It’s Not Us vs. Them

Dear Editor:

I was disappointed by last week’s letter to the editor that pitted one Rockaway neighborhood against two others on the issues of beach closures and lifeguard shortages. It is not us versus them in Rockaway… or at least it should not be.

More important than the factual inaccuracies in the letter was the sense that the only way to solve a problem on one Rockaway beach is to penalize neighbors on another Rockaway beach, some of whom did not have lifeguards (or even lifeguard chairs) for three years. That mindset leaves us all victims of a self-inflicted “divide and conquer.” Rockaway will never get our due services from City Hall if we can be played off each other.

The Belle Harbor Property Owners Association regularly stands with neighbors from Redfern to Rockaway Point. If people on a beach somewhere in between need help getting protection, we will gladly be with you as you grapple with Parks and elected officials. That’s the Rockaway way. Or it should be.

Paul King, President
Belle Harbor Property Owners Association