Rockaway beaches are facing rocky times, as inadequate funding could affect the areas most severely hit by recent storms.
According to Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski, the East Rockaway Inlet is dredged every two years to make it more accessible for boats. The sand is then deposited on the peninsula’s beaches, from Beach 26th and Beach 38th Streets. However, due to the recent Nor’easters beginning last November, there was a need for sand between Beach 80th and 110th Streets.
“This past year we lost a lot of sand in higher numbers like the 90s to lower 100s, so we reached out to the Army Corps [of Engineers] and asked them to consider putting it [the sand] there rather than in the 30s, which didn’t really lose sand,” Lewandowski said.
Army Corps Project Manager Joe Olha said that from where the federal channel is usually dredged, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation requested sand to be placed more westerly – between 81st and 110th Streets – resulting in an additional $1 million cost.
Congressmember Anthony Weiner, who organized a meeting regarding the project on February 16, said that he is doing all he can to improve the situation.
“I’m fighting to ensure that every mile of coastline in my district is safe and properly reinforced and protected from the elements,” said Weiner. “That is why I brought the Army Corps of Engineers to tour the damaged area and to develop a solution for preventing erosion at Rockaway Beach, and it is why I have helped secure millions of dollars to fund beach replenishment and an ongoing study of the use of groins and jetties.”
Final plans are still being discussed, and Olha said they are developing “a scope of works that will detail what material will be placed where.”
The Parks Department made $1.5 million available for the project, including contributions by both Borough President Helen Marshall and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. However, the contractor’s bid for the incremental cost to place material further west than between 26th and 36th Streets was greater than $1.5 million, Olha said.
Lewandowski said the Army Corps estimates the project will begin in late March/early April.
Sand will temporarily be put in the 20s, then relocated to the 90s. The project will occur over the next few months and Lewandowski is hoping to have sand “packed where we need it for the summer beach season.”
“Like many Rockaway residents, I’ve been frustrated with pace of the Army Corps’ work, but I am confident that it will be completed and I will continue to do whatever I can to ensure that a long-term solution is found,” added Weiner.
