Who Keeps Park Lake Going When the Swimming Stops?

"Park Lake should be the centerpiece of Rockaway Borough," Debbi O'Connor told the Borough Council in September. She walks the lake almost every day. "Hundreds of people daily make use of the walking path, as well as fishing and picnicking at the lake shoreline."

The lake had a hard year. The Borough ended swimming at Park Lake in 2026 after the water repeatedly failed required quality tests, according to Parks and Recreation Director Rob O'Connor. Fishing is still allowed, and he said people keep coming to the lake regularly. At the September meeting, Debbi O'Connor listed a damaged light pole, broken benches, worn sections of the walking path, and empty dog-waste bag dispensers.

Even so, Park Lake is where both Rockaways hold a joint Halloween event this October. The lake belongs to two towns. The Borough owns about two-thirds of it and the Township about one-third. That makes it the one place where two councils, two recreation departments, and two mayors have to work things out together. This month they are doing it in plain view.

Two Owners, One Walking Loop

The Borough has led most of the recent work at Park Lake. It finished a dam project of about $1.7 million around 2021. In 2023 it replaced the playground for about $180,000, with a $75,000 grant covering part of the cost. Last year it replaced the fence along the Academy Street side for about $25,000. More recently, crews cleared overgrown grass, graded and planted along the waterfront, removed a shed, and put a new border around the volleyball court. The snack stand is due for fresh paint.

The next round of work is bigger, and it needs both towns. O'Connor said major improvements require the municipalities to coordinate their plans and their funding. The phased plan, as he described it to The Citizen, goes in this order:

1. Lights. Replace the roughly 50 lights around the lake at about $5,000 each, plus electrical work, and possibly add more lighting near the beach.
2. Benches. Replace every bench around the lake and set each one on a concrete pad.
3. The path. Pave the walking path. The Borough plans to pave its section. The Township also plans to fix its section, but first it has to deal with trees growing underneath and lifting the pavement.

The first phase alone, 50 fixtures at about $5,000 each, comes to roughly $250,000 before any electrical work. That is more than the 2023 playground cost. The Borough has been putting money aside each year toward the lighting instead of paying for it all at once. O'Connor expects a more concrete plan by spring 2027. "If you were to ask me personally, the timeline would have been I want it done yesterday," he said.

The beach is also under discussion. Business Administrator Michael Kazimir said officials are thinking about "giving the beach a little diet." That would mean cutting back some of the beachfront near the dam and replanting it, with a plan possibly taking shape through the fall and spring. Councilman Robert DeVito said residents should get a say: "I think whatever options that we come up with should be left up to the public, since they are the ones to enjoy it."

All of this is still a proposal, not a construction schedule. The useful part for this month is where the work would happen. The lights, the benches, and the path are the exact route that turns into Rockaway's Halloween night.

The Spooktacular Is a Lap of That Same Path

Rockaway Township's official calendar lists a Halloween Spooktacular at Park Lake, 8 Mount Hope Road, on Saturday, October 24, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The 2026 listing doesn't describe the program. The event's history does say how it has worked.

In 2025 it was called Dark Lake Spooktacular. It ran October 25 from 5 to 8 p.m. and was listed as a collaboration with Rockaway Borough. The 2024 flyer called that year's event Dark Lake Spooktacular, Chapter V, so by then it was on its fifth edition. Rockaway Borough Recreation and Rockaway Township Recreation presented it together. That year it was a trick-or-treat walk around the lake path, with decorated booths and tables staffed by local families and businesses and other attractions along the way. The first hour, 5:30 to 6:30, was set aside for strollers. Foot traffic went one way only, candy donations went to the main tent, and pets stayed home.

Those are 2024 details, and the 2026 format may differ. The basic shape has held up, though. Two recreation departments turn the shared walking loop into one route, and the booths along it come from the community around the lake. On Halloween night, the path whose lighting and pavement are now under budget review is what everyone walks.

If you would rather see the loop in daylight first, the Township's Move With the Mayor series starts at the Parks Lake Gazebo, 12 Mount Hope Road, at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 4. A second walk follows at Egbert's Lake, 864 Green Pond Road, on October 11 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Main Street Gets Its Own Version

Down the hill, the Borough is putting on a second Halloween event of its own. Its decorating contest started in 2013 and had lost momentum. Councilmembers Robert DeVito and Thomas Slockbower and Mayor Thomas Mulligan brought it back this year. "People took pride in decorating their houses and we wanted to bring that back," Mulligan said. DeVito described the other goal as getting "local businesses involved in the community."

That is why the prize list reads like a guide to the Borough's restaurants. The sponsors:

• Anthony's Pizza & Family Restaurant, 51 W. Main St., a family pizzeria known for its pizza and pasta.
• Riverside Shoppe, 26 E. Main St., a breakfast spot. The Arico family describes it as a third- and fourth-generation return, and its house specialties include Egg in a Hole and crumb cake.
• Georgia's Stained Glass Werks, 23 Jackson Ave., a family-owned studio that does stained-glass restoration and custom work and cites more than 40 years of experience.
• The Exchange, 160 E. Main St., a restaurant with a full menu, takeout, a banquet room, and a full-service bar.
• Pizza 46, 179 Route 46, a pizzeria and Italian kitchen whose menu also has Indian-fusion pies such as Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Paneer Tikka.

The contest has three categories: best overall decorations, best yard display, and spookiest decorations. Any Borough resident can enter, apartments included, and registration is free. Sign up by Thursday, October 15, in person at Borough Hall or by email to [email protected]. The mayor and council judge entries October 16 through 20 and announce winners at the Thursday, October 22 council meeting and on social media.

The contest follows the same idea as the lake. Officials set it up, and the people and businesses nearby fill it in. One happens on a shared path, the other on Borough porches and front yards.

The Rest of Rockaway's October, by Date

The shared lake isn't the only place where both towns' calendars overlap this month. Several other events are run by local volunteers and organizations instead of town hall.

October 24 is the busiest night on the list. The Spooktacular at Park Lake ends at 8:30 p.m., and the Unleashed Society car show at Rockaway Lanes runs from 8 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. That makes it possible to walk the lake loop with younger kids early in the evening and then drive over to Route 46 for the later crowd. The seniors' party a week later is hosted by Mayor Joe Jackson and the Township Council. The October 17 clean-up is a chance to help at two other Township waters, Mount Hope Pond and Lake Ames.

What Comes After the Costumes

The Park Lake plan is supposed to firm up between now and spring 2027. Kazimir said the work may be done in stages, depending on funding and on keeping disruption for park users as low as possible. Lights come first, then benches, then the path. Councilman DeVito has called for the public to weigh in on the beach options. The lake came up at the Borough Council's September 10 meeting. The next one on the calendar is October 22, the same night the decorating winners are announced.

Kim spent her television career learning how a setting tells a story, and the first thing guests see at a house is its front porch. If you are entering the Borough contest this month, or just wondering what a well-dressed front porch does for your house in any season, Kimberly Brechka is happy to talk it through. When you are ready, get your free home valuation.