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The tragic plane crash in Rockaway on Monday morning drew attention from all over the world. Wave editors and the publisher, Susan Locke, were besieged by requests for radio and televisions interviews via telephone all day long and into the night. One of The Wave editors got a telephone call from Sidney, Australia at midnight, asking for a five-minute interview for its morning show and that call was followed by one from Wales. Many of the calls came from American newspapers and stations as well. All wanted "local color and a read on the mood on the peninsula, something they could not get from government press releases and televised statements. The Wave has indeed become Rockaway More ... The following piece is being reprinted with permission from The Washington Post. E.J. Dionne is my brother-in-law and I More ... It is hard to believe that tragedy could strike our community again. It was my understanding that lightening never strikes twice. However, that is simply not true. More ... Rockaway gets hit again. It was not enough we lost over 90 Firefighters and a number of police officers in the area in the World Trade Center Attack, but now this horrible plane crash. The agony of it all. More ... The John McLaughlin Post 8540 of the Veteran's of Foreign Wars had their Annual Veteran's Day Mass on Saturday November 16th at St. Genevieve's Church at 9 a.m. Instead of their annual dinner dance in light of the World Trade Center Tragedy it was followed by a brunch in Father Hession Hall and catered by Timmy Feimer of the Roxbury Barn II. More ... Upon this writing, sirens still break the cold, rigid night air. Flashing lights continue to accost the walls of my living room. Less frequently than before, but not allowing any respite, no matter how brief. The triage center lies across the street. It is late, but emergency vehicles still stand everywhere, from everywhere. A fire truck emblazoned, "WHITESTONE EAGLES," ambulances identifying themselves as being from Long Island. When earlier, my neighbor and I went into the triage center to see if we could help, we spoke to an emergency worker from Brooklyn and another from Allentown, PA. In gentle, controlled voices they thanked us and told us they didn More ... The world has discovered Rockaway. It is a shame that the community with the most beautiful beach on the planet has to be known as the "place where the plane came down," or as the community "where 70 residents perished at the World Trade Center," but such is life. More ... It was a beautiful November morning, the 12th of the month. My daughter Jade's 12th birthday. She had just celebrated her Bat Mitzvah on Saturday. My husband left to take his parents to Kennedy Airport for their flight back to Florida while I, her Catholic mom, went to St. Francis to attend the 9 a.m. mass in celebration and thanksgiving. Since she had recently become a woman, I allowed her to stay alone at home with two of her friends. More ... Local residents and politicians are objecting to a plan that would reduce the number of lanes on the North Channel Bridge, which connects Broad Channel and Howard Beach, with a new bridge that would be four lanes rather than six. More ... The talk on the street, its sounds so familiar. They say lightening doesn't strike twice in one place. Yet it just did. How do we begin to grapple with and comprehend the incomprehensible? For our community, which is still reeling from the WTC tragedy, the crash is almost a metaphor for how the worlds of both the Financial and FDNY collided in our community. We have now just sustained another hit at the very heart of our small sweet town. It is almost too surreal to bare. As the Memorial Masses have begun to wind down, they are about to begin again. Throughout the day of November 12, I walked dazed and bewildered around the wreckage site. My reasons for being there were blurred. I was there as a "journalist", I was there as a very concerned relation of some of the victims, but I was mostly there because I wanted and needed to be with my much larger extended family...all of you. Rockaway is the kind of place where you walk "Main Street" (116 Street) and there are flyers hanging in store windows, announcements for fundraisers...a sign that reads, "Benefit For Mondo" and everybody knows that that was Frank Monaghan. We know each other by our nicknames and nuances. We are a place where generations of families reside and live within walking distance of one another. A community with good old-fashioned values and a relentless strength at our core. I have to have the conviction and belief that we are given what we can bare. As much as I love Rockaway, I love it now more than ever. We are a small town jewel in the shadow of a big, and often indifferent, city. I could not help but be hit by and take notice of the so many ironies in this tragedy. The fact that the crash occurred on Veteran's Day, when we are still reeling and our Firemen, policemen, and other servicemen are still exhausted and recovering from the WTC. Yet, out of the literal ashes, they rise to answer the call again. Another irony is the location site itself. More ... Monday, November 12 is another day that will live infamy for residents of Rockaway. An American Airlines A300 Airbus crashed killing all of its passengers and crew as well as destroying seven to nine homes and damaging 14 others. Five of our local residents are missing. More ... Let me say that I am very excited that the "WAVE" has granted Rockaway Development and Revitalization Corporation (RDRC) this opportunity to speak to the Rockaway community, both residents and businesses, about issues of importance. This column will appear on a bi-weekly basis and every two weeks you will be able to preview general and on-going information regarding the services that RDRC administers within and around the Rockaway Community. More ... |
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