The below article was published in the recent holiday edition of WNET Channel Thirteen's "Metrofocus" website.
Piecing History Together After Sandy
Piecing History Together After Sandy
One of the smaller communities in New York City, as defined by
shared geography, is Broad Channel. According to the 2010 Census, less than
2,500 residents share this a sliver of an island in Jamaica Bay, where canals
separate some side streets and only one through-street — Cross Bay Boulevard —
provides a connection to the rest of Queens. This tiny, close-knit enclave
celebrates its existence every two years with Historical Day.
The occasion
landed on Oct. 28 in 2012, one day before Sandy did. The main event was the Broad
Channel Historical Society’s exhibition, which included its collection of
photos and memorabilia, a book-signing and the sale of the new 2013
calendar, touted for its all-important listing of high tide times. The October
calendar image is unintentionally prescient: a rowboat delivering mail in 1947
after flooding.
Even though many people were busy securing their homes in advance
of the storm, the society went ahead with Historical Day at the VFW Hall.
“We had the day
planned, so we figured we might as way do it and some people actually came,”
said the society’s chairperson, Barbara Toborg.
One day later,
many of Broad Channel’s approximately 950 homes were ruined by Sandy, as was
much of the collection, though some of it was protected by its placement in
plastic containers.
Ultimately, the timing of the one-day exhibition may have been a
saving grace. The society couldn’t return the items to their normal home at theBroad
Channel Library because
it was closed on Sunday and they didn’t want to leave it at the VFW since it
bordered an inlet of Jamaica Bay. Instead, members brought the collection
of photos dating to the early 20th century, civic association minutes, books
and audio-visual materials to the storage room the society rents at the former
St. Virgilius Parochial School.
Though St.
Virgilius did flood, damage at the VFW Hall and the library, which remains
closed, was worse.
After the water receded and despite suffering the wreckage of
their own homes, historical society members and volunteers quickly got to work
rescuing the water-logged collection at donated space in Howard Beach. For five
days, volunteers dried out books and paper in the dining halls ofRusso’s on the Bayand Vetro
Restaurant, both on Cross Bay Boulevard and temporarily closed due
to storm damages of their own.
“Broad Channel
people have a talent for organizing and contacting elected officials and
getting things done,” Toborg said, but she was at a loss when it came to
applying to any kind of storm-recovery grants.
She explained,
“We’re all volunteers so can’t apply for nonprofit cultural grants, we’re not a
501C-3, so we can’t apply to FEMA. We have money in bank from previous
fundraising but it’s daunting what we will have to replace. Our laminator and
DVD player were destroyed. We have [recorded] interviews. Regular paper,
laminating sleeves are gone.”
The act of
preserving history and having the resources for conservation efforts is a
challenge.
“I’m often
astonished at amount and quality of work that friendly associations with an
interest in history do…it’s hard to establish an historical society or
incorporate as a nonprofit,” said Jacob
Nadal, the director of library and archives at the Brooklyn
Historical Society and an expert in the field of preservation.
He explained that
recovery is very difficult even for established libraries, archives and museums
(“LAMs” in conservation-speak). “The technology of recovery — things like the
vacuum freeze-drying of collections, distributed digital preservation networks
— are pretty well developed,” Nadal said. “The costs of those services are a
stumbling block. Recovery funds for LAMs are extremely scarce.”
Broad Channel Historical Society was founded in 1994 with some
seed money provided by then State Senator Ada Smith, but Broad Channel itself
dates to the late 19th century. The Long Island Railroad put a station here in
1881, helping turn the cluster of vacation homes into a more permanent
settlement.
One of its
homespun holidays, Mardi Gras, is believed to have started in 1911 and is
celebrated every Labor Day weekend with a parade, boat races and festivities.
When asked about
proud moments in history for residents, Toborg answered, “I think being able to
purchase the land after a struggle of 40 years with the city, that was Broad
Channel’s finest hour. They owned their houses, but paid rent to city for
land.”
In 1982, home
owners won the right to purchase the land through state legislation. The
society’s timeline cites that on Sept. 14, Mayor
Edward Koch arrived by helicopter to present first deed.
One of the small,
but meaningful artifacts damaged in the storm was the society’s framed copy of
the state legislation with the pen used to sign it.
“Those kind of
things you hate to lose,” said Toborg.
Toborg said they
did save the bulk of written and pictorial materials, but by the week after
Thanksgiving, a lot of the items had mildew growth. Toborg thought that
water-curled photographs, including some from 1910, could be straightened out
in a chemical bath, and that other papers could be straightened by
ironing.
Beyond material losses, which Toborg felt were relatively minimal,
what will hurt the work of the society in the near future is the
dispersal of its members whose homes were destroyed. Toborg ticked off the
names of four who have left Broad Channel, saying “They are as important a loss
as anything else.”
Jenny Swadosh, an
archivist by profession, and Albin Jones, who researches historical maps,
relocated to Brooklyn but are determined to remain active in the society.
“We love Broad Channel and the other members,” said Swadosh. “It’s an amazing
place so we would like to preserve its history in any capacity we can.”
The society eventually
moved the drying materials from the two dining establishments to Toborg’s home
for further drying. But now, while her house is being renovated, Toborg will
put the collection on the second floor of another place that she rents out.
While the society
would like to find a better location, the rental property, she said, “at least
gets us access to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.” She continued, “It’s
a tight-knit community. Come back in a year and I think things will be alright.”
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