The Ramones, the famous punk rock band established in Queens in 1974, could find its name enshrined in the Rockaway Beach community, if one local gets his wish.
A new amphitheater opened near the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk between Beach 94th and Beach 95th Street this past spring, sparking suggestions throughout the community about renaming the structure after someone or something significant to the peninsula.
Adam Cardone, a Rockaway Beach local, appeared before Community Board 14 last month to propose the idea of naming the new amphitheater after the Ramones, which was met with applause by a few attendees.
“These guys were the working-class version of musicians. They weren’t fancy rockstars,” Cardone said. “Their stuff is easy to play, it’s accessible, kids learn from their music, but most importantly, they embody New York City and Queens.”
Cardone, a full-time magician and musician, started a petition detailing the proposed naming of the amphitheater as “The Rockaway Beach Ramones Amphitheater” this past May. The petition has since received 1,700 signatures, with a goal of collecting 2,500 on change.org.
For Cardone, the petition is personal. A bass player for a Ramones tribute band named the Rambones, Cardone credits the Ramones’ music for helping him and many others learn how to play their instruments with their strong musical influence.
“I will debate anyone on a collegiate debate team level that the Ramones are literally the most influential rock and roll band to ever live,” Cardone says in his petition. “More people learned how to play music and sing harmonies from listening and playing along to their records than any of the other bands.”
Established in Forest Hills, the Ramones are often credited as “the undisputed grandfathers” of the punk rock music movement. One of the band’s most popular songs, “Rockaway Beach,” reached No. 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1978 and has since become a common…
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