R0CKAWAY SURF COMMUNITY PRIORITY LIST AND ASSOCIATED TOPICS

[nycwipeout]

PRIORITY LIST

1. AFTER HOURS ACCESS
    - this is for the larger R0ckaway community to have beach access for swimming after 6pm

2. SAFETY
    - Swimmers in the surf beach. Health code states that this against the law.

3. REACH OUT
    - To the larger community of R0ckaway

4. BRANDING OURSELVES
    - Who we are and if we should label us with a group name. Or, do we saddle with Surfrider?




OTHER ASSOCIATED TOPICS DISCUSSED

1. LITTER
    - More trashcans & strategic placement

    - Beach cleanups

    - Who is actually responsible for the cleaning of the beach?

2. BEACH ACCESS
    - After hours access

    - Red flagged beaches. Why can't we surf there? Who's jurisdiction is it?

    - Open water access. Are we confined to just the surfing beach for paddleboarding?

    - Signage. Can we have the designated surf area posted with more signs that there is no swimming allowed. Also rope of the area with bunting with same signage.

    - Safety. Parks Dept. employees must do a better job of clearing the surf area for swimmers safety.

3. PARKIE'S vs LIFEGUARDS
    - Control.
      - Who to contact?
      - Pro's & Con's
        - repurcussions?

    - Parkie inefficiencies (green backs)
        - lack of training

    - What are the rules (Andy provided a rule book on the night)

    - Community Board? Addabbo?
        - Who are the point people?

    - Upgrade PEP's to ticket & enforce no littering

[Crackie Onassis]

Pls tag this at the top?

[pefa]

awsome nycwo
mahalo for all the extra time you've put in on all our belhalf.
you take the ball and run like forest gump could only dream

one small question...... i don't know if that priority list is in the right order.  hate to say take a another poll and waste time or create more work, but we wanna be sure to represent the right order

my 2 cents is saftey first as that has the most potential vulnerability for us, (as seacliff has given a good example of) but im not gonna make waves and make it an issue or stumbling block if there are any disagreements.......

[pefa]

oh yeah,
as we all discussed at the meeting- it would be great to collect/ solicit ideas relative to the priority list. if you wanna do it annonomously (i know my spelling and grammer sucks) - we can provide drop boxes at the tap/ marryann's, etc....
however, i think this thread or a new one(s) could be a fine place to start some cohesive lists that will be a readily accessable & easy to compile and organize- any thoughts, .......or write away........

[pefa]

my 3 cents (inflation .....)

focus only satfey and community outreach to begin with- either ourselves, using established orgs, or whatever.  this way we can start focused and be in a better position once established to tackle other issues/ get shiiit done
smooth roads make for easy travel......
target timelines/ benchmarks should be established so we can monitor our progress, stay on track, and be ready to expand on to the next issue

[nycwipeout]

...one small question...... i don't know if that priority list is in the right order.  hate to say take a another poll and waste time or create more work, but we wanna be sure to represent the right order......

we agreed on that list at the meeting because community outreach would be beneficial for all, hence the main topic on the peninsula is access to the ocean after the LG's leave.

Set up a poll & people can vote + we can put those 'boxes' in physical locations

One reccomendation was to split these 'topics' into their own thread. At first I thought it a good idea, but there is some overlap in each of these, and we all know the confusion of following 5 threads on the same general topic - but then again, we can have a vote.

[da Kook]

Personally I don't see why there has to be a single "issue".  All of the items discussed are important and interrelated.  From a standpoint of getting what we want, negotiations go much better when options are present.  I think there are 3-5 issues that should be presented with the hope we get some changes enacted for this summer.

[Top Three]

If we make all the issues too intertwined nothing will happen because the Parks department and the city of ny will see it as "Thoes surfers, first they wanted there own beach, now they want this, and that. They are so selfish." ... the whole if you give a mouse a cookie kinda thing...

[little_nasty]

If we make all the issues too intertwined nothing will happen because the Parks department and the city of ny will see it as "Thoes surfers, first they wanted there own beach, now they want this, and that. They are so selfish." ... the whole if you give a mouse a cookie kinda thing...

see, i see it the opposite way.  If we keep grabbing a crumb and another crumb, they're gonna get weary of us always asking for something new every year and eventually squash us.  It may be better to just grab the whole cookie and run - maybe it's big, but with enough people it can be done especially if we can make the case for why it is in the city's best interest.

[PoppaGB]

I spoke with the President of the *far western LI* Property Owners re: swimmimg after 6pm.  She said they have had it on their agenda for a few years now, but have only hit roadblocks whenever they attempt to get this rule changed.  I asked her if she would be willing to join forces with other community groups/organizations to put forth a request to have the rule changed and she said she would bring it to her members and get back to me.  She added that personally she would like to get the entire community to join together.

CAUTION!!!!!  She asked me how surfers feel about being told to get out of the water at 6pm.?
When told her surfers are not made to get out of the water she was shocked.  She had no idea this is going on.  She asked why should things be different for surfers?  I explained to her that since the surfing beach is not protected by lifeguards (at all) it doesn't fall under the same restrictions.  Her response was: Well that's hat we "non-surfing" residents want.  I'm going to ask Audrey Pheffer to look into this.  That's not right!

I am waiting to here from the Rockaway Park Homeowners Assoc.

[nycwipeout]

this whole thing really has turned into a can-o-worms

I'm starting to fell pretty quesy

[little_nasty]

not to split topics, but maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to start telling people things like that until we get together and have a plan.  I thought we agreed not to proceed with anything until we discussed it some more?

[1s]

As surfers, wanting less restriction, it is my belief that these should be your priorities:

1. Surf anywhere, anytime when lifeguards are off duty (as surfers are no longer considered bathers according to NYS law we can do this now). This means anywhere before 10am and after 6pm.

2. Get Parks Dept. to back off from the whistle/yelling/bullhorn tactics of calling surfers out of the water when a surfer is discovered anywhere out of the "zone".

3. Adding more designated surf areas for summertime use is needed, let surfers surf on beaches where no lifeguard is present (as this does not violate any law according to NYS Health Code).

As for improving quality of beach life for the community:

1. Swim at your own risk. I believe this requires changes in the law and other liability issues (any lawyers out there?).

2. Ticket litterbugs.

3. Ticket people who don't pick up their dog's excrement.

4. New garbage cans, seagullproof.

5. Remove 5,000 houses and 10 apartment buildings, replace with more green space.

6. No vehicles on boardwalk.

That's the answer.

[Crackie Onassis]

1. Surf anywhere, anytime when lifeguards are off duty (as surfers are no longer considered bathers according to NYS law we can do this now). This means anywhere before 10am and after 6pm.

Agreed, but would add swim to that as well.

[elkisthebastard]

1. Surf anywhere, anytime when lifeguards are off duty (as surfers are no longer considered bathers according to NYS law we can do this now). This means anywhere before 10am and after 6pm.

Agreed, but would add swim to that as well.

I think you guys really need to weigh the possibility of bringing this to the park services attention and having them say, "you're right. It is screwy that swimmers can only go in the water legally when lifeguards are on duty and surfers can go in whenever they want.  Let's make surfers adhere to the same rules we currently have for swimmers." 

I think there is a serious can't see the forest for the trees kind of thing going on here.  Historically, bringing a gov't agency's attention to a matter is a really, really bad way to get less oversight.  You're basically begging to be more heavily policed.  And, at the risk of sounding like a "do nothing," you guys are potentially 'effing with how we surf year round for the sake of the three summer months we have to deal with restrictions.  Is it really worth it?