Tag: Breezy Point

by It's In Queens

01/31/13 9:00am

QNYC Event Highlight: Rockaway Plunge

by It's In Queens

Nature, Outings, Sports and Recreation

Annie McMahon, Breezy Point, Breezy Point Relief Foundation, Colony Theater, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, John McMahon, Rockaway Plunge, Rockaways, Teresa McMahon

Images Source: Rock Viv

First of all, it’s really not that cold. Second, it’s for a great cause. And most importantly, the party afterward is rip-roarin’ fun. On February 2, participants will gather by the Colony Theater in Breezy Point and then charge into the water as part of the 13th annual Rockaway Plunge. Not only is this a perfect opportunity to have some fun in the Rockaways after a few difficult months, the event also raises funds for the Breezy Point Relief Foundation, the Parishes of the Rockaways and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. There’s a heartwarming aspect to this year’s event as local resident Annie McMahon will be celebrating her Sweet Sixteen party. After she was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, Annie’s parents, John and Teresa McMahon, organized the first Rockaway Plunge.

Rockaway Plunge
Colony Theater
500 Bayside Drive (first right after gatehouse), Breezy Point
Saturday, February 2
1pm – 2pm | A $50 donation is recommended for non-swimmers. Swimmers qualify for free admission to the after party. Goody bag with a minimum of $75 in sponsorships.

Food and Drink

Forest Hills

12/31/12 2:00pm

Weekend 7 train suspensions and more in the QNYC Evening Edition for Friday December 28, 2012

Alley Pond Environmental Center, Breezy Point, East River Ferry, finback whale, MOMI, NY Hall of Science, Queens County Farm Museum, Queens Zoo, Tufino Pizzeria Napolentana, weekend 7 train suspension

Weekend 7 train suspensions are coming… this weekend! 13 weekends total

Just as a reminder, the weekend 7 train suspensions are starting all over again tonight at 11:45pm. We’ll be seeing them for the next 13 weekends, though a break might occur if the Flushing leaders convince the MTA to reinstate the 7 train on the weekends of the Lunar New Year celebrations. We’ll have to see about that. If you have to travel within LIC between Queensboro Plaza and Vernon-Jackson, the free shuttle bus will be running, and it’s really ok – we’ve taken it many times and never had a problem. And of course, you can get into the city via the N/Q (the Q will run during weekend daytimes) at Queensboro Plaza, the E/R at Queens Plaza, and the F at 21st/Queensbridge.

Update on the beached finback whale at Breezy Point

We learned yesterday that the endangered young adult finback whale that beached itself on the shore of Breezy Point in the Rockaways had died. The question was then, what to do with it? A decision has been made – it will be buried in the sand dunes at the beach on which it washed up on Wednesday morning. A spokeswoman from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service said that this makes the most logical sense. Four groups will work with the whale – the Riverhead Foundation, National Park Service, Department of Sanitation, and the Army Corps of Engineers. They will get the appropriate equipment to help them move the whale, and then bury it today or tomorrow. A necropsy will be performed at the burial site.

The East River Ferry is on its way to becoming a permanent fixture in the NYC transit landscape

Good news for those fond of the East River Ferry - local politicians want to keep it going for at least another 5 years after the 3 year trial is done (June 2014). They expected 1.3 million passengers during the three years – they’ve seen 1.6 million in the past year and a half! Impressive. A request for proposals (RFP) has gone out to entice companies to bid to run the ferry system. The submission deadline for proposals is March 1, 2013 at 4pm. The RFP can be accessed here.

Tufino Pizzeria Napoletana, we’re glad you’re here

Last night we checked out the new Ditmars Neapolitan pizzeria, Tufino, and really enjoyed the food. We tried a few things – wonderful arancini that were crisp on the outside and creamy inside; a Nonna pizza, which was topped with meatballs from the owner’s grandmother’s recipe, ricotta, Fior di Latte (like mozzarella), organic tomato sauce, and basil; and the Tirami Choux, which was a tiramisu inspired dessert of cream puffs filled with Kahlua flavored mascarpone sitting atop thin pools of espresso syrup. Everything was really tasty. We can’t wait to return to try other pizzas and snacks! The fried mozzarella caught our eye, too. Liquor license is forthcoming.

Where to take the kids during Christmas/winter break?

The folks over at Patch have put together a short list of great places in Queens to take the kids during their winter break – the Queens Zoo in Flushing Meadows Corona Park (GMAP – and you can apply to volunteer, too), MOMI in Astoria (GMAP – they are running animated features on the weekends these days), Queens County Farm Museum in Glen Oaks (GMAP), NY Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park (GMAP), and Alley Pond Environmental Center in Douglaston (GMAP).

Arts and Culture

11/21/12 11:00am

The Breezy Point Madonna – a symbol of suffering and resurrection

News

Image source: cph926 on Instagram

The NY Times has a piece on the Breezy Point Madonna, the only thing left that is recognizable from the neighborhood before Hurricane Sandy; the rest is charred remnants of over 100 homes. This fire was one of the most devastating results of an overall devastating experience on the Rockaway peninsula, and was the largest of three fires that broke out in the Rockaways during the hurricane.

Breezy Point, Frank Franklin II, Madonna, Mary

Videos

Long Island City

11/08/12 9:30am

Hurricane Sandy on video

Credit: NOAA/NASA GOES Project

Rockaways, Sunnyside

1 Comment

We thought we’d do a little Hurricane Sandy video retrospective. If you have any you’d like us to add, please email us.

Here is Sandy while it expanded down near Florida.

Hurricane Sandy as it develops and grows, moving up the eastern seaboard and moving on to land and slamming into the Northeast.

Belle Harbor, Breezy Point, Broad Channel, Hurricane Sandy

Photos

11/04/12 1:00pm

Hurricane Sandy torched Breezy Point – before and after photos from above

We thought we’d post a side by side comparison of Breezy Point after the fires during Hurricane Sandy, from an aerial perspective. Both images come from Google Maps. Click to enlarge. First, before:

And after:

before and after, Breezy Point, Google Crisis Map, Hurricane Sandy

News

10/31/12 12:00pm

The continuing woes in Breezy Point

Photos, Videos

Image source: WNYC

Two places that got hit particularly hard during Hurricane Sandy were LIC and the Rockaways. Breezy Point was particularly hard hit (it is located on the west side of the Rockaway peninsula, and the western tip is known for its excellent birdwatching oportunities) with water and wind and fires. This morning, one woman we met from Sunnyside said that her parents’ house down there was not destroyed by fire (the fire stopped about 100 feet away from the house) but that the house was moved off its foundation by the water and wind.

It’s a heartbreaking scene down there. 111 homes burned to the ground, according to CBS. This image below is incredible – click to enlarge.

This aerial photo shows burned-out homes in the Breezy Point section of the Queens borough New York after a fire on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. The tiny beachfront neighborhood told to evacuate before Sandy hit New York burned down as it was inundated by floodwaters, transforming a quaint corner of the Rockaways into a smoke-filled debris field. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

Breezy Point, destruction, fire, Hurricane Sandy, Instagram, water, wind

Evening Edition

09/10/12 3:45pm

Tornadoes and more in the QNYC Evening Edition for Monday Sept 10, 2012

A little bit of Kansas found its way to Queens this weekend

So how did this weekend’s storm affect you? We are hopeful that you were able to stay safe and that none of your property was damaged. Probably the most bizarre thing to happen during the storm was the tornado that touched down in Breezy Point, out on the Rockaway Peninsula. The tornado was about 50 feet across and stayed on land for about 600 feet; winds were 70 mph, making it a “weak” tornado. We bet the Breezy Point Surf Club felt differently, as they sustained the most damage from the twister. If haven’t caught the video yet, here it is:

The last bits of the US Open

Starting at 4pm on Monday, September 10, the Men’s Singles finals are being played between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. This major match was supposed to happen on Sunday evening (the Women’s Singles were pushed a day to that slot instead – congrats, Serena), but the Saturday storms contributed to the delay. And even though the Open ends after the men play, and won’t be back for another year, you can savor the fact that one of the permiere worldwide sporting events happens right here in Queens. So proud.

It’s true, Thom Yorke was here in Queens, spinning and dancing his heart out, entertaining the Warm Up masses

The internet was all excited about the fact that Thom Yorke was spinning some of the tunes heard during the final MOMA PS1 Warm Up of the year. It was an excellent time and all about fun, fun, fun.

Parkour in Queens, including a movie

Have you heard of parkour? It’s the art of moving and overcoming obstacles, physically, and has origins in France. It’s a controversial sport and its participants are passionate about it (cats are natural parkour practitioners, though they probably don’t know it or really care). Word on the street is that one of the best places to practice parkour in NYC is at Queens College because of all its varied obstacles and types of surfaces, but Rockaway Boardwalk and Roosevelt Island are also popular parkour haunts.

Queens resident Kevin Horan of Rockaway Beach is such a parkour virtuoso that he was asked to be in an independent short film called “Atlas.” The film’s director, Nadia Lesy of Ridgewood, said the film depicts Greek mythology through parkour movements. Horan plays Zeus. The film is slated to be released in January 2013.

Looking for papalo?

This fresh herb, papalo, is often used in place of cilantro (it might be an option for your cilantro haters – yes, that soapy taste you detect has to do with genetics) in Mexican and other Latin American food, and can be found pretty easily in Queens – check the Mi Tierra market (which has a fantastic produce section) on Roosevelt near 85th Street (GMAP) and also at the Socrates Sculpture Park greenmarket in LIC (GMAP).

Breezy Point, papalo, parkour, tennis, Thom Yorke, tornadoes, US Open

Videos

09/10/12 2:00pm

A tornado arrived in Breezy Point this past weekend