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Thursday, October 2, 2014

Rediscovering the Beaten Path – Part II

At a glance, Ridgewood seems a typical neighborhood of Queens or Brooklyn – one or two main avenues surrounded by streets with either town or apartment houses. I am, of course, generalizing, but for the most part, that tends to be the case in these two boroughs; I hardly ever venture into Staten Island or The Bronx, so I can’t really speak for them. And while living in a neighborhood over a long period of time tends to make us less mindful of our surroundings, there have always been certain parts of Ridgewood that I found curious or unusual. In learning more about the history of my neighborhood, the real nature behind these seemingly odd places was finally revealed, along with a few others that had cleverly escaped my notice. Here are a few:
Onderdonk House
The Vander Ende - Onderdonk House
via Onderdonkhouse.org
Properly known as the Vander Ende – Onderdonk House, this historical landmark is the oldest Dutch Colonial stone house in New York City. I’ll admit I was completely unaware of its existence until I started learning more about the Dutch history of Ridgewood. Director-General Peter Stuyvesant (the equivalent of a Governor) originally granted the land to the Dutch farmer Henrick Barents Smidt in 1660. The house was built underground as a way of keeping warm during the colder months, a common practice at the time. In 1709 Paulus Vander Onderdonk purchased the farm. Using the foundations of the original structure, he began construction of what is now the current house, with later additions made in the 1820’s by Adrian Onderdonk. According to the official Onderdonk website, the building was also used as a marker for the 1769 Boswijk and Newtown dispute. Even more charming is the fact that the Arbitration Rock, which had also been used as a marker and had been lost for a time, was found and subsequently moved to the Onderdonk House as well.
Ridgewood Theater

Situated between rows of one-story buildings, the Ridgewood Theater’s imposing size and elegantly designed white façade make it stand out in Myrtle Ave.’s commercial area. Constructed in 1916 and designed by the prominent theater architect Thomas Lamb, the theater’s polished look reflects a time when film was trying to branch out into a national form of entertainment. 

Ridgewood Theater

Although it had lost most of its original luster by the time I started going to the movies (the interior was worn down, the projectors were outdated and my little brother once had a mouse for a seat-mate), it still retained its intimate, small theater charm - a contrast to the flashier chain cineplexes that seem to have taken over. Sadly, after running for over 90 years - one of the longest in the country -  the Ridgewood Theater closed in March of 2008. After years of inactivity and community debate, it was recently decided that the building will become a housing residency. As a historical landmark that is protected by the Landmark Preservation, however, the façade will not change.



Radioactive Chemical House

My friend and I have an established banter that occurs whenever she wants to hang out in Queens. Given the odd and inconvenient subway and bus systems in Brooklyn and Queens, I believe my vehement resistance (i.e. “complaints) to venture into any part of Queens, other than Ridgewood, is completely justified. In retaliation to my continuous contempt, she recently sent me an article written by The New Yorker that both surprised and disturbed me. It turns out that from 1930 until 1954 the
Former Site of the Wolff-Alport Chemical
Company via queens.brownstoner.com
Wolff-Alport Chemical Company operated a facility at 1127-1129 Irving Avenue which processed imported monazite sand and extracted rare earth minerals. Nothing wrong with that except for the fact that
monazite contains small traces of thorium and sometimes even uranium, both of which are radioactive. Instead of safely disposing these byproducts, they were deposited into the
sewers or buried on site. Erin Brockovich kept flashing through my mind as I read this. Anyway, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently conducted some tests and proposed to add this section of Ridgewood to the list of the country's most hazardous waste sites. This would allow funds for local clean-up and radioactive level monitoring. Charming. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to the EPA but I'll admit that learning that my neighborhood contains toxic elements that put everyone at higher risk for cancer was a bit unexpected, and not something I wanted it to be known for.



Brooklyn/Queens Trolleys

Tracks at 60 Place
Flushing trolley
via junipercivic.com
When I first moved into the neighborhood, I would occasionally notice train tracks poking out from the pavement on certain streets. During my local history research I learned that these tracks were originally used by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT), which later elevated the train lines and used the tracks for trolley service at the beginning of the 20th century. I was aware that before the train system became the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the trains were operated by several different companies (which is why certain trains and stations look different) but I was not aware that some had provided trolley service. Although the trolley tracks ran all along Brooklyn and Queens, the ones in Ridgewood were part of the Fresh Pond Road Line, which began at Myrtle Ave and Palmetto and ran all the way to, what is today, LaGuardia Airport. The line gained fame for servicing passengers during the 1939-40 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. However, by the late 1940's, bus services began to replace trolley line routes and by 1952 had replaced them altogether. While road construction and renovations have made it harder for me to spot the train/trolley tracks lately, I can't help but give them a particularly fond look whenever I manage to find one.


There are, of course, many other historical places in Ridgewood I could write about, including the Ridgewood Reservoir in Highland Park and the Ridgewood Masonic Temple (which is, funnily enough, part of Bushwick, not Ridgewood - have I mentioned that the Queens/Brooklyn boundary line causes confusion?), but I've decided not to. Partly due to laziness, but mostly because I believe these examples are more than sufficient to highlight the rich history found here and that, essentially, was the original point of researching my town. As I mentioned in the first part of my article and touched upon briefly here, I often get distracted in the idea of unfamiliar places and their pasts that I ignore the wealth of history that can be found locally, which is bizarre considering where I grew up. For many, New York City is a travel destination that promises  excitement, decadence and entertainment all in one place; for me it's simply home, but it's about time I started appreciating it properly.






Thursday, August 7, 2014

Rediscovering the Beaten Path - Part I


I’ll admit I’m a bit of a misguided romantic when it comes to travel. Any place that doesn’t look like New York City tends to get identified by my overactive and misinformed mind as exotic. After all, exoticism is subjective; it’s definition changing by individual and location. Yet for me, the exoticism I refer to comes from looking at new surroundings and realizing that what I am in fact seeing is a reflection of the past; cultures and people that came and went yet managed to leave an indelible impression there; one that may be not even be consciously known to those who inhabit the area now but remains ever present.

In an attempt to rid myself of my romantic, yet erroneous travel idealisms, I decided to remind myself of New York City’s own rich history by taking a closer look at my own neighborhood, Ridgewood. Having lived here for over 15 years, there isn’t much about the neighborhood that I’m not familiar with. I have tread the streets of this area so often, memorized every store, park, lane, and bench that it has all become nothing more than background as I go on my way. It takes only a bit of curiosity and a little digging to realize just how much history can be found locally.

I was delighted to discover just how rich and far back the history of Ridgewood goes, but to give you a thorough run-through would require several pages of data, maps, countless facts, and chronologically placed historical events that would be A.) horrifying to write and B.) tedious to read. Instead, out of admittedly shameless laziness, I decided to focus on the origins of the neighborhood in this post and the historical landmarks in a later one. The articles stay more tightly focused this way. Or at least that’s the justification I’m using. 


The Ridgewood Dispute

Let’s begin with a bit of the history. Ridgewood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens but there has always been a debate as to whether or not part of it belongs to Brooklyn as well. I’ve always lived on the Brooklyn side of the border, with my zip code belonging to the neighborhood of Bushwich, yet whenever I receive mail, both State and Federal, my neighborhood is addressed as Ridgewood. The boundary issue is tricky and the reason for the confusion, which persists to this day, dates back to Dutch colonization the Americas in the 17th century.

Map-Novi Belgii Novæque Angliæ (Amsterdam, 1685).  A 1685 reprint
 of a 1656 map of Dutch North America, Library of Congress

The Dutch first founded the town of Breuckelen - modern day Brooklyn - in 1646 and Ridgewood was originally part of the Dutch settlement of Boswijk – today known as Bushwick. When the English arrived, they took over several Dutch settlements north of Boswijk, and renamed it Newtown and Ridgewood, respectively. The bitter dispute over the boundary lines between Boswijk and Newtown, which reflected the animosity between the Dutch and the English, was so strong that a boundary
Arbitration Rock
marker was placed in 1769 to mark the dividing line between the two townships. Known as the Arbitration Rockit became the official marker for property disputes until the two towns were integrated into the City of New York and the borders later redrawn. However, confusion still remains among residents today (myself included) because the residential addresses, which are supposed to change by borough, do not, so one crosses from Brooklyn to Queens with no change in the address numbering system.



Cultural Identity

Until about the mid-nineteenth century, Ridgewood remained much the same - lush farmland where fruits and produce were cultivated for markets in the Brooklyn and Manhattan settlements. Many of the wagon roads settlers followed were old Native American trails. Myrtle and Metropolitan Avenues, along with Fresh Pond Road were a few,and farmers could use these trails to take their merchandise from the area all the way to the waterfronts. Unrest and wars in the European German states brought a wave of German immigrants to the US from the 1850’s till the beginning of the 20th century. These immigrants were not just farmers and peasants, but educated men, businessmen, craftsmen and artisans who replaced the farms with streets and homes and established businesses, banks, houses of worship, and cultural institutions.


Terraced Houses designed for
 German workers, google map
While a keen eye can spot Ridgewood’s English and Dutch roots by the street names, its Germanic history, although in plain sight, is harder to notice. Many of the town and terrace houses, office buildings and breweries that the German immigrants originally built are still occupied today. What changed are the demographics. The first half of the 20th century brought a surge of Eastern European, Irish, Puerto Rican, and Italian immigrants into Ridgewood, followed by Dominican and Ecuadorian in the second half. These diverse cultures integrated themselves so well within the established community it’s become difficult to attribute the neighborhood’s heritage to single culture. Traces of Germanic influence are more noticeable in neighboring towns like Glendale and Middle Village where German influenced taverns and specialty shops can still be found.



I was always dimly aware of Ridgewood’s history but after reading about it all, I must admit that I gained a newfound appreciation for my neighborhood. Streets and buildings suddenly have an identity of their own and as I walk around my neighborhood, I can’t help but wonder just how many others have tread these streets before me.











Friday, February 14, 2014

The Antarctica Challenge - A Race in the Spirit of Kinship, Support, and Solidarity

I don’t quite remember where I first heard of the Walking With the Wounded Challenge. I suspect it was during one of my many restless periods, when I begin to scorn my comfortable surroundings and long to pursue the excitement and perils of outdoor adventures; the kind of romanticized, exotic exploits that my exploration idols like Howard Carter and Roy Chapman Andrews often undertook. Under this state of yearning, I no doubt used my trusted computer and internet-friend, Google, to unearth potential journeys I might be interested in pursuing in the near future. It’s highly probable that while randomly looking up different extreme travel destinations I eventually typed in the challenge favorite, Mount Everest, which ultimately brought my attention to two things: a link to the Walking With the Wounded (WWTW) page and Prince Henry (Harry) of Wales. I noticed his name continuously attached to a previous challenge in Mount Everest he was forced to desist and new potential trek across Antarctica - a charity challenge for Walking With the Wounded. Remembering the British royal’s similar taste for hazardous environments and adventures with an edge, I clicked on the WWTW page and began to learn more.


           Officially known as the Virgin South Pole Allied Challenge 2013, thanks largely to Virgin sponsorship, the expedition involved three teams: Team Glenfiddich (UK), Team Noom Coach (US), and Team Soldier On (Commonwealth), journeying roughly 208 miles (335 km) across the frigid expanse of Antarctica in a race to reach the Geographic South Pole. At first glance, the Challenge seemed little more than a thrill seeking trial, wild and fraught with unexpected difficulties but not exactly unheard of. As I browsed through the website, however, I began to comprehend its actual nature and the reasoning behind it. The Virgin South Pole Allied Challenge added an additional level of difficulty given that the majority of participating men and women would be soldiers and veterans of The Armed Forces that had been injured while on active duty. First established in 2010, WWTW was created as “a charity organization where expeditions would demonstrate the fortitude and bravery of the servicemen and women and inspire them and others who have disabilities.” Suddenly, Prince Harry’s involvement in the organization no longer had the distinctive air of royal obligation. As an officer in The Armed Forces himself, his patronage and active participation seemed to show a more personal sense of moral duty - one of camaraderie. 
           
           I felt inspired, and I admit, excited. Here was an expedition that bore all of the markings of the adventures I had always admired – a distant, unfamiliar environment, high risks, and undertaken by those whose courage are enough to overcome any fear of failure - and yet, for once the outcome was eclipsed by the significance of the challenge itself. It was a race meant to show courage and bravery, yes, but also human resilience and the insurmountable determination to overcome adversity. I wondered if the excitement I felt was the same as those who had witnessed the journey of Fritjof Nansen on his quest to reach the northernmost point of the world or the race to the South Pole between Amundsen and Scott; people unable to make the journey themselves but experiencing the wonder through what was read and heard. I too could not participate in the Challenge, but like others, I could experience it vicariously through the participants themselves. And I made certain I did.
           
           Modern technology and social media certainly made feeling as if you were part of the team much easier. Pictures of Prince Harry enduring a cold training session with the UK team began to circulate online news sites as early as mid-September. But social media platforms had another obvious function - generating publicity. Through sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, team members were able to post continuous updates on the challenge, reaching the online public on a global scale. The participation of established figures on both the US and Commonwealth teams certainly helped increase public interest as well. Swedish-born actor, Alexander Skarsgård, best known for his work as the Nordic vampire on the HBO series, True Blood, joined Team US, while the English actor Dominic West, popularly known for his role as a Baltimore detective on another HBO series, The Wire, was a support team mentor for Team Commonwealth. With such public figures and such a wide variety of media outlets, all of the participants were able to generate excitement from the very beginning, piquing the public’s interest and increasing the anticipation for the race.

           
          Originally, the teams had planned to set out for Antarctica in November and reach the South Pole by December 17th. But as previous expeditions have taught us, and this race was no exception, things do not always go as planned, no matter how well thought out. The initial launch began well. The departure broadcast took place in Trafalgar Square, London, on November 14th, with Prince Harry officiating the start of the Challenge. On Monday, November 18th, the teams arrived safely in Cape Town, South Africa, ready to set out to the Novo Airbase in Antarctica the following morning. However, strong winds made flying unsuitable and they were forced to delay for several days, finally setting off Friday, November 22nd. On their arrival at Novo Airbase, the WWTW website informed everyone that the teams had arrived safely and would settle there for a few days in order to acclimate to the altitude and sub zero temperatures. From here, the three teams were to be transferred to the second base camp from where the race was to begin. In between the wait, audio recordings of some of the members, describing their experience so far, were posted on the official WWTH website and Facebook page. Others expressed their opinions through blogs or through pictures that allowed the landscape to speak for itself.
                                          
@VirginMoney, Twitter
           It was difficult for me to contain my excitement; to look at the pictures and see the equipment, the gear, the people, the sheer enormity of the expedition amid that frozen land and not pretend to be there with them, imagining what I myself would feel looking at the endless white floor that stretched across the horizon. My impatience, no doubt, was nothing compared to that of the teams, as the wait for the transference to the second base camp was delayed for several more days due to an unforeseen snowstorm. The constant, unpredictable weather served as a reminder to everyone of just how hazardous and extreme the conditions were and I wondered if the extent of what they were all about to face was really starting to sink in.

            Finally, on Sunday, December 1st, the race began. Any anxiety that may have been felt was put on hold as all three teams made their way to reach the South Pole. By the end of day one, Team UK, was in the lead, followed by Team Commonwealth, with Team US bringing up the rear. A voice diary was uploaded to the website, describing their first day experiences. Ed Parker, the Expedition Director and Team US Coach seemed to voice the collective agreement that “everyone found it a little harder than they were expecting.” By day two the UK was still in the lead, with the US coming in second and Commonwealth third. The cold was no longer the only difficulty the teams had to cope with. Sastrugi, described as frozen waves made by the wind against the snow, made it difficult for many of the team members, slowing them down as they tried to figure out ways to get around them safely. In addition, the added weight of their pulks (a type of sled used to hold gear), unexpected uphill inclinations, dry air, and an elevation of 2600 meters, created strains that, by day three, had begun to take their toll. A video of Eric Philip from Team Commonwealth was posted, where he described having breathing problems and a small, but persistent dry cough. Shortly after, he was examined by the chief medical doctor, Dan Roiz de Sa, who found fluid in his lungs. Due to the dangers if left untreated, Philip was forced to temporarily drop out of the race in order to recover. Having mentioned on video that he had been to Antarctica at least five times before, Philip looked put out by his unexpected condition but seemed to understand that proper rest would allow him to continue the race later on instead of being pulled out entirely.

            On December 7th, news arrived that all three teams had made it to the first checkpoint. With this update came a new, unexpected announcement in the Challenge. With 112 km left to go, and with the safety of all the team members at the forefront of the expedition, Ed Parker announced that after some serious deliberation with the doctors and teams, he had decided to call off the race portion of the event.

         “ The reason for this is entirely simple – safety, which remains the core principal 

The news was unexpected but not entirely surprising. I can imagine it was not an easy decision to make. The race element is what added to the excitement and what really pushed all of the players to reach the South Pole first. No doubt the doctors and team coaches were afraid the team members were beginning to push themselves a bit too hard. Without the added stress of the race, the teams would now be able to continue at their own pace and support each other as a single unit. 

           The decision was made at a good time as Team US member Therese Frentz highlighted another aspect of the Challenge that was difficult to cope with – isolation. It’s curious really, when you read the journals or accounts of expeditions from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the emotional detachment most of them are written in. Yes, they often describe their sense of wonder and excitement at journeying someplace new or largely uninhabited, but rarely do they pointedly observe the feelings of loneliness and isolation that come with that kind of journey. You can perceive it with every mention of someone missing home or complaint of a type of food, culture or environment that isn’t their own, but it is reluctantly, if ever, voiced aloud; as though doing so would spoil the wonder and convey too much human weakness. Here again, the Challenge distinguished itself from other adventures by encouraging the participants to express themselves openly to the public. In a voice diary, and later a video, Therese explains that it is not just the physical exhaustion that one has to cope with, but the emotional, mental strain she had to deal with. The difficulty, she admitted, was the hours of silence everyone would endure when skiing in a line, where the only two views she had were the back of her teammate’s head and a 360­­º panorama of snow. She added that the teams would take regular breaks to give their teammates support and encouragement, but it was during those moments of silence where she couldn’t help notice how desolate it all looked, and how alone and far away they really were.

@VirginMoney, Twitter
          By December 11th the teams were just 45 km from the South Pole. They estimated that at their average pace, they would reach their goal in two days time. This proved correct for on Friday, December 13th, 2013 at 12:48 GMT, the teams arrived at the Geographic South Pole. The moment was just as surreal and incomparable as I had expected it to be. Everyone seemed to be in a daze; amazed they had made it to the finish line and in disbelief at where they were and what they had just achieved. I woke up to find pictures and messages of beaming men and women, disregarding their own tiredness and rejoicing in their success. There were the traditional, official photos, with each team holding their respective flags and standing behind the South Pole (it is an actual pole), and   then there were the not so formal ones.             
                                                                          
Instagram
Images of participants laughing and grabbing onto the Pole were all over the Internet. Duncan Slater, a double amputee, who was wounded in Afghanistan in 2009, took a picture next to the Pole with his prosthetic legs on the side. It was later revealed that he also offered one of them as a substitute ice bucket for the celebratory champagne. Nudity became another form of celebration. Alexander Skarsgård humorously twittered a picture of himself sitting naked on a latrine, reading a book, and Dominic West later recounted how two Aussies from the Commonwealth team decided to 
strip down and run around in victory. Even Prince Harry adopted his more relaxed self, entertaining everyone with bawdy jokes and admitting to the voice diary that the evening would end with a lot of whiskey.   

           The following morning, Prince Harry, as the official patron, formally presented the winning trophy to all of the teams. They had planned to remain in the South Pole until December 20th, in order to give everyone an opportunity to rest properly, but an approaching cyclone made them decide to leave early, returning to Novo Airbase on the 17th and arriving in Cape Town the next day. With the trek to Antarctica completed, the participants were able to return home in time to celebrate the holidays with their families and friends. On January 21st, 2014, Prince Harry held a press conference in London, officially signaling the end of the challenge. In total, the Virgin South Pole Allied Challenge 2013 raised £121,440.76 in donations, money that will go to helping wounded soldiers find careers outside of the military. He thanked and congratulated everyone involved, reminding the public that the Challenge was meant to demonstrate that disabilities do not impede people from achieving something incredible.

            He is right, of course. Disabilities can demoralize our confidence in ourselves and, in our lowest moments, make everything feel hopeless and futile. I think Antarctica as the chosen location of the challenge was a fitting one. The very landscape, with its bleak and unpredictable environment is a visual reflection of the internal human struggles people face. What better way to show people overcoming their own adversities than by taking on a place with such adverse conditions? The journey may be long, difficult, painful and at times, overwhelming, but not unconquerable.


@VirginMoney, Twitter