Gerritsen Beach, still reeling. via GerritsenBeach.net

As we mentioned yesterday, getting hit with a Nor’easter a week after getting hit with a hurricane makes being stuck without heat and power even worse than it already was. Here are some ways you can make people’s lives a bit easier. (more…)

School's out for summah on the Rockabus.

On Sunday, I took the aptly named Rockabus from Williamsburg to Rockaway Beach to spend my hangover baking in the sun. While the trip was free  as part of a launch promotion, the regular price for the new bus service is $10 one way and $18 round trip. Worth it?

This much I can say: Rockaway is definitely worth the day trip, or several, with its supply of seaside snacks and hang-ten amenities. While the Hipster Hamptons rep may be overstated, the demographic does skew pretty young, with a lot of twenty-something floppy hat wearers and even younger hardcore surfers. The average beachcomber was sporting at least one tattoo, and while ordinarily I would say the coast was pretty quiet and family friendly, two girls did get chewed out by Parks & Rec for having their Ts out, until they cited that law safeguarding topless women in New York. (more…)

Rock Rock, Rockaway Bus

How many summer mornings have you woken up thinking, Today’s the day I’ll learn to surf, or What a beautiful day to go to a beach lacking in buried syringes, then considered the schlep to Far Rockaway and curled back up on your mattress? Lame, you guys — commit! I’ve traveled to this gem of Queens real estate by train (F to the A from Park Slope), bus (B44 to Q35 from BedStuy), and car (nondescript sedan). And yes, each trip — even driving — took more than an hour. In my opinion, it’s totally worth the time investment (bring a book), but a new company called Rockabus is launching this weekend to make the commute to the coast a little less draining. The service, which runs between Rockaway and Williamsburg (pickup at Union and Meeker – we triple checked with the Rockabus people!), will cost $10 one way and $18 round trip. And to kick it off, you can ride it free all this weekend. (more…)