Jacob Riis Park: Lieu de Memoire Extraordinaire of My Childhood
Perhaps the most significant lieu de memoire of my childhood in Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaways, a small peninsula off southern Brooklyn that is technically considered part of Queens, where I grew up. The Rockaways is a beach town--my front door is less than one thousand feet from the Atlantic Ocean. While my family and I would go for walks along the beach no matter the weather or time of year, it is only during the summer that the beach swells with residents, tourists, lifeguards, and pets. Moreover, though the beach at the end of my block is open year-round, Jacob Riis Park is only open during the summer. And it is not just open; it comes alive. The park becomes the site not just of my memories, but of concerts, hot dog and milkshake and iced coffee stands, pop-up brunch eateries, fairs, concerts, kite-flying tournaments, and happy laughter. For me, Jacob Riis Park signifies moments of transition in my childhood. Its opening marks the change of seasons, the end of the school year and the later beginning of a new one, and the times when my town was suddenly relevant. I spent much of my summer before college in that park, which has seeped it with thoughts and memories of my movement into adulthood. As it turns out, Jacob Riis Park was designed by then-NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses in 1936, and it was placed on the site of a former US Naval Station. In 1972, the Park became operated by the National Park Service, transferring it from municipally controlled to federally owned land. The Park then became added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. The Park continues to be federally owned, though the US government does lease space to eateries and provide permits for concerts and fairs, which explains many of my childhood memories!