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UncategorizedNovember 26, 2012
The Williamsburg waterfront was a wall of industry over one hundred years ago and of a most combustible kind. Manhattan had waterfront industry as well, but it was leveraged with rising skyscrapers. For instance, from the Williamsburg Bridge -- not a decade old in…
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Turkey anyone? Thanksgiving maskers, in New York, taken sometime between 1910-15. Whatever you do, don't look the 'lady' directly in the eye! My new column for…
Today begins mandatory gas rationing in New York City due to shortages caused by Hurricane Sandy.There was limited gas rationing during the 1970s, but the longest…
Above: Aftermath of a massive blaze in Breezy Point on the Rockaway Peninsula (Picture courtesy AP) PODCAST A brief encapsulation of what's happening in the city as…
When things get really, really bad, history provides validation and context. The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has already inspired newscasters, meteorologists and journalists to reach to…
I'll update the blog later today with some observation on catastrophic Hurricane Sandy. Tom is one of the thousands on the Manhattan side without power. I'm…
Above: The waters off Gravesend, Brooklyn, sketched by a British general in 1776. They too would have experienced the odd watery phenomenon known as 'the Potato…
The last remaining unrenovated tracks of the West Side Elevated Railway: Seen better days, but haven't we all? (Click onto pictures for a larger view)This past…
In the spirit of P.T. Barnum, Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday announced plans to build the world's largest Ferris wheel next to the ferry terminal on Staten…
The Fortress of Fifth Avenue: the Murray Hill ReservoirWe share a lot of the same needs as New Yorkers of the past, but we've just gotten…
When I was a teenager, one of many life missions was to one day write for the Weekly World News, the black-and-white supermarket tabloid which specialized…
Hoe Avenue in the Bronx has nothing to do with farming, although it once indeed ran through a grand 19th century farm estate. The avenue's namesake,…
Hunter and gadabout Paul Rainey: An accidental matinee idolCatching a movie this weekend? Many New Yorkers had the same plan one hundred years ago, but the…
