The 2017 hurricane season is underway and those who live in the Rockaways are concerned that, under current conditions, they might not weather another major storm.
Residents from up and down the Rockaway peninsula rallied at the beach on Sunday to raise awareness about beach erosion and to demand a speedy solution.
Those taking part in the rally say that the solution to the current erosion, west of Beach 86th street, is the addition of groins or jetties.
Officials with the US Army Corps of Engineers say that the addition of several new jetties is part of their plan to deal with the erosion, but that their plan is still in the approval process.
They added that once approved, any work included in the proposal would take up to 2 years to complete.
Residents told NY1 that the timeline is unacceptable.
"The fact is, if we were to have a storm similar to Sandy come along we would be back in the same boat we were five years ago," said Hank Iori, the president of the Belle Harbor Property Owners’ Association.
According to organizers, the goal of Sunday’s demonstration was to encourage government agencies to fast track the storm protection projects they were promised.
"We are coming back so far, things are wonderful, everyone is loving what is going on here, but we are still in as much peril as we were four years ago," said Eddie Pastore, the co-founder of Friends of Rockaway Beach.