This Week in History

Eddie McGrath was born. Shivaun Prendergast was born. Genevieve Shaw was born. Brooke Manley was born.

1642 - The city of Montreal was founded by the French.

1980 - Mount St. Helens, in Washington state, erupted after being dormant for 123 years.

MAY 19

Roy Richter was born. Desmond McGowan was born.

1536 - Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, was beheaded.

1962 - Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday” to president John F. Kennedy. 1994 - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died in New York.

MAY 20

1927 - Charles Lindbergh began the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight, departing from Long Island aboard the Spirit of Saint Louis.

1932 - Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

Linda Donovan was born.

1956 - The first hydrogen bomb to be dropped by air exploded over the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.

1999 - Susan Lucci finally won a Daytime Emmy on her 19th nomination.

MAY 22

Danielle Gannon was born.

1972 - Ceylon became Sri Lanka. 1992 - Johnny Carson hosted the last episode of his Tonight Show.

MAY 23

1830 - The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad began the first passenger service in the United States.

1934 - Bonnie (Parker) and Clyde (Barrow) were killed in a police shootout.

MAY 24

Linda Caruso was born.

Kara Oberg was born. Monica Edwards was born.

1844 - Samuel Morse transmitted the first telegraph message, in which he asked, "What hath God wrought?"

1935 - Major League Baseball’s first night game was played under the lights at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field as the hometown Reds defeated Philadelphia, 2–1.

Floyd Bennett Field, just across the Marine Parkway Bridge from the Rockaway peninsula, has not been this hot of a topic in quite some time. Rumors have been swirling every which way about the potential use of the federal land to house migrants arriving in New York every day from the southern border. While nothing has been approved yet, we do know that the request was made by Governor Hochul in a letter to President Biden. Locals and local politicians alike have met this news with uproar. As of going to press, there has been no official response from President Biden. Katie McFadden has all the facts surrounding the matter in her coverage of Governor Hochul’s letter and the response that it has received on pages 2 and 10 and specifically, the most recent BHPOA meeting where this was the main topic of discussion, on page 12. *****

Councilwoman Joann Ariola and NYC Parks have shed some light on the beach closure schedule for June. There are a lot of moving parts, and anything can change but this does bring some clarity to the situation that Rockaway is faced with. While there will be a lot of inconveniences, we have to hope that the work remains on schedule and is completed on time allowing beaches to open throughout the summer. Check out page 3 for the latest June beach schedule. *****

We hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day weekend. What a week we had last week weather-wise! It was so great to see everyone out and about in Rockaway enjoying themselves. *****

For those of you running the Brooklyn Half Marathon, good luck! We hope you have good weather for your run and enjoy your day after! *****

A sign that summer is just around the corner… Just a reminder that if you are parking uptown, there is no parking Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from May 15 to September 30 (move those cars Friday night!) and no parking on the streets daily during this timeframe in Neponsit.

Want to play summer hoops?

Don’t forget to sign up for the St. Francis Summer Classic at https:// sfdsparish.org. Completed applications must be postmarked by May 22.

The sign went up on Adrienne’s at 25 Van Brundt Road in Broad Channel last week. A good sign that the new restaurant will be opening soon!

Councilwoman Ariola is bringing Hero Story Time to Rockaway! Come out to Seaside Library located at 116-15 Rockaway Beach Blvd. on Saturday, May 20 at 11 a.m., where children can interact with some heroes from local firehouses and precincts.

Rockaway WISH (Women In- spired to Support and Help) are having their Red WISH & Blue fundraiser on Saturday, May 27 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Belle Harbor Yacht Club. Tickets are $100 and include a chance to win $5,000, plus open bar and lite fare. *****

There still seems to be an ongoing issue with missing mail in Rockaway. Mailboxes have been opened and even mail sent through local Post Offices aren’t reaching their destination. If you have had packages lost or mail missing, file a claim with the USPS Office of Inspector General at their website USPSOIG. GOV. *****

On June 3 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the Bay 84th Street Community Garden is hosting a barbecue, and activities for the kids. Children will make a “starter plant” to take home and nurture, and then bring back in four to six weeks to plant in the “children’s bed” of the garden.

The 43rd annual 5K Buckley’s to Kennedy’s charity run will be held on June 11. Register at www.heartshare.org/event/buckleysrun/.

Floyd Bennett

Continued from Page 2 more equitable dispersion of newcomers throughout the state, so no one area is overly laden with the weight of this issue. Floyd Bennett Field is not the answer to our migration problems,” she said, ending by asking Hochul to reconsider.

As we go to press, the Biden administration has not responded to Hochul’s request, and no further details have been released about what operations would look like at Floyd Bennett Field if migrants were housed there. However, locals are bracing for what could come. The topic became the main agenda item for Tuesday’s BHPOA meeting, and arguments got heated. The general consensus from the meeting was that a migrant facility at Floyd Bennett Field or any other local federal land is not desired.

The Rockaway Republican Club also released a statement addressing the matter saying, “If Governor Hochul has her way, illegal aliens who have not been vetted, will be in our National Park, a place with insufficient infrastructure and no support resources. Just as we have seen in Texas, it will be a humanitarian crisis... except here, migrants can walk out of Gateway and bring that crisis to Neponsit, Roxbury, Marine Park and other neighboring communities. It is a shortsighted, lose-lose proposition.

“It is past time for Governor Hochul, Mayor Adams and other leaders to find the courage to say, ‘Enough!’ No more exporting the federal government's border failures into our cities and communities. The federal government must do its job at the border. Our leaders must not allow any more migrant buses to arrive in New York City. We understand that the vast majority of these migrants are not bad people. However, immigration must be done legally. The Rockaway Republican Club asks every elected official in southern Brooklyn and Queens to stand against Governor Hochul’s request for a migrant camp in Floyd Bennett Field.”

Throughout the week, radio personality Curtis Sliwa announced on his show that Fort Tilden was going to be used to house migrants. Councilwoman Joann Ariola was inundated with calls regarding this. She says she immediately went to Mayor Eric Adams to ask if it was true, to which she was told, “Nothing is off the table.” However, Senator Joe Addabbo reached out to Governor Hochul directly to ask about Fort Tilden, and he told Ariola, “I made inquiry and there’s no plan for Fort Tilden or any property in District 32.” A deputy chief of staff for Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato also said at Tuesday’s BHPOA meeting, “Stacey doesn’t agree with this. She got on the phone with the governor’s office about Fort Tilden, and while it wasn’t mentioned, it is off the table.” The Rockaway Times reached out to NPS for information about Fort Tilden, including recent land surveying activities, but did not receive a response by press time.

Rumors had also spread about the NYPD training facility located across from Roxbury, which recently had new fencing put up. A representative for Ariola who lives in Roxbury said she spoke with NYPD, and the property is still part of the NYPD and they put fencing up as it is being used as a training facility for the Counterterrorism Bureau.

No matter what happens, Ariola said, “I’m not going down without a fight.” She advised all to inundate elected officials with calls and letters to let them know how they feel about this issue. Ariola can be reached at District32@nyc.council.gov or 718318-6441. Senator James Sanders: Sanders@nysenate.gov or 718-523-3069. Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato: amatos@ nyassembly.gov or 718-945-9550.

Congressman Gregory Meeks: joseph.edwards@mail.house. gov or 347-230-4032. The Mayor’s Office: lshargal@cityhall.nyc.gov or 212-788-2781. The Governor’s Office: 212-681-4580 or 518-4022292.

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