Historian Roberta Fiore recalled the names of celebrities from decades
past the visited or performed on the Long Beach boardwalk: Fred Astaire,
Charlie Chaplin, Isadora Duncan and Clyde Ziegfeld.
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“Rudolph Valentino danced on the boardwalk in 1928,” Fiore told more
than a thousand people that attended ceremony to commemorate the
Hurricane Sandy-battered boardwalk Saturday morning at Grand Boulevard, before
the structure is demolished in coming weeks.
Among Fiore’s stories was one about two elephants, Roger and Alice, that
were taken to the barrier island from Coney Island as part of a publicity stunt
to promote the boardwalk when it was under construction in 1907.
“When
you look at this boardwalk, let these memories and this history talk to you,”
she said. “We have a proud future but we had a very colorful and interesting
past.”
Like Fiore, other city residents and local officials who addressed the
crowd remembered the iconic wooden walkway fondly but also struck an optimistic
tone for the new boardwalk to come.
Resident Colleen Quinn read a poem by her brother Patrick, a Long Beach
High School alum who moved to California, which he wrote from the perspective
of the boardwalk and touched on everything from summer concerts to Polar Bear
splashes to drinking beers underneath the walkway.
“I tried to hold back the raging storm/Tried to protect you from all the
harm/I did it for Gloria, Felix, Irene/The dunes and I kept things mostly
serene/I hope this would just be another storm winter age/But I failed you and
now it is I who is splintered.”
Assemblyman
Harvey Weisenberg, who has lived in the city since 1934, likened the boardwalk
to an extended family and called it a symbol of love and happiness, while
Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford, who resides in the West End, recalled
taking her young daughter to a Ferris wheel that still stood along the
boardwalk when she moved to the city in 1980.
City
Council member John McLaughlin found it ironic that his first kiss was under
Grand Boulevard boardwalk and that he first turned on a wave while surfing on
its beach.
“Hopefully
we’ll be able to build a newer, a better boardwalk,” McLaughlin said. “It won’t
have the same memories. It won’t be the same thing. But change is something
that comes with any tragedy.”
Both City Manager Jack Schnirman and Council Vice President Scott Mandel
vowed to rebuild “strong, smarter and safer,” the three-word phrase that has
become the city’s mantra after Sandy struck in October.
“Today
is the beginning of the real big comeback and today is the day that was say goodbye
to an old friend and we get ready to rebuild stronger, smarter and safer,” Schnirman
said to open the ceremony.
Following the event, residents took home with them cut-up pieces of the
boardwalk that the city was giving out as souvenirs.
“The boardwalk is the life of surrounding communities, not just long
beach,” said Mike Jerchower, an Oceanside resident and boardwalk-goer. “People
come here from all over the South Shore and all over the country.”
RELATED
Thousands Bid Farewell to Iconic Long Beach Boardwalk
Ceremony held at Grand Boulevard Saturday before structure is demolished in coming weeks.
The crowd at the ceremony. Credit: Joseph Kellard
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Fred Weintroub June 19, 2013 at 10:45 am
That STUPID Trapeze thing and the fence around it on the lot adjacent to the Boardwalk is going to…Read More cost us Volley Ball players and Beach goers about 30 to 40 parking spaces. Whoever thought this thing up should get their Heads
Charlie Cheswick June 19, 2013 at 12:06 pm
Jimmy Two-Times here, going to get the papers, get the papers...
js June 19, 2013 at 12:18 pm
I SAW A SUV WITH ADVERTISING ON IT FOR A TRAPEZE IN LB--I WAS WHERE IT WAS--
Penny Riordan June 19, 2013 at 10:51 am
Hi Nicholas. Thanks for using the boards. Your post may work better as a blog, where you can add…Read More photos and have a headline. From the homepage, click the 'start blogging' button in green about halfway down. Fill in the fields and then your blog will appear on the homepage. Let me know if you have any questions: penny.riordan@patch.com. Thanks!
AEA President June 18, 2013 at 04:46 pm
yes - by sheer coincidence, their employees work more overtime than ever before in their last 3…Read More years of employment before retirement (as it so happens, their pension is based in part on their last 3 years of employment).
Jack Kett June 18, 2013 at 07:41 pm
Bottom line re: LIRR is that people in suburbs who ride LIRR and Metro North are paying to subsidize…Read More the bankrupt NYC Subways and subsidize minority riders in the outer boros. Its the price we pay to not live in NYC. The subways charges a cheap fixed fare to subsidize low income NYC residents. Its a form of socialism.
Joe June 18, 2013 at 08:19 pm
Jack, racist much? Why don't you go have a tea party with the rest of the little Republican girls?
Eddie June 18, 2013 at 02:55 pm
Great photos, Richard. With joists like those, you could drive a firetruck up that thing!
Eugene Torres June 17, 2013 at 07:57 am
Heron St is like a bombed out war zone. Many of the residents
drive the wrong way to avoid the…Read More potholes at the beginning of the street.
Charlie Cheswick June 18, 2013 at 03:13 pm
"Working" storm drains like the one between Regent & Greenway on Lido Blvd?
Susie Pennachio June 15, 2013 at 09:13 am
yeeeepppp i always see people trying to get thru it or go around it to get onto the beach
Jaime Sumersille (Editor) June 15, 2013 at 12:44 pm
Thanks for the notice, Ally! I posted this on Facebook to make people aware! - Jaime Sumersille,…Read More Regional Editor, Nassau County
RackEmUp Gomez June 14, 2013 at 03:55 pm
Those murderers from Boston were students, right?
How about importing some kids from Brooklyn that…Read More need help?
Lets stop being patsys.
Me June 13, 2013 at 08:49 pm
What would be the basis for that demand? The govt only has to turn over exculpatory evidence or…Read More evidence it intends to use against a defendant and as far as I know in a civil matter (especially divorce) the govt is generally not a party to the action so how would they be compelled to do so?
Not grants but legitimate claims made on insurance policies we have paid into for DECADES? ALL 67 of these bastards are Republicans....................every last Goddamn one of them. Next week these same devils will try to f**k us out of the FEMA money needed to rebuild the boardwalk we are now ripping down. Any Long Beach resident that voted for these monsters should be placed in a mental institution.
I counted exactly 1 hourly employee at today's ceremony, though I'm sure more were involved in. setting it up. that said, there seemed to be 3,000 people who thought it a worthwhile endeavor. just sayin.
Many Long Beach home owners have paid the required insurance premium into the FEMA program for DECADES. The payout these GOP rats voted against is a contractual obligation that is owed us, not some handout. I was a GOP voter for almost all of my voting life up until 2012 when the scumbags lead by Paul Ryan opened my eyes. My vote against these horrible rats was vindicated by what went on in the GOP Congress in the last few days. I feel like Alec Guiness in " The Bridge on the River Kwai" A person that was blinded by some stupid internal moral code that finally wakes up to his wrongheadedness in the end. The monsters in Congress or anywhere else for that matter will never get my vote again. Not for President or dog catcher either for that matter. Any person in Long Beach that votes for these rats are voting against your own family and the future of Long Beach.
... ..........How about looking at it this way. Most Democrats vote for thier party because it gives them the most stuff. Phones, food stamps, Section 8, medical, abortions, etc. usually at others' expense. ......... ... Now you, Wildman seem to be angry at the Republicans because they won't give you stuff. ............. You simply sound like one more typical underacheiver who realized that they can vote themselves stuff out of the treasury. ... I understand that you fell for the lie that your flood premiums were some type of legitimate "insurance," but that simply isn't the case. It's welfare, plain and simple. You and I are forced to pay into it, but that's to cover those who don't. No wonder why the scheme is broke ........... ... Nonetheless I feel your pain and share your anger. The difference is that you want government to pay you. I want them to just go away and stop taking from me. .............. Just as information, I spent 30 years as a union member, general chairman and then business owner. I try really hard to understand others' views.
The basis of the law is sanctity of a valid contract. I have a contract with the FEMA Flood Insurance Program. For many years I fulfilled my end of the contract by paying the premium they requested in return for their service. Now that I am invoking the terms of the contract , 67 GOP rats decided that they need not abide by that contract. You were a 30 union member and a business owner. At anytime during that period did you let the people on the other side of any contract or business arrangement walk away because the deal no longer worked in their favor? No, I didnt think so.
On Jan. 15th, Congress will take up the vote on the additional 58 billion dollars that is needed to fix what is broken in NY and NJ........including the money to build a new boardwalk. The folks that vote GOP in this town better make it clear to the bastards that run the GOP that if that money is not forthcoming then they can forget about your vote for Pete King and every other GOP Congressperson in NY or NJ.that DID vote for the FEMA bill last week. In addition, GOP voters all along the US coast from Texas to Maine will be watching because they know that they could be the next target of these insane GOP ideologues that tried to renege on the FEMA insurance contract when the bill came due. Make no mistake. The upcoming vote is for all the marbles in 2014 and 2016. The damage is already done when it comes to folks like me. Im done with them/ Next up come the longtime GOP voters that were not paying attention but now have been slapped awake by the GOP rats that they put themselves put in office.
My last two posts speak for themselves. I made my point and my bet is that it wakes at least a few folks up. I do not expect to change many minds but if only a few former loyal GOP voters come to the same crossroads that i found myself at on November 4, 2012 and chose a different path then these posts will have had an effect. You can call me all the names you like. It does not mean a damn thing. i have paid taxes my entire life and never asked for anything in return but a fair and honest shake. Last week the GOP shoved a knife in the back of every person in Long Beach and they were called on it and backed down. They will get another shot on Jan. 15th and the follks that put them in office better have their heads on a swivel. Before Jan 15th however, you better be on the phone and on the net letting the GOP know that you are watching. Your future is in the balance here along the coast and giving a bunch of redneck GOP louts sway over how Long Beach fares is not in your best interests.
So which party is worse? You tell me. I don't know. But I do know my government id broke, and I'm struggling to keep them out of my pockets. So I don't disagree with Wildman at all. I just don't feel the blame belongs on one side of the aisle. And the media's coverage of the entire subject is biased, ignorant and one sided. Sure I want my flood payment. But I just wish they would let me choose if I wanted their silly Ponzi sceme at all. I chose to buy here and I'd rather just keep my money and fend for myself.
I was a union member that voted for people that hated unions. I was a beach side dweller that voted for people that want to end FEMA. I was a a New Yorker that voted for people that hate New York. i was a person that got along with other races that voted for people that had no use for anyone but their own. I voted that way my whole life..............right up until my whole world view came crashing down with the nomination of Paul Ryan for VP. All at once it hit me. What the hell am I doing voting for these people? I suppose I should have come to this crossroad 30 years ago when The Gipper gutted the union movement but I didnt. In fact, I voted for him in 1984. Well, I am awake now and I am certain other long time GOPers are staggering to their feet as well, with the same realization that I have. I am DONE with siding with people that hate most of what I am and most of what I actually believe.
It will be rebuilt, I'm glad about that but it will never be the same! Goodbye old friend.
The person to really blame is Eric Cantor. He is the Rep Majority Leader in the House. He is a tea partyer who thinks that government should not fund any of it. Meanwhile, flood insurance is a federal program. So blame the Republicans in the House for this epic failure of government protecting its citizens.
Yeah, those were good times. I'm with you about the rebuild. Supposedly they think that they'll be finished by June. It's hard to imagine that it can be rebuilt by then and still do a worthwhile, safe job. Who knows, I could be wrong but knowing LB as we do........................................................
Mike
Yeah, those were great times. I completely agree with you about the rebuild. Supposedly the City of LB expects to be finished by June. Not what I wanted to hear. It would have been better to say something like, "We will start as soon as possible to build a better boardwalk" and not mention anything about time. If asked just say, "As long as it takes to do it right!". Quality and safety should be paramount. Hopefully, the boardwalk will be around long enough to provide memories for generations to come.
I'm not arguing to pass up the revenue that the summer brings in, we definitely depend on it but if something is built hastily without safety being a priority and if an accident occurs, it would turn out to be worse than not having a boardwalk at all. Not just the lawsuit that would follow (and you can bet that would happen, and be a big one) but the bad press that it would attract. Think about it.