Who does William Floyd have a Parkway named after him? Come to Mastic Beach, Sunday 8.2 + Cinema in Astoria-Vivre Sa Vie; Jules & Jim

If you’ve ever spent any time in Long Island, you’ve probably seen signs for the William Floyd Parkway. Who was this Floyd, and why does he have a highway named after him?

Floyd was a Long Island-born signer of the Declaration of Independence, who defended the island from British attack during the Revolutionary War. While the homes of his three fellow New York signers have disappeared over time, Floyd’s is the only home of a signer of the Declaration of Independence remaining in the New York metro area. (Remarkably, a second home of his, in Westernville, New York, also survived and is privately owned and preserved upstate.)

General William Floyd, signer of the Declaration of Independence, back in the day. (His Mastic Beach house, preserved today by the National Park Service, is shown in the background.)

Floyd’s Long Island home at Mastic Beach is owned by the National Park Service and is part of the larger Fire Island National Seashore. The house is open to the public three days a week (Friday through Sunday) during the summer. This weekend, park rangers are conducting a special William Floyd event on Sunday, August 2, celebrating the day Floyd and the most of the signers actually attached their signatures to the famous document. Three tours of the home will be conducted, at 11 AM, 1 PM and 3 PM. Admission is free, so why not drop by.

Joseph D’Agnese and Denise Kiernan, authors of a new book entitled Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame & Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence will be signing copies of their books between tours of the house. Proceeds will benefit the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society. (Books are limited, so if you see copies at your local bookseller, you might want to buy them there and have Joe and Denise sign them at the Floyd estate.)

Either way, come and learn a little about local New York history. You can find directions to and information about the site here.

Tell Joe and Denise you saw this event on urbanseashell—a collection and say hi for me. Enjoy the event!

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presents

Vivre Sa Vie
Sunday, August 2, 2:00 p.m.

1962, 85 mins. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. With Anna Karina. The story of a woman who comes to Paris to become on actress but instead becomes a prostitute is told by Godard in twelve tableaux, an innovative style which balances formal rigor and Brechtian distance with the underlying emotionalism of the tragic tale. The style also allowed Godard to blend essay and documentary approaches with fictional filmmaking. Susan Sontag called it "one of the most extraordinary, beautiful, and original works of art that I know of...[it] seems to me a perfect film."

Jules and Jim
Sunday, August 2, 4:00 p.m.

1962, 105 mins. Directed by François Truffaut. With Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre. At once exuberant and poignant, Jules and Jim is the quintessential love triangle movie. Set in Paris, from the end of the Belle Epoque through the start of World War II, it follows the adventures of two Bohemian friends who each fall in love with the capricious and modern Catherine. The film is filled with invention, insight, and emotional depth, with Truffaut's direction enhanced by Georges Delerue's hauntingly evocative score and kinetic photography by Raoul Coutard.