Flushing Remonstrance At Queens Museum
BY LIZ GOFF

History buffs and others who missed the January 2008 public viewing of the Flushing Remonstrance at the Flushing branch of the Queens Borough Public Library will have another chance to view the historic document when it goes on display April 6 at the Queens Museum of Art.

Officials at the Queens Museum, located in the former New York State Building in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, will host the Flushing Remonstrance through June 29 in a display commemorating the document's 350th anniversary, titled, "This Case of Conscience: The Spirit of Flushing and The Remonstrance."

The Remonstrance was signed on Dec. 27, 1657 by 28 freeholders of Vissingen (Flushing), who put their lives on the line by supporting the document and its premise. The Flushing Remonstrance is considered to be a forerunner of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which established religious freedom in the United States.

The display marks only the fifth time the document has returned to its Queens roots for public viewing in its 350-year history.

As part of the continuing anniversary celebration, the Queens Museum will present a simultaneous display of the works of five artists, Emmy Catedral, Takashi Horisaki, Sara Rahbar, Jose Ruiz and Tattfoo Tan, who have been commissioned to create pieces showcasing religious diversity in the Flushing community.

The works of will remain on display through June 29.

The museum will also present a gallery of more than 200 photographs celebrating religious diversity and religious freedom in Flushing, according to a museum spokesperson. The photos were taken by professional and amateur shutterbugs as part of a 2008 "Open Call" contest sponsored by the Queens Museum. Participants were asked to look at religious diversity in the Flushing community and document current houses of worship in the area, the spokesperson said.

Winning photos submitted by Kim Badawi, Jenny Jozwiak, Stephanie Keates and Scott Lewis will showcase the display, the spokesperson said.

Officials will host a reception at the museum on May 18. Guests will walk through the gallery displays, view a slide show on religious diversity in Flushing and linger over the Flushing Remonstrance before it is returned to storage in the state archives in Albany.

Meanwhile, members of the Flushing Remonstrance Committee are vowing to continue their battle to return the document for permanent display in Queens.

Corinne Oats, wife of the late Queens historian David Oats, said she is joining forces with the group leading the charge to convince state officials to release the document from storage in Albany, where it has been locked away for more than three centuries.

David Oats battled state officials to return the Flushing Remonstrance to Queens for more than two decades prior to his sudden death on February 6.

Oats said she plans to continue her husband's efforts with members of the Remonstrance Committee, whose ultimate goal is to bring the document back to Queens "for good". Committee members are working to convince state officials to permanently display the document in the Queens Museum of Art- the building that was part of two World's Fairs and hosted the fledgling United Nations when the panel adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Group officials said the museum's Board of Trustees and its executive director have already signed on to the plan.

State officials turned down prior requests by the group for transfer of the Remonstrance to Flushing's historic Bowne House, the Flushing Armory, or Flushing Town Hall for public viewings, citing concerns that those locations could not properly store and secure the document.

The two-page, scorched document that will be displayed at the Queens Museum was damaged in a 1911 fire at the state capital. State archive officials said special steps must, therefore, be taken to prevent the document from damage by light.

Group officials said they believe the Queens Museum offers the necessary safe environment and around-the-clock security for the frail document as well as a suitable environment for public viewing.

Group officials said they anticipate hitting a roadblock in their negotiations with state officials for permanent return of the document, since the Queens Museum is about to undergo major renovations that may take up to two years to complete.

Congressmember Joseph Crowley has supported the group's efforts to bring the Remonstrance back to Queens for permanent display.

"Allowing the Flushing Remonstrance to be permanently displayed in its historic birthplace, Queens, would be the ultimate tribute to the significance the document plays in the history of New York City and the nation," Crowley said. "This precious document should not be locked up in a vault in Albany."

The group has established a Web site where the public can read the entire text of the Flushing Remonstrance and can sign a petition to newly installed Governor David Paterson, calling for the return of the Remonstrance to Queens.

For more information on the series of yearlong events commemorating the 350th anniversary of the Flushing Remonstrance, to sign the petition, or to read the document in its entirety, visit www.flushingremonstrance.gov.