Just Sayin’: Sad to return and see decay in Roslyn
Some floating bottles inside the south pond in Gerry Park in Rosyln, Thursday, May 4, 2017. Credit: A littered and decaying edge of the lower pond on Thursday at Gerry Park in the Village of Rosyln.
Sad to return and see decay in Roslyn
Growing up in charming little Roslyn Heights has always been a point of honor for me. I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.
Having left for college in the 1980s, raising my family and living in another state, it’s always a treat to come back home for a visit.
It seems, though, that in the last few years Roslyn has taken a turn for the worse.
On a beautiful April day, we walked from the upper Heights to Roslyn Village and the duck pond, along old Main Street. It felt like a Third World country. It was sad to see homes designated as historic landmarks restored with pride next to cracked sidewalks, crumbling curbs and litter-strewn greenbelts. To see my cherished duck pond park with more plastic trash in the water than ducks was just plain crazy.
I make my living fishing. Those ponds and the tip of Hempstead Harbor at the old Roslyn Mill Tea House are where I got my start in fishing as a kid. These places should be treated with more respect. They are sanctuaries for all of us in our busy daily lives and places to recharge.
I cannot shake the feeling of disgust. Do people even care anymore about their sweet little community?
Jim Langone, Stuart, Florida
Get in touch with the history of Long Island
History is a hot topic. One of the fastest growing hobbies in America is genealogy. Individuals are looking to the past for grounding and pride through their own stories. People are searching for personal acknowledgment at time of disenfranchisement.
And so historical societies are becoming vital parts of their communities’ identities. The way to access those stories is to visit your local historical society. There are dozens on Long Island.
To serve this expanding audience, historical societies are no longer closed, static sites of the past. They are being reinvented to engage their populations. They offer lectures, music, art, re-enactments and many other events.
Kathryn Curran,Hampton Bays
Editor’s note: The writer is executive director of the Robert D.L. Gardiner Foundation, which supports the study of New York State history.
