In Roslyn, a new mill foundation will shore up piece of history
Newsday, January 13, 2023
Howard Kroplick, Roslyn Landmark Society co-president, is pictured Thursday at the Roslyn Grist Mill, where a restoration project is underway with the help of new grant money. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Howard Kroplick
The building, which crews raised in 2020 to begin the restoration process, will be lowered to street level to allow eventual public access, said Howard Kroplick, co-president of the Roslyn Landmark Society.
“The objective this spring is to have all the wooden timber back in place and we can move out the steel beams, and then put the building back on its new foundation, which will be at street level,” Kroplick said.
Congressman Tom Suozzi
Before leaving Congress, former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) helped to get the grant funding. He noted in a Newsday interview that he had been working on the project since he was Nassau County executive in the early 2000s.
“I think this is an important project for not only Roslyn, but the surrounding communities as well, and I was happy I was able to bring this money in as one of my last acts in Congress,” he said. “Part of the attraction of Long Island is its history and this is an important part of history.”
Nancy Rankin
Nancy Rankin, a principal at John G. Waite Associates, the architectural firm overseeing the restoration, said this phase is one of the most vital in the restoration process. The timber frames and some of the floorboards, with 300-year-old nails holding them intact, are from the original structure.
“Those are the only components of the structure that are original and that remain, so it is kind of the most important part of having tangible remains of the building,” Rankin said.
Rankin said structures like the grist mill are essential to understanding how communities evolve.
“I think it’s really important for us to have these historic and cultural resources as a reference to understand our history and to constantly be rethinking of what that means relative to our current experience and how we change in our local communities or as a nation,” she added.
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