Mayor Westervelt: “Police officers must wear uniforms!”
KNOW YOUR MAYORS Our modest little series about some of the greatest, notorious, most important, even most useless, mayors of New York City. Other entrants in…
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Rockaway Playland: all our toys are gone
October 21, 2009
ABOVE: The long-gone Rockaway Playland, Queens answer to Coney Island at Rockaway Beach that was wiped away for condo developments in 1987. A friendly reminder of what could have happened to Coney Island.Look here for a huge selection of postcards remembering this forgotten Queens…
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John Brown and the heady world of New York phrenology
Today is the 150th anniversary of the raid on Harpers Ferry in West Virginia by radical abolitionist John Brown (at left), a failed attempt to free…
Wonderland: Walt Disney’s seven Big Apple moments
Yesterday's news about a new Times Square flagship store for Disney had me wondering what influence if any New York had on the career of Walt…
The Americans: NYC’s first professional hockey stars
The New York Rangers , the city's ice hockey hope since 1926, began their season on Friday, losing one that night and recovering on Saturday versus…
Yosemite’s loss: Olmstead between the parks
Hopefully some of you are watching the Ken Burns multi-hour epic documentary The National Parks: America's Great Idea, a fascinating but rather languid celebration of American…
Rewind: The Evolution of Central Park
ABOVE: 1969 -- Central Park's Sheep Meadow was transformed into 'Moon Meadow', a celebration for people watching the Apollo 11 moon landing.We don't have any regular…
Lucky Star: Danceteria and the debut of Madonna
And you can dance: Madge performs Borderline at Danceteria Photograph by Charlene MartinezFRIDAY NIGHT FEVER To get you in the mood for the weekend, every other…
New York Election Day traditions no longer celebrated
Today is primary election day in New York! Locals, have you voted yet? Current mayor Michael Bloomberg is not on the ballot yet -- he'll be…
Labor Day vs May Day: or why New Yorkers love a parade
A banner celebration: loading up with signs for the 1908 Labor Day Parade in New YorkLabor Day is one of the few national holidays that New…
Postcard from the Past: New York, September 1959
TEXT: "Sept 16th and 17th 1959'Ice Capades'Plymouth Hotel Fire at 4:30 AMThursdayMerman in 'Gypsy'"The Hotel Chesterfield (130-136 West 49th Street), built in 1927, was a luxury…
What a view! Library roof gardens in the Lower East Side
Click picture for greater detailAbove is a picture, facing east, of Seward Park Library in the 'lower' Lower East Side at 192 E. Broadway (picture taken…
New York City “in decay” on primetime TV
I just caught up on all my Mad Men episodes last night and feel foolish that I never mentioned the episode from a couple Sundays ago…