Rockaway Boardwalk Finds New Life In Mason Jar BK Tabletop

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — Mason Jar BK — a barbecue, beer and bourbon spot that recently opened at Fort Greene’s Gotham Market at The Ashland — is simultaneously celebrating and commemorating its Rockaway roots by salvaging a portion of the original Rockaway Boardwalk in the form of a 14-foot, custom-made dining table. The boardwalk was largely destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Dubbed “The Boardwalk Table,” the tabletop took nearly four months to complete and captures the history of Mason Jar BK’s partners, many of whom were born and raised in The Rockaways, a representative of Gotham Market at The Ashland told Patch.

---

“We wanted to capture the history of the boardwalk we grew up with and that Superstorm Sandy took from us. The drive behind the project was for the friends to have a place to congregate and reminisce,” Mason Jar BK partner William P. Kelly told Patch.

“Now, Mason Jar BK has that piece of our history, and every person who loved that boardwalk can sit with it and remember.”

More than 3 miles of the shoreline walkway had been thrown off moorings by the deadly superstorm, with large volumes jettisoned to area landfills until a coordinated effort emerged to salvage the valuable hardwoods. The boardwalk table is specifically made of a wood called ipe, whose origins stem from the jungles of Guyana and Brazil, as described by Sawkill Lumber Co., who purchased wood from the City of New York.

---

Mayor Bill de Blasio is scheduled to attend a final inspection of the Rockaway Boardwalk — which has finally been rebuilt ahead of the summer season — on Friday.

“The boardwalk was like a member of the family to those of us who were born and raised in Rockaway,” Kelly said. “It has a history that goes back 100 years. It connects every one of us.”

Photo credit: Eric Laignel