Paul Sidney, Dead at 69

I was on the WABC music Radio web site last week and read the news Paul Sidney, general manager of radio station WLNG died Wednesday night. As late as Monday, Paul was trying to order a pizza from Conca D'ro, while in the hospital. Paul was with WLNG since 1964. As a matter of fact, the owner of the station at the time lived behind me on Howard St.
I first visited the station in November 1963 on a cub scout field trip, about two weeks before Kennedy was assassinated. A small three room building, with the noisy, air cooled 500 watt AM transmitter right next to the DJ's Boothe. Chris Johnson was the DJ that November afternoon. It was a daytime AM station that signed off at sundown.
Paul was known for his afternoon show, Paul's partyline. I remember about 1965 walking downstreet after school one day and seeming him do a remote in the front window of Spitz's Furniture and Appliance store dressed in pajamas. He was advertising one of their beds.
Paul was known for his storm coverage and remotes. His life revolved around radio. He will be missed. His favorite bench next to the five and ten will get a plaque in his memory. Knowing his health was failing, I recorded about a 90 minute air check of his 2008 Christmas show that he has done every Christmas morning since 1965. Sag Harbor has lost another of it's real characters.
The late great Paul Sidney

A Factory Story, Part 1

Apparently TV Land has stopped broadcasting Leave it to Beaver, so my son asked me to pick him up a DVD of the series, the other night. Not having much else to do, I sat through an episode where Beaver sneaks into the office of Mrs. Rayburn, the principal of Beaver's school. He's looking for a spanking machine in Mrs. Rayburn's closet, and is accidentally locked inside that night by the janitor. Mrs. Rayburn reminded me of a woman I worked for one time many years ago; Miss Elizabeth Hall. Miss Hall was the production manager of the Bulova Watch Case factory, where I worked one winter, right out of school, while deciding on a career goal. A charming, well educated woman, but certainly not one you would want to mess with. She could hold her own to any man, and the men respected her for it. In fact, she was Sag Harbor's first appointed female mayor, filling in for the last month of Hap Barry's term, who died in office February 1957. Miss Hall was a trustee at the time. For some reason, she chose not to run for reelection as mayor. Although it was never brought up in conversation, I suspect she found it difficult in the so called old boys network, as local politics were at the time.
So it was one October day, I found myself in Bulova's employment office looking for a job. The four story brick build sits on the corner of Hampton and Washington streets. Actually only the second story was used for producing watchcases. After entering the Washington Street entrance and walking up a flight of stairs, I found the employment office. There were about 260 employees working there in the early 70's. Women workers outnumbered men about 60/40. The pay was only $2.50 an hour. The hours were good, 8-5, Monday to Friday with an hour off for lunch. The factory closed the week between Christmas and New Years, and another 3 weeks in July. Of course there were no benefits what-so-ever. After a brief interview I was told I could start that afternoon at 1pm. To be continued:
Bulova about 1988 after it was closed
Washington Street Entrance
Lobby inside entrance to second floor
Stairway leading up to second floor
Brooken glass door to employment office on 2nd floor2005 photo of Bulova's employment office,2nd floor

Fixing up a Dump, Part 3

Well, work has been progressing somewhat on the house on Noyac Road. With a target date for completion being the spring of 2010, we have a year to go. The interior has been gutted to the studs. Outside we jacked up the old porch to where it should be. The locust posts were replaced by brick. The floor was ripped out and replaced with five quarter southern yellow pine. We saved the old porch posts and woodwork. The cracks in the post were filled with automotive bondo, the only thing that really works. The porch roof was replaced, as were the railings, that could not be saved. The sides of the house were reshingled also. Still to be done outside, is to install a bead board ceiling on the porch, and replace the exterior doors and windows. Wooden windows that match the old ones can be had for about 700 dollars each, and are much more efficient. You can't tell the new window from a old window from the street, I do however save the old glass itself, which is about 100 years old. The windows themselves are usually rotted out. We have cleared out the back property, and will be erecting a 40 by 60 foot barn shortly. This job is part restoration and part renovation. We'll post another look later this summer.The Old porch
And the new restoration

The patient almost succumbed

Man, was I pissed. A couple of weeks ago, I got hit with a particularly nasty virus. The computer that is, not me. I run XP because I like it. Vista does nothing for me as a operating system, and is a memory hogger. I also disable virus protection programs as they slow down performance. I do however use a free shareware program called Ad-Aware once a week to clean out the ad stuff that gets planted on the hard drive and use a pop-up eliminator on my web browser.
Well I got hit with a virus called Spy Protect 2009 that some retard/s placed on the internet. Contrary to popular believe, you don't always get a virus in the e-mail, but more likely off certain websites. No, I'm not going to tell you what sites I hang out at! Anyway, this virus throws pop-ups on your screen every few seconds stating your computer is infected with a virus, and to go to a certain website where for $29.95 you can buy the Spy Protect program to download and rid your computer of the problem. Basically, these retards have planted the virus on your machine and are trying to extort $29.95 from you to remove it. It makes your computer virtually useless you pay up.
If a local person pulled something like this on me, I would string them up by the nuts, and hang them off the North Haven bridge. But being on the internet, the perpetrators could be anywhere, even Russia, so I can't get revenge.
Anyway, I did a google search and found a lot people have forums and advice about this virus, along with at least six companies promising to get rid of this virus if you buy their software for 30 to 50 bucks. After reading the forums, I found most of the software programs don't even work on this virus and the companies are conartists
I could of just reformatted the drive and restored it to factory default. But I really wanted to save a lot of the data I acquired over the past year. So not having any dire emergency to fix it, and I have a little 8 inch netbook on my wi-fi netbook to check my e-mail, etc, I poked around for a while and finally found directions to remove the hidden files. Part of it involved removing several lines of code from the registry. Not really wanting to do this, I poked around the forums longer until I found directions to a free shareware site, where I could download their anti-virus program. I downloaded it, opened and ran it. Rebooted and now back in business. No signs of this virus along with over 600 other suspicious files this software has removed. The patient appears to have made a complete recovery.
Spyware Protect 2009 Sucks!

The Old Bridge, Continued

Man, I received an e-mail from a local organization today, mainly about Sag Harbor's history. Yesterday I wrote about developers planning a condominium project at the foot of North Haven bridge on the old Diner property. Soooo I joined this local organization's mailing list and poked around their website. Now, I will tell you what I don't like. There is a height issue. Whether it is one building or four, they appear to tower above their neighbors. Second, there is mention of underwater property rights and dredging. Read - MARINA. The Remkus's never had a marina. They had two small wooden docks to dock their fishing boats, and had less than a dozen 16 foot wooden skiffs moored along the shore, which they rented out by the day. Unfortunately, I can see it now; A modern marina like the others in the village. No doubt interfering on the public right of way along the shore front by the bridge.
I had some free time today, being a Sunday, so I did some armchair detective work about this abandoned bridge road, and this is what I found out.
In 1900, the county of Suffolk, at a cost of $13,000 erected a 375 foot steel swing drawbridge from Sag Harbor to North Haven. The access to this bridge was granted in an easement by the LIRR.This bridge lasted until December 28, 1936 when a reinforced concrete bridge opened about 500 feet to the north. This bridge, built at a cost of $200,000 had a 390 foot span with 300 foot causeway approaches. The 1938 bridge lasted until about 2000, when it was reconstructed and widened and serves to this present day.
After some research today, I found the old Rt 114 bridge access road actually became Old Bridge Road. It is listed as such in the 1955 local telephone directory, when I looked under the name Remkus today. The railroad closed in Sag Harbor in 1939 and Jim McMahon, a former mayor who owned a coal yard by the railroad station bought a lot of the property from the LIRR. He in turn, sold some to the Remkus family, no doubt in the late 1940's or so, who opened the fishing station and Seaside Restaurant.
So what does this all mean? It means this little road could be in the spotlight, in what happens in the future at Ferry Road condos. Stay tuned.1935 aerial of the old bridge, and what is known as Old Bridge Road. Railroad yards and gas ball in foreground.
You can see part of the old steel bridge on the left.
1999 photo of same area where the newer bridge sits about 500 feet to the north. Notice how the area has been built up in 60 years.

The Shore Road Mystery

Man, I was reading a copy of the Sag Harbor Express yesterday, and the Ferry Road Condo's project was again on the front page. Dr. Harry Diner of Noyac owned this property for years, after buying it from the Remkus family in the 1980's. The Remkus's owned the Seaside Restaurant and the Fishing Station at the base of the North Haven bridge. Dr. Diner ran the old restaurant as the Harbor Professional Building for years, until he passed away a few years back. The Diner family sold it to East End Ventures who are hoping to build another big condo complex on the property.
That is a brief history of the project, however a new development has arisen. it concerns a abandoned cement road that runs from the base of the present day bridge to the fishing station. Back it the summer of 1964, my cousin and I would walk along this abandoned road, which led to where the the old wooden bridge to North Haven once stood, a few hundred feet west of the present day bridge. We would get a soda at the machine at the fishing station and walk along the abandoned road back to the foot of the bridge by the flagpole. The road is still there. Look in front of the old Harbor Professional Building next time you come over the bridge and you will see it.
Now there is a dispute on who actually owns this abandoned road. The Long Island Railroad who owned the property in the late 1800's granted an easement to the Village of Sag Harbor, to build this road to the North Haven Bridge. The Save Sag Harbor group had a title search done and it appears the Village of Sag Harbor owns the road and all waterfront property west of the bridge. East End Ventures claims they own at least half the road, and must do so in order to fulfill the necessary setback requirements to build the project as planned.
So where does this stand? I side with the Save Sag Harbor group. They did their homework, studied the history of the site and invested money for title searches. I for one would like to see the Village buy this property and make it into a park. However, I doubt they have that kind of money. They do however as of this date, appear to own the cement road, which is called Shore Road on old postcards, and the associated waterfront property. Who owns Shore Road may be in dispute, but appears to be no longer a mystery. It will not be easy for East End Ventures to claim this road, and will no doubt end in court for several years. And you know something? Tough shit guys!
This is the Sag Harbor side of the old North Haven
bridge where it once terminated by this abandoned
fishing station.(1989 photo)

The Masonic Temple

Man, in the 60's, I grew up in a little saltbox 2 bedroom cottage on a 40 by 100 foot piece of property behind the Masonic Temple, A/K/A, Suffolk County Whaling Museum in Sag Harbor. The Masons met on Monday nights, once a month on the second floor of the Masonic Temple. As a matter of fact, as far as I know, they still do. The women's Eastern Star group, met on Thursday nights, once a month. I think this organization ceases to exist in Sag Harbor anymore. The museum, which operated from mid-May to Mid-September was located on the first floor. This building was once the home of Mrs. Russell Sage and built in the 1800's. There was one burglary there in the fall of 1963, where the robbers parked in front of my house one night about 7pm and broke into the museum and stole several rifles. The police later caught the two men. In the 50's and 60's the property was very well kept up. By the 1980's the large rear yard was no longer being mowed and grew knee high. I also noticed the front yard was becoming increasing cluttered with school bells, time capsules, sculptures and other uninteresting things. As decades passed, the building itself fell into disrepair and still is. The building was taken over by new management in the late 1990's and improved. I was inside last summer and although it is ok, I think it could use a complete modernization. The outside has become very rundown. It urgently needs several hundred thousand dollars in funds for repairs. Sad to see this happen. A building like this needs huge sums of money to be maintained. I hope things will work out!
The museum and grounds in it's glory days, 1960.

Winter Ice

Man, I was cruising down Long Beach Road the other day and noticed how the ice had built up over the winter. Back in the sixties I would walk out on this ice half a mile toward Jessup's Neck. When your young and stupid, you don't realized that if you fell through, it would be all over in a couple of minutes. But as far as i know, no one ever fell through. I am told that back in the 30's people would drive their cars from Sag Harbor to Cedar Point lighthouse ON the ice. Apparently the winters back then were so cold that the formation of ice would permit this. Today it would be a insane stunt. Getting back to the 60's and ice skating, Trout pond on Noyack Road was never safe due to springs. It is fresh water, but never froze to an extent to permit safe skating. Otter Pond, use to have gates on the bridge which were closed in the winter to keep salt water from the cove from entering the pond. It was used for skating till the early 60's. The metal gates are long gone and so is the ice skating. Round Pond and Fore and After nearby were popular ponds and safe for skating. In North Haven Ryder's Pond has been popular forever. Rounding out the ponds, Long Pond was little used. There are several more ponds in the area and those interested in this great old pastime should view Google satellite maps of the Sag Harbor area as an aid to locating little known ponds that might make an excellent skating spot!
Waiting for the thaw at Long Beach the other day

Sidewalk Grates

Man. if you ever have walked down Main Street in Sag Harbor, you may have noticed one or two sidewalk grates on the sidewalk. One is in front of Schiavoni's Market. Beneath the grate are a set of stairs leading into a basement of a particular store. Most are cemented over now, but up to the mid-sixties they were used by delivery men to bring food or other products into the basement of the store, from a truck parked on Main Street. I remember as a kid, the grates being up and delivery guys going in and out. Also a favorite past time was trying to hook onto a coin that had fallen down the grate. Nowadays the trucks park in the back of the stores, and the grates have been unused for many decades. Next time your downstreet check them out!
A old grate still remaining by Schiavoni's IGA

The Night it Rained Fish

An unusual event happened on downtown Main Street in Sag Harbor in the summer of 1968. On a Sunday night during that summer, there had been a thunder storm. Not that being unusual in itself. However, early the next morning it was discovered that on the roof and in the driveway of Rocco's Antique Shop across from the Civil War monument, tons of small fish about two inches long were deposited to a depth of about an inch deep. And it was just on the roof and in Rocco's driveway, no where else. So how did all these fish end up there? What apparently happened was that during the thunder storm, a small twister or waterspout developed over the bay, sucked the fish up into a cloud and then deposited the fish about a quarter of a mile ashore, directly on Rocco's property. Although a rare event it does happen, frogs and toads being next on line after small fish, to being sucked up and dumped from a cloud someplace ashore. No word how he cleaned the mess up, but it did make the local papers at the time!
Rocco's Driveway where the fish ended up that summer

The Phantom Airplane

Man, I was watching the ditching of Flight 1549 the other day in the Hudson River, and it reminded me of an incident that happen in Sag Harbor about 20 years ago.
I was working late one afternoon when I got a call from a nun at Cora Maria, a Catholic Retreat house located on the waterfront on Bay Street and used by the nuns, some of whom work at the Stella Maris School among other duties.
Anyway, they were all excited and explained to me that they had just witnessed a plane crash into the bay in front of their building. They were close enough to see that it was a white plane and they could actually see the prop throwing up spray as it cut into the water and disappeared below the surface. One nun was watching with binoculars. So, of course I sent out search and rescue and a extensive search was conducted of the area. Nothing was ever found, not even an oil slick,nor was a plane ever reported missing. Normally I would white this off as a flock of seagulls or something else. However speaking personally to the nuns, most of whom, while not trained observers, are college educated people of high respect. They were certain of what they saw.
After doing some research, I found this occurrence actually happens once in a while, in which a plane is seen by many witnesses on shore crashing into the water and no trace is ever found and no planes are reported missing. I know a couple of guys who were working in a power plant one night, trying to get a generator up to it's proper 60 hz frequency, when a image of a sitting woman holding a baby appeared briefly over the generator. Weird shit to say the least.
So, my own opinion of what happened in this plane crash, is there was some sort of rare "time slip" that appears to affect planes in particular for some reason. Then observers on the ground, the nuns in this case are actually observing something that happened in the past, or will happen in the future. Just my opinion. I know nothing about the paranormal. Then of course, that white plane could still be sitting at the bottom of Sag Harbor bay, a artificial reef, now enjoyed by the local fish population!

Cora Maria on Bay Street where incident happened.