Rockaway Times

01/08/2026

Thank You for Your Service, Mike Honan

Last month, local resident Mike Honan asked The Rockaway Times to do a story about the holiday wreaths placed at Memorial Circle to give recognition to Flip Mullen and Legends in Valor for the effort. Three weeks ago, he followed up in a letter of gratitude for the story and continued to show appreciation for the many others that do things to support our veterans in annual ceremonies, and year-round. That was the kind of man Mike Honan was, a man who himself did many good things for the community and his country as a U.S. Navy veteran, and who wanted to make sure other do-gooders received recognition. On Saturday, January 3, Michael P. Honan died suddenly. He was 79.

Besides seeing him on the mic, presiding over the annual Memorial Day parade and Veterans Day ceremony, one of the first deep encounters The Rockaway Times had with Mike Honan was during another occasion where he was doing something good to recognize those who have been forgotten. Ironically, that occasion was a funeral.

On February 13, 2019, Honan brought The Rockaway Times along for a ride to George Werst Funeral Home in Glendale. The funeral was for Frank Lombardi who died on November 23, 2018. After no family or friends claimed his body, it was discovered that Lombardi had served in the U.S. Army in the early 1960s. Like for many indigent veterans, the Queens County American Legion, who Honan had served as a commander for from 2009-2010, took action to make sure Lombardi got the proper sendoff for someone who served his country. Fellow veterans stood before Lombardi’s flag-draped casket and said their goodbyes to a man none of them knew but had a sense of what he had gone through as a soldier. Among them was Honan, who saluted the casket in the funeral home and as Lombardi was taken to his final resting place at Calverton National Cemetery.

The act of burying indigent veterans in Queens was originally carried out by the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA). But when Queens County American Legion Adjutant Paul Schottenhamel had heard about the effort, he knew the local American Legion should get involved. When he brought the idea to then Commander Honan, he agreed and was immediately on board. Ever since, about once a month, the Queens County American Legion has continued to aide in giving a proper service and burial for indigent veterans. Honan, himself, had attended about 75 of such funerals.
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By Katie McFadden Last month, local resident Mike Honan asked The Rockaway Times to do a story about the holiday wreaths placed at Memorial Circle to give recognition to Flip Mullen and Legends in Valor for the effort. Three weeks ago, he followed up in a letter of gratitude for the story and contin...

01/04/2026

Local Rescues to Host Lost Animals Workshop

It seems as if more pets are getting loose recently and going missing or being found by strangers. To help people understand what to do to help a lost animal, Zion’s Mission and Sasha’s Mission, with local rescuers that bring decades of experience in rescuing animals, are providing a workshop to educate others in Helping Lost Animals 101.

On Sunday, January 11 at 12 p.m., Zion’s and Sasha’s are holding the Helping Lost Animals 101 workshop at the Arverne East Nature Preserve (190 Beach 44th Street).

“We’re teaming up to give this workshop because there’s been an alarming increase in animals, especially dogs, being lost or abandoned across the peninsula. Rescues are packed and overextended, but also people get confused on what to do if they find a stray animal or lost animal, or even how to find their own companion,” Maribel Cosme-Vitagliani of Zion’s Mission said. “So we’re going to be teaching people what to do when they lose their companion, if you find a dog tied to something like a fence or pole, how to approach a scared animal, how to look for a microchip, how to search for tracks, how to use a trap or a slip lead to contain an animal, give resources on who to contact when you lose or find an animal to raise visibility and awareness. Basically, we want to arm our community with the best resources and tips to help them and the animals.”

Cosme-Vitagliani says having that knowledge is power and can lead to pets being located quicker and easier. “Most lost pets are found within 24-72 hours, if people know what to do. But without knowing what to do, they tend to chase, call out loudly which can scare the animal further away from their home. It also prevents animals from going into a rescue or ACC, which is what we call upstream intervention.”
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By Katie McFadden It seems as if more pets are getting loose recently and going missing or being found by strangers. To help people understand what to do to help a lost animal, Zion’s Mission and Sasha’s Mission, with local rescuers that bring decades of experience in rescuing animals, are provi...

01/02/2026

On Beach 108th, led a dip into the chilly Atlantic to ring in the New Year!

01/01/2026

An early morning snow squall and high winds made this year’s New Years Day polar plunge even more of a challenge but some brave souls took it head on at Beach 146th Street

12/31/2025

2025 Person of the Year: Joe Featherston

Time Magazine has their person of the year. Since 2021, The Rockaway Times has ours. In a community where so many people go above and beyond to make the world around them a little better, the choice was not easy. But after one name kept coming to mind, we decided to go with someone who could be named Person of the Year for the last three decades for their work in serving a special community within the peninsula and beyond, that may have otherwise gone overlooked. With St. Camillus as its home base, the Rockaway Special Olympics program, a sports and recreation program for people with special needs, has blossomed under the leadership of founder Joe Featherston for nearly 30 years, continuing to grow in numbers and in offerings even over the last year. And for that and much more he’s done for the community, Joe Featherston has proven to be beyond deserving of the title as The Rockaway Times’ 2025 Person of the Year.

It’s been a while since Joe Featherston has been recognized in a major way for his work with St. Camillus Special Olympics. After all, he already claimed the big local awards in the early 2000s, as one of the first Graybeards Dinner honorees and Deputy Grand Marshal for the Rockaway St. Patrick’s Day Parade. He’s also been awarded the Borough President’s Declaration of Honor Award and the Rotary Club Humanitarian Award, but those too, were earned about 20 years ago. After all, Featherston doesn’t do what he does for the recognition, as we learned when we called him to let him know he was our guy, and he needed time to think on it. But after dedicating nearly 30 years of his life to running a successful organization that continues to grow, we knew Featherston was overdue for some flowers, and he accepted the honor in typical Joe Featherston fashion, on behalf of others, to bring awareness to the Special Olympics program and its many participants and volunteers, and the place it’s called home since the beginning, which they stand to lose as the future of St. Camillus Church and its gym remains uncertain.

Before Featherston even heard of Special Olympics, he dedicated his early life to guiding the youth through education and athletics. Originally from Brooklyn, Featherston grew up playing basketball in the streets of Brooklyn, for CYO, in grammar school and in high school for St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, and in the playgrounds around Beach 108th and 109th, where his family had a summer bungalow in Rockaway. So, when he became an English teacher at Bishop Dubois High School in Harlem, he continued as a freshman basketball coach. He went on to become a NY High School Equivalency teacher in the south Bronx, teaching all five school subjects to high school dropouts. He continued doing high school equivalency education for nonprofit Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, a small school near Fordham, where Featherston had graduated college. After graduating, Featherston lived in the Bronx for 17 years, and he kept on coaching basketball as an assistant coach for Cardinal Hayes.

Working with high school dropouts, including single mothers, Featherston saw the need for something beyond education in the Bronx. “I saw the need for not only education, but also nutrition and wellness in their lives, so I got more involved in wellness myself and founded the Bronx Gliders Running Club and that became an increasingly big part of my life,” Featherston said. The sudden interest in nutrition and wellness brought him to California, where he obtained a masters in exercise physiology at the University of California, Davis, and he served as an assistant basketball and cross-country coach for four years while there.

When he returned to NY, Featherston joined the NYC Department of Education, landing a job as a full-time physical education teacher at Beach Channel High School, which was quickly followed by a permanent move to Rockaway in 1989, bringing with him his wealth of wellness knowledge and dedication to local youth.

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By Katie McFadden Time Magazine has their person of the year. Since 2021, The Rockaway Times has ours. In a community where so many people go above and beyond to make the world around them a little better, the choice was not easy. But after one name kept coming to mind, we decided to go […]

12/28/2025

Local Student Athlete Selected as Tunnel to Towers Advocate

She wasn’t even alive when 9/11 happened but local resident and Hartwick College senior volleyball player, Mary Kinnane, not only talks the talk, but walks the walk when it comes to making sure her peers “Never Forget.” Kinnane was recently announced as one of six new students to join the Tunnel to Towers Student-Athlete Advocate Program, who have been tasked with ensuring that young Americans “Never Forget” the sacrifices made by first responders and military members, especially as we head into the 25th anniversary of 9/11. And taking it a step further, Kinnane has bigger plans to support them by becoming a U.S. Navy nurse to help military members navigate mental health challenges.

The T2T Student-Athlete Advocate Program, launched in September 2021, empowers college student-athletes to use their Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) platforms for a meaningful cause: growing personal brands while promoting the organization’s mission to honor first responders, military veterans, and their families. To date, 24 student-athletes and young professionals have collaborated with the foundation to participate in the initiative.

Born out of 9/11, in memory of Firefighter Stephen Siller, Tunnel to Towers provides mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and builds specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. They also aim to eradicate veteran homelessness.

Born and raised in Rockaway in 2004, Kinnane learned about 9/11 mostly through first-hand accounts of those who were there that day, and her appreciation for first responders and military members comes from connections to many. Her mother worked for Bank of America in Lower Manhattan and has since gone through two cancers that have been linked to 9/11. Her father, although not on the job on 9/11, was a New York City firefighter for 14 years. She also has uncles who have served in the military and went on to become firefighters and cops, one of which responded to 9/11, her grandfather was a U.S. Marine during the Korean War, and her aunts are nurses, which inspired her future career path.

“I’ve heard a lot of firsthand accounts from my mom. Every year, I kind of got a little bit more of her story as she’s more comfortable speaking about 9/11. It had a really big impact on her and my uncle was a police officer who responded that day, my grandfather worked around there, my great aunt worked around there. It really impacted my family firsthand. So, hearing their firsthand account of it has really had an impact,” Kinnane said. She’s also learned of 9/11 through school at Poly Prep High School, which lost about 12 alumni on 9/11, and holds an annual memorial service for them, and at Hartwick, which holds moments of silence to mark the times the planes hit the Twin Towers on the anniversary.

Kinnane learned about the work of T2T through her parents and attending local events. “My parents are longtime supporters and T2T is involved in Thrilla in Camilla, and I did the walks,” she said, adding that she completed the T2T walk in 2024, alongside her mom, who is now in remission. Kinnane was hoping to become more involved with the organization when she found the perfect opportunity on Instagram, about the T2T Student-Athlete Advocate Program. “I thought it would be a great way to involve myself in the organization and raise awareness for victims and survivors of 9/11. I felt it was really important to raise awareness. A lot of younger generations don’t really understand the impact that 9/11 has had, if they haven’t been directly impacted or know someone who has,” Kinnane said. “T2T has been great for first responders and victims and making sure they are seen and heard, so for me, learning about everything that my mom had gone through and growing up watching my dad go to the firehouse, it was really important for me to make sure that people understand what happened that day and we appreciate the sacrifice that was made.”
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By Katie McFadden She wasn’t even alive when 9/11 happened but local resident and Hartwick College senior volleyball player, Mary Kinnane, not only talks the talk, but walks the walk when it comes to making sure her peers “Never Forget.” Kinnane was recently announced as one of six new student...

12/26/2025

Still missing

All Hands On Deck!!!MISSING PERSON ALERT🚨: Have you seen Jafet Elijah Jemmott, 15 years old, who was last seen on November 28, 2025, around 6:00 AM in the vicinity of Beach 73 Street and Beach Boulevard in Queens. His attire consisted of black pants, a white T-shirt, a black hoodie, and white sneakers. If you have any information, please call 800-577-TIPS or DM NYPDTips.

12/26/2025

Traditional Irish Music & Dance Event Set for January 4

As an early notice, save the date for Rockaway St. Patrick’s Day, coming Saturday, March 7. But you don’t have to wait to celebrate Irish culture, when there’s still time to celebrate an Irish Christmas. Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Éireann’s Traditional Irish Music and Dance Event is coming back to the Knights of Columbus on Sunday, January 4.

Relive the days when Rockaway was the Irish Riviera or share a bit of it with your younger family members, as the Killoran-Clancy-Whelan and Mulligan-Quinn branches of Comhaltas host another event that gives a taste of Irish music, traditional dance and language as part of Nollaig na mBan, or Women’s Christmas, a day celebrated in Ireland on January 6, giving women a much-needed break after the rush of the holiday season, while the men take on the responsibilities. But this event is open to all, as after all, the ladies are going to need a dance partner.

The event, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on January 4, encourages participation, as there will be opportunities to sing along to the traditional tunes played by Danny Burke, Annmarie Acosta Williams, Ursula Ocampo and others, learn a few Gaelic words, and learn group céilí dances or traditional Irish dance moves. That means all levels are welcome, including first timers.

“There’s no experience necessary,” event organizer Annmarie Acosta Williams said. “There’s something for everybody to do and they don’t have to feel any pressure about not having tried Irish dance before. This is the right place to be if they’ve never been exposed to it, so it’s the perfect chance to give it a whirl.”

There will also be lunch food to give people energy, a cash bar to give people courage, and for a chance at the luck of the Irish, plenty of raffles, thanks to generous local businesses and individuals who donated, so bring cash for those raffle tickets.

Annmarie Acosta Williams, chairperson for the mid-Atlantic region for Comhaltas, who provides Irish dance and music lessons locally, spearheaded the first event last year to raise awareness for the more than 50-year-old worldwide organization, Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Éireann, that strives to promote traditional Irish music, dance, song and language across the world, raise funds for their musicians and dancers to compete, and to reinvigorate the spark for Irish culture that was more prominent in Rockaway just a few decades ago.

But if last year’s turnout proved anything, it’s that Irish eyes are ready to smile and embrace cultural events again. “Last year, I didn’t know what to expect. But I loved it. It was really reassuring to see the turnout and it gave us insight that the people in the community do want these things happening locally,” Acosta Williams said. “It was jam packed. One of the priorities I had was to make it a positive experience for people of all ages, whether they have experience of not, and last year, we did it. We have people that were senior citizens, families with 3-year-olds, singles, couples. They were all willing to get up and participate and I felt reassured by last year’s support.”
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By Katie McFadden As an early notice, save the date for Rockaway St. Patrick’s Day, coming Saturday, March 7. But you don’t have to wait to celebrate Irish culture, when there’s still time to celebrate an Irish Christmas. Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Éireann’s Traditional Irish Music and Dance Even...

12/25/2025

RBAF Hosts a Holiday Puppet Party

With a special puppet show performance at center stage, this year’s 7th Annual Rockaway Beach Autism Families Holiday Party was a big success.

On Monday, December 15, RBAF members, families and guests enjoyed a festive night at the Knights of Columbus. Everyone enjoyed food, arts and crafts, music, a visit from Santa Claus with toys for all of the kids in attendance, and this year, a Gingerbread Man holiday-themed puppet show presented by WonderSpark Puppets, that had guests sitting front and center to find out what happened next to the Gingerbread Man.

The man who single-handedly, double-handedly orchestrated the puppet show was Chad Williams, who shared as someone with autism himself, and with a son who had autism, he was happy to be a part of the night. “The show speaks to many different audiences and the point is to have a good time and it’s all about choosing family and coming together for the holidays. And when I heard about the event, about your organization, I was 100% on board,” Williams said.

After the show, a special gift was given to RBAF as Noreen and Frank Mullen presented a $1,000 check to the organization in memory of their late daughter, Cristin Mullen, a young athlete and special education teacher, who died in December 2020 after a battle with epilepsy. Each year, the Mullen family holds the Cristin Mullen Run and fundraiser in memory of their daughter. With the help of The Graybeards, they decided to donate some of the proceeds to RBAF. “Cristin always wanted to help people no matter what and this organization reflects those sentiments. You help the neighborhood, you help each other and you’re a wonderful support system and that’s why we are very glad to present this check to you this evening,” Noreen Mullen said.
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By Katie McFadden With a special puppet show performance at center stage, this year’s 7th Annual Rockaway Beach Autism Families Holiday Party was a big success. On Monday, December 15, RBAF members, families and guests enjoyed a festive night at the Knights of Columbus. Everyone enjoyed food, arts...

12/25/2025

Bark! Here Comes Santa Paws!

On Saturday, December 6, it was the pups’ turn to celebrate the season at the Tailwaggers Task Force’s Second Annual Santa Paws event.

Small dogs, large dogs, dogs young, old and of every breed came out to the holiday decorated Rockaway Freeway Dog Park for the celebration. In partnership with the NYC Parks Department, the area at 83-02 Beach Channel Drive is under the stewardship of the non-profit Tailwaggers group. They are dedicated to maintaining, improving, and adding new play and exercise equipment and other amenities to the dog park, one of the largest in the city.

“Between 35 and 40 different canines participated in the festivities along with their human friends and families. Many were local, but some came from as far as Brooklyn and Ozone Park,” a Tailwaggers spokesperson noted.

The dogs also came in a festive array of outfits for the occasion. There were red and green sweaters, fashionable snowflakes, flannel checks and other designs, barking Santas in red fur trimmed caps and coats, dogs wearing jingle bells, others dressed as presents, elves, at least one Grinch, and a Hannukah-celebrating blue and gray clad pup with a menorah emblazoned sweater.

Despite the chilly weather, the dogs ran, played, frolicked and socialized all across the park. Bundled humans also took the opportunity to chat with other attending pet owners.

A highlight of the event was the appearance of Santa Claus himself, stepping forth into the crisp air with a hearty “ho-ho-ho.” Participants were invited to pre-register for a photo with Santa, with the $5 registration proceeds going to support the event and the Tailwaggers’ mission. Though the allotted slots sold out ahead of the event, four-legged walk-ins were welcomed.

Santa made each pet feel at home as owners often stood by with encouragement and sometimes holding treats to get their pup’s best side for their photo op. Santa even received some doggie kisses. Many dog parents also joined with their furry friend to get a picture with the man in red.

While each was able to take their own phone pictures, each owner also received an official Tailwaggers framed Christmas photo of their pet with Santa. Tailwagger elves also filled festive gift bags with treats, boxes of doggie p**p bags and dispensers and a stuffed toy, each neatly tied with a holiday tag/ornament emblazoned with the name of each pup.

“The pups appeared to have gotten the holiday spirit of peace and goodwill,” the Tailwaggers spokesperson noted. “They waited in line politely for their turns on Santa’s lap and the only thing biting was the wind.”
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By Dan Guarino On Saturday, December 6, it was the pups’ turn to celebrate the season at the Tailwaggers Task Force’s Second Annual Santa Paws event. Small dogs, large dogs, dogs young, old and of every breed came out to the holiday decorated Rockaway Freeway Dog Park for the celebration. In par...

12/24/2025

SFDSCA Students Selected to Rep New York in White House Tree Display

Not everyone can say an ornament they made is hanging on a tree as part of a national Christmas display outside of the White House in Washington, D.C., but this year, 24 students from St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy (SFDSCA) can say just that.

For two sixth-grade classes at SFDSCA in Belle Harbor, Christmas began on the second day of school in September. “Over the summer, a friend of mine asked me if the school would be interested in making ornaments for the national tree in Washington, D.C. They only pick one school per state, and she was wondering if SFDS would be interested. The new federal administration is trying to keep Christ in Christmas. They never pick Catholic schools, they usually pick public schools, so I said we’d love to be considered,” fifth and sixth-grade English-Language Arts teacher Nancy Re explained.

Next thing she knew, Re got a special email, saying SFDSCA was chosen to make ornaments for the New York state tree, one of more than 50 small trees for every state and U.S, territory, that surround the large National Tree in The Ellipse of President’s Park, just south of the White House. “I got a note in August saying FLOTUS needs you! What? FLOTUS needs me? I’m ready!” Re said, but SFDSCA needed a little more time. “Because so many schools across the country start earlier in the year, the due date to make ornaments was the second day we had school, so I had to reach out and ask for an extension and they gave us until September 15. The minute my students came into school, we started making these ornaments,” Re said.

The students were given the theme of “What Makes My State Beautiful,” so Re and fellow sixth-grade teacher Laura Sullivan helped them come up with a list of state landmarks or things that make New York what it is, like the Empire State Building, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Niagara Falls and more, and had the students pick them out of a hat. Although a little early for Christmas, the assignment became a lesson as the students had to research things about New York, write about it and draw it. Two sixth grade classes, made up of 58 students, got to participate, each making their own New York-inspired ornament, but only 12-25 would be chosen for the tree. “We sent them all in and let them pick,” Re said.

Twenty-four ornaments were chosen for the New York tree as part of the national display. They include ornaments by Collin Heeran, Cassie Corvi, Emma Layden, Enzo Pincay, Amelia Bukowski, Annabel Spina, Liam Fahn, Hannah McElhinney, Jonathan Mandala, Alexandra Teahan, Brynn Burns, Olivia Hayden, Bianca Wittrock, Thomas McGoorty, Thomas C***a, Khloe Durante, Kieran Ruskin, Eva Lawton, Brogan Hearn, Mikey O’Neill, Thomas Brunton, Michael Hernandez, Kayla Daly and Stella Buonanno.
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By Katie McFadden Not everyone can say an ornament they made is hanging on a tree as part of a national Christmas display outside of the White House in Washington, D.C., but this year, 24 students from St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy (SFDSCA) can say just that. For two sixth-grade classes at S...