The waves roll on - and Breezy Point tries to rebuild

Back in the very early days of this blog, one of the great and rewarding
pieces of serendipity was getting to know Larry Deemer, sand aficionado and
photographer extraordinaire*.* I first published a selection
of his stunning images back in April 2009, and there have been subsequent
collaborations on ice,
horseshoe
crabs, and scale. And
in the meantime, he has published a glorious book of his sand pattern
images. Most importantly, also in the meantime, we have become good friends and
it’s a great pleasure to post a selection of his latest photos of the creative
conspiracy between waves, foam, and sand.

But there’s a backstory, and a dramatic one. In that first post I wrote that
Larry is “lucky enough to live in Breezy Point, a coastal neighbourhood in
Queens, the borough of New York City,” and indeed my wife and I were lucky enough to visit
Larry, Lou, and Buck and enjoy their company, their home, and their beach. But
then, in October of last year, Hurricane Sandy rolled the dice and the luck of
the residents of Breezy Point changed – catastrophically. They were hit not only
by damage from the storm (which would have been relatively manageable), but by a
devastating fire that raged out of control and destroyed over a hundred
homes. Over 200 more were terminally damaged and have been bulldozed. Larry was,
in this sense, lucky: the water damage to their house was reparable and
they have been back home since the middle of January, feeling, as Larry has
commented, “like pioneers.” But not home as it used to be – houses around them
are no longer there, and the process of rebuilding is stalled by the absurdities
of bureaucracy. We use the term “community” somewhat loosely these days, but
Breezy Point was – and is – a real community; just read some of the stories on
the web to appreciate what the word really means.

But nature continues her activities, oblivious to human hardship, and the
beach, although “the 6’ dunes are now 2’ dunes’,” continues to be an
inspiration. Thanks, Larry.

[Soon after writing this post, I heard from Susanne Rieth who runs a blog called Rockaway Rises - Rockaway is right next to Breezy Point. The blog is well worth a look, described thus: “Rockaway Rises is a community for sharing and enjoying the positive aspects of life on our fair peninsula.  We welcome submissions of photography, art work and uplifting stories that remind us why we love it here, and why we will continue to thrive here in spite of Hurricane Sandy.  No devastation and destruction.  Only gratitude for what we still have, the ocean and our community.”] SIGNATURE

Comments

Ranallo Toler (2014-06-30):

My dream is to have a house near in the beach. Beaches will be my sanctuary where I can relax my mind and soul. Whenever I want to reflect on the things I have done, I immediately go to the beach and have a reflection. Good for you that you live in breezy point.

Originally published at: https://throughthesandglass.typepad.com/through_the_sandglass/2013/05/the-waves-roll-on-and-breezy-point-tries-to-rebuild.html