By Bill Parry
Mayor de Blasio was a half hour late for the 40th annual Queens County St. Patrick’s Parade Saturday and he was lambasted by many Rockaway residents who felt slighted. Pockets of parade spectators jeered as de Blasio joined the march at 117th Street instead of starting at Beach 129th Street in Belle Harbor.
The mayor explained that he arrived by NYPD boat, the same mode of transportation he used when he arrived late for the Flight 587 memorial in November. “We had some meetings at Gracie Mansion, it took a while, some stuff we had to do, and we came up as soon as possible after that,” de Blasio said. “With each parade we handle it differently depending on when we can get to it.”
While some residents chanted “Worst Mayor ever” and “Go back to Brooklyn” de Blasio got something of a free pass from one of the parade organizers. “What this parade does for the community each year is not overshadowed by any one person,” Noreen Ellis said. “This parade committee works tirelessly all year long and given the circumstances of what we’ve been through here in Rockaway, one person can’t affect the outcome.”
Ellis called the parade a great success with a robust crowd that was “as big as it’s been in years.” State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) called it an “always incredible turnout” that continues to prove Rockaway resident’s devotion to community.
Addabbo had authored a resolution passed last week in the state Senate to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the parade. He said the people of the peninsula had seen far more than their share of challenges in recent years. “On Sept. 11, 2001, 77 Rockaway residents died, many of them first responders, and two months later, American Airlines Flight 587 crashed in Belle Harbor, killing everyone aboard and five people on the ground,” Addabbo said. “Then in October of 2012, of course, the Rockaway Peninsula drew much of the brunt and devastation of HurricaneSandy. Lives were lost in the storm, more than 100 homes in Breezy Point burned to the ground, many other residences and businesses were devastated, and the recovery process and rebuilding continues today and will continue for the forseeable future.”
On Monday, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Ozone Park) urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to immediately hold public community forums on their plans for the long-delayed Rockaway Reformulation Study. In the 2 1/2 years since the storm, they say, the Army Corps of Engineers has not held any public meetings on a study that addresses the need for future waterfront protection from massive storms.
In the Sandy Supplemental Appropriation of 2013, Schumer secured full federal funding to complete the Reformulation Study that will ultimately determine the solution for long-term erosion control and coastal protection projects.
“Rockaway residents, many of whom are still feeling the devastating impact of Superstorm Sandy, deserve to know the full details of this federally funded Reformulation Study,” Schumer said. “Public forums will allow residents to voice their concerns and also allow residents to ask important questions that affect their future.”
It’s the type of political leadership Rockaway residents are looking for.
“Schumer has always been pushing to help us move on from the storm,” Ellis said. “Clearly the community needs the clarity and closure that this document can provide.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
