Rockaway Times

09/25/2025

Remembering Gerry Mancini

The voice of a local legend has gone quiet, and Rockaway lost a piece of its rock and roll “sol.” On Saturday, September 20, Gerry Mancini, Solshyne’s longtime drummer and singer, died. He was 76.

“His voice,” fellow bandmate Daniel Klohe said is among the things he’ll remember most about the man he called a brother. “Gerry was a great drummer but a massive singer. His instrument was his voice. He could belt out the Allman Brothers almost as good as Gregg.” Local musician John Simonelli shared similar sentiments about Gerry Mancini’s memorable pipes. “I could hear all his life experiences when he sang,” Simonelli said. “He was a great drummer too, but his voice! He wasn’t faking it. The last time I saw him, even though he was weak, he still had every ounce of soul.”

And as a Rockaway Beach resident, it was a gift that Gerry Mancini shared among the local music scene for the last two decades. Klohe said he met his wife in 2000, which happened to be Gerry’s ex, but they “hit it off well. Music brought us together,” Klohe said.

Klohe started playing bass with another local band, The Grayriders, in 2007, and at the time, they needed a drummer, which is where Mancini picked up the sticks. But it was in a basement jam session with buddies a few years later where the sol began to shyne. “Me and Gerry and a couple buddies were playing in my basement, and it grew from there. Solshyne has been together 16 years. We’ve had different configurations since then. People left, people passed, and new people came, but Gerry and I were the heart and soul of the band,” Klohe said.

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Besides being a major part of Solshyne as a drummer and lead singer, Mancini was a proud veteran, having served in Vietnam with the U.S. Navy. He also had a long career, working for the phone industry since age 17 and retired after 42 years with Verizon. And even bigger than that long career was his family. Mancini has five children including Jason (Leah), Victoria, Abigail (Jumel), Zachary (Brooke), and Dylan (Amber). That grew to 11 grandkids, James, Mia, Elliott, Dominique, Natalie, Liana, Zachary Jr., Dylan Jr., Quinn, Isaac, and Nathan. And he was loved by another 36 nieces and nephews. “He had a big family. He was a great father and his kids loved him so much. They’re heartbroken. We all are,” Klohe said.

What makes that loss so hard is that Mancini had so much of his heart to give. “He would do anything for you. He really would. If you asked him, he’d be there in a second to help you out,” Klohe said. One example he gave is what Mancini did for fellow musicians at a time when local music stages went silent during the peak of the Covid pandemic. “During Covid, Gerry wanted to find a way to get live music out to the community. So he organized the Beach 92nd Street backyard sessions,” Klohe said. Mancini brought together musicians for backyard jam sessions for neighbors to enjoy from their windows, and for those even further away as the sessions were shared virtually online to keep the music going during a trying time.
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By Katie McFadden The voice of a local legend has gone quiet, and Rockaway lost a piece of its rock and roll “sol.” On Saturday, September 20, Gerry Mancini, Solshyne’s longtime drummer and singer, died. He was 76. “His voice,” fellow bandmate Daniel Klohe said is among the things he’ll ...

09/22/2025

Happening this Thursday at the BHYC!

09/21/2025

Heat and Drama in RTC’s ‘August: Osage County’

Drenched in the Oklahoma heat, the deep secrets, tensions, desires and roiling dynamics of the Weston family come center stage in the (RTC) Rockaway Theatre Company’s production of “August: Osage County.”

The Pulitzer Prize winning drama opens on Friday, September 26, and runs through Sunday, October 12, at RTC’s John Gilleece Theater at Fort Tilden. Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays, September 26/27, October 3/4 and 10/11 plus Thursday, October 9, at 7 p.m. sharp and Sundays, September 28, and October 5 and 12 at 2.pm. sharp.

As noted, evening shows will be at 7 p.m. rather than the usual 8 p.m. and audiences are advised to arrive early as all shows will start promptly on time. Tickets are available at www.rockawaytheatrecompany.org

“‘August: Osage County’ is a ‘tragicomedy’ about a family imploding under the weight of secrets, addiction, and generational trauma,” co-director Jodee Timpone said. “It is autobiographical in nature.”

She and co-director David Risley, who have been diligently working together on this production, have previously directed such RTC hits as “A Few Good Men,” “The Miracle Worker” and others.

“My first encounter with (‘August: Osage County’) was not on a stage, but rather in the movies,” Timpone said. “I thought the performances were wonderful, but the story itself was heartbreaking. Later, after we decided to put this on, I started doing my research and saw the Broadway production on YouTube. I was shocked to hear the audience laugh! There are both hilarious and devastating moments in this play…hence the ‘tragicomedy.’”

“August: Osage County,” written by playwright Tracy Letts, first debuted onstage in Chicago in 2007, before later moving to Broadway. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Letts, as well as garnering numerous Tony, Drama Desk, Drama Circle and other awards nominations and wins over the years.
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https://www.rockawaytimes.com/heat-and-drama-in-rtcs-august-osage-county/

By Dan Guarino Drenched in the Oklahoma heat, the deep secrets, tensions, desires and roiling dynamics of the Weston family come center stage in the (RTC) Rockaway Theatre Company’s production of “August: Osage County.” The Pulitzer Prize winning drama opens on Friday, September 26, and runs t...

09/18/2025

House Fire Leaves a Breezy Point Family With Nothing but Hope

At around 3 a.m. on Thursday, September 11, Marissa Larsen awoke to the sound of what she thought was someone trying to break into her home in Breezy Point. Her daughter, Sabrina Perrotta, who has an advanced level of autism, was asleep, so Larsen took action to defend her family. She grabbed a baseball bat from underneath her bed, grabbed her phone and called 911. She then ran down the steps, turned a corner to look into the kitchen and outside, and instead saw an intruder of an unexpected form.

“On the front deck, I saw big black smoke and my windows were popping. I thought the sound of the windows breaking had been someone trying to get into my house. But it was a fire that became raging immediately,” Larsen said. The 911 call for a break in quickly became a call for a fire.

Larsen then jumped into action to save her daughter from this new enemy. “I ran up the steps to grab my daughter. She was dead asleep. I pulled her down with her eye mask still on, right down the steps. She tried to turn around and go get her phone. She’s very attached to it. So, I had to pull her back and I damaged my leg somehow. But I pushed her in front of me. The smoke was coming towards us, and the flames were growing, and I pushed her out the door. Then we ran and the house was already engulfed in flames,” Larsen said.

Without shoes and wearing nothing but their pajamas, Larsen and Perrotta sat at a bus stop and helplessly watched as their home, with all of their belongings, burned down.

Despite it being so early, help arrived from the local volunteer fire departments including Point Breeze and the Rockaway Point Volunteer Fire Department, as well as several FDNY units responding to the four-alarm blaze. The line of trucks was so long down Point Breeze Blvd. that additional vehicles couldn’t get through. But the fire companies got the fire under control and kept it from spreading around, not far from where St. Edmund Church suffered a devastating fire in April. But the damage was done.

Larsen was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and the injury to her knee. “Sabrina didn’t get much smoke, thank God, but it overcame me, and I had to go to the hospital,” Larsen said. Perrotta was examined on site and went to stay with her aunt in Breezy Point, a familiar refuge to go after the traumatizing morning. Larsen quickly saw a silver lining in that she and her daughter survived the ordeal, something reiterated by a fire marshal taking a report after. “He said, ‘It’s truly a miracle. We would never expect to be able to speak with the homeowners because we thought we’d be taking them out in body bags,’” Larsen recalled the marshal saying. “I’m very grateful it wasn’t me and Sabrina’s time.” Fortunately, Larsen’s son, Markus Perrotta, was not home at the time, as Larsen had just dropped him off at college a few weeks before. But he’s still feeling the trauma of what happened. “He never expected to not return to his home,” Larsen said.

Among the relief to still be alive, also came the realization of the next nightmare of what to do next. “We lost everything,” Larsen said. “I’m getting bombarded with so many things and demands and I don’t even have an ID anymore,” Larsen, still feeling the effects of the smoke inhalation, said through coughs and a raspy voice on Tuesday. “I’m trying to get my social security card reissued so I can get ID. I can’t even get a rental car because I don’t have a picture ID, so I’m stuck in Breezy with no public transportation,” she explained. And to make things worse, Larsen is unsure how she’ll rebuild. “I don’t have home insurance, so now I’m stuck with nothing,” she said. “I’m literally homeless now.”
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By Katie McFadden At around 3 a.m. on Thursday, September 11, Marissa Larsen awoke to the sound of what she thought was someone trying to break into her home in Breezy Point. Her daughter, Sabrina Perrotta, who has an advanced level of autism, was asleep, so Larsen took action to defend her family.....

09/16/2025

Please help out if you can!

At 3 a.m. on September 11, 2025, tragedy struck Marissa Larsen and he… Katie Williams needs your support for Breezy Point Family Lost Everything in House Fire

09/15/2025

The Mass on Sunday, September 7 culminated with the school band leading everyone to the Blessed Mother statue, then the schoolyard and then Springman Hall for a reunion reception for all classes and everyone who loves St. Camillus church, which is set to close at the end of the year.

09/15/2025

On Sunday, September 7, St. Camillus Church, due to close at the end of the year, held a reunion Mass for parishioners, alumni, Special Olympians, band members, former teachers, former priests and more. Here are some highlights from the Mass led by Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Raymond Chappetto.

09/15/2025

Rockaway’s Paw-Perfect 4th Annual Dog Parade

It was a grand day for Rockaway’s canines on Sunday, September 7, as hundreds of pups and people came out for the 4th Annual Rockaway Dog Parade. The event began at 2 p.m., with tails wagging, music playing and an excited, festive air in the Beach 94th Street Amphitheater space.

“The rain in the morning caused some apprehension…but by 2 p.m., the rain had stopped, and people were out registering and getting raffle tickets,” said parade organizer/founder Dana Humphrey. “The costumes were fantastic!”

As many as 50 dogs registered for the parade and costume contest, whose “Rock Star” theme brought out the four-legged likes of Elvis, Ozzy Osbourne, Courtney Love and bodyguard, Barbie, little leather jacketed bikers, “Taylor Sniff”-“Kelce Taylor couldn’t make it today,” her owner said, Jimmy Buffett, Madonna, Run-DMC, with owner in matching costume, and even the Chihuahua Pack dressed as bats, a dolphin, the Pup Pistols complete with an instrument and UK flag stuffed wagon, and a pup named Potato in a little yellow dress.

Costumes were colorful and creative. Winning third prize dressed as Elton John, Bodie’s owner noted he made the pup’s entire sparkly outfit with ingredients “from the dollar store.” Cost: $6. One Ozzy Osbourne came along with a rolling purple throne.

Once gathered, Humphrey and Onel Mulet, with dog-themed music in tow, led the parade along Shore Front Parkway, with Grand Marshal Rockaway Kate Rizzo keeping everyone on course.

Once past Beach 90th Street’s Shore Front Parkway Dog Run, they rolled up onto the boardwalk and headed back to the amphitheater. There, Farmina Pet Food gave out samples, Whitney Kobrin offered Tarot readings, and NYC Ferry, a parade sponsor, gave out info.
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By Dan Guarino It was a grand day for Rockaway’s canines on Sunday, September 7, as hundreds of pups and people came out for the 4th Annual Rockaway Dog Parade. The event began at 2 p.m., with tails wagging, music playing and an excited, festive air in the Beach 94th Street Amphitheater space. “...

09/13/2025

Sweet! Honey Fest is underway at Beach 106th on the boardwalk! Check out the selections including local picks from RISE and Edgemere Farm. Caracas also has some honey-inspired beverages today. Going on until 5pm

09/13/2025

A Bittersweet Reunion for St. Camillus

Rain softly fell on the roof of St. Camillus Church on Sunday, September 7, reflecting the tears of some parishioners and alumni during the bittersweet reunion Mass, ahead of the beloved church’s impending closure at the end of the year. But greater than the tears were the smiles, the laughs, the stories and memories shared in retrospection and in gratitude for everything St. Camillus has provided for people since the parish began in 1908.

For the first time in a long time, St. Camillus Church was standing room only on Sunday, as parishioners, former students, St. Camillus special Olympians, community members and more, came from near and far for a reunion. As news spread of St. Camillus having to close by the end of year due to dropping attendance and financial reasons, those who love the church started planning a celebration of the church and late school. A committee quickly formed and got to planning a day that started with a Mass led by Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Raymond Chappetto, and a reception at Springman Hall for all classes, dating back to the first, in 1954, and for all who followed, and anyone who holds St. Camillus close to their heart.

Starting his homily with a joke, taking a page out of Fr. Bill Sweeney’s book, Bishop Chappetto brought a positive message to the joyous day made possible by sad occasion. “Today is not really a day for mourning or grieving, but rather a day to celebrate what St. Camillus Parish has meant to us,” he told the packed church. The bishop took all on a trip down memory lane, mentioning the many priests who were a part of St. Camillus, including himself, from 1971 to 1974, in which he baptized 118 babies and married 51 couples, some of whom were in the audience, among others who came all the way from Texas and Florida and even right from the hospital to be there. “The priests come and go but the people stay. Everyone in this church here today knows that St. Camillus Parish and St. Camillus school have a very significant part of our spiritual journey. Today, all of us here reunited around the altar that has formed our spiritual life all these many years,” he said.

He spoke about the school band, formed by Monsignor William F. Burke. He spoke of beloved teachers, such as Mrs. Dwyer, who just turned 100. He spoke of the religious education program, communion breakfasts at Westrich’s, the rosary society, the Christmas bazaar and the packed additional summer Masses done to accommodate those who came to Rockaway for the peak season.

“Yes, this parish of St. Camillus has been such a great blessing for us. And it is very good that we are here to thank God and praise God for his goodness…Closings are not easy,” Bishop Chappetto said. But he encouraged all to keep the parish alive by continuing to share stories. “Memories are stories waiting to be told. So let’s share the stories with each other as we remember the priests, the sisters, the deacons and the laypeople of St. Camillus who helped form us.”

Following the Mass, the St. Camillus band, with their original instruments, gathered to play the school song, and then marched from the church to the Blessed Mother statue, where a crowd was laid upon her head, and then on to the school yard, as they would at the start of each school day, to play the National Anthem and other songs, lead the Pledge of Allegiance, and ring the bell to start the day. And inside Springman Hall, the parishioners, priests, and former students shared stories all afternoon at the reunion reception.
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https://www.rockawaytimes.com/a-bittersweet-reunion-for-st-camillus/

09/12/2025

Rockaway to Lose a Part of Our Sole As Leon Retires

For 45 years, Leon Ganapolsky has been the heart and sole of Rockaway. With his humble nature, a friendly smile and undoubtable skills on a sewing machine, fixing everything from shoes to belts, bags to sports equipment, Leon has been the go-to for mending neighbors’ beloved belongings. But by the end of the month, Ganapolsky will be closing up shop.

Last week, Ganapolsky started letting customers know to make sure they grab their items before the end of the month, as this one will be his last at Leon’s Shoe Repair, located at 114-11 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, where he’s been for the last 13 years. Prior to that, he worked at his original store across the street since 1980, but it fell victim to not just water, but flames during Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012. Just six years later, Ganapolsky was hit with a personal storm, diagnosed with bladder cancer, later requiring surgery in November 2019, but eager to get back to work and be there for his customers, he reopened his shop in January 2020. “I reopened because of my customers. I can’t stay home, I go crazy, I want work to do,” Ganapolsky told The Rockaway Times.

But at 86 years old, cancer has come creeping back, Ganapolsky’s hands aren’t as steady as they used to be, and heavy lifting has gotten harder. “I can’t work anymore. I don’t have the strength,” he said. However, working since he’s 17, it’ll be a much-deserved retirement for Rockaway’s favorite cobbler, a role that is not an easy shoe to fill nowadays.

Originally from Kiev, Ukraine, Ganapolsky said he learned how to repair shoes in school. He went to college to study science and technology and went on to become a manager for a shoe factory for 15 years. In September 1968, he married his bride, Ida, and they went on to have two children, Sabina and David. In the 1970s, Ganapolsky says he and his family immigrated to the U.S. and landed in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. He found a job at a shoe repair store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan where he worked for about two years, but as Ganapolsky became more familiar with English, he wanted to go back to being his own boss.

“One day in the summertime, I came with my family to the beach in Rockaway,” Ganapolsky said. “It was 1978. I told my wife, ‘You stay with the kids, I’ll go shop around and take a look at the area.’ I saw the shoe repair store across the street and there were two old guys working there and I asked one guy if he wanted to sell his business. He said, ‘What’s your name?’ I said, ‘Leon.’ ‘Ok, Leon, give me your number and when I decide to sell, I’ll give you a call.’ I gave him my number and all of a sudden, on December 2, it was my son, David’s birthday, and we were having dinner, and I got a phone call. It was Augie, the guy from the store. He told me if I was still interested in the shoe repair store, to come over and we’ll talk about it.”
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By Katie McFadden For 45 years, Leon Ganapolsky has been the heart and sole of Rockaway. With his humble nature, a friendly smile and undoubtable skills on a sewing machine, fixing everything from shoes to belts, bags to sports equipment, Leon has been the go-to for mending neighbors’ beloved belo...