Christian and his father are two generations of a family born and raised in the Rockaways, and surfing has been a major part of their lives from their teen years onward. Both men have surfed year-round, and they admit that the winter conditions in Rockaway can stifle any hardcore surf enthusiast. Still, the thrill and novelty of surfing during a February snowstorm is hard to pass up.
“It’s funny to see people driving on Shore Front Parkway when you cross over towards the beach, because you know surfing is the last thing on their mind!” laughs Christian. “The guy’s all frazzled as I jog by, all done up like a huge condom. But it really comes down to the day. If its shitty out, but the waves are good, it’s worth it for some people, even if they only catch one or two.”
Boarders’ locker renters are thrilled with the new project. Guillermo “Moe” Asca has owned a locker since April 2006. During the summers he comes down to surf two to three times a week, but in the winter he only manages to get out two to three times each month, depending on the waves. “Having a shower and not having to lug my equipment definitely makes a difference,” says Asca. Before owning a locker, he was forced to change out of his car after surfing sessions.
Rockaway is a neighborhood that is thick with historic cultural history and transformation. From the first Irish communities and amusements surrounding Jacob Riis Park through the construction of high-rise housing projects following World War II, Rockaway has been seen as both a thriving tourist destination and a neighborhood ridden with crime and violence. This past September a young teen, Mario Young, 16, was shot and killed by another teen in front of the KFC on Beach Channel Drive.
The sporadic violence in Rockaway Park is not the only indicator of its volatile standing in the city–memorialized street signs near Boarders also reflect the greater tragedy. It is estimated that between 75 and 90 members of the Rockaway community lost their lives on September 11th, 2001. Richie Allen, a lifetime Rockaway resident, was both a fireman and a surfer. An FDNY member of Engine 4, Allen was killed on September 11th in the collapse of the World Trade Center. It was his first big building fire.
“He actually just got off work,” recalls Steve Stathis. “He got a call from his buddies back here, saying the waves were good. He was about to head home when the alarm came in, and an older firefighter said ‘Hey, you don’t want to miss this one.’”
On September 20th, 2006, Rockaway surfers converged on Beach 90th Street to celebrate the 2nd annual Richie Allen surf classic. The Stathis family and Boarders sponsors the annual surf classic in honor of Allen, one of the foremost figures in the young Rockaway surf scene. “He was an inspiration to us,” says Christian. “When we were young he was the first to move from body boarding to surfing, and he was a good surfer. He was charismatic. When I lived on 121st Street he would bang on my door on those cold winter mornings, and yell ‘I know you’re in there!’ He’d get you out there, even when you didn’t want to go.”
