Matt Dillon / The Flamingo Kid
The 1984 movie The Flamingo Kid (trailer attached below), staring Matt Dillon, gave insight to a very rooted Summer tradition that has been part of generations of families living in the NYC, Brooklyn, Queens neighborhoods.... Renting a cabana or locker at beach clubs located along the Atlantic Ocean just beyond the city limits has long served as a respite from the heat and enjoy shore life. The Flamingo Kid was filmed at the Silver Gull Beach Club, located in Breezy Point, one of the major affected areas from Hurricane Sandy. I've included some before & after photos below as the storm approached and the aftermath.
I have wonderful memories of my grandmother's cabana out on Atlantic Beach, just east of Breezy Point.... Visiting her at a time when sleeping over in your cabana was allowed and what fun we had as kids! As she got older and didn't need as much room, she would take a locker for the Summer season, just to have a place to store her items and spend the day at the beach, an escape from her house which at the time had no central A/C.
