Rockaway’s lease is finally up. Caracas Rockaway, Rippers and the Low Tide Bar have been operating the boardwalk concessions of the Rockaway Beach since 2011. But even after selflessly serving the community, the park department of NYC has denied their proposal for a new contract.
Let’s keep in mind they have served the community through COVID19 and Hurricane Sandy. The department instead plans to award Rockaway Beach Bazaar, another group that bid for the fifteen-year contract.
The news of the bid has been received with skepticism and dismay by majority of fans of the current vendors. Aaron Broudo and Belvy Klein were the ones who submitted the Bazaar’s proposal.
This year, the two were awarded the bid for McCarren Park House. They are also waiting to hear from Riis Park. The duo’s offer for the Rockaway Beach is $300,000 for the first lease year. It is then expected to rise every year after that.
Members of the Rockaway Beach Club (Caracas Rockaway, Ripper and Low Tide Bar) are unsure of how the duo will bring in such an amount. As someone who has worked in Rippers before, I know the masses don’t appreciate paying $5 to have a Modelo.
How much will the prices be if rent rises by 300 percent? The Low Tide Bar’s general manager questions who will pay to have the Bazaar’s vision come to life.
Since the call for proposals in December of 2019, the final decision has been awaited. However, it was only last month that the decision was made.
The announcement came right before Christmas. Critics viewed the timing as convenient for Parks as it limited the exposure of the news. Even so, New Yorkers began voices their disagreements once they heard.
Sarah Parachini quickly created SaveRockaway.com in support of the Rockaway Beach Club. She is both a resident of Rockaway and Chris Parachini’s (Ripper’s owner) wife. She urged other supporters to email the department before the public hearing. The Ripper’s owner wife learned of the hearing from the Rockaway times Newspaper on Thursday.
Since it wasn’t likely that many people saw the print, she decided to post on Instagram. She got popular accounts to reshare her posts which included Alison Roman, Brooklyn Grange, and Frank Prisinzane. She added that the contract was public and it was necessary that the people were heard.
The crowdsourcing tactic worked and more than a hundred callers made it to the public hearing. The committee also mentioned receiving more than a thousand emails in regards to the concession award. Support for the Rockaway club was overwhelming as many wanted them to continue operations.
For an hour, the Bazaar owners also gave their testimony. They mentioned everyone was free to make a bid as it was public. They added that bids varied bids varied between higher and lower than theirs. They defended the amount of their bid by saying they chose numbers they thought was appropriate for a lease that would last fifteen years.
While they were making their testimony, they were interrupted by a caller. This led to shouting by other callers. To avoid continued interruptions by callers, they were muted. Klein continued to mention that he was a great fan of RBC and their past work. He added they intended to retain most of the previous vendors. He made it clear they had no intentions to replace anyone. Once he finished there was another outburst from a caller mentioning they knew where he lived.
However, Bazaar’s plans differ greatly with that of RBC. Both non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks will be Bazaar’s responsibility whereas before they were handled by vendors. This will leave many people without an income. Broudo defends the agreement by pointing out Rippers is well known for its fries and buggers. He argues the food concession has the potential to make tons of money during summer. If the current vendors are open to paying more rent minus alcohol sales is a question only they can answer.
Bureaucracy is inevitable when running a food business with your landlord being the Parks department. Menu prices and items have to be approved by the department. RBC’s managing operator, Maribel Araujo, who is also the Caracas Arepa Bar had few sentiments to share. She mentioned that other than having to learn English after she moved to the city in 2001, she also had to learn a different language. She added that the experience with reshaping the Parks department view concerning concessions was intense.
After working together with Parks during trying times, Araujo feels disappointed that the dedication and flexibility of her team hasn’t been recognized. These moments included beach closure, Hurricane Sandy, and COVID-19 pandemic. She was surprised at their attraction to the new money after their previous dedication in assisting small businesses be sustainable and survive.
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