Resiliency Speaker Series: Flood Risk, Rockaway, and your Home

TIME: Saturday, January 21st, 11:00-1:00pm
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd

New York City's flood risk is on the rise. Join RWA for an important workshop led by the New York Legal Assistance Group, Center for NYC Neighborhoods, and FloodHelpNY.org.

Learn how to keep your home and finances safe from flooding. We will discuss rising flood insurance costs and how to lower your risk and your insurance rate.

Please RSVP by January 18th here or at info@rwalliance.org

Mental Health First Aid (1 of 2)

TIME: Saturday, January 28th, 11:00-3:00pm
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd.

One in five New Yorkers experience a mental health disorder in any given year. Mental Health First Aid is a public education program that introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental illnesses, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common supports. These two 4-hour courses use role-playing and simulations to demonstrate how to offer initial help in a mental health crisis and connect persons to the appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help care. The program also teaches the common risk factors and warning signs of specific types of illnesses, like anxiety, depression, substance use, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and schizophrenia. Mental Health First Aid is included on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP). This class is ideal for teachers, community members, and other laypeople who want to play a stronger role in helping their communities address unmet mental health need. 

There is a minimum of 15 and maximum of 30 participants, so please RSVP ahead of time. Participants are required to attend both Saturday sessions. 

For more information please visit DOHMH's Thrive NYC. 

Mental Health First Aid (2 of 2)

TIME: Saturday, February 4th, 11:00am-3:00pm 
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd.

One in five New Yorkers experience a mental health disorder in any given year. Mental Health First Aid is a public education program that introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental illnesses, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common supports. These two 4-hour courses use role-playing and simulations to demonstrate how to offer initial help in a mental health crisis and connect persons to the appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help care. The program also teaches the common risk factors and warning signs of specific types of illnesses, like anxiety, depression, substance use, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and schizophrenia. Mental Health First Aid is included on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP). This class is ideal for teachers, community members, and other laypeople who want to play a stronger role in helping their communities address unmet mental health need. 

There is a minimum of 15 and maximum of 30 participants, so please RSVP ahead of time. Participants are required to attend both Saturday sessions. 

For more information please visit DOHMH's Thrive NYC. 

Tree Planting

TIME: Sunday, March 19th, 11:00-1:00pm
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd (B59th St)

Come join the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance for a community volunteer day culminating in a celebration of the land and water.

For this dune restoration we will be planting native shrubs to create a natural protective buffer of dunes along the east end of the Rockaways.

Adults and kids alike are welcome to participate in this event. Dress accordingly.

Registration is not required but students looking to do community service hours are encouraged to bring paperwork from their schools.

Beachgrass Planting

TIME: Sunday, April 9th, 11:00-1:00pm
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd

Come join the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance for a community volunteer day culminating in a celebration of the land and water.

For this dune restoration we will be planting native grasses to create a natural protective buffer of dunes along the east end of the Rockaways.

Adults and kids alike are welcome to participate in this event. Dress accordingly.

Registration is not required but students looking to do community service hours are encouraged to bring paperwork from their schools.

11th Annual Earth Day Rockaway

TIME: Saturday, May 6th, 12:00-4:00pm
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd (B59th St)

Come out and enjoy a day of fun by the Rockaway beach with free activities and programs for families and kids of all ages.

This year's event will include: Live music and food along with activities like kite-making, recycling Olympics, mock dolphin rescue, plantings, composting, face painting, water testing, raptor demonstration, firehouse safety obstacle course, and art-related booths to learn how to appreciate and conserve the earth's resources.

All activities are free and intended to raise awareness of the natural resources along the Rockaway shoreline. 

Organizations interested in participating in tabling at this event are encouraged to contact Judah Asimov at: jasimov@rwalliance.org.

Jane Jacob Rockaway Bike Tour

TIME: Saturday, May 13th, 11 AM -1 PM
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd (B59th St)

This year marks the 101st year anniversary of the birth of urban activist and urban renewal opponent Jane Jacobs. To celebrate this anniversary, the Municipal Arts Society is coordinating events that embody Jacobs's legacy by getting people outside and exploring New York City with one another.

Join Rockaway Waterfront Alliance  for a biking tour of the Rockaways. 

We will meet at the RISE Center and explore some of the local neighborhood of Far Rockaway, and Arverne to meet local neighbors and explore the coastal community.

Adults and children alike are welcome to participate. People must bring their own bikes. 

Community Stewardship Clean Up & Jamaica Bay Paddle

TIME: Sunday, July 15th, 11 AM -1 PM
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd (B59th St)

Public Transit Directions: Take A train (Far Rockaway) to Beach 59th St station. 

Come join RWA and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation for a community volunteer day to put the final touches on cleaning up an overgrown trail along Jamaica Bay and host a celebratory paddle for volunteers afterwards.

Local residents and families are welcome to participate in this stewardship event.

Registration is not required.

There will be a limited number of kayaks for the public to use at no cost. Kayaks will be assigned on a first-come first-served basis to those who participate in the clean up. Participants are required to sign waiver on the day of the event. Children under 16 must have a parent present to sign their waiver. 

Queens Bike Bonanza

TIME: Saturday, July 15th, 11 AM - 3 PM
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd (B59th St)

This event is FREE to the public and includes a bike swap, learn to ride lessons for kids, free helmet give away, and activity tables for kids to make bike related crafts.

Join Bike New York, Recycle A Bicycle, NYC Department of Transportation-Bike Safety, and NY Coalition for Transportation Safety to promote and educate kids about biking. Pick up a free helmet, upgrade your child's bike, have your child learn how to ride for the first time or learn important cycling skills and traffic principals. 

International Coastal Clean up

TIME: Sunday, September 17th, 11 AM - 1PM
LOCATION: Beach Boardwalk at Beach 59th St

Join us for the Annual International Coastal Clean Up in partnership with the American Littoral Society on Rockaway Beach. People of all ages are encouraged to participate. All trash collected at this event will be entered into the national database, which goes to help establish legislation to reduce trash along our shores.

Students can receive community service hours for their efforts. Students should bring any paperwork from their schools for signatures. 

Registration is not required. This event is hosted rain or shine! 

Special thanks to Patagonia for sponsoring this event.

Dune Planting

TIME: Sunday, September 24th, 11 AM -1 PM
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd (B59th St)

Come join the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance for a community volunteer day culminating in a celebration of the land and water.

For this dune restoration we will be planting shrubs and native grasses to create a natural protective buffer of dunes along the east end of the Rockaways.

Adults and kids alike are welcome to participate in this event. Dress accordingly.

Registration is not required but students looking to do community service hours are encouraged to bring paperwork from their schools.

Special thanks to Patagonia for sponsoring this event.

Daffodil Giveaway

TIME: Saturday, October 7th, 10 AM - 1 PM
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd (B59th St)

New Yorkers for Parks is offering free daffodil bulbs for any Rockaway community groups or individuals interested in hosting projects at their schools', businesses' or neighborhood's blocks. RWA is hosting the Queens distribution event at our site.  

Hip Hop Halloween

TIME: Sunday, October 15th, 1 - 4 PM
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd (B59th St)

Join Rockaway Waterfront Alliance for the 5th Annual Hip Hop Halloween. Celebrate halloween with family and friends in the Hip Hop Community Garden by taking part in painting a pumpkin, face painting and festive food. This event is free and open to the public. No registration required.

Sandy Anniversary Planting

TIME: Sunday, October 22nd, 11 AM - 1 PM
LOCATION: RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd (B59th St)

For the five year anniversary of Storm Sandy, RWA is bringing people of all ages together to create a natural protective buffer for the Rockaway community.

 As we learned from the storm, the natural vegetation and dunes that exist off our shores served as a protective buffer to the homes and businesses that exist in these areas. Many of these dunes were compromised by the storm and need to be replenished to be effective.

Families and people of all ages are welcome to participate in this dune restoration project. Students can receive community service hours. No registration is required. This event is rain or shine, so please dress accordingly.

Special thanks to Patagonia.