Across Route 109 is a wooded area, that once was a neighborhood called Breslau Gardens. I became curious about Breslau Gardens after working on the HBO pilot of Boardwalk Empire in July, 2009. They filmed some scenes on abandoned roads within Republic Airport and the airport staff referred to that area as Breslau Gardens. It was a neighborhood, in either Northern Lindenhurst or East Farmingdale, between Route 110 and New Highway, South of Republic Airport.
The village of Lindenhurst was originally named Breslau because the town's original German settlers were from the city of Breslau in Silesia (Now mostly Poland). Breslau was founded in 1873, and renamed Lindenhurst in 1891.
1941 Map, Aerial view from the 1960's, and Republic today.
Click on maps for larger view.
In 1952, the US Government and Republic Aviation wanted to extend runway 14-32 Southeast towards the Southern State Parkway to allow test flights of the more powerful F-84-F Thunderstreak. Their efforts were opposed by Long Island State Park Commission president Robert Moses. In December 1952, the first production model F-84-F Thunderstreaks rolled off the assembly line in East Farmingdale, but they had to be trucked to Westhampton Beach since the lengthening of runway 14-32 was delayed by Robert Moses' opposition. But by the-Fall of 1953, The US Army Corps of Engineers extended runway 14-32 and looped New Highway around the extended runway at the request of Town of Babylon officials who were concerned about the closure of a second roadway near Republic. Route 24-Conklin Street had been closed since January 1941. Republic Airport was acquired by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on March 31, 1969. In 1972, the MTA cooperated with the Federal Aviation Administration and purchased the 77-acre Lambert property on the north side of Route 109 and the Breslau Gardens property between New Highway and Route 109. The airport was transferred to the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) by the New York State Legislature in April 1983
I found no info of what happened to the residents. Were they forced out or did they just get tired of the noise?
Original road in first picture. Bushes & ground cover were removed & mulch added to look more like the Jersey Pine Barrens."
"Scene One from the pilot of Boardwalk Empire."
Some evidence of previous residents. A well, fence, old bottles & cans.
More recently, in May 2004-The Fairchild Corporation was constructing a ground water treatment plant in the Breslau Gardens area of Republic Airport to further remove "the legacy of hazardous wastes and chemical runoff from more than a half century of manufacturing airplanes." And in April 2008, the New York State DOT and SheltAir held a public meeting to discuss erecting seven 30,000 sq. ft hangars and establishing 14 tie-downs on the 41-acre Breslau sector of Republic Airport. SheltAir would also like to relocate its fuel farm to the Breslau area. More info at: http://www.sheltairoutreach.com/ I have no stake or position on any of this!
It was interesting to walk through the Breslau Gardens area, largely untouched since the 70’s. No buildings were standing, but foundations were visible, a fence and some old junk too. I picked up some old soda bottles, nothing valuable, but interesting.
I don't get HBO so I never saw the scene as it was used! Anyone else?
Here's a Link to a youtube video of the scene.