By Paul Wein
Since June 15, 2004, when a devastating fire destroyed the home of Herald Community Newspapers on Central Avenue in Lawrence, the remains of the building had sat silent and empty, with the bustling staff that had published weekly newspapers there since 1927 having relocated to temporary headquarters in West Hempstead. On April 12, what was left of the building, a repository of more than 120 years of newspaper publishing history, was demolished.
Bulldozers chewed through the structure, at 379 Central Avenue, as Herald staffers who looked on recalled their memories of the fire. Twenty-two months ago, at 3:15 p.m. on a warm late-spring Tuesday, a blaze that began in the rear of the company's press room quickly spread through the building, destroying everything in its path but miraculously sparing the lives of all of those who ran from it.
With the building still smoking, Stuart and Cliff Richner, the publishers of the 13 Herald Community Newspapers, the Jewish Star, the Rockaway Journal, the South Shore Record and PrimeTime Guides, moved their staff to the Natural Science Industries building in the Lakeview section of West Hempstead, where they produced the following week's newspapers without missing an issue. Despite having to re-create each department and rely on outside printing facilities, the staff continued to churn out the news - and discovered what it was like to become a part of it.
Much of the Heralds' tangible history was lost in the fire, including newspaper and photo archives that dated back to 1883, the first year of the Rockaway Journal. The press and production equipment were destroyed as well, forcing staffers to virtually start from scratch in the temporary Lakeview office, at 910 Orlando Ave.
That process will take place once more this summer - this time the result not of a catastrophe, but of extensive planning - when Richner Communications moves into its new headquarters in Garden City. The building, on Endo Boulevard next to Nassau Community College, will hum with the sound of a state-of-the-art, full-color press and feature cutting-edge technology, which will allow for faster production and higher-quality newspapers.
The site of the old building, now an empty lot, will be occupied by the Heralds' former neighbor, the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway, which has purchased the property and plans to use it to expand its facilities.
The building's demolition was scheduled to coincide with the Passover vacations of nearby schools, including HAFTR, the Brandeis School and Rambam Mesivta High School for Boys, according to Dan Herron, Lawrence's deputy village administrator and building inspector.
"It's going to be a shame to not see this building again," said Phil Ciaravolo of Inwood, who happened to be walking across the street as the old Nassau Herald sign was being taken down. "This was like a landmark."
Referring to the burned-out remains of the building, Cedarhurst resident Nora Jannetto said, "I'm glad to see it gone. It truly has been an eyesore."
Despite the finality of the historic building's demolition, Herald staffers - and members of the Richner family - are looking to the future. "It's very sad for me, because that was like my home for 40 years, and it's truly the end of an era," said Edith Richner, the Heralds' publisher emerita. "Although I'm sad the building is gone, it's time to get on with the new, and we'll be bigger and better than ever."
Her son Stuart described his mixed emotions. "That building was really my second home," he said. "I grew up in these buildings. I attended elementary school at Number One School and starting in fourth grade I would walk down the block to the Herald building to work with my parents. There are lots of memories I will never forget. On the other hand, I'm glad we're moving ahead, and I very much look forward to the opening of our new state-of-the-art facility."
"Like Stuart, I too grew up in these buildings," said his brother Cliff, "and I'm sad to see such an important piece of my personal history relegated to memory. If I close my eyes, I can still hear the gigantic linotype machines whirring and clanging as they set lines of lead type at an agonizingly slow pace; I can hear the typewriters in the newsroom clattering away on deadline day. I remember rushing from school on Tuesday afternoons to set headlines and on Wednesdays to help address the paper.
"But what we learned after the fire is that neither bricks and mortar nor presses and computers define a newspaper. It's our staff, along with our readers and advertisers that define our publications. I'm happy to report that in all those important ways the papers are stronger than they were when the fire struck.
"I'm looking forward to our move and all the creature comforts it will bring to our staff and the many improvements it will bring to our papers each week."
Comments about this story? PWein@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
