| A letter from Ed Gloeggler to Rockaway Memories dated June 1, 2010: Marty, I've attached a map showing the Wavecrest Gardens addresses that I prepared after making a fieldtrip there this past Friday. It was a nice visit. I looked at the place both as an engineer, which I am and as a sociologist, which I am not. I befriended one of the twenty security guards, a Jamaican gentleman who shared about a half hour's walk through the place. Fortunes of Federal Section 8 funds have been poured into the place with the installation of expensive galvanized steel railings, new laundry appliances and a make-over for the terraces.I later met up with a Chinese superintendent who gave me access to every storage room and boilerroom that I wanted to see. They are doing a great job in keeping the condition of the place well, but the demographics have changed to low, low income Section 8 recipients. This included a 24 year old Puerto Rican who was living in my former apartment with his three pit bulls and an extremely large man with raggy clothes and an extremely small head who was lost on the boardwalk. Those two represented the majority of tenants with whom I spoke. Let me know what you think. Hope you had a good weekend. Ed Click here to view Ed's map of Wavecrest Gardens' addresses which has just been incorporated as a permanent exhibit within Stevie Stevens' "Wavecrest Gardens -- A City Within A City" A letter from Diane Weinstein Friedberg to Rockaway Memories dated June 9, 2010: I just finished going through "Wavecrest Gardens - A City Within A City". It was (to me) spellbinding. My brother Alan (FRHS '65) grew up in 20-41. We moved to Wavecrest in 1951. We were (as my mother told us) the first ones in the building. I still have memories going back that far. Do you remember the green screen doors that management put up during the summer? This was to help keep the apartments cool. I remember the Dugan bakery man announcing his presence by standing in the lobby and calling "Dugan Man". We always bought the 3 colored cupcakes. The knife and scissor man would park at the end of block before every holiday so we would all have sharp knives for the roast chickens and brisket. The Good Humor man would be stationed at the foot of the boardwalk (the hill during the winter for sledding) and ply his wares. He would always give us credit until our mother came down and paid him. The playground was our santuary. We played space ship on the slides and made sandcastles in the sand boxes. I don't know if you remember but until P.S. 215 was built I used to walk to school on the boardwalk. I think it was P.S. 35. During high school I worked in the magazine room of the library. I spent many hours reading old yearbooks and old newspaper clippings of the Rockaways. It was wonderful. Our father was still living there when he passed about 10 years ago and when I went back it was awful. I'm glad to see it re-emerging. Ironically, my brother (in his second career) works for the Board of Education and one of his schools is FRHS. He sent me a picture taken on the steps and nothing looked changed. I thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to grow up in
such a wonderful environment. |