Tag Archives: local news
2015–Year of the Taco–Again?
I guess you could say it started with that bridge, which connected the borough of Queens to the island of Manhattan and points west in 1909. The zenith was reached last week, when the world’s largest travel guide publisher, Lonely … Continue reading
People Marching (and Standing) for Something
Well, at least you can call it a victory in this sense–410,000 people in New York City were NOT watching football on Sunday afternoon. With apologies to my family and friends in Pittsburgh and Indianapolis–I must say, that’s something I would celebrate! … Continue reading
Past and Future Tents in the Rockaways
9/4/14 UPDATE: Camp Rockaway achieved its Kickstarter funding and will be showing off a model tent on Saturday, September 6, 2014, from noon to 5 p.m., at Beach 92 and Holland Avenue in Rockaway Beach. The public is invited to … Continue reading
A Year Later–and Yes, We’re Still Here
More than a year after nature’s damaging blow to the peninsula, I continue my peripatetic existence, traveling back and forth between New York’s upstate and downstate counties. Peripatetic is really the right word, hearkening back to the wandering teachers … Continue reading
We Demanded the Sand–but THIS is Ridiculous!
Rock Viv is back! I survived Hurricane Sandy, which struck the Northeast coast of the United States at about 9 p.m. on Monday, October 29. I sent a panicked text message to a friend a few minutes later that said: … Continue reading
Are You Better Off Than You Were in 1974?
Things have changed a lot in the past eight years. In October, 2004, I stood in front of my class of sixth graders at Channel View School for Research to teach a lesson on the skill of persuasive speaking–the literacy … Continue reading
“We Used to Vacation” and Other Lost Summer Rituals
I headed into the kitchen for my morning coffee, and flicked on the radio. A song recorded by The Cold War Kids was on, called We Used to Vacation. A great lost summer ritual. In the past week, I’ve been … Continue reading
H2O, Gerrymandering and Socialists in Archie Bunker Land
I’ll never forget the words of the engineer who inspected the Belle Harbor home our family was about to buy, in the spring of 1994. “The number one enemy of your home is water,” he said. Do everything you can … Continue reading
A Paean to Irene
That Hurricane Irene was some bi-polar storm! Carefree teens tubing down the Saw Mill River Parkway on Sunday afternoon contrasted with kayakers in distress pulled from the Hudson River on Saturday night. The mood of the city swung like a … Continue reading
It’s Showtime!
Well, we’ve been talking about it and preparing ever since Mayor Bloomberg decided to devote millions of dollars to his plaNYC initiatives in 2007. An actual serious emergency that could require evacuation of millions from low-lying areas of New York … Continue reading
Oy Vey Rockaway 