Astoria Woman Will Paddle Around NYC For Charity

ASTORIA, QUEENS — An Astoria woman will stand up for a good cause this weekend, as she paddles around New York City to raise money for charity.

Noriko Okaya of Astoria will join more than a hundred stand-up paddlers on Aug. 3 for a 25-mile course through city waters to raise money for environmental and autism-related causes.

The charity event, SEA Paddle NYC, has raised almost $4 million since it began in 2007, according to its website.

This is Okaya's third year paddling in the event, which is hosted by the Surfers’ Environmental Alliance.

Okaya, a translator from Japan, took up stand-up paddling four years ago for recreation and fitness. She paddles throughout the year but said she ramps it up two months before each SEA Paddle event to prep herself for the grueling course.

This is Okaya’s third year tackling the event. She has previously paddled the two SEA Paddle charity events but has only been paddling for four years overall.

Okaya, originally born in Nagoya, Japan, grew up in Tokyo and now works as a translator. Aside from her job, she enjoys paddling for recreation and fitness.

"While training and participating in the event is quite beneficial for improving your paddling skills and getting healthier and stronger, the most important thing that this event does is to bring people together and connect you with the environment," Okaya said.

Okaya said of the 25-mile course: "It’s the best way to see New York City."

For more information, visit seapaddlenyc.org.