Ira Kluger, President Of The Canarsie Historical Society

By Dara Mormile

Keeping Canarsie’s diverse history alive is Ira Kluger’s goal. “I like to speak of Canarsie the way it was – not what it is now.”

Kluger, co-president of the Canarsie Historical Society, works tirelessly and advocates preserving a community that has captivated him since his youth. While he currently fights to keep landmark houses and properties from being torn down, Kluger says there’s one individual he credits for initiating his love for Canarsie’s history.

“John Denton was my mentor. I owe all of my interest to him,” said Kluger. “In the 1970s I began reading Denton’s weekly column in the Canarsie Courier. They always fascinated me and I wanted to find all the places he wrote about that I couldn’t find on my own.”

Kluger recalled that Denton, who died in 1985 at age 85, was friendly, receptive and offered detailed insights about growing up in the community whenever they discussed Canarsie’s history.

Among the places of particular interest to Kluger are the Avenue L shopping strip, between Remsen Avenue and Rockaway Parkway, and a movie house, the American Theater that was located at the corner of East 92 Street and Flatlands Avenue.

Kluger, who was born in East New York and moved to Canarsie when he was three, attended three local schools — P.S. 114, Isaac Bildersee I.S. 68 and Canarsie High School then majored in psychology at Brooklyn College. After graduation he worked with the city’s social services unit before he decided to dedicate most of his time to the Canarsie Historical Society, founded in 1982 by historians Elsie Oberg and Gene Martense, who were also his inspirations.

Kluger has headed the organization — along with co-president Charles Dono — for eight years, but his job entails more than being an educational source for students and reporters seeking historical information.

The most difficult part of his job, he notes, is dealing with the New York City Landmarks Commission.

“There is a lack of interest and receptiveness on their part,” he said. “It’s also hard to fight for Canarsie’s landmark homes because real estate developers do away with them when they buy the property. Instead of one-family houses, you have multi-family condos being put up. It seems like a no-win battle but I’m still trying to keep a few houses from being taken down.”

In November, he presented a plaque to Frank Seddio, the current owner of the 100-year-old house at the corner of East 93 Street and Flatlands Avenue. The house is one of the few grand homes left in Canarsie. For more than 40 years it’s been the site of the community’s most elaborate Christmas display.

In April 1992, a ceremony was held to unveil a plaque placed on the façade of the GreenPoint Savings Bank, at Rockaway Parkway and Glenwood Road, in honor of it being the site for the first office of the Canarsie Courier in 1921.

Kluger’s other historical affiliations include serving as second vice president of The Society of Old Brooklynites and on the National Board of Directors of the Wyckoff House Association, of which he has been a member for 23 years. In 2001, the Wyckoff House held a reunion and the president adopted Kluger into the association’s family. For his dedication he was given a certificate naming him ‘Ira Kluger Wyckoff.’

“It was quite an honor and that was the first time they bestowed the title on anyone,” he said.

Kluger works extensively to keep the history of the neighborhood alive. He conducts walking tours of East Flatbush and Canarsie a few times a year. Although he doesn’t have time to do as much research about Canarsie nowadays as he devotes more time to the Wyckoff House Association, he has hopes for the future of the Canarsie Historical Society.

“One of my concerns is that Dono and I have someone to pass the organization on to,” he said. “Right now we’re doing all we can to preserve what’s left of Canarsie.

“Also, it’s really gratifying to hear from old time Canarsiens who want to reminisce and share their experiences about the way Canarsie was. That’s one of the things I enjoy the most.”

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