Hurricane Sandy was a storm so strong it washed away houses, scared off natives, and destroyed most of the boardwalk and beaches. Yet, nearly three years later the city is on its way up. With much effort from those who live in the rockaway area and $140 million given by the state, many if not all the beaches have been restored.
The new changes that have come along in such a short period of time have surely made an impact on what visitors and locals think. Some of those changes include, according to the NYC Parks website, “Damaged beach buildings were renovated with new boardwalk islands constructed around them, public restrooms and lifeguard stations were installed to replace destroyed facilities.. “.
Nearly three full summers of watching the beaches transform post sandy many of the locals have a lot to say. Jessica, who has lived in Rockaway her whole life says, “I don’t really notice any changes. I think the boardwalk has been the only thing.” She continues by saying that she saw a lot of small businesses shut down and she’s waiting for them to make a comeback. Darius, a young beach goer added onto this stating, “The place I go to do laundry went away after the hurricane so now we have to drive to another place instead of just walking there like we used to”. Darius’s mother chimed in saying that she believed the beach would always be a big source of attraction regardless of the more aesthetically pleasing boardwalk. “Its one of the only decent beaches accessible to all the five boroughs so people are always going to come here especially during a dry summer day”
When beach goers were asked what they thought of the beach this summer compared to others many said it’s gotten increasingly crowded with each passing summer since the storm. Sandra, a native to Rockaway states, “I went to the beach the summer (following) the storm and it was very empty, people were still there but I could tell it was mostly just people who lived here… I think as time passed people realized it really wasn’t so bad and by summer of 2014 it was extremely crowded again.”
That statement seemed to be true. Beach goers stated that they don’t frequent any other beaches but Rockaway simply because it’s cleaner compared to coney island and more convenient than others in New York. So, the consensus seemed to be that although the beach has improved, people care about the mom and pop stores that haven’t returned years after the storm. As for the visitors of the beach, as long as they can enjoy the sun and take a dip in the ocean the small renovations to the boardwalk seem to not really interest them.