Roslyn News Magazine Spring 2020 Edition

THE ROSLYN NEWS AN ANTON MEDIA GROUP PUBLICATION • SPRING 2020

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Contents 4 Letter from the Publisher

It’s spring for Roslyn Magazine

By Angela Susan Anton

8

Raising History

The decades-long project to restore the Roslyn Grist Mill

By Mike Adams

14 The Bryant Library A look at Roslyn’s longtime literary hub

By Christopher Birsner

20 Art For Everyone Accessible programs at the NCMA

By Mike Adams

20

28 Rags To Fishes

How G erry Vera came to own Roslyn Seafood Gourmet

By Christy Hinko

34 Natural Beauty Meticulous crafstmanship at Muscari Flowers

By Christy Hinko

Honey Kurlander’s painting of the historic Village of Roslyn downtown. (Photo courtesy of the Bryant Library)

38 Hollywood East The storied history of Silvercup Studios

By Dave Gil de Rubio

44 A Story In Stones How the Roslyn Cemetery grew

and changed with the town

By Mike Adams

48 My Roslyn Thoughts on the community from local leaders

By Mike Adams

34

14 ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

3

Letter from the

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

Publisher

Welcome To Roslyn News Magazine If one word could be used to describe Roslyn, it would be history. Its origins date back to 1633, and as such, it is rich in people and places, all with their own unique stories, a number of which we’ll be highlighting in this issue of Roslyn Magazine. Anton Media Group has done a solid job keeping the spotlight on Roslyn, starting with The Roslyn News, which has been keeping folks abreast of what goes on in this unique community since 1877.

And we’ve kept up with the times by making our mark in cyberspace through our website, www.roslyn-news. com. For this issue of the magazine, we have Roslyn News editor Mike Adams penning stories on the history behind the Roslyn Grist Mill and its decades-long restoration process. Mike also takes us on a tour of the Roslyn Cemetery, some of its notable inhabitants and how the cemetery’s development mirrors that of the community.

Mike also swings by the Nassau County Museum of Art and showcases a program the museum uses to help young people with intellectual disabilities enjoy fine art. Christy Hinko takes a look at some local businesses. She not only presents a profile on Muscari Flowers, but tells the story of how Gerry Vera went from immigrant fishmonger to owner of Roslyn Seafood Gourmet. Christopher Birsner takes a trip to the historic Bryant Library and writes about its importance to Roslyn. Elsewhere, Dave Gil de Rubio tells the story of Silvercup Studios, the Long Island City-based studio that is the site of numerous television (The Sopranos, Gossip Girl) and film, (The Devil Wears Prada, Gangs of New York) productions and is the love child of East Hills siblings Alan and Stuart Suna. With My Roslyn, Mike talks to various residents to find out their insights into their community and what makes it so special.

As you can see, there’s plenty to dive into as we scratch the surface of what makes this community so wonderful.

Angela Susan Anton Publisher

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The Roslyn Grist Mill circa 1905 (left) and as it is today.

RESTORING HISTORY:

The Story Of The Roslyn Grist Mill

By Mike Adams

(Top Left: Photo courtesy of Howard Kroplick, Top Right: Photo by Mike Adams)

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

At this very moment, the old Roslyn Grist Mill is sitting suspended in the air, propped up by Jenga-like towers of wooden beams four feet above Old Northern Boulevard and eight feet above where it had previously sat for decades.

When groaning hydraulic lifts hoisted the old mill into the air on Jan. 23 to lay in a new foundation, it marked a watershed moment in the decades-long struggle to restore the creaky wooden structure that played such an important role in the history of Roslyn.

For Roslyn Landmark Society President Howard Kroplick, one of the driving forces behind the restoration project, seeing the mill pass above the street for the first time in more than a century, surrounded by cameras and politicians and wide-eyed villagers, was a thing of beauty.

“It was a great day, I’m still floating from it,” Kroplick says.

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“I would constantly hear from people in the village ‘when are you going to do something about the Grist Mill?’ It’s like a tourist attraction right now, people are actually stopping and parking to look at the Grist Mill as it’s lifted. It’s very fulfilling.”

Added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1986, the grist mill stands today as one of the oldest surviving Dutch colonial commercial frame buildings in the entire country. For nearly two full centuries after its construction by Henry Onderdonk in the early 1700s, British colonists and later Americans would take their grain to the mill to be ground into flour. When the Village of Roslyn as we know it began to truly form, the grist mill was its churning, industrious heart.

“Really, the Grist Mill was the first major industrial building in the village,” Kroplick says. “The road itself, Old Northern Boulevard, back then it was called the Mill Dam. Because it really was not a road, it was a dam separated from Silver Lake. The building there was the first significant building in the village, and all the other buildings were built around it.”

The Grist Mill even found itself jotted down as a footnote in American history. Newly-minted U.S. President George Washington spent a morning at Onderdonk’s house when he embarked on a five-day tour of Long Island shortly after becoming president in 1790, and took note of the structure in a April 24 diary entry.

“Left Mr. Young’s before 6 o’clock and passing Musqueto [Glen] Cove,” Washington wrote. “Breakfasted at a Mr. Underdunck’s [sic] at the head of a little bay; there we were kindly received and well entertained. This gentleman works a grist and two paper mills, the last of which he seems to carry on with spirit.”

The mill fulfilled its intended purpose, even as it slipped further and further away from the road and surroundings buildings, until 1916, when it was converted into the Roslyn Tea House, which entertained guests well into living memory.

Nassau County bought the property in 1975 with the intention of bringing it back to its former glory. Still, funding and enthusiasm for the project were in short supply for years, and all the while those old timbers rotted more and more deeply when pitted against the waters of Hempstead Harbor. By the dawn of the new millennium, Roslyn’s old heart was a creaking, sunken eyesore.

The original sign from the Roslyn Tea House (down) and as it hung outside the restaurant (top).

(Photos courtesy of Howard Kroplick)

This advertisement of the Roslyn Mill Tea House appeared in 1955 in The Roslyn News.

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

A postcard of the Roslyn Mill Tea Room (Photo courtesy of the Bryant Library Historical Collection)

But momentum to revive the grist mill began to build. The restoration effort gained a pair of powerful allies in then-Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi and then-Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink, and the closing years of the first decade of the 2000s saw some honest-to-God funds allocated for the long-stagnating project.

“When I first got to the legislature in 2007, this had been a discussion point for a long time,” Wink says. “It wasn’t until ‘09 that we were really able to firm up a funding source.”

By the time 2010 came around, Suozzi had been booted from his seat atop the county and the Great Recession was tightening purse strings everywhere. The grist mill would have to wait yet again.

“When the recession hit, everything came to a screeching halt,” Wink says. “But the plans were there, and the feasibility studies were done. So really, this moved forward by inches until we were in a position where we were able to do more.”

Even as the restoration efforts seemed dead in the water, Kroplick and company managed to hold feet to the fire. As the economy turned around again, the Landmark Society made itself a promise.

“It was around 2014 that we looked around and said we really need to be focused on the grist mill and trying to save it,” Kroplick says.

“Because if we’re not going to save it, it’s never going to get saved. So we gave ourselves about two, three years to really focus on it.”

Ten years after hope for the mill seemed lost, the Roslyn Landmark Society has secured over $3 million in charitable donations and state grants to bring the building back to life.

Getting boots on the ground for the restoration in 2018 took a village of contributions. It took tireless lobbying from Suozzi and Wink and his legislative successor Delia DeRiggi-Whitten. It took countless hours of research into every detail of the mill’s history that anybody could scrounge up, including a research paper on the mill DeRiggi-Whitten’s own mother had written years ago. It took passion, enthusiasm, a lot of money and a crack team of experts.

And with at least a year of work left to go to bring the mill back to its former glory (provided the funding holds up) it’s going to take a lot more than that.

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

Counterclockwise, from top: The Roslyn Grist Mill being raised, the pillars of the mill’s old foundation, a stamp from the Roslyn Tea Room

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Longtime Hub: The Story Of Bryant Library

By Christopher Birsner

The original Bryant Library in 1946 before it was torn down.

(Photo courtesy of Bryant Library) A painting of the Bryant Library by Cyril A. Lewis.

(Photo by Alex Nuñez)

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

ictor Caputo has been with the Bryant Library for 23 years. He started out as their public relations and program director, working on the library’s newsletter among other things. After 19 years in that role, he became the library’s director.

“Bryant Library is a really special place to be,” Caputo says. “Its worked out for me in a great way and the community is amazing.

Its been a good fit altogether.”

The library, located at 2 Paper Mill Rd. in Roslyn, is special for many reasons, but nothing stands out more than the fact it is the oldest continuing library in Nassau County. Its history dates back to 1874, when poet and journalist William Cullen Bryant wrote a letter where he talked about building a lecture hall on Bryant Avenue in Roslyn, which was close to his home in Cedarmere.

“In the letter, he wrote, ‘I’m laying the foundations of a reading room and lecture hall for the village, for the people have no place to meet in the evening, say the ballroom,’” Carol Clarke, the library’s historian, says. “When he built this building, it had some newspapers and a small collection of books that he donated. Some years were well years. Other years were not.”

After Bryant’s death in 1878, a public meeting was held where a joint stock company was formed. It was called the Bryant

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‘‘

The community loves the library.

When the community loves the library, it makes it easier to do your job.

’’

—Victor Caputo, Bryant Library director

The Bryant Room is an upstairs archive room that serves as a place to learn about the library’s deep history, as well as a hub dedicated to the life of William Cullen Bryant.

(Photo by Christopher Birsner) Children are big focus at the library, with their basement dedicated to children’s books and playroom.

(Photo courtesy of Bryant Library)

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

Circulating Library Association, and its purpose was to preserve and continue the library for years to come. Soon after the organization’s formation, Bryant’s daughter, Julia, gifted the building and the land to the organization.

“They kept the meeting room as a space for public meetings, lectures, concerts and other entertainment.” Clarke says.

“The rest of the building was used as a library until 1946 when it was torn down.”

The Bryant Library wasn’t the only book hub in Roslyn. A local group called the Roslyn Neighborhood Association had been actively running their own library at the Valentine House, which is now located across the street from the present-day Bryant Library. The neighborhood group was actively competing against Bryant, but in 1924, the two associations agreed to merge.

The current building was built in 1919 after a campaign by the Roslyn Neighborhood Association to create a dedicated World War I memorial. After it was designed by Frederick Godwin, the great grandson of William Bryant, it was erected and served as a community center.

“There was a bowling alley and a rifle range,” Clarke says. “They had space that could be rented for dances and things like that.”

After some time, though, the association needed income. They ended up leasing the memorial building to Charles

Hopkins, a theater producer, to create a playhouse in 1935. Dubbed the “Theater of the Four Seasons,” the main theatrical productions were held in the memorial building, while the Valentine House across the street served as a place for dressing rooms and a dormitory for actors. In 1940, David Lowe leased the memorial buidling to produce the plays of Christopher Morley and renamed the theater the “Millpond Playhouse.”

Finally, in 1951, the neighborhood association offered the memorial building to the Bryant Library. The hub officially took ownership of the building in March of 1952.

“It was redesigned to fit the library,” Clarke says. “It was a very active place.”

About 68 years later, the Bryant Library continues to thrive and evolve. In addition to its wide collection of books, the multipurpose aspect of the library shines.

Every week, there are various classes held there that range from yoga and body conditioning to Microsoft Excel and Mahjong. There’s also the occasional book club meeting, lecture, concert and play.

“The community loves the library,” Caputo says. “When the community loves the library, it makes it easier to do your job. But our job is to make sure we are supporting the community as a whole, from the school district to the local civic groups. For all intents and purposes, we really are a community center. We’re a place for people to meet, for resources,

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An archived article in the Roslyn News about the Bryant Library’s revitalization.

for studying and more.”

Libraries all around the country have had to adjust to rise and reliance of technology, and the Bryant Library is no different. For those who can’t make it in person to pick up a book, the library offers e-books, digital magazines and movies for card holders online through third-party resources. They also offer online classes for those looking to further their education, and those who need to print something out at the library can do so from their mobile device. It wasn’t so much that they just chose to move in the direction, according to Caputo, its that they had to.

“We have to keep up-to-date,” Caputo says. “But we like to do it. If you think about what libraries were 25 years ago when there was a current catalog, we were the only source of pertinent information.

In a way, we are still like that only its just a different format. In a way, technology has made us stronger because it challenged us to be better.”

But even though the library is moving

forward, it continues to hang on to its history. It has a deep archive on local history throughout Roslyn, but it does have a dedicated section for its own history. Clarke often gives tours of the Bryant Room, where the historical section of the library is located. They also set up programs and visit schools to talk about the history. Caputo says that they are trying to live up to their namesake.

“We embrace it,” Caputo says. “The community helps us embrace it. When people see this building, they know who we are. We are in a wonderful location. People can make a fun day out of it.”

For more information, visit the library’s website at www. bryantlibrary.org.

A bust of William Cullen Bryant sits in the center of the Bryant Room.

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Making Art Accessible

Nassau County Museum of Art holds programs for people with disabilities

By Mike Adams

T

Art therapist Mollie Bassett shows Ava Corzo, Gavin Bluni and their parents a mixed-media pecan pie sculpted by Peter Anton.

(Photo by Mike Adams)

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

he Nassau County Museum of Art (NCMA) makes its home on the grounds of the former Clayton Estate. Its gallery lies within the palatial Gold Coast mansion at the heart of the property. On its walls sit pieces from titans of human creativity: Breugels and Warhols, Rockwells and Chagalls. This most recent exhibition, “The Seasons,� features works that bring patrons on the transformative journey from Winter to Spring to Summer to Fall as they traverse the rooms of the mansion.

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

—Julie Corzo

’’

The group studies a Janet Fish painting in the “Summer” section of the exhibit.

(Photo by Mike Adams)

Most mornings, the museum, which opens at 11 a.m., is almost completely silent. But every now and then a Saturday comes when the old building springs to life a bit earlier than usual to support a good cause.

One chilly Saturday morning in early February, NCMA Education Director Laura Lynch and art therapist Mollie Bassett led Gavin Bluni, Ava Corzo and their parents through one of their first runs of the NCMA’s new Early Morning Access program, which offers young people with autism the chance to experience the artwork it has to offer.

“The mission of the museum is to make this a place for everyone, of all ages and abilities,” Lynch says. “There are times when people don’t feel like they belong in a museum, where they’re concerned their child might not be appropriate. So we open before it’s open to the public so everybody can feel completely relaxed and that we value them so much that we will open early to make this a special day for them.”

Art patronage isn’t always high on the list of things people prioritize for those with intellectual disabilities, but it’s the sort of activity that can go a long way toward helping people develop identities and relationships beyond whatever disabilities they have.

“Looking at artwork in a group setting with your family is an opportunity to come together and see each other beyond your disability,” Lynch says. “It’s not just a focus on your autism. It’s about being people and artists in this beautiful place having wonderful conversations.

Gavin and Ava are veterans of the weekday craft programs the museum runs at the cartoon graffiti-clad Manes Center just down the road from the mansion, but it’s not always easy to take in the artwork at the main building during normal operating hours. The bustle and the noise of the NCMA at midday can be a lot to process for people on the spectrum, so having a quiet, controlled environment makes a big difference. Even before people come to the museum, they can view a sensory map on the NCMA’s website to give them a better sense of what to expect from a visit.

“Ava really enjoys art, so to have access to this little gem before the public gets here is a really great treat for us,” Ava’s mother, Julie Corzo, says.

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“I want to open a world to her that most kids don’t get to experience. We try to get to each show they present.”

Ava herself agreed, and says she enjoys that the museum isn’t so crowded in the mornings.

Far from a simple visual exercise, Bassett’s tour makes use of textured palettes, audio recordings and bottled scents, engaging patrons with the full range of the sensual spectrum. Well...almost the full range of the spectrum. You can’t eat the artwork.

Simple as it sounds, drawing a reinterpretation of a pie sculpture or using pipe cleaners to twist together a replica of an Andy Warhol butterfly print can help speech-shy kids on the spectrum interpret the artwork. Combined with a few wellplaced questions, that sort of hands-on exercise gives them the opportunity to communicate how they feel about complex subjects like artwork.

“Sometimes it’s hard for anybody to communicate feelings through words, so it’s a great outlet to allow them to express themselves through artmaking,” Bassett says.

It’s not uncommon for kids on the spectrum to be treated like they’re immature, and Lynch and company take pains to make sure they treat all their patrons as equals, neurotypical or otherwise.

“These are teens and young adults, we have to be careful not to infantilize them,” Lynch says.

“You can encourage them to think about art history and artistic processes, and they can also learn about art vocabulary.”

The next rounds of the Early Morning Access Program are set for March 21, April 18 and May 9.

Anybody interested in learning more about the program or registering can email Lynch at llynch@nassaumuseum.org.

Counterclockwise, from right: Basset encourages Corzo and Bluni to recreate the motion of the butterfly in the painting; An outdoor sculpture to the side of the main building at the Nassau County Museum of Art; Museum Director Charles Riley supervises a creative exercise.

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

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Fresh Catch Netting the seafood market: a fishmonger’s story

By Christy Hinko If there was ever a small business success story, it is unfolding right before our eyes on Willis Avenue in Roslyn. Roslyn Seafood Gourmet has made steady strides for more than 19 years at its unassuming location on Willis Avenue. Shop owner Gerry Vera is poised to take his business to the next level with a dining expansion, which many customers are clamoring for. .

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

Roslyn Seafood Gourmet owner Gerry Vera presents a fresh salmon.

(Photo by Alex NuĂąez)

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Clams and muscles kept fresh on ice. (Photos by Alex Nuñez)

M A selection of wild-caught fish fillets.

Part of the store’s shellfish section.

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

Peruvian-style ceviche with fish, lime, peppers and onions.

ore than 20 years ago, Vera arrived as a jobless immigrant from Ecuador.

“How I got started in the business, it’s funny because a friend of mine used to work in one of the Second Avenue fish markets,” Vera says. “I did not have a job when I arrived [in New York from Ecuador] and he said, ‘We need someone to keep the store nice and clean,’ so with nothing to lose, I accepted.”

As Vera spent time working in the fish market, he saw what some of the other workers were doing, cleaning and preparing the fish and platters and doing the kitchen work. He found his attention was always captured by what was happening in the kitchen at the market.

“The owner of the market saw me one day and said, ‘You know, Gerry, you look like you are really interested in what is happening in the kitchen; I want to put you in there’,” Vera says. “I started at the bottom and learned little by little. Now, 20 years later, I own my own store.”

The jury is out for most people about the controversies over eating farmed or wild fish, but the department of health encourages people to eat two fish meals per week. Fish is an important part of a healthy, balanced diet.

“What makes my store different from most other seafood markets is that I only sell wild-caught fish,” Vera says. “People come to my store specifically because of my wild-caught selection and because of the overall quality of my product; the wild salmon and gray sole are some of my top sellers.”

Salmon is particularly a healthy source of omega-3 fatty acids because it stores a lot of oils in its muscles. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in adults and promote healthy vision and brain development in infants. Wild-caught and

farm-raised salmon both have low levels of mercury, PCBs and other contaminants.

“Customers regularly come to my store from Bayshore, Dix Hills, Manhattan, Port Washington,” Vera says. “One customer told me last week, ‘Gerry, I pass three fish stores on my way to your place; your fish is the best,’ and I know that is because of the quality.”

Vera said the key to his product being known for its quality and freshness are the sources. Where a fishmonger buys his product will determine if the fish is already a week or two old. He puts extra work into buying only the freshest product, even if it means buying directly from ocean-based suppliers as far away as Miami.

“You want to know how fresh my fish is,” Vera asks. “My store doesn’t smell like fish; good, quality fish doesn’t smell.”

He buys just what he sells several times a week and never more. Even the oldest, couple-of-days-old fish being offered at Roslyn Seafood Gourmet are still fresher than most general grocer’s fish offerings, Vera explains.

“When you eat a good piece of salmon you want it to be tasty, not fishy,” Vera says.

“A lot of people who say they don’t like fish, it’s a result of experiencing a fish that was not quality, nor fresh.”

Vera not only sells fresh-from-the-sea, ready-to-cook seafood, but he will prepare any piece of fish, by any method requested and tailored to any dietary restriction, especially salt, sugar, butter or seasoning limitations.

“Some people do not know how to prepare seafood correctly, but a lot of people do and just do not have the time,” Vera says.

“We will do all of that for them.”

Why dirty your kitchen? Roslyn Seafood has all of the sides: pasta salads, vegetables and more to complement any meal. The

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broccoli rabe and quinoa are some of the most popular side dishes requested by customers.

“The prepared foods are a best-seller here too,” says Vera.

“If you want a grilled filet with capers and tomatoes, without salt, no problem.”

Vera said his most exciting news is that Roslyn Seafood Gourmet is expanding into the retail space adjoining his market. He has had so many suggestions and requests for many years to open a seating area so customers can dine in.

He expects the dining room to be up and running before the summer.

Roslyn Seafood Gourmet will special-order nearly anything that a customer could ask for. Vera said some of the most popular requested fishes that he orders special for customers are: sablefish, black cod, stone and king crab, and sturgeon.

Locally-sourced fishes that customers cannot get enough of are: fluke, Littleneck clams and black sea bass.

Roslyn Seafood Gourmet is located at 444 Willis Avenue in Roslyn Heights. Call 516-484-7944 for details.

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Vera shows off a string-bean salad. (Photos by Alex Nuñez)

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Natural Beauty Luxury Flowers Arranged With Care And Finesse

By Christy Hinko “The earth laughs in flowers.”

F

— Ralph Waldo Emerson.

or years researchers have studied the effects of fresh flowers on mood, emotion and memory. One group of psychologists and a geneticist spent time evaluating these responses and published their findings in a 2005 article “An Environmental Approach to Positive Emotion: Flowers” in the journal Evolutionary Psychology.

Only one thing is clear, that flowers induce powerful emotion. The design team at Muscari Flowers & Events in Roslyn strives to do just that with every arrangement that leaves the store each and every day.

“Flowers make people happy,” says Hollie Nadel, the

Muscari’s flowers before they’re put into floral arrangements.

(Photos by Cathy Bongiorno)

director of special events and operations at Muscari. “You feel happier when you’re around flowers, plus it’s nice to have something beautiful in your home or at an event.”

Muscari Flowers & Events originally opened more than 19 years ago in the Kitchen Kabaret shopping plaza on Glen Cove Road; it’s been at its present location for more than 11 years.

Muscari’s owner Kobi Karudo began his career in the industry as a floral importer, supplying flowers to florists. Once when he received a shipment of flowers, he used several to create a stunning arrangement that caught the interest of some of the stores that he provided flowers to and also generated some new supply business. This was Karudo’s “aha moment.” He knew he had to open his own retail location.

“We provide people with floral art, nothing is randomly thrown together,” Nadel says. “Everything is done with certain care and finesse.”

Each holiday or season lends itself to traditional arrangement requests, but when something is available offseason, it’s usually a popular request.

“When we get peonies in, for instance, in the spring, then everyone wants peonies in the arrangements,” Nadel says. “Because when the specialty flowers are not available during different times of the year, there’s more of a demand.”

Roses are the most popular flower in the whole world, followed by tulips, lilies and poinsettias, but one of the most interesting flowers that Muscari is known for are its orchids.

“We sell orchids all year round,” Nadel says. “Orchids can be finicky; the most common mistake people make is over-watering.”

Orchids are sensitive to temperature changes and lighting, but they can have a second bloom, although it is not guaranteed. It can take more than 10 months for that to happen.

Muscari imports flowers from all over the world for every holiday and every occasion, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, housewarmings, milestones, births and deaths.

“We also have commercial accounts that we do weekly arrangements for,” Nadel says. “We provide maintenance for the onsite arrangements also, including pruning

Muscari is famous for its beautiful orchids

and watering.”

Recurring accounts can be anything from restaurants, retail locations, corporate offices and even private residences.

Commercial customers are often interested in a “showpiece” or something that stands out and makes a statement, usually crafted with more hardier varieties of greenery and blooms.

In addition to commercial accounts and floral arrangements, Muscari has expanded its service expertise to event design and arrangements.

“In a lot of ways, my background helps because I’m very good with color, design and concepts when it comes to event planning,” Nadel says.

“I call what I do now ‘interior design with flowers.”

An arrangement that includes succulents, cymbidium orchids, garden roses and thistle.

ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

35

(Top) Hollie Nadel, Muscari Flowers Director of Special Events and Operations

Muscari has floral arrangements available in all sizes.

Nadel’s background is in theater design, primarily in costume and wardrobe design for film, TV and theater.

“I’ll look at the placement of everything in a space and can visualize if they need something rectangular or silver and what it would take to pick up the accents in the room,” Nadel says. “Event design and planning was a natural segue over into the floral industry.”

Karudo and Nadel agree, even more important than the quality of arrangements that Muscari produces is the level of customer service that their team provides.

“There are times when people are calling for happy occasions, but there are

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

A designer at Muscari puts the finishing touches on an arrangement.

many when they are calling for funeral arrangements and they’re distraught,” Nadel says.

Nadel recalls a time when a customer called her. The woman’s mother was dying from Parkinson’s disease complications.

“She called and said, ‘I want my mother to have the most beautiful flowers and I know that when she actually passes I won’t be in the headspace to have this conversation; I want to take care of this because it needs to be spectacular for her because she loves flowers,’” Nadel says.

“Just taking that extra time to speak with her

makes a difference; we take that extra time to make sure and get to know our customers.”

Nadel says that customers have called back afterward to say, “Thank you. You have made a sad occasion more positive and proper.”

“Developing relationships is key and nowadays so many people are replaced by machines, doing away with customer service,” Nadel says. “It’s that extra element that keeps people coming back.”

She keeps proper notes and follows up to see what they like and what they don’t like.

“A lot of our customers are repeat customers,” Nadel says. “They come in and I know their name and I know what they like; that’s what makes people feel special.”

Muscari Flowers & Events is located just off the Long Island Expressway at 342 Roslyn Road in Roslyn Heights. Visit www. muscariflowersroslyn.com or call 516-6251397 to place an order or for information.

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Like A Good Neighbor, Silvercup Is There How this institution became more than just a Long Island City movie studio

By Dave Gil de Rubio

T

he film and television industry may have the quintessential representation via the instantly recognizable logo that looms in the Hollywood Hills, but Long Island City has its own iconic totem—the equally impressive Silvercup Studios sign. It not only represents a vibrant film and television studio that makes the working-class boroughs of Queens and the Bronx its home, but also the site of numerous films and television shows. When I visited the Silvercup Main lot in Queens, the 59th Street Bridge loomed above. I looked up at the sign and immediately flashed back to the 1986 cult fantasy film Highlander. The climax of the film found Christopher Lambert’s Connor MacLeod mightily battling Clancy Brown’s villainous Kurgan in and around the actual Silvercup sign. At that point, the studio had only been in existence for three years after getting its start as the location for its first client—an agency shooting a Cool Whip commercial. .......

The lobby of what was the former Silvercup Bakery building not only has an image of a Silvercup loaf of bread hanging on the wall, but framed posters of numerous film and television projects that have shot here over the past three-plus decades including The Devil Wears Prada, The Godfather Part III, Sex in the City, Girls, Succession, Gangs of New York, Gossip Girl and The Sopranos to name a few. And while the combination of these posters and the ancient film projector in the

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corner of the lobby hints at the movie-making magic taking place in Silvercup’s interior, a steady stream of blue collar types coming and going past the security desk reflect the true lifeblood flowing through all the company’s locations (Silvercup East is in another part of Long Island City, and Silvercup North is in the South Bronx).

Chief executive Alan Suna, who runs the company alongside his brother and company president Stuart, comes out and greets me.

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An overhead view of Silvercup Studios in Long Island City

Silvercup North

From left: Siblings Alan and Stuart Suna

Dressed casually in jeans and a wool sweater, we quickly start touring the lot’s massive interior.

Walking through a labyrinth of sets, it never gets old seeing how expert craftsmen and contractors weave their creative magic. Interiors quickly shift gears from kitchens and living rooms you might see in an issue of Architectural Digest dedicated to New England mansions to what appears to be a dark dungeon. Numerous shows are either wrapping up or starting production at Silvercup Main including Younger, Manifest, Prodigal Son and Katy Keene. So plenty is going on throughout the 240,000 square feet that make up the main lot. (Silvercup East is 190,000 square feet and the newer Bronx facility clocks in at around 130,000 square feet). Roughly 2500 people work for the production companies that are Silvercup’s clients and it’s almost as if there is a contractor, painter or electrician greeting Suna at the turn of every corner. This vibe is what the Sunas strive for and find they encounter more in working with television productions—the bulk of Silvercup’s business in recent years.

“We like TV. Consistently and financially we think it works better. You develop a relationship with people,” he explained. “We’re a family business and I like to have it feel like that. You saw it when we were walking around. None of those people I said hello to work for us. That should tell you a lot.”

As if running Silvercup Studios wasn’t enough of an undertaking, both Suna brothers, who have degrees in architecture, are heavily involved in real estate development. Over time, the Sunas have been involved in various projects that included affordable housing, market-rate and limited equity co-ops in every borough except Staten Island. As majority shareholders in a real estate management company called Metro Management Development, a current project the Sunas are involved with is Silvercup West, a $2.1 million development just south of the 59th Street Bridge on the waterfront. The continued investment in Queens and specifically Long Island City is no accident.

“We like Long Island City because it’s not Manhattan,” Suna says. “There are so many people that gravitate towards Manhattan, Manhattan, Manhattan and drive prices crazy high. There are too many people that want to compete in that arena and we’re very comfortable dealing here. There are 2.3 million people here in Queens in the population, let alone the people that work here. We think that’s a large enough place for us.”

While the Sunas have a firm commitment to helping out the local economy by purchasing myriad sundries including food, lumber and paint from neighborhood merchants, philanthropy is a major component of what Clockwise from top left: Silvercup Studios’ first client was an ad agency shooting a 1983 Cool Whip commercial; In its prior incarnation, Silvercup was more famous for producing loaves of bread versus television and cinematic programming; Famed photographer Annie Leibovitz shot the cover of the 1984 album Born In the U.S.A. at Silvercup; From left: Meg and Billy Crystal in a scene from 1989’s When Harry Met Sally, which shot at Silvercup Studios; Adam Sandler (far right), shot 1999’s Big Daddy at Silvercup and is seen here alongside Rob Schneider (far left) and Dylan/Cole Sprouse.

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

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they do. Dating back to their father Harry’s involvement with what was the Local Development Corporation and is now known as the Long Island City Partnership, the Sunas have thrown their resources behind the Queens Museum, the Museum of the Moving Image, Socrates Sculpture Park and Queens Theatre in the Park. This altruism has extended to partnerships with The Academy for Careers in Television & Film, a technical high school in Long Island City for students who are pursuing a career in film production. The thrust of the program is for two high school interns per semester to get real-life experience at the studio. Silvercup also partners with the New York Explorer’s Program, which sends several students in from high schools throughout the city interested in careers in filmmaking to visit Silvercup once a week for three weeks to tour the sets of shows and learn how the facility runs. For Suna, this kind of giving back to the community is not only good business, but makes for good karma.

“There are just so many little things you can do to make people happy and sometimes it’s just about thinking with a good attitude,” he said. “It’s not just about me, me, me. Oftentimes it’s about something being the right thing to do versus being the most profitable.”

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Silvercup’s Silver Screen History

By Dave Gil de Rubio Ever since throwing its doors open as a production house, Silvercup has been the site for numerous film and television shoots. Here are some of the most notable.

1. Highlander (1986) Silvercup and its world-famous signage wound up getting a cameo in this cult fantasy film thanks to the climactic battle between Christopher Lambert and Clancy Brown at the end of the movie.

2. 30 Rock (2006-2013) Despite being primarily set in the Midtown Manhattan studios of a fictional sketch comedy show, Tina Fey’s brilliant sitcom called Long Island City home for its duration.

3. Rescue Me (2004-2011) Denis Leary’s dramedy about a crew of post-9/11 firefighters kept its New York City cred intact by making Silvercup its home base.

4. The Devil Wears Prada (2006) Manhattan may be the center of the fashion world, but Silvercup provided the bulk of the sets for this dramedy based on Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel of the same name.

5. Date Night (2010) Tina Fey clearly likes Silvercup as she and costar Steve Carell came over to Long Island City to shoot this film about a New Jersey couple trying to rekindle their love life with a an evening that kicked off in Manhattan.

6. Gangs of New York (2002) Silvercup was used for Martin Scorsese’s historical drama despite the story being set in mid-19th century Lower Manhattan.

7. Girls (2012-2017) Lena Dunham’s series about angsty female Brooklyn hipsters does much of its primary shooting over at Long Island City.

8. The Sopranos (1999-2007) Tony Soprano and his clan may have been based in New Jersey, but it didn’t mean that quite a bit of this David Chase crime drama wasn’t shot in Long Island City.

9. Sex & the City (1998-2004) Silvercup served as the primary shooting facility for this series based on novelist Candace Bushnell’s string of books and also found HBO producers returning to shoot both film adaptations of this wildly popular pay cable series.

10. Public Morals (2015) Ed Burns’ look at the late 1960s era of the New York Police Department and the Public Morals Division shot quite a bit at Silvercup.

Christopher Winter, Huxley’s Guide to Switzerland, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 35.5 x 27.5 inches Courtesy of Edelman Arts, New York

THE NASSAU COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART

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MARCH 14 - JULY 5, 2020 What color means more to us than blue? By far the most popular hue, blue casts its spell, pushing beyond symbolism to a deeper emotional level, drawing us into its pure and distant mysteries. From the sunny Mediterranean blues of Henri Matisse and Yves Klein to the haunting moonlight of Odilon Redon and Pablo Picasso, the exhibition taps the depths of Western and Eastern sources. Blue connects history and geography, from precious works of antiquity to paintings, prints, photographs, sculpture, ceramics, cyanotypes, glass and even a United Nations flag and helmet.

Highly valued lapis lazuli and cobalt have been traded along the Silk Road (a spectacular suite of Japanese prints responds to the newly imported Prussian blue ink). In addition to contemporary art by Mark Innerst, James Casebere, Jeffrey Gibson and others (including some works made especially for the show), we will host a ballet and a concert commissioned by the Museum and a panel discussion convening leading minds in religion. As Miró said, “This is the color of my dreams.”

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The Roslyn Cemetery:

Remembrance Of Things Past

By Mike Adams

Y

ou can tell a lot about a community by how it treats its dead.

Roslyn is no exception.

The Roslyn Cemetery, nestled on the border of Greenvale and East Hills near the Nassau County Museum of Art and the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center, is as much a product of its time and age as anything in the community. Founded in 1861 in the wake of the Rural Cemetery Act, the burial grounds were one of many dug into the countryside surrounding New York City in response to an increasing shortage of space.

The cemetery and the adjoining Roslyn Presbyterian Church were nearly alone on the landscape when they came into being, but that’s not the case anymore. Now they’re sandwiched in between a set of railroad tracks and Northern Boulevard, with power lines looming just overhead.

But a strange thing happens within those walls: despite the modern world that beckons just outside, the cemetery is an oddly calm place, a plot of rural peace sectioned off from sprawling chaos. On a sunny day, when the light peaks through the branches of the mighty trees that dot the place, it’s downright beautiful.

Death is an uncomfortable reality lurking at the end of all our lives.

Cemeteries can be just as uncomfortable, since they embody that inescapable truth. But the Roslyn Cemetery is much more than a holding place; it’s a time capsule for the community, a history of the people who called this place home, told in so many stones.

There’s a perceptible shift in demographics as the dates on the graves move later and later. The oldest stones rest atop members of some of Roslyn’s oldest families. The Kirbys, the Smiths, the Tabers and the Remsens; the same names appear again and again, often with worndown engravings that are just faintly visible. As the 20th century makes

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A statue of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s son Lionel stands near her grave.

(Photo by Mike Adams)

its way into the cemetery, the Anglo-Saxon surnames start to be joined

by Irish, Italian and Eastern European families that fought their way into social acceptance before the Second World War. Later on, some of the more modern graves are adorned with Chinese, Arabic and Farsi calligraphy. Death is a great equalizer, and people who very well may have been so prejudiced they could not stand each other now find themselves in plots just feet apart from one another. One can only hope they’re getting along in the next life.

Many of the graves are set aside for people who served their communities as firemen, police officers and soldiers. For the soldiers in particular, a monument to those lost in the Civil War stands a short way down a path from the main entrance. It’s a simple thing: a bronze statue of a soldier standing atop a column ordained with stars, built and dedicated by the Elijah Ward Post of the Grand Army of the Republic formed by veterans after the war. The statue itself is a replica of the original, which was replaced in 2005 after being stolen from atop its pedestal in 1992. From a distance the soldier seems grand and glorious, but the grief in the statue becomes more apparent up close. His right hand clutches the barrel of his rifle, which he leans on somewhat as if using it like a cane. There’s a deep sadness in his eyes, fitting tribute to all who gave the last full measure of their devotion to the nation, then and now.

Some of Roslyn’s most famous figures are interred at the cemetery, and their graves offer precious clues into the kinds of people they were when they lived their lives. Perhaps the most famous of all the cemetery’s inhabitants, William Cullen Bryant and his loved ones take up their own modest plot beneath a massive tree carved with the initials of visitors past. The renowned author shares an obelisk with his wife Frances and their two daughters, Julia and Fanny, that stands above more modest tombstones for himself and many members of his extended family. The pharaohs built entire pyramids in a mad rush to be remembered; that Bryant would elect to take just a quarter of a far smaller monument, and share space with his family, is an obvious sign of the love they had for each other.

Frances Hodgson Burnett is buried below a flat stone grave with some of her closest friends and her second son, Vivian. A life-sized stone sculpture of her first son Lionel stands a short walk away. Lionel predeceased Burnett when he succumbed to tuberculosis in 1890, at 16 years old. After decades apart, it’s touching to see the two reunited in some small way at the end of her path.

Top: The East Gate Toll House that used to serve North Hempstead Turnpike.

Right: A porcelain angel left at the foot of an old grave.

(Photos by Mike Adams)

Left: A bronze statue of a soldier, a monument to those lost in the Civil War. Down: A stone mausoleum just off the path of the cemetery.

Left: The plot of land that makes up the Roslyn Cemetery viewed from above.

Right: A more recent grave, adorned with Farsi calligraphy for Fateme Navabi.

Left: The graves of late U.S. Congressman Stephen Taber and his wife.

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

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estled at the head of Hempstead Harbor, Roslyn is often overlooked as a sleepy little hamlet when compared to its larger, more boisterous neighbors. But to discount this community would be to discount a veritable army of passionate men and women working to make their home one of the best places to live on Long Island. Stuffed with historic landmarks, scenic vistas and enough hot spots to make a larger village jealous, there’s plenty to love about Roslyn. Here are few of the things that make this community special to its residents.

By Michael Adams

Susan Berman, Center for Community Engagement Director, Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center

Allison Brown, Roslyn Public Schools Superintendent I feel humble and proud to work in a community that is so supportive of its schools. I never forget that one of my most important responsibilities is to carry the tradition of great public education forward for future generations, so that a century from now, our high-achieving students will continue to be served by a school district that is equal to their abilities and ambitions.

Having grown up in the city, my husband and I wanted to raise our children in an area with a strong sense of community and we found that in East Hills, Roslyn. There were so many children in the neighborhood that playdates never needed to be scheduled and neighbors truly became extended family. I will be forever grateful to my neighbors and always look back on those days of being a young family with a smile.

Carol Clarke, Archivist, The Bryant Library What makes Roslyn special to me is the way the past and the present intersect on a daily basis. As an archivist and local historian, I love being able to observe the physical traces of the community’s past and then utilize the photos, maps and documents in The Bryant Library’s Local History Collection to peel back the layers of history and imagine what life was like for those who walked Roslyn’s streets before us.

Pastor Victor J. Lewis Sr., Friendship Baptist Church of Roslyn, Inc. Although Friendship Baptist Church has yet to be included in the sparse history of Roslyn, that doesn’t eradicate the fact that we are one of the oldest protestant churches in the entire community. Having been established here since 1928, the rich legacy of our continually thriving, long-term African American community is one of the greatest blessings of my life.

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ROSLYN NEWS MAGAZINE

Salvatore Mirra Jr., President, Rescue Hook & Ladder Co. #1 of Roslyn Jennifer Lister, Administrative Associate, Roslyn Landmark Society.

Roslyn is a very special community, the village and residents take pride in the rich history and continue to support the Roslyn Landmark Society’s mission to protect and preserve the historic Village of Roslyn.

Roslyn is a special place to me because of the strong bond within the community. Everyone is always willing to offer a helping hand whether it be a neighbor or someone in the community in need. The support that the fire department receives from the residents of Roslyn is truly remarkable and we really take pride in serving this community.

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