Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Mrs. Rosemary

We mourn the passing of a wonderful lady who made our neighborhood a better place and enriched the lives of thousands of dancers. Our condolences to her family.

> Joe Markowski

Monday, June 8, 2009

The Beach and Other Things

What a glorious weekend we just had. The weather was such a treat after days of clouds, drizzle and rain.

I journeyed down to New Dorp Beach Park and walked some of the paths down to the waters edge. Then I strolled along the beach looking for signs of hotels and hospitals like the ones Josh Jakob had spoken of at our meeting. I tried to imagine the enormous structures that stood at those locations. I let my eyes follow the pilings out into the water, imagining the piers used by the hotels and hospitals. It was fascinating.

I felt I stood atop large concrete slabs that once held the St.John's Guild Hospital in place. Was I right in that imagining? And long lengths of pipe that once channeled water into the ocean.

Now the beach can surely use help. Oodles of bottles and other plastic junk marred the shoreline. But I look at the beach as a disheveled friend, cherished but one that could use just a little cleaning up.

I then crossed the street and looked up at the structure designed as the latest Elmtree light. And I looked at the structure which I was lead to believe was used to look out for German submarines during WWII. The timing was amazing, it being the weekend we remembered the invasion of Normandy. The structure looks very WWII. And it still stands guard to this day.

As for NDBeach Park, many of the colorful flowers we looked at last year are missing. Hopefully the Parks Department will find some to grace the spray area.

Tomorrow morning I'm hoping to witness the ribbon-cutting of the new playground for PS41. Have you seen it lately? It looks terrific!

And lastly, Alberta Brescia will be at our next meeting on June 18... talking to us about "kicking the smoking habit" as well as other cancer-related concerns.

But for now, I'm remembering the wonderful view of the ocean, the breeze, the solitude and the wonder that is our beach.

Stay in touch.

> Joe Markowski

Thursday, June 4, 2009

POSTPONED !!!!! Boardwalk Bash Health and Fun Fair - Friday, June 5, 2009

I wanted to share this email we received from CB#2:

The 6th Annual Boardwalk Bash, a health and fun fair, is scheduled for Friday, June 5 from 10 am to 1 pm in Midland Beach near the Turtle Fountain, Jefferson Avenue and Fr. Capodanno Blvd. The annual health and information forum gives senior citizens and their families the opportunity to learn about a wide range of programs and services that can benefit them.

The event is sponsored by Assemblywoman Janelle Hyer-Spencer and is produced in cooperation with North Shore SIUH, Health Plus, the city Parks Department, the FDNY and the NYPD.
Debra A. Derrico
District Manager, Community Board Two

Monday, June 1, 2009

What a Meeting !!!

Our meeting focusing on things related to New Dorp Beach was a terrific night and a wonderful experience for everyone who was there... and the hall was full! We chatted about the sports bar at 702 and Dom Griffo the owner answered everyone's questions about what he intended to run there. We talked about the car service moving into 658 NDLane and we were treated to an amazing presentation by Josh Jakob who walked us through the history of NDBeach in word and photo. I think we all learned a few new things about New Dorp Beach.

We are pursuing additional information on the second phase of the New Dorp Beach Park plan which involves bike paths along the waterway. We are also checking on the athletic field proposed in honor of John D'Amato.

As they used to say... stay tuned.

> Joe Markowski