Thursday, December 16, 2010

50 Years ago today a giant plane crashed around the corner from where I live now.


yea, 0.35 miles from my house.

The building I live in can be seen in the opening moment of the video above

So it was Dec 16, 1960 when 2 planes collided over Staten Island.  Apparently the bigger one was trying to land crash in Prospect Park.  They did not make it.  You can Google the story yourself.  It is very newsy.  Many witnesses still live around here and have a story to tell.


What strikes me is that the neighborhood has not changed much in 50 years,  They buildings anyway. The New York Times has a great gismo where you can fade from 1960 to 2010.

They are putting the finishing touches on the building that filled the hole made by the plane 50 years ago.  (So maybe the people rebuilding the World Trade Center can get a break. Bigger plane(s!) and bigger buildings.)  The new building does not look horrible.  The ground floor window are a plus and it does not have a garage so it will not encourage its occupants to own cars.







I was wondering what Park Slope will look like in 2060.  Did you see The Fifth Element?  Corben Dallas is a former super soldier that is now a taxi cab driver from South Brooklyn. 



He can do whatever he wants to the inside of his apartment, but I don't think things are gonna change this much.  Most of South Brooklyn is Landmarked. (I gotta good story about the fact that my building is landmarked.  Wait a few weeks.)


and here is the weariest thing.  Planes Collide by Ivan Koota.  Only $2,500. I just don't know where to put it.




6 comments:

  1. Great historical post, Mike. Right up my alley.

    You not only took us back into the past. But, you also brought us into the future.

    I knew about the air crash. I did not know about the aircraft carrier fire.

    Mike

    ReplyDelete
  2. that corner stood empty until, what? About 4 years ago? It saddens me that there is no plaque on that site, so many people died there. I know there used to be a memorial in Methodist Hospital and
    GreenWood cemetery just put up some sort of statue, but, something needs to be on the site. I am sure it was the burial spot for many on that plane.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Denise, but there is a memorial there of sorts... if you visit that corner of 7th Avenue, you will see a blue sign saying, "Ed Rogowsky Way". He is the little boy who was the only survivor of the crash. However, he suffered so much injury that he too succumbed in Methodist Hospital about a week later. That street corner was renamed in his honor for his fighting spirit.

    Josh

    ReplyDelete
  4. Josh, I used to think that too. Ed Rogowski was some sort of city planner. and so did other people.

    only the blog knows brooklyn Brooklyn

    The boy who lived was Steven Baltz

    Scouting NY

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sorry, Josh, you are mistaken, the little boy who survived and then died at Methodist was named Steven and I am pretty sure he died within 24 to 30 hours later, very sad. Who that street is named after is a mystery to me. Again, there should be an actual plaque there stating the accident and saying something about the people who died right on that spot.

    ReplyDelete

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