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Title

Guide to the Aurora Gareiss Papers

Historical Biographical Note

Mrs. Aurora Gareiss was born to Peter and Anna M. Varvaro in Brooklyn, New York, January 20, 1909. Her parents came from Palermo and settled in Bay Ridge. She studied art in the United States and Italy and become an accomplished artist. She married Herbert Gareiss in 1932 and as newlyweds lived in Jackson Heights. In 1943 the Herbert, Aurora and their son moved to Douglaston. For the next 20 years of so Mrs. Gareiss worked as a housewife and an artist. By the 1960s the environment and its degradation became a major concern for her. However when real estate developers began filling in the marsh in the wetlands in Little Neck and Great Neck this concern grew into action. In less than a year, these events transformed her from a housewife into an environmental and political activist. In 1969, with the help of neighbor Ralph Kamhi they created the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee. This not only saved this land from development but spurred a host of Douglaston, Little Neck and Great Neck residence into becoming activists themselves including Virginia Dent, Lucile Helfat, Walter Mugdan, Arthur Kelley and others. In the mid 1990’s Mrs. Gareiss moved upstate to Warwick, New York to be close to her son Herbert Gareiss Jr and his family. On February 18, 2000 she passed away. Mrs. Gareiss is survived by Mr. and Mrs. Herbert and Jane Gareiss Jr., grandsons Todd and Peter Gareiss, a granddaughter Anne Lannutti, and several nieces and nephews. The following lists the organizations and activities Ms. Gareiss was involved. State Northeastern Queens Nature and Historical Preserve Commission: Commissioner, Served 1974-1993 Vice-Chair, 1974-1977 Chair, 1978-1986 Udalls Cove Preservation Committee, Inc.: Co-founder with Ralph Kamhi, 1969 President 1969-1988 Member of Major Conservation Societies: Alley Restoration Committee, member and past Governing Board member 208 Water Quality Management Plan Program, Member of the Governing Board, Land-Use Committee and Citizens Advisory Committee Coastal Zone Management, Citizen s Advisory Committee Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Region 2, Citizen s Advisory Committee Council of Environmental Conservation, Environmental Management Council, Research Committee Council on Environment of New York City, Charter Member Sierra Club, past member of the Alert Committee League of Conservation Voters, Charter Member Friends of the Earth, Charter Member Member of Community Organizations: Douglaston Civic Association Douglaston Community Chest Environmental Aide to Senator Frank Padavan Environmental Aide to Congressman Lester Wolff National Art League, Life Member American Artists Professional League, fellow and first prize winner for oil still life, 1967 Douglaston Club, Life Member Awards and Acknowledgements The following is a chronology of Udalls Cove Wildlife Preserve Park. It provides the detailed activities of Federal, State, County and City government agencies and private groups to protect the environment and Udalls Cove.

Scope and Content Note

The Aurora Gareiss Papers document Mrs. Gareiss’ involvement with the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee, the Northeastern Queens Nature and Historic Preservation Commission and other environmental organizations in New York City, New York State, the nation and the world. They document Mrs. Gareiss’ transformation from a housewife into an environmental activist. They also document the neighborhoods of Little Neck and Douglaston, and the parks Udalls Cove and the Alley Pond. The records are grouped by subject and function, in alphabetical order. The papers are in the form of correspondence, financial records, newspaper clippings, photographs, publications, and scrapbooks. Researchers must use this scope and content note in combination with the creators sketch and inventory to uncover pertinent information. This is especially true when investigating the series Correspondence (10 boxes, 1960-1994). Also, information on a subject will be found in the subject’s series and in other series. For example one will find information on Block 8116, Lot 61 in the series Block 8116, Lot 61 (1 folder, 1977-1982) and in the series Correspondence (10 boxes, 1960-1994) and Udalls Cove Preservation Committee (12 folders, 1964-1986). Therefore one must perform a comprehensive search of all the related series. The series Citizen s Advisory Committee (20 folders, 1972-1987) documents Mrs. Gareiss’ participation in New York City’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee. Its mission was to create a comprehensive environmental plan for the city. The Meeting Material (3 folders, 1977-1985) sub series contains the minutes, agenda, notes and other information from Executive Committee Meetings, Coastal Zone Management Sub Committee Meetings, Governing Board Meetings and more. The series Clippings (6 folders, 1954-1994) contains newspaper and magazine articles about neighborhood, city, state, national and international environmental issues. The topics included are: pollution, Udalls Cove, Douglaston, Little Neck, Mrs. Gareiss and more. One must examine related series such as Correspondence (10 boxes, 1960-1994) and Doug Bay Sewer, Correspondence and Notes (1 folder, 1979-1980). The series Coastal Zone Management (11 folders, 1972-1985) is its own series but was a subcommittee of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee. This series was maintained in keeping with Mrs. Gareiss’ original order. The contents document Mrs. Gareiss’ active participation in developing New York City’s plan for its coastline. It also documents the committee’s efforts to create a coordinated plan with Nassau and Suffolk counties. One can find more information about this work in the Citizen s Advisory Committee’s sub series Meeting Material (3 folders, 1977-1985) and the series Correspondence (10 boxes, 1960-1994). The series Correspondence (10 boxes, 1960-1994) is the largest series in the papers and documents almost every involvement of Mrs. Gareiss. Mrs. Gareiss wrote everyone – politicians, government employees, neighbors, and other activist that were involved with her issues, e.g. Udalls Cove, plastics, Alley Pond and more. Invariably she received responses from these people including neighbors, New York State and City bureaucrats, New York City Mayors and Councilmen, Borough Presidents and officials, New York State Senators, Assemblymen and Governors, US Senators and Congressmen and US Presidents and Vice Presidents. To assist in researching this series one must use the chronologies in the creators sketch. The series Memory Books (9 folders, 1967-1994), akin to scrapbooks, contain newspaper clippings, correspondence, ephemera and other material that Mrs. Gareiss thought was important. The contents were housed in acidic and non archival binders Mrs. Gareiss brought with her to meetings with politicians, government employees, and others to demonstrate her concerns. The contents have been removed from the binders and put in folders. The series Photographs (477 images, 1929-1986) contains images documenting Udalls Cove and many of the activities of the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee. Included are photographs of the first major protest against development in the cove, “Walk Through the Marsh,” February 22, 1970; and the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals hearing on the variance to build a shopping mall on the St. Anastasia’s church property. Box P80 contains photographs from a photograph album Mrs. Gareiss created. The photographs from the album were rehoused in acid-free photograph envelops. All of the images are searchable in the Archives at Queens Library’s image database. The series Udalls Cove Preservation Committee (12 folders, 1964-1986) contains documents of the organization. Many of the activities of the committee are also documented in the Correspondence (10 boxes, 1960-1994) series. The sub series Membership Records (2 folders, 1970-1986) contains a representative sampling of completed membership forms and voting proxies. Originally this sub series was three boxes of completed forms.

Arrangement

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form: Creator of item, date of item (if known), identification of item, if a photograph its control number. The Aurora Gareiss Papers, Archives at Queens Library, Queens Borough Public Library

Provenance

The records, originally donated to the Queens Historical Society, were transferred to the division by the historical society and Ms. Gareiss.

Access Restrictions

Open for research without restrictions. Manuscripts are only available in the Archives at Queens Library, please call (718) 990-0770 for hours. Manuscript users will be required to complete the division s Manuscript Usage Form and show their photograph identification or Queens Borough Public Library card. The identification will be returned to the user after she/he has returned the material. Manuscript users will deposit all their personal items behind the reference desk. Manuscript users must use the division s loose sheets of paper for note taking. To reiterate, no pen of any type is permitted. Paper and a pencil are available upon request. Manuscript users may be required to use special handling procedures depending on the conditions of the material.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the:

Archives at Queens Library Queens Borough Public Library 89-11 Merrick Boulevard Jamaica, NY 11432 Phone: (718) 990-0770

Access Point

Subject Names

Gareiss, Aurora, 1909-2000

Subject Topics

Environmentalism Women Environmentalists

Inventory