QUEENS BP KATZ ON CITY’S SUDDEN PLANS TO CLOSE A THIRD OF THE MOST POPULAR ROCKAWAY BEACHES

City Plans to Shut Down a Third of Beaches Most Visited by Tourists to the Rockaway Peninsula

USANEWSONLINE.COM DESK, QUEENS, NY – Queens Borough President Melinda Katz stated the following in response to the City’s sudden plans to close 12 blocks of the Rockaway Beaches indefinitely and effective this weekend due to erosion:

“The City’s immediate plans for the Rockaways will significantly hurt the local community and Queens economy during the vital visitor season of the summer months, and shortchange one of the largest tourist attractions in the City. This is unacceptable; the Rockaways deserve better.

“The community had long expressed its concerns about the vulnerable shoreline to the Parks Department for years. When the Army Corps last replaced 3.5 million cubic yards of sand on the Rockaway Beaches in 2014, the community repeatedly warned the City that without permanent protective measures, the sand would soon need to be replaced again. The consequences of the City’s failure to act earlier will be disproportionately borne by the Rockaway community.”

This Memorial Day Weekend will mark the 2018 summer season opening of Rockaway Beach. Press Release.