S. Gary Schiller papers
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Papers of community activist S. Gary Schiller. Clippings, correspondence, fliers, photographs. Activism against incinerator and waste transfer station; parks dedications to veterans; campaign to open schools to youth groups without fees.
Biographical Note
S. Gary Schiller (1917-1999) was born January 26, 1917 in Borough Park, Brooklyn, the youngest of five children of David and Annie Schiller. Schiller's parents emigrated from Vienna, Austria to New York (Ellis Island) in 1903 where their last name was changed from Schuyler to Schiller. Gary Schiller lived the first 55 years of his life in Brooklyn before moving to Little Neck, Queens, where he lived from 1972 until his death in 1999. Schiller's connection to Brooklyn was retained throughout his life, even after he moved to Queens, with his involvement with the Flatbush Park Jewish Center, where he was past president and where he also attended various holiday services.
Schiller attended Erasmus Hall High School and Brooklyn College. Schiller married his first wife, Audrey, in 1940. They had a son, Justin, born September 10, 1943. During World War II, Schiller served with the infantry in the 3rd Armored Division and was awarded the Purple Heart after he was wounded in Mortain, France on August 10, 1944. Returning home to Brooklyn after having been wounded, Schiller and his wife, Audrey, moved into a house in Mill Basin in 1945. They lived there until Audrey Schiller died from cancer on May 10, 1970. Gary Schiller married his second wife, Teddi, in 1972.
Schiller worked as a traveling salesman, selling men's clothing for Merrill Sharpe and Countess Mara. In the mid-1960s, he opened an antiques shop for men on Greenwich Avenue in Manhattan. After Audrey's death in 1970, Schiller closed his own antiques shop and took over her antique jewelry business on West 47th Street, changing the name from Audrey Schiller Antique Jewelry to S. Gary Schiller Antique Jewelry.
Schiller was active in various issues that affected Mill Basin, his Brooklyn neighborhood. As Executive Chairman of the Emergency Committee Opposing the Mill Basin Incinerator, Schiller led the fight against various New York City government agencies in 1954 and again briefly in 1956 that blocked the constrcution of an incinerator and marine waste transfer station in Mill Basin. From 1955-1959 when juvenile delinquency was on the rise and with a belief that youth groups kept children out of trouble in New York City, Schiller helped lead the effort in having the city drop the fees charged to youth groups for using public schools as meeting places in the evenings. In 1965, Schiller was instrumental in getting two local laws passed to create two parks in Mill Basin. Evidence of his community ties and personal interest can be seen in who the parks are named after: a past president of a local civic association and a soldier from Mill Basin killed in action in Vietnam. Schiller's continued interest in keeping Mill Basin and the surrounding area free from unwanted development can also be seen in his interest in the fate of Floyd Bennett Field and Jamaica Bay in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
In addition to being the Community Mayor of Mill Basin, Schiller was active within many organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, Flatlands Post #391 (American Legion), Mill Basin Civic Association (president), and the Military Order of the Purple Heart (commander, Brooklyn Chapter 19). In 1970 Schiller reportedly belonged to 29 different organizations.
Schiller died in Little Neck on March 25 1999 at age 82 after a brief illness. He was survived by his second wife, Teddi, as well as a son, Justin, of Kingston, NY and a sister, Ethel Barasch, of Las Vegas, NV. Schiller is buried in Linden Hill Cemetery.
Arrangement
Any evidence of original order has been lost. The collection is arranged into two series. Series 1 is a small amount of biographical information pertaining to Schiller, mostly in the form of newspaper clippings. The bulk of the collection is in Series 2, which is divided into four subseries documenting Schiller's involvement in projects that attempted to improve the community of Mill Basin.
Correspondence is arranged chronologically within each subseries. Clippings are also arranged chronologically. Oversize material has been removed to Box 3 and there are separation sheets indicating where they fit into the arrangement. Supplemental material has been both added to the end of appropriate series/subseries and, when appropriate, interfiled. These materials are identified in the finding aid as supplemental and not original.
Scope and Contents
The S. Gary Schiller collection consists primarily of correspondence, clippings, pamphlets, notes, and photos pertaining to projects that Schiller was directly involved in to improve civic and community life in the Mill Basin community. The bulk of the Schiller collection covers the years 1954-1970.
The correspondence includes both copies of outgoing letters and letters that Schiller received. The clippings are primarily from the Brooklyn Eagle, the New York Journal-American, New York World Telegram and The Sun, Daily News, and Kings Courier. Pamphlets include local community newsletters such as Mill Basin Civic News, Flatbush Park News, and the Civic Monitor. Photographs include both black and white and color snapshots of houses and new housing developments in Mill Basin and the surrounding area in the 1950s, an area which was still being residentially developed. Notes and petitions contain many names and addresses of Mill Basin residents in the 1950s.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); S. Gary Schiller papers, BCMS.0085, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
It is unclear how the Schiller collection arrived at the Brooklyn Collection. Nothing within the papers gives any indication as to the provenance. Additional materials were given by Teddi Schiller in October 2004.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection was preliminarily arranged broadly by subject as part of the Brooklyn Rediscovery project, presumably some time in the 1980s, and fully processed in 2004.
Repository
Series 1: Biographical, 1951-1970, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This series contains newspaper clippings recognizing Schiller's achievements by various civic and community groups, as well as awards that Schiller received, including the Boy Scouts' Silver Beaver Award and the Community Civic Award from Flatlands Post #391, American Legion. Other material includes a publicity photo of Schiller and his "Community Mayor of Mill Basin" business card.
Supplemental material in this series can be found in the last two folders, as well as some of the material in folder 2, described below. The first supplemental folder contains material related to Schiller's death, including a paid death notice in the New York Times. The second supplemental folder contains material given by Teddi Schiller in 2004.
In Folder 2, only one photo is original to the collection: the publicity head shot that only has Schiller's purple property stamp on the verso (the unoriginal print of this photo has additional markings on the verso). The other photos were removed to this collection from BCMS.0002 (Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs).
Arrangement
This series is arranged by format. Within each format, materials are arranged chronologically.
Newspaper clippings, 1951-1970, inclusive
Photographs, 1949-1954, inclusive
Ephemera, 1958, 1964, inclusive
Supplemental material, 1999
Supplemental material - Teddi Schiller gift, 1944-2004, inclusive
Series 2: Projects, 1939-1970, inclusive; 1954-1970, bulk
Arrangement
Arranged by topic in four subseries.
Subseries A: Mill Basin Incinerator, 1954-1956, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Included here are papers related to Schiller's involvement, under the auspices of the "Emergency Committee Opposing the Mill Basin Incinerator," with the Mill Basin community's successful fight against various New York City governmental agencies to keep an incinerator, marine wast-transfer station, and Department of Sanitation garage from being built in the Mill Basin neighborhood. Also found here are Schiller's incoming and outgoing correspondence with various New York City and State elected officials, including State Senator William Rosenblatt, State Assemblyman Lawrence Murphy, and City Councilman Morris Stein and Sam Curtis, as well as community leaders from adjacent neighborhoods, including Charles Bugeja, chairman of Marine Park Civic Association, with whom further correspondence can be found in Subseries B. Also included are Schiller's own notes related to various meetings and events, minutes from community meetings, copies of petitions containing Mill Basin residents' signatures and addresses, as well as various captioned photographs of Mill Basin and the incinerator near Avenue J.
Supplemental material is in the last folder of the series, as well as in the first folder of photographs (Aerial Views of Mill Basin). Supplemental material consists of photocopies of articles from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle which serve to contextualize the activities documented in this subseries, by showing evidence of earlier attempts to build an incinerator in Mill Basin, dating back to 1928. The photograph which was been added to the collection depicts an aerial view of Mill Basin with an area marked off in organe grease pencil and an arrow pointing to this area. The photo was removed to this collection from the folder "Incinerators" in BCMS.0002 (Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs).
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged by format. Within each format, materials are arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, 1954, 1956, inclusive
Notes, circa 1954, 1956, inclusive
Community meeting minutes and reports, 1954
Newspaper clippings, 1953, 1954, 1956, inclusive
Press releases, 1954, 1956, inclusive
Pamphlets, 1954
Petitions, circa 1954
Photos - Aerial view of Mill Basin, 1954
Photos - Mill Basin Houses, 1954
Photos - Flatlands incinerator at Avenue J, 1954
Negatives, circa 1954
Ephemera, 1954
Supplemental material, 1928-1948, inclusive
Subseries B: Public School Fees for Boy Scout Meetings, 1939-1969, inclusive; 1955-1958, bulk
Scope and Contents
This subseries documents Schiller's attempt on behalf of the Boy Scouts to convince the Board of Education to rescind the three dollar fee charged to youth groups using public school facilities in the evening as part of an umbrella group of community organizations called "Citizens Committee Opposed to Levies on Youth Groups Using Public School Facilities." It includes extensive correspondence with various members of local and national Boy Scout leaders can be found here. There is also correspondence with other organizations such as the Girl Scouts, Air Cadets, Catholic Youth Organization, and the Police Athletic League. Schiller makes explicit the link between juvenile deliquency and his cause: this subseries includes 1958-59 Board of Education budget which includes a budget for juvenile deliquency. There is also significant correspondence with city leaders in the mayor's office, New York City Board of Education, including the Association of Supervisors of Recreational & Community Activities in the Office of Continuing Education. Also included is the text of a speech Schiller delivered to the New York City Board of Estimate in 1969 when the city was threatening to close its Community School Centers.
Supplemental material can be found in the last folder. These materials are news clippings that contextualize Schiller's activities.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged by format. Within each format, materials are arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, 1939-1957, inclusive
Correspondence, 1957-1958, inclusive
Correspondence, 1969
Notes, 1952, 1957, 1958, inclusive
Minutes and speeches, 1957, 1969, inclusive
Newspaper clippings, 1957, 1958, 1969, inclusive
Press releases, 1955, 1957, inclusive
Pamphlets, 1957, 1958, inclusive
Ephemera, 1957, 1958, 1969, inclusive
Resolutions, 1957
Board of Education directories, 1957
Supplemental material, 1950-1959, 1971, inclusive
Subseries C: Mill Basin Parks Naming and Dedication, 1964-1965, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This subseries contains information about the naming of two parks in the Mill Basin neighborhood: Charles W. Boyce Square, named after the past president of the Mill Basin Civic Association from 1941-1963, and Captain Vincent Hickman Park, named after a Mill Basin resident who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1964. Included in this subseries is documentation related to getting local law passed to create and name the parks, as well as the parade and dedication ceremony that was held to commemorate opening of the parks. Extensive documentation in the form of letters, sketches and blueprints for plaques for the parks, Schiller's hand-drawn sketches of the parade line-up and route can also be found here, as well as the official "Proclamation of Mill Basin Dedication Day," a large ceremonial certificate, signed by Abe Stark. The parade and dedication ceremony, which took place on October 17, 1965, was attended by many community leaders, including then-Brooklyn borough president Abe Stark who gave the address at the Hickman Park dedication. Many RSVP letters from invitees to the dedication ceremony are included. A photograph of Boyce Square, prior to its being renovated to a park can also be found in this subseries. A folder of material from two John F. Kennedy memorial dedications, one of which involved Schiller, can be found in its own folder. From Schiller's correspondence it appears that he aspired that the dedication ceremony he planned for these two parks would live up to some of the aspects of the Kennedy Memorial ceremony he participated in and admired.
Supplemental material can be found in the final folder of the subseries.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged by format. Within each format, the materials are arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, 1964, 1965, inclusive
Notes, circa 1964, 1965, inclusive
Parade and dedication, 1965
Charles W. Boyce Square, 1965
Vincent J. Hickman Park, 1965
Newspaper clippings, 1954, 1965, inclusive
Pamphlets, 1965
Photographs, 1964
John F. Kennedy memorial dedications, 1963, 1964, inclusive
Ephemera, 1965
Supplemental material, 1941, 1949, 2004, inclusive
Subseries D: Mill Basin development, 1954-1970, inclusive; 1969-1970, bulk
Scope and Contents
This subseries contains newspaper clippings, minutes from community minutes, and pamphlets, many of which are related to the 1970 closure of Floyd Bennett Field, a United States military-owned airfield adjacent to Mill Basin, due to cutbacks in military expenditures. Many alternatives were proposed for the future use of Floyd Bennett Field, including a controversial proposal to build low-income housing, converting it to a commercial airport, or converting it to park land. The subseries also includes press releases from the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, pamphlets concerning Gateway National Park, and Schiller's own notes on how these various proposals would affect his community. There is also limited documentation about the proposal and building of Kings Plaza Shopping Center, Brooklyn's first shopping mall (and its related marina) and how this would affect the neighborhood, especially because of increased vehicular traffic.
Supplemental material is all located in the last folder of the subseries and consists of related newspaper clippings.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged by format and within each format the materials are arranged chronologically.