. Nothing can be said to explain the senselessness of the act or to lessen the anger and sorrow that all decent people are feeling at this time. As NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said, “Tonight this city lost a hero, a wife lost her husband, and a young child lost their father.” Officer Diller was just beginning his career, just beginning his family, and it was all taken from him too soon. Our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Diller’s family and friends. We will never forget the thin blue line that keeps this city safe day in and day out.
*****
Rockaway will be a little less crowded this weekend, as some schools are off for spring break, and many locals have headed down south in search of the sun and warmer weather that continues to elude the peninsula. If you’re not going to be home for your copy of the paper on Thursday, we hope you have all subscribed to our e-mail list and are reading the Rockaway Times online. Go to Rockawaytimes.com and click on “Subscribe” on the top right or just send us an email at Mail@Rockawaytimes.com and we’ll sign you up. And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Facebook too!
*****
Mister Softee was spotted cruising around town this week. If there ever was a harbinger of summer, Mister Softee is it! Will someone please relay the message to Mother Nature?
*****
Natalija (Nat) Marshall, on the Notre Dame women’s college basketball team, a 2-seed in this year’s NCAA basketball tourney wears Number 15 in honor of Rockaway hoops legend, Clare Droesch. Marshall attended Christ the King High School where Clare played and coached before her passing in 2018. There’s a touching video on YouTube that’s worth a look. Go to YouTube and search Nat Marshall and Clare Droesch.
*****
On the men’s side of the tournament, a Breezy Point local, TJ Long, was dancing last week as his University of Vermont Catamounts took on the Duke Blue Devils — blue blood team incarnate — in the first round of the tournament. Unfortunately, Vermont fell to the heavy favorites, and TJ — Vermont’s leading scorer of the season — suffered a leg injury during the game.
*****
Only 56 days until the can’t-miss publication of the year, the 2024 Rockaway Times Summer Guide, is released! That means only a couple more weeks to reserve your ad space. Don’t wait, reserve your place today in the peninsula’s go-to resource for everyone’s favorite time of the year!
*****
Kudos to Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato who has helped to pass a bill that aims to get bad lithium-ion batteries off the street. The Assemblywoman served as the prime co-sponsor of A.4938 which makes it illegal to sell lithium-ion batteries for devices like e-bikes unless the battery is certified by a nationally accredited testing laboratory. According to Pheffer Amato’s office, illegally made or second-hand batteries have been traced back to 200 fires in NYC throughout 2022, which resulted in six deaths and over 100 injuries.
*****
Rockaway is getting a tattoo shop. By this summer, Pete & Cubos of Ozone Park will have a second location in Rockaway Beach!
*****
As we went to press, we received word of partial remains of a male body found on the beach in Breezy Point. This comes just four months after Irish filmmaker Ross McDonnell’s torso and legs were found washed up in a similar location. We will provide more information on the matter when we have it.
