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Brooklyn Moves to the CatskillsBY JEANNETTE WALLSJudy Davis still remembers the day when she saw the ad for a summer home running only$3,Q00- $6,000. It was a hot, muggy day and she describes her state of mind as %u201c desperate.%u201d So, not expecting to find much more than %u201c some rundown shambles,%u201d she and her husband Tom took a weekend trip to Spring Glen in the Catskills to see what was being offered.%u201c We were delighted,%u201d she recalls, when she saw the white and green frame cottages that sat with 19 other houses on 10 green acres. The Davis family was so happy, in fact, that they immediately signed up to buy a unit and rushed home to tell the Gibbs, who live across the street. They, in turn, bought two units. Soon afterwards, the Williams and Berkeley families, who live on either side of the Davises, spent a week in the Davis%u2019 cabin while they were away in Canada. The Williamses and Berkeleys loved the place so much that they bought the last remaining cabin. All of which leaves the block on Wyckoff Street where they are today.%u201c We just love the setup,%u201d said Judy Davis, and hers is the general consensus,' %u2018It%u2019s all very relaxed and we all seem to have the same basic tastes.%u201d Joel Efrein, a Brooklyn Heights resident and the man who sold the houses to the residents, personally selects the occupants of the homes, and says he looks for family oriented people. %u201c We%u2019re a self-selected neighborhood anyway,%u201d points out Davis. %u201c And what Efrein was doing is sort of putting together a Brooklyn neighborhood in the Catskills. It%u2019s a loosely-knit neighborhood, but we all have basic, sort of self-understood rules. Like if someone is near the pool, they have to look after the kids. At 4 p.m. on Saturdays we all have a volleyball game and at 9 a.m. on Sundays we usually gather around the pools to sing and play, because most of the residents are very musically oriented.%u201dALL FROM BROOKLYNAll the owners of these 22 units are Brooklyn residents, hailing from Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights,and Boerum Hill. Most of the residents are . professionals and have experience with community organizations, heavily involved with block associations or the like. Almost all have children and, as Davis, a microbiologist working toward a Ph.D., pointed out, %u201c A lot of us are professionals. We want a vacation where we can take our kids and they can enjoy it and we don%u2019t have to look after them every second.%u201d Of all the residents, it is probably the kids who love the homes the most. %u201cIt%u2019s among the few opportunities they have to get close to nature,%u201d Efrein pointed out.It is mostly a weekend community, though some owners have plans for visiting their homes during the winter and, perhaps, taking advantage of the ski slope there.This summer haven of white and green cottages has existed a long time, but just came into use as co-ops less than two years ago. In the early 20%u2019s, when one Jacob Rosenblume%u2019s yearning to become a farmer was quickly aborted by the poor growing quality of the soil on the eight acres he had purchased, he built a group of bungalow colonies. He planned to rent them to wealthy families during the summer%u2014a very popular practice of the day. Each summer, the same families would come back to rent the same little cottages. But with the modernization of transportation and communication facilities, with the easy availability of jetting overseas, the popularity of summer bungalow communities began to fade.During a trailer trip, Joel Efrein noticed the deserted cabins and they triggered something in his mind. Co-ops have been very successful in the cities for years, so why not try them out in the country? Efrein had plenty experience with co-oping (he grew up in several owned by his parents) and he decided that these abandoned bungalows were ready-made co-ops. Efrein got them for %u201c dirt cheap,%u201d (though he won%u2019t way how much) and began renovating them.The whole Brooklyn dan packs up In preparation for a weekend getaway to the mountains.A %u2018BIG JOB%u2019It was %u201csome big job%u201d introducing the concept of co-oping to upstaters, recalls Efrein who spent long hours at local banks and finally convinced the fmancers that such things as co-ops really do exist and can be successful. So the bankers helped finance his first project%u2014the Spring Glen Meadows Co-op, just about half a mile from the Spring Glen Co-ops. Now the bankers have so much faith in co-oping that they%u2019ll finance up to two-thirds of the purchasing price, which makes putting a downpayment on a summer home about as expensive as most summer vacations. Efrein believes that this conversion from bungalows to co-ops could begin a trend of reviving the dying cabins in the country.And the summer homes mean a lot to these people. The security attached to owning a piece of country real estate is growing in popularity among the public, and not just among city dwellers. But to these particular city dwellers, there is a %u201c certain specialness%u201d about this land. Its relaxed atmosphere, coupled with the familiar security and friendship of a few others, is just what some are looking for. But\no one seems to enjoy it more than the kids.%u201c Even if the adults are somewhat dubious at first, the kids totally sell the owners,%u201d said Henry Bernstein, a co-oper since July 4 of last year, who finds an advantage in the fact that %u201cyou don%u2019t have to keep packing and unpacking.%u2019%u2019 Bernstein says he still plans to travel some, as he is used to doingit quite frequently. But he also enjoys this reborn concept of vacationing.%u201c It%u2019s just beautiful,%u201d agreed his daughter, Claudia. %u201c It%u2019s mostly just for the weekends right now,%u201d Bernstein said. %u201c But we come up here for some longer stays too. We 1 might be coming up for some skiing when the winter comes...There%u2019s not all that constant moving about.%u201d The Bernsteins enjoy the company too: %u201c Everyone gets along quite well here and it%u2019s all very relaxed.%u201d%u201c We still plan on taking some %u2018adult%u2019 vacations,%u201d said Davis, who is the mother of three. %u201c But what we have in the Catskills is a home, complete with our neighbors, away from the city.%u201dS k a t e b o a r d i n gFree Wheeling It With the JacobsBY DENISE GRANOWITTERSkateboarding is alive! After enjoying a brief vogue in the mid 60%u2019s this asphalt version of surfing has reappeared with a completely new technology which is even more popular and insures greater safety than the old style.For the past five months Barbara and Bill Jacobs of East Flatbush have taken their time and devoted their energy nearly every Sunday to create a safe,, free, fun skateboarding club for kids of all ages in Prospect Park. This group has been meeting at the PerChildren learn a multitude of iecSiiikjues and safety measureefrom Performance Skateboard Shop owners Barbara and BillJacobs.formance Skateboard Shop owned by the Jacobs at 9:30 every Sunday morning. From there the Jacobs take approximately 25 kids (later others meet at the park to join them for the day) in their truck and transport them and their equipment for a full day at Prospect Park.The Jacobs also bring new boards and accessories for the kids to try out. The new accessories include a new ramp which the Jacobs have spent weeks trying to get a permit for. Barbara Jacobs has been working very hard to obtain permission to use it, and it was recently granted by the foreman for the district, Ed Digiulio.In addition, the Jacobs also bring along at least four cases of free soda for the kids and the parents who come to watch. The Jacobs are something that should be acknowledged: they are taking a group of kids quite literally %u201coff the street%u201d and are making them interested in team work and helping one another%u2014while they still engage in street sport. The older kids tend to lend a helping hand to the younger ones by showing them new techniques and trying to make them understand the importance of taking safety precautions!The Jacobs stress to all the kids the importance of safety essentials, including elbow pads, gloves and wrist braces with aluminum, knee pads, and helmets. The Jacobs concern for the kids includes believing that the Parks Department should implement a skate boarding program or a travelling mobile! %u201cThis could be done at a fairly reasonable price by purchasing portable equipment made by Firestone,%u201d says Barbara. %u201c The city parks could provide money for all of it.%u201d To express their sincere desire to see a skateboard park built or equipment brought into the park, the Jacobs recently rented a bus and took the kids to Farmingdale, Long Island, where they enjoyed the closest skateboard park to the city. The kids, all of whom are enthusiastic about the program and about the Jacobs,, too, were uniformly delighted with the outing.At the Jacobs%u2019 Performance Skateboard Shop, which is the only exclusive skateboard shop in Brooklyn, a full line of the best equipment to customize your board is featured%u2014the Jacobs don%u2019t sell inferior equipment. Clay compound and roller-skate wheels have been replaced by slick urethane;brand names, colors and features abound in this mini-industrv. with prices ranging from $20 to $120, and higher. Optional accessories are also available, including lifts, bumpers, 70mm wheels, wedges (for cutting curbs), and a grip tape. Skateboarders can also customize their boards by choosing from Simms, Alva, or Roadrider wheels, which are available separately or together and any sidewalk mavin can often be heard arguing the merits of each.Skateboarding is you and your board. Every muscle in your body is being used, for all three styles of riding%u2014rampriding, free style, and slalom. You can usually catch a group of kids doing headstands, %u201c360%u2019s%u201d (full turns with only two wheels touching the ground) and lift tail wheelies (standing on back of board on one foot, with front wheels off the ground).If you%u2019re interested in finding out some more information, stop by Performance Skateboarding at 2208 Flatbush Avenue (comer of Avenue R) or give the Jacobs a ring at 252-8383. Bill and Barbara Jacobs say, %u201c stop by. W e%u2019d like to accommodate any newcomers. We have a great group of kids and we%u2019d like to expand.%u201dSeptember1,1978, THE PHOENIX, Pag%u00ae 15