Blocks of the Rock: West 11th Road
On West 11th Road in Broad Channel, it’s often that the tide is high, but they’re holding on. A recent bout of flooding brought rising waters to many a block throughout Queens. Newport Avenue in Rockaway became a wakeboarder’s paradise and Hamilton Beach’s submersed streets could be seen from the A train. For most the flooding was at best an inconvenience and at worst a flashback to Sandy. But the residents of West 11th Road can take it in stride—they’ve been dealing with the effects of even normal high tides for as long as they can remember. After all, it’s the second-lowest block on its island, with only neighboring West 12th sinking further.
“I would not suggest anybody do this now but when the tide was high you would jump in and swim in the bay,” Emily Frohnhoefer said. She recently moved to Bushwick but is a frequent visitor back to her old block. “Now more than ever the tide comes up the street. Going to college and explaining that was normal to our friends was always interesting.”
There is no East 11th Road—on that side of Cross Bay Boulevard horizontal houses just line up in a row. West 11th isn’t a particularly deep block either, as it takes three minutes at most to walk from the corner of the boulevard to the dead end construction site at the far side of the street. In typical Broad Channel fashion, there is minimal space between homes, a callback to the days when the area was almost exclusively a summer bungalow colony. Several houses retain the low-rise bungalow look, but increasingly homes are being built higher and with multiple floors; the house at the very end of the block is all beige concrete with Tetris-style windows and a modern slanted roof.
Families on this block often date back several generations, fostering long-term friendships and commitment to the street. Frank and Laurie Porcella have lived there since 1981. With assistance from neighbors such as Charlie Madden, Frank began building (“remodeling” in his words) their current house in that year. “It’s still a work in progress,” he joked. “My dad was working a full-time job and could only fix up the house when he had time,” daughter Danielle said. “I was the only one of my siblings born into a fully-built house.” The Porcella’s house was close by to relatives, as well. “If you go out on our back deck and look at the end of the block, right by the boulevard, that’s my aunt and uncle’s house. They actually moved to Florida and my sister bought it from them. Now my mom and dad can hear their grandkids call down ‘Hi Grandma!’” Danielle said.
West 11th Road is home to longtime veterans including Bruce Fuller, Sal Napolitano, and Pat Brosnahan, a former postman whom Danielle said recently moved into a vets’ home. All three men served in World War II. Another notable resident of the block is Dan McIntyre, longtime chief of the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department.
With notable and entrenched families known all throughout Broad Channel, West 11th Road became a primary congregation spot as Danielle Porcella, Frohnhoefer, and their friends grew up. “I still have the same group of best girlfriends and guy-friends,” Sarah Dougherty said. “We won most popular block for the Labor Day parade one year. We would stay out all night and our parents would hang out on their deck with their coffee cups while we played manhunt. I know everyone by name and by face. I consider the whole block like family.”
The aforementioned tide and canals have created a sense of unity on the block. “Everybody takes care of the canals,” Frank Porcella said. “If there’s garbage in the water they take it out and people are always looking out for each other’s boats.” Dougherty fondly recalled seeing Frohnhoefer’s dad row down the block in his kayak on a day when flooding occurred. “Somedays in order to get us to school my mom would have to put on her boots and carry us across the street so that we could get to PS47,” Danielle recalled laughing.
The block always seems to have looked out for one another. “The fact that the kids could always go out and play was great, nobody ever needed daycare,” Laurie said. “When you need something just knock on your neighbor’s door. Milk, sugar, boots for when tide comes up, even just an extension cord,” Dougherty said.
In one instance of the block’s character lasting well in to the future, John Sugden and Lisa Carroll have bought the property next to Sugden’s parents’ house and have been in the process of remodeling it (the house was gutted during the storm). A throwback to the not-so-distant past finds Charlie Madden’s son, Brian frequently helping to build. “I want to be creating a family of my own someday and hoping they can have as much fun as we did when we were kids,” Carroll said. She spent most of her life in Rockaway but was a near-constant presence on the block regardless. “We’re keeping the tradition of 11th Road alive.” The pair are putting the finishing touches on their home and are looking to move in sometime in March.
West 11th Road has mostly remained static over the years, with some faces and housing changing in between. “The biggest thing is the construction,” Danielle said. “They are trying to raise the streets to be level with Cross Bay Boulevard. It’s still a work-in-progress.” “It’s quieter now. Even back then you would hear your parents scream your name from down the block and now they just text. I feel like that’s just our day and age,” Dougherty said. Despite moving away, Frohnhoefer still feels a strong pull towards her old haunts. “One thing I missed most is that all of my friends are here. You could walk to the store and stop for an hour talking to people when you meant to just get milk. One time I was walking with a college friend to the store and I just stopped to say hello to everybody. She was just like, ‘Do you know everybody here?’ I said ‘Yeah, it’s pretty much like that.’”
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