{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/pr7mp4vx61/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Paul Kerzner Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eClip 1: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaul Kerzner describes growing up in Ridgewood in the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the residents were of Germanic background and store owners spoke German even if they were not of Germanic background. Neatness and tidiness of homes and shops were important and this has remained a key characteristic of the neighborhood. Sunday was always a day of rest and still remains that way. It is less so today than in the 1950s and 1960s but is still a feature of the neighborhood. Ridgewood is also a community of families and extended families. Paul describes how his house was an anchor and a starting place for many family members that arrived in Ridgewood until they could get on their feet. From the first interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eClip 2: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaul talks about daily family routines in his household growing up. His mom would come home around 3:00 pm to start cooking and his dad and grandparents all ate dinner together. He remembers this being common in the neighborhood. Many families had multiple generations living together and many of the grandparents were immigrants. Paul believes this lifestyle brought stability to the neighborhood. This was one of the reasons he remained in Ridgewood his whole life. From the first interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eClip 3: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the spring of 1972, New York City was embarking on a tree planting program. Paul was one of the first people to take advantage of this program. The guidelines required that you raise a minimum of $200 for a minimum of 20 trees per block. Paul worked with Carl Clemens, publisher of the Ridgewood Times, to publicize the tree planting program. That first summer he raised enough money for 127 trees which covered 12 blocks. A total of 3,501 trees were planted over a three year period. When the fiscal crisis hit in 1974, Paul testified before the City Council to use community block grant money that President Nixon put in the federal budget to plant trees. After four years City Council released money for tree planting. From the second interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eClip 4: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRidgewood resident, Paul Kerzner, along with Rosemary Gunning started the Greater Restoration Corporation in April 1975. The city took over 1714 Palmetto Street, a vacant building, for back taxes. The city did not have a mechanism to transfer a vacant property to a non-profit housing group. New York City had over 70,000 vacant units of housing at the time. This motivated Paul to figure out how to make the transfer of a vacant property to a local group. He asked Rosemary Gunning, a New York State assembly member, to sponsor legislation that would give Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) the authorization to enter a negotiated sale for $100 a unit. Rosemary Gunning got the legislation passed and convinced the city to do the negotiation. Ridgewood was to be a test case. From the second interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eClip 5: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 1978 Paul was working in the law department for Con Ed and was also very active in his community. Con Ed was aware of Paul’ss community service and called on him to help put out fires with other community groups. In the spring of 1978, Paul and a co-worker met with Harlem businessmen to discuss the rehabilitation of a vacant block of brownstone buildings. Paul explains that this was beyond the scope of Con Ed's responsibilities. After the meeting, Paul told his colleague they needed a better answer and discussed the problem of vacant housing in Con Ed's service territory. Based on his knowledge and experience gained from starting the Restoration Corporation of Ridgewood, he made a proposal to the Chairman, Charles Luce, and pointed out that Brooklyn Union Gas had a Cinderella program that renovated old buildings. Paul was directed to start a program that gave technical assistance to non-profit housing groups. This became Con Edison’s Renaissance Housing Program.\u003cspan\u003e  \u003c/span\u003ePaul explains how the rehabilitation process works. From the second interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eClip 6: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaul talks about the Consolidated Edison Renaissance Housing Program's first project at 137 Guernsey Street in Greenpoint, an eight family brick building. Across the street, three homes had for sale signs. For two years prior, Paul tracked kilowatt hour usage of surrounding buildings and found there was an eight percent reduction in kilowatt usage because people were starting to disinvest or not upgrade. After the building at 137 Guernsey was finished, Paul tracked the kilowatt hour usage. The next two years showed an eight percent increase and two percent after that. They tested this strategy with the next four or five projects and the results held. Projects were done in areas that were on the cusp of things turning sour rather than in places that were burnt out. This was called \"grafting onto good skin.\" The idea was to heal the problem and then push in. From the second interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eClip 7: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRidgewood resident, Paul Kerzner, observes that brownstone neighborhoods that had historic preservation were the ones that held up the best. Paul did a study of landmarked districts in New York City and all looked in good shape. This prompted Paul to put Ridgewood on a landmark list. Ridgewood has 2,982 buildings in the district and could possibly be one of the top five neighborhoods in size in the nation. It is the largest in New York State. It is the architectural integrity that defines a neighborhood. Donald Presser, a graduate of Columbia School of Architecture, did a complete survey of every building in Ridgewood. Gustav Matthews built the Matthews Flats, which were six family homes. They were the first multiple dwelling designed with interior bathroom, interior lighting, and electric for every apartment. They were also fireproof. From the second interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eClip 8:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Ridgewood resident, Paul Kerzner, served on the board of the Polish Slavic Center in Greenpoint.\u003cspan\u003e  \u003c/span\u003eHe explains how his involvement helped to develop a Polish community in Ridgewood.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaul Kerzner is a lifelong resident of Ridgewood. In this interview Paul reflects on family life, family values, and the support system of extended family members. Holidays, food, and language were all important components that were part of his growing up in Ridgewood. In the first interview, Paul discusses Ridgewood as a community of immigrants, primarily consisting of displaced people from various parts of Europe.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the second interview, Paul discusses his civic engagement in the community of Ridgewood. While riding the bus in the early 1970s to law school to downtown Brooklyn and seeing the burnt out neighborhoods, Paul decided he did not want to see this landscape crossover into Ridgewood. Paul discusses tree planting project, Con Ed's Renaissance Housing Program, the Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation, his collaboration with Rosemary Gunning, and the benefits of preservation.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e (general)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/search/browse/16085"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2013-05-01 (created)","2013-05-24 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Paul Kerzner (Interviewee)","Grace Sullivan (Interviewer)","Chai-Yin Leslie Tu (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["Ridgewood, Queens, NY (spatial)","1870-2013 (temporal)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English (Primary)"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003eClip 1: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003ePaul Kerzner describes growing up in Ridgewood in the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the residents were of Germanic background and store owners spoke German even if they were not of Germanic background. Neatness and tidiness of homes and shops were important and this has remained a key characteristic of the neighborhood. Sunday was always a day of rest and still remains that way. It is less so today than in the 1950s and 1960s but is still a feature of the neighborhood. Ridgewood is also a community of families and extended families. Paul describes how his house was an anchor and a starting place for many family members that arrived in Ridgewood until they could get on their feet. From the first interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003eClip 2: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003ePaul talks about daily family routines in his household growing up. His mom would come home around 3:00 pm to start cooking and his dad and grandparents all ate dinner together. He remembers this being common in the neighborhood. Many families had multiple generations living together and many of the grandparents were immigrants. Paul believes this lifestyle brought stability to the neighborhood. This was one of the reasons he remained in Ridgewood his whole life. From the first interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003eClip 3: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003eIn the spring of 1972, New York City was embarking on a tree planting program. Paul was one of the first people to take advantage of this program. The guidelines required that you raise a minimum of $200 for a minimum of 20 trees per block. Paul worked with Carl Clemens, publisher of the Ridgewood Times, to publicize the tree planting program. That first summer he raised enough money for 127 trees which covered 12 blocks. A total of 3,501 trees were planted over a three year period. When the fiscal crisis hit in 1974, Paul testified before the City Council to use community block grant money that President Nixon put in the federal budget to plant trees. After four years City Council released money for tree planting. From the second interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003eClip 4: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003eRidgewood resident, Paul Kerzner, along with Rosemary Gunning started the Greater Restoration Corporation in April 1975. The city took over 1714 Palmetto Street, a vacant building, for back taxes. The city did not have a mechanism to transfer a vacant property to a non-profit housing group. New York City had over 70,000 vacant units of housing at the time. This motivated Paul to figure out how to make the transfer of a vacant property to a local group. He asked Rosemary Gunning, a New York State assembly member, to sponsor legislation that would give Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) the authorization to enter a negotiated sale for $100 a unit. Rosemary Gunning got the legislation passed and convinced the city to do the negotiation. Ridgewood was to be a test case. From the second interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003eClip 5: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003eIn 1978 Paul was working in the law department for Con Ed and was also very active in his community. Con Ed was aware of Paul\u0026rsquo;ss community service and called on him to help put out fires with other community groups. In the spring of 1978, Paul and a co-worker met with Harlem businessmen to discuss the rehabilitation of a vacant block of brownstone buildings. Paul explains that this was beyond the scope of Con Ed's responsibilities. After the meeting, Paul told his colleague they needed a better answer and discussed the problem of vacant housing in Con Ed's service territory. Based on his knowledge and experience gained from starting the Restoration Corporation of Ridgewood, he made a proposal to the Chairman, Charles Luce, and pointed out that Brooklyn Union Gas had a Cinderella program that renovated old buildings. Paul was directed to start a program that gave technical assistance to non-profit housing groups. This became Con Edison\u0026rsquo;s Renaissance Housing Program.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u003c/span\u003ePaul explains how the rehabilitation process works. From the second interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003eClip 6: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003ePaul talks about the Consolidated Edison Renaissance Housing Program's first project at 137 Guernsey Street in Greenpoint, an eight family brick building. Across the street, three homes had for sale signs. For two years prior, Paul tracked kilowatt hour usage of surrounding buildings and found there was an eight percent reduction in kilowatt usage because people were starting to disinvest or not upgrade. After the building at 137 Guernsey was finished, Paul tracked the kilowatt hour usage. The next two years showed an eight percent increase and two percent after that. They tested this strategy with the next four or five projects and the results held. Projects were done in areas that were on the cusp of things turning sour rather than in places that were burnt out. This was called \"grafting onto good skin.\" The idea was to heal the problem and then push in. From the second interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003eClip 7: \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003eRidgewood resident, Paul Kerzner, observes that brownstone neighborhoods that had historic preservation were the ones that held up the best. Paul did a study of landmarked districts in New York City and all looked in good shape. This prompted Paul to put Ridgewood on a landmark list. Ridgewood has 2,982 buildings in the district and could possibly be one of the top five neighborhoods in size in the nation. It is the largest in New York State. It is the architectural integrity that defines a neighborhood. Donald Presser, a graduate of Columbia School of Architecture, did a complete survey of every building in Ridgewood. Gustav Matthews built the Matthews Flats, which were six family homes. They were the first multiple dwelling designed with interior bathroom, interior lighting, and electric for every apartment. They were also fireproof. From the second interview.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003eClip 8:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003e Ridgewood resident, Paul Kerzner, served on the board of the Polish Slavic Center in Greenpoint.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u003c/span\u003eHe explains how his involvement helped to develop a Polish community in Ridgewood.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003ePaul Kerzner is a lifelong resident of Ridgewood. In this interview Paul reflects on family life, family values, and the support system of extended family members. Holidays, food, and language were all important components that were part of his growing up in Ridgewood. In the first interview, Paul discusses Ridgewood as a community of immigrants, primarily consisting of displaced people from various parts of Europe.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; background: white; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; background: white; mso-highlight: white;\"\u003eIn the second interview, Paul discusses his civic engagement in the community of Ridgewood. While riding the bus in the early 1970s to law school to downtown Brooklyn and seeing the burnt out neighborhoods, Paul decided he did not want to see this landscape crossover into Ridgewood. Paul discusses tree planting project, Con Ed's Renaissance Housing Program, the Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation, his collaboration with Rosemary Gunning, and the benefits of preservation.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background: white;\"\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/public/images/audio-default.png","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/10746/file/50948","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 8 - 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