Many popular Yiddish actors, poets and writers were drawn to Sea Gate's restful spa like energy, including Nobel prize winner and Forward journo Isaac Bashevis Singer and poet Aliza Greenblatt, mother-in-law to American iconic anarcho-folksinger Woody Guthrie. The oldest gated community in NY, the Sea Gate neighborhood is literally fronted by a gate, seen here in this historic Forward archival image.

Sea Gate was historically owned by the Norton Point Land Company originally in 1897, the same year as the founding of The Forward newspaper. Designed to be an exclusive residential neighborhood, To this day it's said to house 5,000 residents on a mere half a square mile.. Entry is through that front gate, by permission of Sea Gate police who guard the entry. With its own sanitation department it can be said to be a private city within a city. Originally home to the very distinguished old world families of New York, by the 1920's The Forward published ads for inns there such as The Whittier Inn, with calls for folks to enjoy new amenities, recent upgrades, a wedding hall, and enjoyable locale summer and winter. The ad noted, you could obtain a room there, with or without board.D. Milstein was listed as the proprietor, formerly of the "Little Romania" on West 116th.

"Sea Gate," The Forward reported in a 1927 article about the vacation habits of the city's Yiddish theatre demimondes, "is the Park Avenue, the ringside, the Newport of Coney Island. Within its walls rest the more wealthy members of the Yiddish stage or those who have to pose as such." The cheeky piece went on to suggest some Yiddish theatre celebrity stalking. "It is in Sea Gate that one can see, should he follow the wide open spaces of Surf Avenue, a well kept bungalow of Ludwig Satz, star comedian of the Yiddish theatre who resides within the walls of this quiet if not altogether modest dwelling. All through the summer he worked here composing the lyrics for his opening play at the Public Theatre. "

By the 1940's, Satz resided in Bushwick on Irving Avenue, not far from this block seen above. Not exactly Sea Gate or Surf Ave, but a mere subway ride away.

So many Yiddish actors summered nearby Sea Gate according to The Forward. Blocks away from Satz's place mentioned above, you could find Yiddish theatre hearthrob Samuel Rosenstein, they reported. And leading actors Bella Ballerina, Chaim Schneyer and Boris Auerbach were all down there rehearsing. In fact, according to The Forward, they were "members of the dramatic colony of Sea Gate." Sea Gate "sizzled" they reported, with preparations for next year's theatrical season. Strolling past bungalows, one heard "melodies wafting from all sides and peeping into windows, one beheld dramatic gestures, heroic poses, even tragic deaths." The boardwalk, pictured above, wasn't immune. "On the boardwalk the outsider could hear a jargon of shoptalk, stage language, cafe expressions." "And that," The Forward concluded, "is how the theatrical residents of Sea Gate spent their vacations."

For the non-dramatic proles, there was this, as seen in The Forward's classifieds of 1929. On offer on Sea Gate's Nautilus Avenue, nearby this popular Neptune Ave corner shown above, was " splendid" room and board featuring 3 windows and suitable for 1-2 people. It was listed as "reasonable and strictly kosher.".