Update 6-2-15
Hi,
A couple of notes from Florida, a nice report by Larry Rugen, and almost the final piece of that Green Acres history article. First, a note from Liz King-Giordano at South. As background, I asked Liz to please remind the students to deposit their scholarship checks quickly, rather than holding them all summer and backing up my checking account.
Liz wrote: I actually include a note with each check that reminds the students to deposit them as soon as possible and to send you a Thank You. That’s the mom in me.
[Rich -- Again, South's Awards night is tomorrow, Wednesday, June 3rd, in South Hall at 7 PM.]
From Florida, Eric Hilton wrote: I live in the Sarasota/Venice, Florida, area and would be interested in a mini-reunion down here.
Bernie Scheidt added: There are also a lot of snowbirds, so if we hold off a mini-reunion until after the new year, we’ll probably get more attendees, including me.
The report by Larry: Having moved from Jamaica, Queens, to Valley Stream in October of 1959 – going from PS 95 to 7th grade at South – I left behind many childhood friends. I do recall Donald Trump in my Sunday school class at First Presbyterian Church. Sadly, he does not remember me. One of those friends, Bob Beck, contacted me a few weeks ago, and we decided to meet at a central location for a reunion and lunch – central to Massapequa and Howard Beach. We did so last week and met at 1 PM at Mitchell's on Rockaway Avenue. Bob and I had not seen each other since1960, and it was a great reunion
About Mitchell's in Valley Stream: the name survives, but the place has changed. It’s much larger than I remembered. We thought 1 PM would be a good time to meet, just after the lunch crowd. We did meet at 1:00, but the place was still packed with people, and we were lucky there was one booth open. The menu was extensive, and the food was great. After our reunion was complete, I walked a few block along Rockaway, and, as far as I could tell, downtown Valley Stream is doing quite well. There was few parking spots open on the street and a lot of traffic.
Before returning to Massapequa, I had to take a quick tour of the old neighborhood – Virginia Place, Cluett, Jedwood, and Fairfield Street – where our friends spent most of our time. My old house on the corner of Virginia Place has doubled in size, and the old screened-in patio has been turned into a sunroom-living space. Some people who walked to school along Cluett or Jedwood may recall the property, since the house was surrounded by a 3-foot white picket fence, and there was a huge pine tree on the corner. We decorated that with lights at Christmas. I recall having to paint that fence all too well. It usually took a month to complete.
All in all, the neighborhood is in good shape. Upon leaving the area, I wanted to check out one more place, so I drove by the old "Braun" house on 4th Street, off Rockaway. My parents and the Brauns were good friends from childhood, and I knew the "Braun boys" – Jimmy, Ron, and Joe. While searching for them online, it looked like the family business, Braun Brushes, might still be active, and I wanted to see if I could locate Jimmy Braun at the business. That was in a separate building behind their old house on 4th Street.
I never made it. I turned onto 4th from Rockaway, where there used to be a public parking lot on the corner. But most of 4th Street was being dug up, and the parking lot was gone. Huge pipes were being installed, for reasons unknown. I say “pipes,” but these were 3-foot-wide or more, even larger than sewer pipes. If anyone knows what this is all about, please let me know. Also, if anyone has contact information for Jim or Ron Braun, please let me know that as well.
About Mitchell's in Valley Stream: the name survives, but the place has changed. It’s much larger than I remembered. We thought 1 PM would be a good time to meet, just after the lunch crowd. We did meet at 1:00, but the place was still packed with people, and we were lucky there was one booth open. The menu was extensive, and the food was great. After our reunion was complete, I walked a few block along Rockaway, and, as far as I could tell, downtown Valley Stream is doing quite well. There was few parking spots open on the street and a lot of traffic.
Before returning to Massapequa, I had to take a quick tour of the old neighborhood – Virginia Place, Cluett, Jedwood, and Fairfield Street – where our friends spent most of our time. My old house on the corner of Virginia Place has doubled in size, and the old screened-in patio has been turned into a sunroom-living space. Some people who walked to school along Cluett or Jedwood may recall the property, since the house was surrounded by a 3-foot white picket fence, and there was a huge pine tree on the corner. We decorated that with lights at Christmas. I recall having to paint that fence all too well. It usually took a month to complete.
All in all, the neighborhood is in good shape. Upon leaving the area, I wanted to check out one more place, so I drove by the old "Braun" house on 4th Street, off Rockaway. My parents and the Brauns were good friends from childhood, and I knew the "Braun boys" – Jimmy, Ron, and Joe. While searching for them online, it looked like the family business, Braun Brushes, might still be active, and I wanted to see if I could locate Jimmy Braun at the business. That was in a separate building behind their old house on 4th Street.
I never made it. I turned onto 4th from Rockaway, where there used to be a public parking lot on the corner. But most of 4th Street was being dug up, and the parking lot was gone. Huge pipes were being installed, for reasons unknown. I say “pipes,” but these were 3-foot-wide or more, even larger than sewer pipes. If anyone knows what this is all about, please let me know. Also, if anyone has contact information for Jim or Ron Braun, please let me know that as well.
[Rich – I believe Mitchell’s moved from its earlier location, which might explain why it seems larger. But someone would have to verify that.]
Finally, the Green Acres installment: A new concern for the neighborhood is tidal flooding. The area is quite low in elevation, no more than 10 feet above sea level, and the waterways all serve as tidal inlets. Consequently, many houses in the neighborhood are prone to flooding from both rain storms and tides. The community suffered significant damage during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The tidal inlets that border the community overflowed their banks in the storm surge and flooded hundreds of residences, turning streets into rivers.
The neighborhood recovered quite well, and in spring 2014, a storm resilience plan proposed by the Mill Brook Civic Association was awarded a $3 million grant through the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program for the "Best Use of Green Infrastructure." The plan calls for the use of green resiliency strategies to improve coastal protection, including a terraced pathway, erosion and sediment control elements, permeable pavements, living shoreline, bioswales, and educational signage. The plan also includes several sustainable and cost-effective strategies such as storm water retention and tidal flow management, as well as improving open space, natural habitat, power grid reinforcement, and the strengthening of communication networks and crisis coordination. Marc Tenzer, the longtime president of the Mill Brook Civic Associat ion, who worked very hard on the grant application, said in a July 2014 interview, "The neighborhood will be completely revitalized by the improvements made possible by the state grant."
Unfortunately, flooding is not the only challenge the community faces today. With an increase in crime in the surrounding area and the mall's bad reputation, many of the older residents have left Green Acres, often for places further east on Long Island. Only a handful of residents living in the old section are aware their neighborhood is a groundbreaking planned development. Today, the pedestrian paths and shared green space are neglected and underused.
Some parts of the paths are in fair condition, but some are in abysmal shape, effectively ignored by the Town of Hempstead. Many of the sidewalks are overgrown with weeds and are filled with cracks. The grass in many areas also has been neglected. About a third of the trees in the shared pedestrian path have fallen during the past decade due to age and the storms that have affected the area, and none have been replanted.
There is also bare ground in the former green space, and the addition of fences, which were relatively rare until the early 2000s. A pedestrian bridge that connected the Green Acres neighborhood to Valley Stream South High School across the stream has been demolished by the Town of Hempstead, despite outcry from the community, because it was deemed structurally unsound and an unsavory hangout for high school students. Many new homeowners have fenced their backyards, making the open green space much less inviting and much less accessible. There has been some talk about having the old section receive historic designation, but a majority of residents oppose such an action, so it has never been pursued. This historic planned neighborhood has survived the test of time in many ways, but is now hidden in plain sight, nestled in the clutter of suburbia.
The neighborhood recovered quite well, and in spring 2014, a storm resilience plan proposed by the Mill Brook Civic Association was awarded a $3 million grant through the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program for the "Best Use of Green Infrastructure." The plan calls for the use of green resiliency strategies to improve coastal protection, including a terraced pathway, erosion and sediment control elements, permeable pavements, living shoreline, bioswales, and educational signage. The plan also includes several sustainable and cost-effective strategies such as storm water retention and tidal flow management, as well as improving open space, natural habitat, power grid reinforcement, and the strengthening of communication networks and crisis coordination. Marc Tenzer, the longtime president of the Mill Brook Civic Associat ion, who worked very hard on the grant application, said in a July 2014 interview, "The neighborhood will be completely revitalized by the improvements made possible by the state grant."
Unfortunately, flooding is not the only challenge the community faces today. With an increase in crime in the surrounding area and the mall's bad reputation, many of the older residents have left Green Acres, often for places further east on Long Island. Only a handful of residents living in the old section are aware their neighborhood is a groundbreaking planned development. Today, the pedestrian paths and shared green space are neglected and underused.
Some parts of the paths are in fair condition, but some are in abysmal shape, effectively ignored by the Town of Hempstead. Many of the sidewalks are overgrown with weeds and are filled with cracks. The grass in many areas also has been neglected. About a third of the trees in the shared pedestrian path have fallen during the past decade due to age and the storms that have affected the area, and none have been replanted.
There is also bare ground in the former green space, and the addition of fences, which were relatively rare until the early 2000s. A pedestrian bridge that connected the Green Acres neighborhood to Valley Stream South High School across the stream has been demolished by the Town of Hempstead, despite outcry from the community, because it was deemed structurally unsound and an unsavory hangout for high school students. Many new homeowners have fenced their backyards, making the open green space much less inviting and much less accessible. There has been some talk about having the old section receive historic designation, but a majority of residents oppose such an action, so it has never been pursued. This historic planned neighborhood has survived the test of time in many ways, but is now hidden in plain sight, nestled in the clutter of suburbia.
The South '65 e-mail addresses: reunionclass65 . blogspot . com (please remove the spaces)
The South '65 photo site: picasaweb . google . com/SouthHS65 (ditto)
Rich
The South '65 photo site: picasaweb . google . com/SouthHS65 (ditto)
Rich
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