When it comes to real estate, what can often be most attractive can also be most deadly. Gov Cuomo said our area’s greatest strength is also our greatest vulnerability, water. Many of Long Island’s most desirable dwellings are near water, and that water has the potential to destroy them.

Ocean Parkway after Sandy (511.org)

And yet hurricanes really haven’t been all that much to worry about here for the last 60 years. Conventional thinking was that if a storm hit we could evacuate the area, let it blow through, and then go back to our still standing homes.

The path of most hurricanes seemed to confirm that we would be OK. Storms that got close to the coast seemed to lose strength and only do minor damage like Agnes in ’72  and Belle in ’76. Storms that gained strength veered away to the east where they couldn’t hurt us as much like Esther in ’61 and Bob in ’91. Even Gloria in ’85 wasn’t catastrophic. Most of its damage was centralized near to its path though Suffolk County.

Center Moriches During Sandy (Newsday)

Sandy changed all that. It stayed near the coast and yet picked up strength from storms that were nearby. It grew in size so that when it made landfall it did damage for a thousand mile radius around. It proved that we can no longer rely on a perceived pattern of storm safety any more.

And it could have been worse. Sandy was merely a category one storm that made landfall more than 100 miles away from Long Island. We may talk about Sandy and Irene as unusually large and strong storms for their time, but there will probably be more of them in the future. A look at the storm pattern frequency in the Atlantic since 1900 shows we are getting more storms, not less.

We look at 9/11 as a day that changed our perspective about protecting our country. We never realized how vulnerable we were to foreign attack. We learned to adjust. We should look at Sandy and October 29th,2012 as the day that changed our perspective for protecting our island. As we rebuild, architects, designers and planners should think of Sandy as a warning shot. They have to figure out how to make Long Island more hurricane proof as we build for the future, or we will be seeing this all over again very soon, or worse.

Atlantic Storm Activity Since 1900 (Wikipedia) – Click to see larger

Hurricane Activity Since 1900

Operation Sail, 1976, New York

As 9/11 grows near, my mind is drawn to the memory of the towers being lost and all that the day means to us as a people. Last year was the tenth anniversary of the attack and it was a special one. We saw the dedication of the new fountains at the footprints of the original towers. We saw the names of those who lost their lives inscribed on the marble that surrounds them. There were appearances and speeches by current and former Presidents  and other dignitaries. We all seemed to come together once again as a country. It was an excellent way to honor and remember one of the most difficult days in US history, and most would agree that it was well done.

This year, we seem to be thinking of other things a little more and 9/11 a little less. We have conventions and elections to think about and the other current issues of the day. A little less attention will probably be devoted to the eleventh anniversary of 9/11. And yet the calendar still shows it is early September. My mind doesn’t differentiate between whether it is the tenth or eleventh year after the towers were lost. All I can think about once the calendar hits September is what happened on that day, and my thoughts are drawn to it–the lives lost, those who survived, those who helped save them. I find it hard to move away from the topic on my fan page.

President Bush and the Obama’s at the 9/11 memorial, 2011

The only story I could find in the current news about 9/11 is about a dispute between the governor and mayor of New York that may delay the opening of the 9/11 museum beyond even next year’s anniversary. I hope they can unite and get the museum opened as soon as possible. I hope we can all set aside a few minutes to remember the day–and give the memory of those that were lost their just due–this year and on 9/11 anniversaries in the years to follow.

The news cycle of obituaries sometimes seems all too routine. We get the news that someone has passed away, find the most notable accomplishments of his or her life, write our articles, share our pictures, and within a day or two we move on. For good or bad it is the way death in the media is processed.

But the death of Neil Armstrong is harder to churn into that cycle. His moon landing harkens back to a moment that unified us as a country. His death is not just one of a humble man from Wapakoneta, Ohio, who served in the army in Korea, became a test pilot, then entered the astronaut program in the late 1950s. Paul Harris of The Guardian writes that “there are expressions of regret that no human has been back to the moon since 1972.” He points out that NASA has had to modify its efforts in light of smaller budgets and changing times. Harris states that the human element is lacking from today’s achievements. He is correct; it’s hard to have a ticker-tape parade for a rover that never comes back to earth.

Harris’ focus is on NASA, but I think his point has deeper societal implications. It speaks to the heart of the morale of the country and how we need to improve it. JFK assigned NASA with a clear goal in the early 1960s: land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. It may have been motivated by a space race with the Russians, but it was a noble peaceful effort aimed at making a great achievement, one Americans could stand united in their desire to accomplish together. All you have to do is look at the parades and celebrations of the astronauts after the moon landing and see the excitement. It made us proud to be Americans.

1969 was certainly not a time in which the country was unified overall, in fact quite the opposite was true. The country and its leaders struggled to define its goals in an overseas war. Leaders were never able to communicate them succinctly to the public, and ticker-tape parades were never organized for our soldiers when they came back to their country after fighting so bravely in it.

What is NASA’s goals for today? What are our goals as a nation today? What are our goals for ourselves? We all tend to look at things too often in terms of results and not enough in terms of goals. I am guilty of it myself. If you want to discover why the moon landing was such a great accomplishment, look back to JFK and his establishing it as an objective in the early 60s. As a people and a nation, if we want to achieve events as monumental as the moon landing, we need to take a good hard look at defining what our goals are and what we intend to achieve by accomplishing them.

NYC celebration parade, August 13, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins

Link to The Guardian Piece  neil-armstrong-passing-us-yearning-glory – By Paul Harris

Queens Blvd, The Sendek House circa 1964, and the new Macy’s

Mary Sendek was a homeowner on Queens Boulevard who refused to sell her home to Macy’s when they wanted to build a store on her plot. She was the only one on the block who refused to sell. She remained in the house, next to the Macy’s that was built, until her death.

Why Didn’t She Sell?
The mystery will never really be solved. One neighbor told the New York Times she just wanted to start and end her life at the same place. (Although she actually bought the house when she was 24 years old). Newsday reported she refused to even sell her yard to Macy’s because her dog needed that area to run around in. Her son Victor said he didn’t want to discuss it further, that it was a private matter. I recently tried to reach the descendants of the family, no change, I got no answers from them as well.

Queens Boulevard of 1920’s Quite Different
The Queens Boulevard the Sendek’s moved onto in 1922 was much more rural and narrow than the street we know  today. One lane each way, sparsely lined with farmhouses, stores and churches, it looks like the country. But the Queensboro Bridge had just been completed in 1909 and the road was being transformed into the main approach from Queens to Manhattan. It was being widened into the multi-lane, multi section road we know it to be today. In order to accomodate the widening, the buildings on the south (or west) side were being demolished or relocated fifty feet to the south to make way for the new wide road. Luckily, the Sendek house was on the north side and did not have to go.

New York Library Photo                 

Daughter Mary Sendek Teaching Square Dancing at PS 11 in 1951

Who Were The Sendeks
The story of Mrs Sendek and her refusal to sell may have made her a local hero at the time, but up until 1965 there was really nothing unusual about her and her family. Mary and her husband Joseph were Hungarian immigrants, both families having come over around 1898.The Sendeks bought the small house on Queens Boulevard in 1922 for $4,000. They had a girl followed by four boys. Husband Joseph passed away in May 1938.

The Sendek’s were members of the Old Netwown church a couple blocks up the road. Children Victor, Edward and Mary sang in the church choir and took part in pageants there. Oldest daughter Mary was the leader of local Girl Scout Troop Troop 4-375 and became a teacher at nearby PS 11 in Corona. From all we can tell they were a humble, quiet, contributing part of the community.

A New Street, A New Corner
The Sendek house was originally situated in the middle of a block of houses between Broadway and 56th Avenue, but that changed when a new road, 55th Avenue was placed right through the block. In order to build the road the three buildings to the west of the Sendek house were demolished (see the above photo). If the Sendek house had been a few more feet to the west, it  might have gone too (and saved Macy’s a lot of headaches).

Southeast corner of Future Macy’s site, circa 1940

The Plot Thickens
Macy’s set its sights on the Elmhust plot between 55th and 56th avenues for a new store in the early 1960’s. It was large, open, and had fairly few houses on it. It was centrally located, just a couple blocks west of  Woodhaven Boulevard.

But the plot had an odd shape, particularly on its east side. William Robbins of the New York Times described it as looking ‘like a ham.’ This would make it difficult to build adequate parking for the store, so chief Architect William Brown conceived of a unique store in the round  that would include the parking within the building itself. It would be 426 feet in diameter, contain six parking levels, accommodate 1,500 cars, and no parking space would be more than 75 feet away from an entrance, and every space was completely covered.

Everything was ready to go until Macy’s ran into the unassuming but defiant homeowner on the corner. She refused every offer made for her land, Macy’s biggest one being at $200,000. Macy’s had no choice but to adjust its huge circular store so that it stayed out of Sendek’s air space, at a cost to them of $50.000. The Sendek plot was only 169 by 52 feet. It also cost the store its plans to put landscaped plazas on that corner, and according to planning architect Michael Keselica it had a negative effect on the way the entire building was percieved.

Sharing the block in the 1970’s

Uneasy Neighbors
Mrs. Sendek stayed in her house, right next to the big Macy’s for 15 years. I always wondered if she went shopping there. Mrs. Sendek died in 1980, her children then sold the house to Diplomat Enterprises who elected to destroy it and put a strip mall in its place. Maybe they should have considered moving it and keeping it as a testament to the woman who stood on her principles over monetary gain, instead it is no more.

Changes at Round Macy’s
While the Macy’s design may have seemed fresh in 1965, the opening of a new mall, the Queens Center a few blocks away in 1973 seemed to age it very quickly. The new mall was bigger, more modern, more centrally located, and had more stores. Macy’s even moved itself over to Queens center in 1996. It’s parent company tried a Stern’s store at the location but that too closed in 2000. The original Macy’s only outlasted Mrs. Sendek by 16 years. Now the building houses a number of smaller stores, including a Macy’s furniture gallery. No word if the Sendek descendants have ever shopped there.

Queens Place Mall, recent photo

Mary Sendek

Last May we learned Facebook was officially shutting down its original group page format. This meant a group might be upgraded and saved, or it might not be. Facebook had already been gradually making groups more difficult to promote. They had stopped group leaders from communicating with members, the selective upgrade was the final blow. And so we were told to move to fan pages. At first I resisted fan pages because I had a large group already established, but there was no longer a choice. Facebook was basically saying if you had something to offer to many you should make it a fan page, so I did.

New Fan Page, 500+ members, May 2011

I really wanted to keep at it. I love history and seeing it through pictures too much to stop. I love researching them, and I love sharing them. Facebook and wordpress allow us the chance to create a positive and I believe really worthwhile experience here. Let’s share the memories and get the word out about preserving some of the area’s important historical landmarks we still have left.

This is an update to the first announcement of the fan page in May 2011

I am slowly working my way through a countdown of the most notable places gone from the past,  here are number ten and eleven …

1964 – 1965  Worlds Fair

Yes it was organized by Robert Moses, was not officially sanctioned, didn’t make any money, and stole business from other area attractions, so it did have a few negatives; but that is not looking at the whole picture. It also gave Queens its most enduring symbol, the unisphere, It was the impetus for the building of Shea Stadium, the Van Wyck Expressway extension, and the Throgs Neck Bridge. Many buildings on the grounds remain from the fair and still used today. The fair gave a generation of New Yorkers and Americans memories that have lasted a lifetime, many area residents look back on it as one of the greatest moments of their childhood. I read them almost every time I post a photo of the fair at the facebook fan page, and you can see the expressions of wonder in the children in many of the old photos taken at the fair.

Arcadia Book By Bill Cotter

Photos at Places No More

,,

Freedomland 1960-1964

It was billed as Disneyland in the Bronx, it was a large scale amusement park right in the metropolitan area. It had a real Chicago fire, a train ride around the park, and a sky-ride. But it didn’t last very long. The ownership seemed to be running out of money as fast as a Chicago fire could spread, and it started to show around the park. Without new attractions attendance dwindled. By the time 1964 came around the thought of competing against a worlds fair, just a few miles away, for two years, without money to build, the decision was easy to make, it was time to close down. A lot of fond memories remain of the place, and today it is the site of co-op city.

Benros.com freedomland site

freedomlandusa.net

Arcadia Book

Photos at Places No More

My Prior Entry of Top 20 Place was #12 WNEW   here. 

2/9/60 from gorillasdontblog who has a great collection of freedomland photos

OK, here we go, more of my countdown of the top 20 most famous places that are no longer with us, this is number

WNEW FM , 1967 — 1998

At one time New York radio was arguably a greater extension of the local communities than it is today. It was less commercial, more independent, less corporate, more creative. It could help shape trends instead of being affected by them. AM was top 40, FM was the frontier. DJ’s experimented, talked to you for a few minutes, discussed the music and what it meant. DJ’s had personalities, but they also fit in with those of their stations formats.

Throughout its years from 1967 on, WNEW management steadily took control of the station away from the disc jockeys, but I personally think of 1984 as the high point for traditional rock music and for WNEW itself. We had among others Springsteeen, Van Halen, Tom Petty, Journey, The Cars, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, the Pretenders, Van Halen, all great rock acts, at or near their peak of popularity. Stations like WNEW could play these right alongside classic rock bands like The Beatles, The Who, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin, and it all seemed to fit together and make sense on one station with one audience. This would all change dramatically in a short time.

By the late 80’s Journey and The Cars seemed to be running out of gas, Springsteen had frozen out the E Street Band, and Pat Benatar and Joan Jett were no loner flying as high. Acts like Guns and Roses and Motely Crue brought headbanging to the scene, but theirs was a sound classic rock fans did not necessarily embrace. Newcomers like U2 and REM didn’t mix in as well either. By the time Nirvana and Pearl Jam came through in the early 90’s, the traditional rock music format, once thriving in unified form for years, had become completely fragmented. The rock station you could be in 1984 you could no longer be 1991. You could no longer cater to one part of the audience without alienating the other. Pearl Jammers didn’t want to hear the Who and vice versa, etc. etc. etc.

WNEW never seemed to realize what had happened and what it meant. If it was to survive it had to choose a direction to go in and fast. The logical step for them to go would be classic rock, they had been building an audience for years, they were the oldest name in rock on the air waves. It wouldn’t hurt to have a few good old on-air personalities who understood music enough to explain what their intentions were while sounding familiar to listeners. Instead, the station flipped back and forth between old and new; first they went modern, then they went back to classic, in turn alienating both audiences. When Opie and Anthony walked in to take the reins for the afternoon slot in 1998, there was nobody left listening to the station for its music anymore.

Looking back, to expect WNEW management at CBS to have the patience and vision to accept the fact that they would be running what was essentially an oldies station would have been a tough pill to swallow; and CBS is often impatient with struggling station formats to begin with. In 2005 they decided to kill perennial oldies favorite WCBS and make it JACK FM (JACK failed so miserably they soon brought CBS 101.1 back). So it’s hard to imagine they would have given WNEW much time. CBS has since brought back the WNEW call letters back on an internet station at wnew.radio.com, but the station seems to have a tenuous existence. I tried playing it today and got an error message saying that the station could not be found.

My Prior Entry of Top 20 Place was #’s 13, 14 and 15  Rockaway Playland, RKO Keith’s, and Forest Hills Stadium  here. 

For more on WNEW and FM radio, read Richard Neer’s The Rise and Fall or Rock Radio . He is now (an excellent) host on sports WFAN and his book chronicles his years at the station. You can also read a CNN interview with Neer here, and more WNEW memorabilia can be found here.

When I moved up from New York to Connecticut nine years ago, I never thought I would wind up devoting a blog, website, and facebook to it. Sometimes you have to leave a place to come back to it. I now spend a lot of time in NY in the virtual sense, but between living up here, running a toner business, and raising a family I don’t get to go back too often in the real sense. Relying strictly on virtual word of mouth, the page has grown to a membership of thousands and continues to grow. Thanks to Mitch Kahn and Dave Frieder I have a rare chance to come down and meet in real life on the 9th some of the people I have spent so much time with online.

I would really love to see you if you can make it. We will be enjoying a unique presentation by our own “bridge man of New York” Dave Frieder. Dinner from 6:00-8:00 PM, presentation at 8:00 PM. Dress is holiday festive or business casual, I would love to see you,

Todd Berkun
Mr. Places No More

Event Link on Facebook         Event Link on Salmagundi.org