Photo Shop in Stapleton , becoming part owner of the firm in 1945 . His many clients included the Office of the Borough President ; the Board of Transportation ; Richmond Poster Company , for whom he photographed billboards and storefronts ; Bethlehem Steel Company , for whom he was the official photographer for ship launchings ; and owners of small family businesses . He was a specialist in marine photography , and during World War II he photographed destroyers , aircraft carriers and other military convoys .
An enthusiastic supporter of local civic and business interests , Flamm gave his time and services to numerous organizations . He served terms as president of the Staten Island Lions Club and the Stapleton Board of Trade , and was a member of the Borough President ’ s Committee for the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge . As president of the Staten Island
Chamber of Commerce in 1955 , he advocated planned growth to prepare Staten Island for the changes he knew were to come .
The mid-20th century was a period of great change for Staten Island . When Flamm began his career around 1930 , the Outerbridge Crossing and the Goethals Bridge connecting Staten Island to New Jersey had just opened , marking the first time people could reach the Island directly by automobile , rather than by ferry . The 1931 opening of the Bayonne Bridge provided another connection to the mainland ; Flamm documented the construction of that bridge in his photographs . As the metropolitan New York region grew ever more densely populated , development pressures on Staten Island intensified with this new and easy accessibility by car , and the Island ’ s farmland gave way to residential and commercial use . Flamm ’ s photographs captured the changing landscape ,
Bayonne Bridge under construction , ca . 1931 . Connecting Port Richmond , Staten Island , and Bayonne , New Jersey , the Bayonne Bridge was opened in 1931 . At the time of its completion , it was the longest steel arch bridge in the world .
The STaTen ISland hISTorIan 3