High Tide: Merry Christmas from The Rockaway Times!
Today marks the official start of winter. That also means today is the longest night of the year and, from here on out, we should see, slowly but steadily, longer and longer days.
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This past Monday’s storm brought some pretty serious winds and some even more impressive waves. The storm was so powerful, it caused migrants at Floyd Bennett Field to call 911 fearing that their tents were going to collapse.
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The case brought by Councilwoman Joann Ariola and Assemblywoman Jamie Williams was finally being heard on Wednesday in Kings County Supreme Court as we went to press. We will be sure to update you on our social channels if we hear anything further.
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On Christmas, Monday, December 25, the Department of Sanitation has announced that there will be no trash, curbside composting or recycling collection. Residents who normally receive Monday collection may place their material out at the curbside Monday evening for Tuesday. December 26 collection.
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Councilwoman Joann Ariola and Lisena Garden Center are giving away Christmas trees today, Thursday, December 21. Pick up is required from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Trees are limited. Please call 718-738-1083 to reserve a tree.
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Wondering what to do with your Christmas tree? The NYC Parks Department is hosting a Mulchfest from December 26 to January 7 to make NYC even greener. To find a Mulchfest site to drop off your tree, go to nyc.gov/mulchfest or call 311. Free bags of mulch will be available at select sites on January 6 and 7 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
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The ferry will be running on a modified holiday schedule on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. You can view the full schedule at https://www.ferry.nyc/.
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Last week, it was announced that Peter Touros, Kosmos FC TST Director, won EDP NY Coach of the Year for coaching the local TST Athena 2010 Girls Team. The team’s players, all 8th graders from the peninsula (Rockaway and Breezy Point), have been playing together for TST for many years. Just last year, the local team came away triple winners in the EDP NYCSL Division 1 Gold League, the 2010 NY Champions Cup Gold Bracket, and (a year older) the 2009 NY Champions Cup Silver Bracket. According to TST, EDP received over 9,700 submissions for the East Coast. Congratulations Coach Peter and the Athena team on this phenomenal accomplishment and well-deserved recognition!
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Also, congratulations go out to the 8th grade St. Francis de Sales’ boys basketball team for winning the annual St. Francis Christmas Tournament. Kudos and a big thanks to JoJo O’Grady for all his hard work for this tournament and CYO.
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The Rockaway Times’ Publisher Emeritus Kevin Boyle had a pretty good idea for Community Board 14’s December meeting moving forward. Why not fly through a quick agenda and then have a small holiday party? So much time is spent arguing at the meetings, it could be a nice change of pace this time of year and help those who don’t always see eye to eye to get to know each other better. Maybe a quorum would even show if offered a little holiday cheer.
