Autumn in Seaford, 2019

Scenes from late autumn, 2019.

While the leaves were brilliant, a windstorm came through on the night of October 30, 2019, and removed many of the leaves. When I roamed Seaford on November 2nd, colors were drab. My question on this view of Jackson Avenue, facing north towards Maple Street: If this is not a maple tree, what is it?
---
Each photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

At Tackapusha Preserve, just west of the museum, the South Shore Audubon Society has labeled the native plants.  Many thanks!

This tall tree in front of the museum has brilliant green. Is it an evergreen?

A praiseworthy dozen people form the St. William the Abbot Garden Club. Here they display yellow, raspberry, and orange mums, and cabbage and dusty miller. The garden is kept by Liz Mackay.

Public Safety Forum 3.21.2017

Meeting on public safety, as sponsored by County Legislator Steve Rhoads, 3.21.2017, at Tackapausha Preserve auditorium.

Present: Steve Rhoads; Commanding Officer of the 7th Precinct, Thomas Corona; Police Officer William Taylor, Problem Oriented Policing, 7th Precinct; an assistant from Rhoads’ office; and six members of the public, including Lisa and Richard Schary. Some of my notes here may be erroneous jottings; they can be corrected.

One purpose of the meeting was to listen to views of citizens discussing where local problems lay. No single topic overwhelmed the discussion.

With the coming of warmer weather, supervision in two preserves, Massapequa and Tackapausha, was discussed. Rowdy youth gatherings and illegal drinking tend to happen off the path that police vehicles can patrol, but the patrols will continue. The police helicopter staff may use new infrared cameras to locate such gatherings in the woods.

There was a discussion of solicitors canvassing neighborhoods, with the possibility that some may cover for acts of burglary. The police will respond promptly to 911 calls regarding such observations of questionable cars or activities. You may ask that the officer not call at your house. The P.O.P. officers work at solving repeated problem situations; for immediate coverage, please use 911. One attendee remarked how Facebook chatter will continue on a long thread about something going on at that time, but too seldom does the poster phone 911 to get an immediate observation by police. Because a 911 call is assigned an incident number, it also leads to a deposition, a statement of the result generated by the call.

There was a discussion of drivers speeding in their effort to catch a morning train, the speed adding danger to the streets and lots near Jackson Avenue.

There was a discussion of NCPD marine patrols, with one boat for the north shore and one for the south, covering from Rockaway to Amityville. Other agencies, such as bay constables and the Coast Guard help, but the Coast Guard coverage may suffer cutbacks.
Several of those present discussed automobile safety issues at Morris Gate. When people park illegally in the striped area on Sunrise Highway west of Morris Gate, drivers exiting the Gate find their vision of fast-moving traffic obstructed. Likewise, at various times, the Gate is crowded with cars awaiting service. The precinct commander reported that ticketing cured some problems on Locust Avenue and that the manager of the dealership has been cooperative with trying to keep Morris Gate and Sunrise Highway clear. (I presume the cooperative dealer was Merrick Dodge. Massapequa Nissan does generate some problems, but not as severely.)
---

There was a discussion of dioxins in water supplies. On this topic and other topics, Mr. Rhoads displayed an admirable grasp of the science and research.

----

Two more Public Safety Community Forums are listed on Mr. Rhoads’ website linked HERE, in Wantagh April 4th and in Merrick April 27th. I urge attendance. Our opinions were respected, and our questions were answered directly, without dodging. Many thanks to the policemen and Mr. Rhoads!

Autumn in Seaford

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

Red House, Tackapausha, Massapequa

In late January, 2013, I came across this new sign on the Massapequa side of Tackapausha Pond.  At the Central Avenue library, a small book of postcard views of Massapequa has a photo of the red house, which I have linked here, from the Long Island Memories digital collection.
----
George Kirchmann of the Massapequa Historical Society graciously explained:

The Massapequa Historical Society erected the Red House marker last November. It was the first of the large estates (traveling eastward) that lined Merrick Road from Seaford to Amityville in the 1800 - 1960s period. James Meinell bought 600 acres in the Seaford - Massapequa area in the 1850s and completed the house in 1856. He was born in Ireland in 1789, came to the US in 1810 and made his fortune buying and selling New York City real estate. He opened the New Theater on Lower Broadway around 1855 and it became well known for the quality of its plays. The main troupe that performed there was Laura Keene's, whose troupe performed Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater the night Lincoln was shot. Meinell died in 1865 and his mansion became a hotel, then a boarding house, and a private house again until it was torn down in 1964.

Snow and Ice, Jan. 23-26

Sometime in the 1970's, I joined many people skating on Tackapausha Pond.  I cannot recall skaters here in recent years, but on January 26, 2013, the ice was strong enough to hold an inch of snow.  Somebody had shoveled a far corner of the ice clear, and a few people were walking about.

Since the late 1600's, Seaford Creek has separated the Town of Hempstead (left and straight ahead) from the Town of Oyster Bay (on the right).  Tackapausha Pond flows into Seaford Creek, which here has gathered some ice in the past night or two.  The left fork is a short canal.  The photo was taken from Jetmore Place, Massapequa, looking north.

The Parkside Cafe on Adler Court, facing Seaford Creek, will reopen.  
----
More photos from late January, 2013, are linked here. Captions will appear when you click on the photos. (Google+ albums are a bit tricky to view.)
----

Sandy and Seaford creeks

Hurricane Sandy pummeled the south shore of Long Island with wind, tide, and rain. Damage extended across the island and hurt many people in their lives, with deaths and damaged homes.  In this post, I choose to look at a more limited topic, how the three north-south creeks in Seaford rose with the run-off, tide, and wind. I wish I had more facts to present, but I did not go out exploring during the storm. This narrative will probably contain errors.  I appreciate corrections and further explanations.
----
Cedar Creek flows between Fir and Larch Streets.  I am quite certain it forms the western limit of the Seaford School District.  It emerges south of Merrick Road in Cedar Creek Park and flows into East Bay.  The dip in Merrick Road is quite obvious here, and on Tuesday it seemed to have pooled atop Merrick Road. Some residual debris was noticeable on Merrick Road near Willow Street, but I don't know whether it came from Cedar Creek's backup or some other source.
----
It seems that a section of Seamans Creek was channeled by the construction of NY 135, as a 1903 map shows it beginning at a pond north of DeMott Avenue, almost at the water company property. Seaman's Creek runs along the west side of NY 134, under the railroad and Sunrise Highway, reappearing northwest of Brook Lane's cul-de-sac.  The creek goes under Alan Path, lingers west and north of Natalie Boulevard (where the 1903 map shows a larger pond), and passes under Woodward Avenue.  Some hours before the storm, the water had already risen to the height of adjacent lawns.  Overnight and later, I am told it closed Waverly Avenue. As far as I can determine, this closure on Waverly Avenue, just east of the NY 135 bridge, was the northernmost flooded road in Seaford, about 5.2 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.  That is, the wind-driven high tide had caused the level of Seamans Creek to cover Waverly Avenue there.
----
Seaford Creek, the longest of Seaford's creeks, forms the border between the Town of Hempstead and that of Oyster Bay, a border which dates back to the mid-1600's and the era of Tackapausha.  It seems to form about Jerusalem Avenue and the north end of Tackapausha Preserve, flowing through the preserve to the lake at Merrick Road and then with waterside homes south of Merrick Road.  Early Monday afternoon, it overflowed two eastbound lanes of Merrick  east of Townsend Court.  As the "puddle" grew, police forbade traffic.  I think I can safely say that the puddle increased from south to north, showing that this was the effect of tide, not yet a heavy run-off from the lake.
----
A friend pointed out that the height of a wind-driven tidal surge rises in narrow confines. That may explain why the canals of south Seaford rose to cover streets and to damage basements and ground floors of  homes.  

Native American names in Seaford

In an attempt to identify which Seaford streets had names of the earliest people in Seaford (generally from the 1600's), I encountered several surprises. Obvious are the names Tackapausha, Seaman, and Jackson. There appears to be no street named after a Native American ("Indian"), but rather the Tackapausha Pond and Preserve. Merrick Road is named for a local tribe or family. Otherwise, more streets have Indian names, but they are not the names of individuals, rather tribal, geographic or both. Some of the Indian street names refer to tribes or locations far away from Seaford. The list I have made includes: Merrick Road, Narragansett Ave , Mattituck Ave, Penataquit Ave, Wyanet St, Ladonia St, Tonopah St, Manhasset St, Wadena St, Roanoke St, Alcona St, Tuscala St, Seminole Ave, Peconic Ave.

Tackapausha

This entry begins what I hope will be a series using the label (as below) "Names." Looking around Seaford, I find it hard to determine who was born first: the sachem Tackapausha, John Seaman, or a Jackson. Therefore, we begin with the native American TACKAPAUSHA who placed his mark on the deed dated December 13, 1643, which the settlers used to claim the area of what is more or less the Hempstead Plains. The photo shows the sign at Tackaupausha Preserve, where Seaford Creek may mark the eastern border of that purchase, which Tackapausha later regretted. For further discussion, see the book "Colonial Hempstead" by Bernice Marshall at the Seaford Library.