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Public
Employee Press Restoration
of 1694 Quaker Meeting House History in their
hands
By JANE LaTOUR
The large, plain
wooden structure sits with its back to the world that bustles by on Northern Boulevard
across from the Queens Town Hall. But step inside and you enter a hushed and sacred
space. A canopy of trees protects the old graveyard of Quaker souls who once roamed
these premises. Sketches of these formidable forebears line the walls inside the
Quaker Meeting House, which was built in 1694.
The historic restoration
of the building that started in 2004 concluded June 22 with an official walkthrough
by the project partners, including the members of Civil Service Technical Guild
Local 375 at the Dept. of Design and Construction who oversaw the contractors
carrying out the restoration. This building is a federal, state and local
landmark, so we were only allowed to work on the exterior, said Michael
Kenny, a deputy program director at DDC.
The preservation project required
special care working with the fragile, original structure, building a new roof
of red cedar wood shingles, reinforcing structural elements and restoring the
front windows, porch, and the two wooden doors to the way they were built three
centuries ago.
When you first walk in, you can smell
the history you can feel it, said Kenny. "It was an honor to
work on this building."
Design Project Manager Alexander Novik said history
placed a burden on the project staff. We all tried to do a good job, not
just us but everyone at the DDC, including those who helped us with the legal
issues and the design process.
Construction Project Manager John
Romanowich felt a special connection to the job. This is probably the last
major project Ill be involved in before I retire in September. Its
somehow fitting that I wound up working on the oldest building Ive ever
worked on, right at the close of my career," he said. The irony of an old
man working on an old building somehow seemed proper.
For more information
about the building and the Quakers, who came to America seeking religious freedom,
visit www.nyym.org/flushing/history.html.
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