By Howard Koplowitz
Following months of Rockaway Beach being hit hard by strong storms, elected officials and representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city Parks Department kicked off a sand replenishment project that will restore the peninsula’s battered shore in time for beach season.
U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills) said up to six feet of sand was lost in Rockaway between Beach 3rd and Beach 149th streets after the peninsula was slammed by several storms, including a Nor’easter that caused some of the most extensive damage to Rockaway in more than a century.
The storms caused erosion and made many of the staircases, ramps and boardwalks by the beach unusable, Weiner said.
Weiner, Borough President Helen Marshall, the Parks Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers teamed up for an effort to dredge 121,000 cubic yards of sand and dump it on the peninsula’s beaches so the shore’s sand will return to pre-storm levels.
The sand being dredged is coming from the East Rockaway inlet, Weiner said.
“Such severe erosion is more than just a quality-of-life issue for those who use the beach recreationally — it’s a matter of life, limb and property for the thousands of families who call Rockaway home,” the congressman said in a statement.
Weiner secured $2.8 million for the project, Marshall secured $1.1 million and the Parks Department provided $400,000.
“With the Memorial Day weekend almost upon us and the summer season on the horizon, thousands of beach-goers will once again come to Rockaway for recreation and relief from high temperatures,” the borough president said. “That is one of the reasons why I am so delighted to support this sand replenishment project.”
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
