Art made by Rockaway's own artists is up for bid this week, and the bidding closes at noon on Saturday, October 24. The online auction marks the 20th anniversary of RISE, the Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity, the nonprofit on Rockaway Beach Boulevard that started out as the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance. Every sale supports its work on the peninsula.

What is in the auction

The pieces come from local artists who have worked with RISE over its two decades. Among them is Goldenrod, 2021, by the photographer Susannah Ray. Bidding is online, through RISE's auction page on Givebutter, and closes at 12 pm Eastern on Saturday. RISE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and the proceeds go to its programs.

The auction caps a month of anniversary events. RISE held a 20th anniversary celebration on October 10, with live music from Keith Jordan and food from Leyla Yrala of La Cevicheria, and hosted an anniversary exhibition social on October 17 during Open House New York's Rockaway Wellness Way day.

From waterfront alliance to RISE

The group was founded in 2005 as the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance. It opened the RISE Center in 2016, and in 2017 started the RISE Farm Share, which it describes as the first mixed-income community-supported agriculture program in the Rockaways. It took the RISE name in 2019.

Free at RISE and around Rockaway this week

  • Native Plant Planting Day, Wednesday, October 21, 5:30 to 7:30 pm. A volunteer planting, listed by NYC Parks, at the Bay 84th Street Community Garden, 3-22 Beach 84th Street, with plants from Plant by Plant.
  • Fall Migration Bird Walk, Friday, October 23, 3 to 5 pm. Staff from the NYC Plover Project lead the walk from RISE, with Sunday, October 25, from 10 am to noon as the rain date. Binoculars are lent first come, first served, and registration is open.
  • Birding: Fall Migration, Saturday, October 24, 10 to 11:30 am. NYC Parks' Urban Park Rangers lead a tour of the closed Edgemere Landfill. Meet at Beach 54th Street and Almeda Avenue in Rockaway Community Park; no registration needed.
  • Cardio Punch, Saturday, October 24, 11 am to noon. An outdoor class with instructor Gloria Fernandez on the boardwalk at Beach 60th Street.
  • A Taste of Natural Healing and Zumba, Monday, October 26. A qigong session with Alexandra G. Taggart from 10:15 to 10:45 am, then Zumba with LaDeidre Smith from 11 to 11:45 am, both at RISE.

Getting there

RISE is at 58-03 Rockaway Beach Boulevard. Take the A train to Beach 60th Street; RISE points riders to the station entrance off Rockaway Freeway. The phone number is 718-327-5919.

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