Topo map of Seaford, 1903

A discussion on railroad.net concerning LIRR grade crossings along Sunrise Highway led me to this find at the University of New Hampshire's digital collection. They have made available what seems to be a 1903-based 7 1/2 minute quarter of the Babylon Quadrangle, showing downtown Seaford: here. Note that there is no Sunrise Highway and only Washington Avenue and Seaman's Neck Road cross the tracks. The west border of this map seems to lie near the present Seaford post office at 73 degrees, 30 minutes.
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The site also offers the northeast quarter of the Hempstead quadrangle here. Much to my surprise, Seaford Avenue is shown running north from Merrick Road, jogging where Waverly now is, and continuing north-west to Wantagh station. Parts of Oakland Avenue and Woodward Avenue are both shown (where I walked this morning), but I suspect the streets may have had other names.

Meeting topic Sept. 4: the carving of decoys

One of the arts for which Seaford is famous is the making of decoys for duck hunting in the bay. It is the subject of the meeting September 4 of the Seaford Historical Society 7:30 p.m. at the Seaford firehouse, Southard and Waverly Avenues.
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The following is from the Society:
In the mid-1800's the Great South Bay became a mecca for hunting ducks, shorebirds, and other waterfowl. They were hunted for sport, food, and to be sold to a large market in New York City, eager for game for the table.
Seaford was known up and down the east coast for having some of the finest waterfowl hunting and guides. It became the destination for many wishing to hunt waterfowl. Famous sports figures as Babe Ruth came to hunt our shores.
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These hunters were called "sports" or "yorkers." Over the years, several hotels were built to accommodate their needs, the most famous being Powell's Hotel at the corner of Merrick Road and Jackson Avenue.
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During the meeting (see top paragraph), Frank Murphy and Bill Powell will tell you about these gunners and decoy makers from Seaford. The evening's presentation will include many old photos and a display of Seaford decoys dating back to the 1870's. The meeting is open to all.

Seaford station work as of August 5, 2008

The reconstruction of the Seaford Long Island Rail Road station platform is being done in two halves of six-car lengths each. Three or four months ago, the eastern half was removed. Two stairways were demolished and the escalator removed. The most recent work seems to have been the replacement of the supports for the platform. By supports, I mean only those two-inch or so toppings that run parallel to the tracks and apparently will support new concrete slabs. Since the station was opened in 1968, the previous supports, made of steel, rusted and buckled, causing the platform slabs to heave irregularly. In the photo (link below), one can see a new horizontal concrete support replacing what was rusted steel.
See the photo here and also the rest of the album connected to it.

Seaford, NY, Board of Education 7.3.2008

On July 3, 2008, the Seaford, New York, Board of Education held its reorganization meeting. After new member Brian Fagan was sworn in, the five trustees elected Michael Sapraicone as President and Richard DiBlasio as Vice-President. The board and the residents discussed many topics during more than two and a half hours of meeting. A workshop meeting is scheduled for July 17, 2008, at which committees will be formed to explore and discuss various topics. My comment: If you complain each May that you do not know how the budget was created, you can assist, learn, and be part of the process by contributing at these workshop meetings.

Painting window frames 7.1.2008

With the start of the new fiscal year in the Seaford, N.Y., school district, the morning of July 1, 2008, a team of five or six contracted painters began the overdue maintenance task of scraping and painting the window frames of the Seaford Avenue School.

An enjoyable program by the Banjo Rascals

A group of Banjo Rascals gave a faultless, marvelous hour-and-a-half program at the Seaford, N. Y., Library Saturday evening, June 28, 2008, with an audience of 130 or more. The threat of more rain following a shower forced the move of the concert from the parking lot to the reference area of the library, the audience using a mixture of library chairs and their own. This group deserves much praise. I was particularly glad of the change of pace: each song seemed peppy, brisk, and freshly different from the previous song, with a mixture of voices (some solos) and dominant instruments. The introduction to each piece was helpful, especially the references to original composers and dates, with additional remarks about alternate familiar versions. Though the tunes were all from the last century (and not all the audience was), those present clearly enjoyed a lively evening.
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Many thanks to the sponsors of this event and to the library staff for their extra hours and willingness to make this summer gift to the community.
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See the calendar below for the next three presentations.

Meeting 5.28.2008 of the Wantagh-Seaford Homeowners' Assoc.

For years, one of the problem topics in Wantagh and Seaford has been the sewage treatment plant at Cedar Creek, Wantagh, a large, covered facility operated by Nassau County and its Department of Public Works. At the May 28, 2008, meeting of the Wantagh-Seaford Homeowners' Association, the invited speaker, Ray Ribeiro, engineer and commissioner of the D.P.W., spoke for almost 90 minutes about the plant and several of the problems that are often raised. At the outset, please note that the telephone number on the WHSA page at http://www.wantagh.li is answered by a human at all times (for odor complaints at Cedar Creek and other problems there): 571-7364. Mr. Ribeiro explained how a recent foul smell got out. Air leaving the facility is scrubbed by two chemical agents. The pump providing one of the two agents failed, and there was a slower repair instead of a quicker replacement. The County is looking into a negative-air-flow system whereby an open door would cause an inward draft rather than a release of odor.
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On other Cedar Creek complaints, Mr. Ribeiro distinguished between the part of Cedar Creek under the jurisdiction of the D.P.W. and the part that is under the Department of Parks. There was a discussion of the identification cards employees will use at all times to gain admittance to the D.P.W. section. It seemed that one resident wanted the license plate number copied down of every car entering the park. There were questions about the staffing of the guard booth. Many of these topics have been discussed in the Citizen over the years, and I am certain the Citizen will continue to cover the topic well.
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The tone of the meeting was constructive rather than confrontational. Including the speaker, Legislator Dunne, and the Association officers, there were about eighteen present. Thanks to all.
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There was also some discussion of work this fall in which the D.P.W. will move curbs and turning lanes at the intersection of Wantagh Avenue and Merrick Road to aid pedestrians.
In answer to a question about how to distinguish between town streets and county streets, the speaker could suggest no hard-and-fast rules. Generally, the county streets will have painted yellow and white lines as lane markers. The yellow diamond warning signs on county roads will bear a county abbreviation. However, parking signs on county roads are the jurisdiction of the town. In some cases, drains marked "N.C. Drain" do not mean that the street is a county street, as the mark was sometime only an indication by the manufacturer that the drain met county specifications. That is how "N.C. Drain" will be found on some drains installed in private lots.

Memorial Day parade, 2008

On Memorial Day, 2008, also called Decoration Day, a parade brought wreaths to decorate a soldiers' memorial at the Seaford NY Middle School. Ten photos of the parade are shown here on Flickr. Please click on each photo to enlarge it and read the descriptive caption.

Seaford, NY, School Vote

The budget passed the May 20, 2008, vote 1,481 to 1,099, according to Newsday. It would seem to indicate that 2,580 people voted, out of an estimated 11,000 eligible. The modification to the busing mileage lost, No 992- Yes 929. Link to the school district news page here.

Meeting 5.1.2008 of the Seaford Historical Society

The leadership and volunteers of the Seaford Historical Society welcomed those who attended the May 1, 2005, "Wine Tasting" meeting with a spread of large circular tables, tablecloths, glasses, nibble-food, and coffee. The brief business meeting was followed by an enthusiastic speaker, Seaford resident Joe Sheehy, on the history, variety, and taste of Long Island wines. Equally well prepared were the displays of the work the organization hopes to accomplish in restoring the museum. The generosity of individuals, civic organizations, and businesses continues impressive. Please note the mailing address for all correspondence, donations, and memberships: Seaford Historical Society, Post Office Box 1254, Seaford, NY 11783. More information is available at the society's website, http://www.SeafordHistoricalSociety.org
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I have been trying to learn about the names of Seaford streets that represent local families, as Jackson, Southard, Ray, and others. Some sort of list will soon appear on this blog. However, at this meeting I received friendly help about three matters: 1) that Condit Street is named after the builder of homes there; 2) that mail delivery and house numbers arrived about 1951; 3) that public water (as opposed to homeowners' well water) arrived around 1960. If you wish to correct or comment, please use my address as given in the right-hand column.
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Many thanks to the workers of the Seaford Historical Society and the Fire Department that helped make the evening of May 1 so enjoyable.

Street drainage info, 5.2.2008

Continuing the topic of street drainage: I have been informed that the Town of Hempstead's 2008 Highway Capital Program includes the current project (see photo) as "the "Guildford Park Area Part I." This is only the beginning of a project to reconstruct the roads in this area, and it may take several years. Paddock Road, for example, is not in 2008 plans, but when the street is reconstructed, it is said that any storm drain system improvements that are needed will be included in the project. The department and person that appears to be in charge is the Town of Hempstead Department of Engineering, 350 Front Street, Hempstead, NY 11550. The Commissioner of this department is William H. Rockensies, P.E.
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I can understand the logic of the present work. One begins where the drain outflow goes into Seaman's Creek at Waverly Avenue, then works backward to connect drains to that outflow. Much of the street disruption is caused by the need to move some other utilities out of way of the new drains. It is also understandable that the underground work must be done before repaving rather than after it!
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In the photo taken May 1, 2008, the crane is positioning a new catch basin (or other term?) in the hole dug on the curb line of Locust Avenue opposite Bit Path. The move of this concrete object from its temporary storage point on the east side into the hole on the west side took less than five minutes!