By Hunter Walker 12/27/12 10:44am

Baywatch

The beached whale struggling in the water near the shore in Breezy Point yesterday. (Photo: Getty)

Whale Beached in Breezy Point Presumed Dead

Residents in Breezy Point, which was devastated by Hurricane Sandy, were hoping the rescue of an endangered finback whale that washed up on the beach there yesterday would provide a happy ending to what has been an incredibly difficult year for the neighborhood. However, it was not meant to be. Rob DiGiovanni, the executive director and senior biologist of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, which was attempting to help save the animal, told The Observer the whale did make it off the beach, but it seems to have died.

“As of right now, the animal was lost last night,” Mr. DiGiovanni said. “It looks like it moved a little off the shore, relocated and it does appear to be dead.” Read More

By Sarah Grothjan 6/28/12 12:37pm

on the waterfront

Guess what else is swimming in the water? (Moonman82, flickr)

Befouled Waters Stymie Would-Be Swimmers

New Yorkers seeking a day at the beach might find themselves enjoying an extended visit to the bathroom instead.

The New York-New Jersey area has the fourth-highest rate in the U.S. for exceeding the national recommended daily standard for bacteria, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. And given that those standards are pretty lax, this means that New York’s waters are, well, less than pristine. Read More

By Foster Kamer 5/31/12 1:29pm

THE HIPPING POINT

rockaway beach

Rockaway Beach: The Page Six Bureau (and What It Means For You)

Rockaway Beach: A well-established Hipster Hamptons of sorts for the last few years, a place many thought would hit fever-pitch sometime this summer, the moment when—like Williamsburg and Bushwick and Red Hook and hell, the rest of the entire borough of Brooklyn before it—well-heeled Manhattanites discover it, and then, ruin the fun for those who were ostensibly there “first.”*

First came The Taco Stand.

Then, the Trend Pieces.

Then, The Hoteliers.

And now: The Page Six Item.  Read More