June 13/14, 2020 – BROOKLYN THE BOROUGH FROM BENSONHURST TO BRIGHTON
THIS IS THE 78th ISSUE OF
FROM THE ARCHIVES
JUNE 13-14, 2020 WEEKEND EDITION
A BOROUGH OF BRIDGES
THE BROOKLYN WAS THE FIRST TO OPEN IN 1883, THE WILLIAMSBURG IN 1903 AND THE MANHATTAN IN 1909
BROOKLYN NAVY YARD
The Navy Yard has been the home of ship-building and heavy manufacturing for over a century. After most businesses left in the 1960’s the yard and neighborhood declined. Now it is the home lo new light manufacturing, movie studio, innovative and technology companies. Many of the old buildings are restored and new food preparation and dining venues area appearing. It is an easy ride on the Astoria NYC Ferry ferry from Roosevelt Island.
PROSPECT PARK
In the 18th century Brooklyn was one of six villages dotting the western end of Long Island. In 1814 Robert Fulton’s ferry service contributed to the expansion of East River commerce and linked the growing town with its neighbor and competitor, New York City. Chartered in
1834, Brooklyn became the new nation’s third largest city within thirty years. The resulting crowds and unsanitary conditions prompted the first American attempts at urban planning, with public green space seen as a health necessity more than an aesthetic one. At the same time, new concepts concerning the role of public parks in America were gaining popularity.
In 1858, designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux completed Central Park in Manhattan. Soon a movement grew in Brooklyn for a park of its own. James T. Stranahan, a business and civic leader, spearheaded the endeavor as head of the Brooklyn Parks Commissioners, overseeing the Park’s creation from inception to completion. In the early 1860s, Stranahan argued that a park in Brooklyn “would become a favorite resort for all classes of our community, enabling thousands to enjoy pure air, with healthful exercise, at all seasons of the year…”
BROOKLYN MUSEUM
BROOKLYN CHILDREN’S MUSEUM
BED-STY, PROSPECT PARK, PARK SLOPE NEIGHBORHOODS
HIPSTER NEW BROOKLYN IN WILLIAMSBURG AND BUSHWICK
In recent years under-developed areas of Brooklyn have been ripe for redevelopment and the blossoming of new buildings catering to those who must live in Brooklyn.
BROOKLYN BY THE BAY
FLOYD BENNETT FIELD,
JAMAICA BAY WILDLIFE PRESERVE
FORT TOTTEN
IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF BROOKLYN IS THE AREA THAT IS STILL UNDEVELOPED AND PRESERVED TO NATURE AND WILDLIFE. A CAR IS NEEDED TO REACH THIS AREA AND YOU WILL BE REWARDED. YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE SITE OF BARREN ISLAND, WHERE OUR CITY HANDLED THE UNDESIRABLE CHORES OF THE DISPOSAL.
MYSTERY PHOTO OF THE DAY
Can you identify this object and location?
Send you response to jbird134@aol.com
Winner gets a trinket from kiosk.
YESTERDAY’S IMAGE
The trusswork of the Roosevelt Island Bridge.
The winner was Andy Sparberg
EDITORIAL
We embarked on a voyage of the 5 boroughs this weekend. Lots of images and memories to remind you of times past and other tidbits of history.
Just took my first subway trip in 3 months. The train was spotless, the station was clean, the elevator did not have any of its usual aromas and the mouse scurrying under the Metrocard machine at 23rd Street did not have a mask!
I will be off the island to work at Early Voting next week in Manhattan. If you did not do an absentee ballot you can vote early in Manhattan at Wagner JHS. See the instructions at vote.nyc. If you still want to vote the old fashioned way we will be at PS 217 on Tuesday, June 23rd from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Judith Berdy
jbird134@aol.com
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