| A letter to the producers of the documentary: The Bungalows of Rockaway |
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| July 30, 2010 Dear Jennifer and Elizabeth, I just want to add my voice to the growing chorus who are singing the praises of your excellent documentary. My wife Barbara and I both grew up in Rockaway. We attended your screening at the Museum of the City of New York last evening. Barbara was born in St. Joseph's Hospital in 1947. My family and I moved to Far Rockaway from Ellenville, NY in 1950. After I was discharged from the Army in 1971 we lived for two years in an apartment in Rockaway Park. In 1973 we left Rockaway for Bayside, Queens, where we have lived ever since. Rarely, a day does not go by when I am not thinking about the Rockaways. About two years ago I started a website rockawaymemories.com , which is devoted to preserving the memories of growing up in this once idyllic setting. I must admit that after we left Rockaway I did not think there was much hope for its possible renaissance. I felt that Rockaway's death knell was the indiscriminate construction of high rise buildings built so close to the beach. It is much easier to run a bulldozer through a row of abandoned bungalows than a wrecking ball against the side of a relatively new high rise apartment building. It seemed that the character charm of this community was changed forever. However, after watching your documentary, and seeing your portrayal of some of the courageous pioneers like Jeanne DuPont and others I now feel there is a ray of hope for its turnaround. The fact that you both did not have prior roots in Rockaway before you undertook this task five years ago has given you a fresh perspective on looking back on Rockaway's past and peering into its possible future. Sincerely, Marty Nislick August 22, 2010 Dear Marty, Thank you so much for writing! I am SOOOO glad to hear your praise of the film! That means an extra amount coming from you - with your wealth of personal experience and the strength of the excellent Web site you run. I'm so glad you and your wife attended the screening on July 29th! I hope you had fun at the screening and event. I'm very sorry not to have written back sooner. Since that screening I've been consumed with all the time-consuming post-production work -- sound edit, online edit, pursuing permissions, trying to raise a bit more money. I've been doing it all myself, too, since my co-producer left the country on July 31st, for a wonderful opportunity that she and her husband have, to live abroad for 3 1/2 months. Here are links to two write-ups about the July 29th screening. The wonderful story that The Wave ran will be available to non-online subscribers in about a week. I especially like the structure of the story on the blog of The Forward: http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/tags/bungalows-of-rockaway/ http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/07/30/rockaways-bungalow-culture-celebrated-in-a-documentary/ I'm really happy, too, to hear that you find some optimism for Rockaway in the work that Jeanne DuPont is doing, with her group - Rockaway Waterfront Alliance. In case you'd like to learn more about it, here is the group's Web site: And here's the Web site of the Beachside Bungalow Preservation Association, also located in the Beach 20s, which is also mentioned in the film: http://www.preserve.org/bungalow/ May we post your vivid words on the Memories page of our Bungalows of Rockaway Website? Thank you again, very very much, for coming to the July 29th screening and for taking the time to write. I am so deeply happy to hear that you liked the documentary. very best wishes, Jennifer Callahan |