Riding the Wave with Mark Healey

For years, the QueensWay -- the effort to build a "High Line" style of park on the abandoned right of way of the former Rockaway Beach Rail Line (RBRL) -- has been at odds with those who want to reactivate the  RBRL (QueensRail).

Now, Rick Horan, the Coalition for QueensRail’s Executive Director and Director of the Task Force., says why not both?

Horan joined "Riding The Wave" on May 17 to discuss how his new coalition "the Queens RAIL and WAY Task Force" can jumpstart what could a really great comprimise.

Alex Zablocki, Executive Director of the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy joins the podcast to discuss The National Park Service' s release of a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for the re-use of buildings and land at Fort Tilden East and Riis Landing in Gateway.

The  hope is that individuals and/or organizations will submit proposals that include interbay ferry service to and from Riis Landing to points across Jamaica Bay like Canarsie Pier, connecting parks in Brooklyn and Queens.

Robert W. Walsh, who served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) from January 2002 to December 2013. During his twelve year tenure, he reshaped SBS to become one of the city's most innovative agencies in serving the needs of its 200,000 small businesses.

After Superstorm Sandy, Walsh worked side by side with local businesses in Rockaway to help them get back to business.  He's now a host on 1010 wins and a member of the Baruch College faculty He recently spoke at the annual meeting for the Rockaway Business Alliance.

Walsh will join The Wave's Managing Editor to discuss the past, present, and future of Rockaway's business district

Luis Mendes, deputy commissioner at the Department of Design and Construction, was hired in 2016 to get the city's troubled Build It Back program back on track.  He's been the point man for BIB since, and joins the show to talk about the progress of the program in Broad Channel.

Actress Aesha Waks, recently crowned Ms. New York, joins the Wave to discuss her next chapter.

After Superstorm Sandy hit the peninsula, then-college student Nick Compagnone worked with the Graybeards to help collect hundreds of thousands of dollars for the non-profit’s Sandy Relief fund. Almost five years later, the now up and coming real estate executive is still giving back to the community.

The Wave invited Compagnone to our offices to sit down for an interview, hoping to learn more about what he’s up to now.

Dennis Walcott, president and CEO of Queens Library sits down with The Wave's Managing Editor Mark C. Healey to discuss the upcoming 31-Hour Marathon that the Peninsula branch will be hosting on Aug 26 and 27.  He'll also discuss how Queens Library is evolving and adapting to technology and the needs of the various community that the library serves.

For more than 68 years, the Belle Harbor Property Owners Association has represented the people of Belle Harbor, New York. Its mission is to protect and enhance the quality of life in the Belle Harbor community.

Hank Iori, who has been the president of the organization for the last five years, recently sat down with The Wave's Managing Editor Mark C. Healey to discuss the challenges facing Rockaway.

Thomas Kerr, the editorial cartoonist for The Wave since 2010, is professional illustrator and a graduate of the Alberta College of Art & Design. He holds a Masters in Visual Journalism from School of Visual Arts. He has been published in every major newspaper in the United States with his editorial illustration seen on the pages of  The New York Times,  Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune,  Newsday, The Village Voice, The L.A. Times, The San Francisco Chronicle amongst many others. Prof. Kerr’s work is syndicated by Now What Media via the INX group. He is currently a tenured professor at St. John’s University teaching Illustration.  He sits down with The Wave's maninging Editor to discuss his career and his craft.

Founded in 1917, the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's) is the national trade association representing the advertising agency business in the United States. In honor of  4A's 100th anniversary, the longtime advertising celebrating the people, agencies and ideas that drive the advertising business. Far Rockaway's Bennett D, Bennett was recently named one of the Top 100 "People Who Make Advertising Great."

Bennett, who works at ad giant BBDO sat down with The Wave's Managing Editor Mark C. Healey to share his journey.