Search Results for: brooklyn history

Brooklyn Bridge May Get Expanded Promenade to Accommodate Growing Crowds
August 8, 2016

Brooklyn Bridge May Get Expanded Promenade to Accommodate Growing Crowds

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If you’ve ever had the experience of nearly being flattened by something on foot or wheels while walking or biking across the Brooklyn Bridge on a weekend afternoon, try to survive a little bit longer, help may be on the way. City transportation officials announced Monday that plans were in the works to alleviate the pedestrian and bike traffic that threatens to become “Times Square in the Sky.” The New York Times reports that among the possibilities for the aging bridge is a new path to help reduce some of the current congestion.
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Spotlight: Alex Gomberg Keeps Up the Tradition at 63-Year-Old Brooklyn Seltzer Boys

L to R: Alex Gomberg, Kenny Gomberg, Irv Resnick

July 8, 2016

Spotlight: Alex Gomberg Keeps Up the Tradition at 63-Year-Old Brooklyn Seltzer Boys

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When Alex Gomberg says "I have seltzer in my blood,” he's not referring to the quantity of seltzer he drinks, but rather describing how deep the seltzer tradition runs in his family. It began in 1953 with his great-grandfather, Moe Gomberg, who opened up Gomberg Seltzer Works, a seltzer bottling plant in Brooklyn. The term seltzer man may be new to some, but it refers to someone who delivers seltzer in glass bottles right to your door; no supermarket needed. Over the years, seltzer delivery went out of favor and the family business, currently run by Alex’s father Kenny Gomberg and uncle Irv Resnick, continued to bottle for others, but was no longer doing delivery routes themselves. Four years ago, Alex joined Gomberg Seltzer Works and felt strongly that company should return to its delivery roots. He helped developed a delivery branch, aptly named Brooklyn Seltzer Boys, and today, Alex is well on his way to becoming many New Yorkers’ 21st century seltzer man. His idea of returning to delivery service was right on the mark as the company is benefitting from a myriad of factors including nostalgia, a focus on curated, well made items, and the popularity of home delivery. 6sqft recently spoke with Alex to find out about Gomberg’s seltzer, what it’s like to be a seltzer man, and how he's bringing seltzer delivery back to New York.
Read the full interview here
July 6, 2016

The History of Bowery Bay Beach, the ‘Coney Island of Queens’

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This past holiday weekend, New Yorkers flocked to Coney Island for the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, the fireworks display, and to enjoy the beach and boardwalk. For some, though, traveling all the way out to the end of Brooklyn with beach chairs and coolers is daunting, which is why it's sad to learn that back in the 19th century, there was another amusement destination in the city, at the site of present-day LaGuardia Airport. Bowery Bay Beach (later named North Beach) opened in 1886 on the shores of Bowery and Flushing Bays. Built by noted piano manufacturer William Steinway in partnership with brewer George Ehret, it included beaches, swimming pavilions, a huge beer hall, zoo, and the Gala Amusement Park. At one time it was more popular than the parks in Brooklyn, earning it the moniker "the Coney Island of Queens."
So what happened?
21 Elephants Walked Across the Newly-Opened Brooklyn Bridge to Prove Its Safety

Photo via Wiki Commons

June 21, 2016

21 Elephants Walked Across the Newly-Opened Brooklyn Bridge to Prove Its Safety

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In May of 1883, the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge was big international news. The bridge had been under construction for 13 years, and its unveiling was a highly anticipated event. Showman P.T. Barnum, never one to turn down a PR opportunity, offered authorities a novel way to show–and show off–the safety of the new bridge: He’d walk his troupe of elephants across it. At first, his proposal was rejected. But in 1884, after a woman fell on the side stairs on the Manhattan side, causing a stampede that killed 12 people and making others wary that the bridge would collapse, Barnum’s “elephant walk” (the subject of a June, 2004 New Yorker cover) happened. It was to the amazement of New Yorkers who happened to catch the sight of 21 elephants, 7 camels, and 10 dromedaries (basically furry camels) trekking from the bottom of Cortlandt Street across the illuminated arches of the bridge, with Barnum’s celebrated seven-ton African elephant Jumbo bringing up the rear.
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Spotlight: Adam Caslow Carries on ‘A Lox’ of History at Acme Smoked Fish
June 3, 2016

Spotlight: Adam Caslow Carries on ‘A Lox’ of History at Acme Smoked Fish

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For many smear-loving New Yorkers, there's no better way to usher in the weekend than with a bagel and lox. And one of the companies keeping this culinary tradition alive is Brooklyn-based Acme Smoked Fish, a family business that traces its roots back to 1906 when Harry Brownstein started selling fish out of a wagon. For over 100 years, members of the Brownstein and Caslow families have been providing New York with smoked salmon, herring, fish salads, and other specialties. Adam Caslow and his cousin David Caslow are part of Acme’s fourth generation, continuing to grow the company and adapt to the city's current "Renaissance in appetizing." 6sqft recently spoke with Adam to learn more about Acme's rich history, smoked fish, and how he feels about carrying on a family tradition.
Read the full interview
The History of the Roosevelt Island Tramway
May 17, 2016

The History of the Roosevelt Island Tramway

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In honor of the Roosevelt Island Tramway's 40th anniversary today, we've pulled this wonderful piece on the history of the high-flying gondola system from our archives. Commuting in New York City, whether for work or pleasure, is rarely an enjoyable experience. However, for some tourists and lucky city dwellers, the Roosevelt Island Tramway provides a delightful, high-flying travel alternative to the standard, and sometimes miserable, modes of NYC public transport. Running across the East River, this aerial tramway brings commuters to and from Roosevelt Island and Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and has carried over 26 million passengers since opening in 1976. It is one of the few forms of mass transit in New York City not operated by the MTA, but it still costs the same as the bus or subway and can be paid for with your NYC metro card. Like most things in our historic port town, both the tramway and the commute between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island has a history, and this one includes bridge elevators, high-rise rescue missions and French ski lifts.
More on how the Roosevelt Island tramway came to be
The History of Herald Square: From Newspaper Headquarters to Retail Corridor

Image via Library of Congress

May 10, 2016

The History of Herald Square: From Newspaper Headquarters to Retail Corridor

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Herald Square is today known for many things. There's the flagship Macy's department store and the pedestrianized part of Broadway that extends to Times Square. And it serves as an epicenter of the retail corridor that now runs from 5th Avenue to 7th Avenue. Some may remember the song, "Give My Regards to Broadway," from the George M. Cohan musical "Little Johnny Jones"with the iconic line, "Remember me to Herald Square." But written in 1904, "Give My Regards to Broadway" references a very different Herald Square than the one we're familiar with today.
Learn about the evolution of Herald Square here
Subway-Style Poster Uses Infographics to Celebrate the History of the Yankees
April 27, 2016

Subway-Style Poster Uses Infographics to Celebrate the History of the Yankees

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Baseball's history in the Big Apple is as rich and turbulent as that of the city itself, and this super-sized canvas tells the story of the iconic New York Yankees. The stylish infographic from Pop Chart Lab plots out the player positions from 1975-2015, tracking the careers of long-standing baseball legends like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, as well as short-lived superstars like Jack Clark and Cecil Fielder. Fittingly, its design is similar in style to the graphics of the NYC subway system and also includes stats, scorecards, and all of the sluggers from East 161st Street.
Find out where to get your own print
Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Gets Closer to Reality; Nathan’s Hot Dogs Documentary
April 26, 2016

Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Gets Closer to Reality; Nathan’s Hot Dogs Documentary

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A city-commissioned study on the proposed Brooklyn-Queen streetcar says the plan is feasible. [Politico] The Four Seasons will move to 280 Park Avenue, and the restauranteurs are looking for an architect. [NYP] Peak cherry blossom season has officially arrived in Brooklyn! [DNAinfo] A new documentary, “Famous Nathan,” is about the Coney Island hot dog chain’s founder. […]

Skyline Wars: Brooklyn Enters the Supertall Race
April 20, 2016

Skyline Wars: Brooklyn Enters the Supertall Race

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Carter Uncut brings New York City’s latest development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. Here, Carter brings us his fifth installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter looks at Brooklyn's once demure skyline, soon to be Manhattan's rival. Downtown Brooklyn has had a modest but pleasant skyline highlighted by the 350-foot-high Court & Remsen Building and the 343-foot-high great ornate terraces of 75 Livingston Street, both erected in 1926, and the 462-foot-high flat top of the 1927 Montague Court Building. The borough’s tallest building, however, was the great 514-foot-high dome of the 1929 Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower, now known as One Hanson Place, a bit removed to the east from Downtown Brooklyn. It remained as the borough’s tallest for a very long time, from 1929 until 2009. A flurry of new towers in recent years has significantly enlarged Brooklyn’s skyline. Since 2008, nine new towers higher than 359 feet have sprouted there, in large part as a result of a rezoning by the city in 2007. A few other towers have also given its riverfront an impressive frontage. Whereas in the past the vast majority of towers were clustered about Borough Hall downtown, now there are several clusters with some around the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the former Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower and some around the Williamsburg riverfront.
more on Brooklyn's skyline here
Indulge Yourself in History at This $15K/Month Park Slope Brownstone Rental
March 10, 2016

Indulge Yourself in History at This $15K/Month Park Slope Brownstone Rental

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When you think "historic Brooklyn brownstone," this restored Park Slope home is likely to at least come close to what's on your mind–and more likely to hit a bullseye. Perfectly-preserved flourishes and original details frame every room, including decorative moldings, original oak floors and Lincrusta wallcoverings, adding up to elegance you don't usually find in such flawless condition. Yet there's nothing old-fashioned about daily life in this five-bedroom, 3,680-square-foot triplex currently seeking tenants at $15,000 a month. You'll get zoned central air and heat, a laundry room with a washer/dryer, a kitchen that's ready for cooking and entertaining a crowd, baths filled with luxurious details, and countless other ways this pretty period piece has been optimized for modern life.
Take a walk around
Vaults Under the Brooklyn Bridge Once Held Private Wine Cellars

Image via Stanley Greenberg 

February 16, 2016

Vaults Under the Brooklyn Bridge Once Held Private Wine Cellars

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We know the cavernous passageways and underground chambers of the Brooklyn Bridge hold many secrets–6sqft previously mentioned the Cold War-era bomb shelter, chock-full of supplies and provisions, hidden inside one of the massive stone arches below the bridge’s Manhattan side entrance. But the landmark also harbors a more pleasant secret: In the 1900s, the city rented out vaults beneath the ramps leading up to the bridge entrances for use as wine cellars (h/t NYT). A wine vault on the Manhattan side cost $5,000 a year, while Brooklyn-side storage was a mere $500 annually.
The full story
A New York Minute With the Lower East Side History Project’s Eric Ferrara

6sqft’s new mini-series A New York Minute features influential New Yorkers answering spitfire (and sometimes very random) questions about their life in the big city. Want to nominate yourself or someone you know? Get in touch!

February 15, 2016

A New York Minute With the Lower East Side History Project’s Eric Ferrara

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Eric Ferrara is one of those people who just screams New York, and it makes sense considering he's a fourth-generation city dweller. He was born on 71st Street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and is now a professional history author, educator, movie and television consultant and personality, and founder of the award-winning non-profit Lower East Side History Project. Among the books he's authored are the Manhattan Mafia Guide, Lower East Side Oral Histories, and The Bowery: A History of Grit, Graft and Grandeur. In addition to being ridiculously knowledgable about the city, Eric has that classic New York sense of humor, so we couldn't wait to hear about some of his most memorable moments, his favorite spots, and his general thoughts on life in New York.
Eric's NY Minute this way
The History of Kossar’s Bialys; S.S. United States May Once Again Become a Cruise Ship
February 4, 2016

The History of Kossar’s Bialys; S.S. United States May Once Again Become a Cruise Ship

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The New York Transit Museum is accepting proposals for PLATFORM, its cross-disciplinary program series. [NYTM] Explore the history of Kossar’s, NYC’s most famous bialy bakery. [Gothamist] A pneumatic waste-removal system is coming to the High Line. [CityLab] Confessions of a real estate agent in gentrifying Brooklyn. [Billfold] Crystal Cruises is optioning returning the historic S.S. United States back to […]

Meatpacking District Gets the Brooklyn-as-Brand Treatment
November 20, 2015

Meatpacking District Gets the Brooklyn-as-Brand Treatment

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The Brooklyn-as-a-brand ship has long sailed, but we've lately seen other boroughs (take for example this Bronx Hot Sauce) and neighborhoods (see this candle that promises to make your home smell like Bushwick) trying to cash in on the action. Unsurprisingly, the increasingly trendy Meatpacking District is the latest locale to jump on the bandwagon. Fast Co. Design has a first look at the new visual identity of the neighborhood, commissioned by the Meatpacking Business Improvement District and created by Base Design. "Anchored by a wordmark that divides "Meatpacking District" into two different typefaces, it suggests a neighborhood with multiple personalities: equal parts ritzy and wild," explains Fast Co. But the real reason behind the branding campaign may surprise you.
Learn more about the rebranding
Did You Know Brooklyn Has Its Own Saint?
November 6, 2015

Did You Know Brooklyn Has Its Own Saint?

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Neither did we. But the New York Times sheds some light on Raphael Hawaweeny, a Syrian (not Catholic or European) who helped bring the Eastern Orthodox Church to America, and who is being celebrated tonight and tomorrow to mark the 100th anniversary of his death. In 1904, Saint Raphael of Brooklyn became the first Orthodox Christian bishop consecrated in North America, leading him to found the present-day Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. The first of its 29 parishes was and is located in Boerum Hill–the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Brooklyn–not far from what was then Little Syria. The Archdiocese describes him as "neither a wonder-worker nor a clairvoyant elder, St. Raphael embraced a life of total abandonment of self for the service of God and his fellow man: a life of true spiritual asceticism."
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WSP Burial Vaults Belonged to a Church; Natural History Museum Expansion ‘Part Dr. Seuss, Part Jurassic Park’
November 6, 2015

WSP Burial Vaults Belonged to a Church; Natural History Museum Expansion ‘Part Dr. Seuss, Part Jurassic Park’

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The recently uncovered Washington Square Park burial vaults belonged to the Pearl Street Church or the Cedar Street Church, say archaeologists. [DNAinfo] Watch the 78-foot Rockefeller Center Christmas tree make its way into 30 Rock. [Reddit] Michael Kimmelman calls the Jeanne Gang-designed American Museum of Natural History expansion “part Dr. Seuss, part Jurassic Park, part parametric extravaganza,” […]

My 900sqft: Tour the Romantic Prospect Heights Home of Two Brooklyn Entrepreneurs
November 3, 2015

My 900sqft: Tour the Romantic Prospect Heights Home of Two Brooklyn Entrepreneurs

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Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to Prospect Heights. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch! Brit Liggett and Mike Cadoux may lead busy lives heading up their own companies—Brit is the founder and president of Show the Good, a startup that focuses on digital storytelling for nonprofits and social ventures, while Mike is the co-owner (alongside his brother) of Peak Organic Brewing Company—but this adorable Brooklyn twosome know a thing about winding down and stepping away from work when the day ends. Nestled in the heart of Prospect Heights, their home is as disconnected from the digital world as one can be in this day and age, filled with shelves and shelves of books, LPs, instruments, and vintage maps. They even have a room—"The Room for the Pursuit of Arts and Leisure"—where electricity is completely banned. Self-described as "old world," Brit and Mike have perfectly curated their apartment with a collection of incredible antiques, each with a story. In fact, only four pieces of furniture in the whole place are new! But they are no hoarders. As Brit tells us, "I'm a collector of things, without doubt, but I try to only have things that are useful or have a function." Brit and Mike recently invited us into their home, and while we immediately fell for their generous, beautifully decorated spaces, it was really all the charming and quirky details reflecting their six-year romance that had us swooning and tapping #relationshipgoals into our phones when we left.
Go inside Brit and Mike's beautiful Brooklyn home here
New Yorker Spotlight: John Philis Serves Up Luncheonette History at Lexington Candy Shop
October 2, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: John Philis Serves Up Luncheonette History at Lexington Candy Shop

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On the corner of 83rd Street and Lexington Avenue sits a luncheonette with a lot of history. Lexington Candy Shop was opened in 1925 by third-generation owner John Philis’ grandfather, and for nine decades the shop has served American classics to Upper East Siders. In a city that was once full of luncheonettes, this is believed to be the only one left in Manhattan. Perhaps it's because John is carrying on two traditions–keeping a family business alive and preserving a piece of American culture. He takes great pride in Lexington Candy Shop’s rich personal and national histories, especially since 2015 marked the shop's 90th year in business. We recently spoke with John to learn about the shop’s history and find out how the local gem mixes the past and present in every milkshake.
Get John's story this way
Photographing the Sukkahs of Brooklyn; Details Revealed for Anthony Bourdain’s Food Market
September 28, 2015

Photographing the Sukkahs of Brooklyn; Details Revealed for Anthony Bourdain’s Food Market

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The city might be getting intelligent street lights that can take photos and collect data on driving patterns. [DNAinfo] Happy Sukkot! Take a photo tour of sukkahs around Brooklyn. [Brownstoner] Anthony Bourdain’s 100-vendor food market will open in 2017 at Pier 57 at 15th Street. Its “heart and soul” will be a Singapore-style hawker market. [NYT] Remember […]

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