Message from Barbara Torborg - Broad Channel Historical Society

Aerial photograph of Broad Channel
June, 1994
Photo by Don Riepe

Broad Channel Historical Society

The Broad Channel Historical Society's website now has a link to a Ph.d. dissertation on Jamaica Bay entitled "The Wild Lands of Gotham: City and Nature in Jamaica Bay, New York, 1880-1994" by Eric Fauss.

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Summary

"This dissertation examines conflicts over Jamaica Bay, a 25,000-acre estuarine lagoon bordering southern Brooklyn and Queens that at the end of the nineteenth century was one of the largest undeveloped areas in New York City. Determining the relationship between city and nature was the central conflict in the bay’s history. While activists, developers, and officials sought to transform the bay into parks, suburbs, and a port, local residents fought to maintain their homes in what they envisioned as the Venice of New York—an unconventional hybrid space of city and nature.

By examining the interplay of competing conceptions of Jamaica Bay over its history, this study will show how both elite and working class New Yorkers were able to exercise power over the bay’s development and the complex ways in which its spaces were understood.

I could not have done this dissertation alone....The staff at 

Gateway National Recreation Area were particularly patient and helpful as I browsed

their library. I owe special thanks to Barbara Toborg of Broad Channel for introducing 

me to her community and the resources of its historical society. "

Eric Fauss

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Although lengthy, as most doctoral dissertations are, it is an informative yet very interesting read and our community of Broad Channel is mentioned numerous times.

You can access the entire article by visiting our website by clicking here.

Thank you,

Barbara Torborg