The G-Man Interviews: Howard Schwach
Former Managing Editor of ‘The Wave’ Reflects on the Horrific Events
and How They Impacted Rockaway (NY) and Its Newspaper of Record
(with Gary Glennell Toms, Host & Executive Producer)
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Welcome.
Howard Schwach has retired twice and is now on his third career.
After service with the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, and a five-year stint as an editor with Weekly Reader, Schwach began a 33-year career with the New York City Board of Education, teaching Social Studies to both middle and high school students. In addition, he served the system as a curriculum editor and a staff developer.
After retiring in 2001, he took the reins of The Wave, a 15,000 paid circulation weekly serving the Rockaway peninsula and Broad Channel in New York.
Schwach is pictured during his earlier days on the job.
In 2014, at the age of 74, Hurricane Sandy put an end to his tenure at The Wave, and he became and editor for a Nassau County newspaper and his own hyper-local on-line publication for a few years.
Schwach decided that he was too young to retire yet too old to keep chasing fire engines and police cars, so he began writing a novel called “American 587 Heavy,” centering on the tragic crash of the American Airline’s aircraft into Rockaway in 2001. That novel was quickly followed by three others in his vaunted Dave Rifken series: “The Masada Complex,” “Ain’t Love Enough,” and “The Cahokia Conspiracy.”
Schwach is a widower with two adult children, Rob and Amy, whom are pictured, and three grandchildren. Rob is a retired NYPD lieutenant who now works for the city council, and Amy is the executive director of a Manhattan synagogue and the incoming president of the National Association of Temple Administrators.
The former editor joins me to discuss how the September 11th attacks and crash of Flight 587 impact him to this day, how the paper managed to cover the tragedies, and his new career as a novelist.
The interview was conducted on September 8, 2022.
Schwach’s grandson, Ryan, is pursing a Master’s degree in journalism.
Schwach, author of “American 587 Heavy,” is working on his fifth novel.
Click here to obtain Information on Mr. Schwach’s novels.
If you’re interested in learning more about the author’s writing course, email him at
Photos courtesy of Howard Schwach.