Rockaway Residents on ‘Rockaway and the beach’
Saturday, October 11th, 2003
By Laird Loughlin
The following questions were fielded to Rockaway residents:
| 1. |
What do you see as the biggest environmental/conservation issue on Rockaway?
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| 2. |
What do you think would be required to effect that change?
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| 3. |
Surfrider is partaking in a beach cleanup today. What do you think about these cleanups?
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| 4. |
Are there any other ways in which Surfrider could help on Rockaway? |
Ken Schwille, 108th Street
| 1. |
Litter basket removal during the off season (post Labor Day until Memorial Day).
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| 2. |
Keep the cans until Columbus Day…people have no place to throw trash.
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| 3. |
Good.
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| 4. |
Advocate signs being posted stating something to the effect of “Take it here, take it home.” |
Alexander Karinsky, 97th Street
| 1. |
Dumping of sand that will take place between January and February 2004. The sand is replenished every 4 years or so.
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| 2. |
Alternatives need to be explored. For example, a wall or fortress could be built on the ocean bed just offshore. Artificial reefs can be built.
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| 3. |
Good.
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| 4. |
Annoys me that there are no trash cans. City essentially being negligent. |
William L. Acosta, Tsunami Surf and Dive shop
| 1. |
1) There are three main issues:
| a. |
Lack of education regarding beach and coastal commerce. There is a lack of understanding for both children and adults on the impact of trash on marine life. There is a delicate balance between the humans and the sea.
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| b. |
Illegal dumping of waste, both commercial and recreational. This includes fisherman dropping nets.
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| c. |
Dredging continually disturbing the ecological balance.
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| 2. |
People supporting Surfrider Foundation and like minded groups so that they will have the resources to help governing bodies develop environmentally sound policies.
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| 3. |
Good.
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| 4. |
Advocate the following:
| a. |
‘Adopt a beach’ policy. This would be not unlike the popular ‘Adopt a highway’ policy.
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| b. |
Recruit divers to conduct thorough analysis of marine life and sediment, such as what is being done by The Ocean Conservancy and PADIs Project Aware.
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| c. |
Promote conservation of wildlife, in particular sea birds. Too many people do not realize what benefit sea birds bring to the coastal ecosystem. |
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Pat McCabe, Minnie Troyan, Maxine Kamil
| 1. |
Rats under the boardwalk, and stray dogs.
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| 2. |
Problem needs to be addressed.
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| 3. |
Good
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| 4. |
N/A
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Pat, Minnie, and Maxine made some other remarks about Rockaway I felt I should add. Apparently, the problem of stray dogs is partly due to people abandoning their pets. One of these ladies claims that she’ll see people stop their car near the boardwalk, push their dog out and drive away, leaving the canine to chase until exhausted. Given that these ladies are elderly, they are concerned for their safety with stray dogs running around. In addition, they are concerned that the bathrooms are not kept open on the boardwalk. Most importantly, they feel that there are not enough outlets for children on Rockaway. They alluded to ‘Playland,’ an amusement park that existed some 50-60 odd years ago. Children need outlets, whether it is movies, a bowling alley, or a mall. Their last comment which ties into city planning is the issue of the ever increasing residential development projects. According to them, there is not enough parking to accommodate all the development. I add these comments out of respect for the time they shared with me.
I want to reiterate my appreciation to all contributors to this piece. Thank you. |
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