Laurelton Beach Renamed for Danny Bobis

Rough waves crashed on the shore at Laurelton Boulevard beach Saturday, when a street sign was unveiled on the boardwalk that renamed the area “Danny Bobis Beach.”

Some 50 people gathered to remember and honor Bobis, the beloved Long Beach teacher who died while surfing off the coast of Sumatra in July, including his friends and family, as well as Long Beach City Council members Thomas Sofield Jr., Mona Goodman, Michael Fagen and Len Torres.

Sun and wind were also in attendance at the ceremony that lasted about 20 minutes and saw Bobis’s parents and his wife, Rachel, who was with him on his trip to Indonesia when he went missing, talk about their son and husband. A fundraiser for Rachel at the Inn on West Beech Street followed the ceremony.

A poster attached to the pole bearing the new green-and-white sign announcing the fundraiser read: “Daniel has touched the lives of so many people in our Long Beach community, whether mentoring troubled students, organizing beach clean ups, founding the first ever Surf Team in New York State at Long Beach High School, or through any of the other community minded endeavors in which he passionately engaged.”