Month: June 2017

June 6

913 – Emperor Alexander III dies of exhaustion while playing the game tzykanion (Byzantine name for polo). He is succeeded by his 8-year-old nephew Constantine VII. 1749 – The Conspiracy of the Slaves in Malta is discovered. 1762 – Seven Years’ War: British forces begin a siege of Havana, Cuba, and temporarily capture the city...
The creator of the drive-in, Richard Hollingshead Jr., advertised his drive-in with the hook: "The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are."

Costly Mistakes

The architects of multiple residential buildings in Battery Park City have settled claims brought by United States prosecutors that their work on one of them violated the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) by failing to include adequate accommodations for disabled residents. SCLE Architects are credited with working on the designs of at least three buildings...
Federal prosecutors allege that narrow doorways and small bathrooms at the Verdesian rental building in northern Battery Park City had a discriminatory impact upon disabled people.

June 5

754 – Boniface, Anglo-Saxon missionary, is killed by a band of pagans at Dokkum in Frisia. 1817 – The first Great Lakes steamer, the Frontenac, is launched. 1829 – HMS Pickle captures the armed slave ship Voladora off the coast of Cuba. 1832 – The June Rebellion breaks out in Paris in an attempt to...
Violent clashes between the Peruvian police and indigenous groups protesting resource exploitation in Bagua, in 2009

A Littoral Interpretation

The Waterfront Alliance released the region’s first-ever Harbor Scorecard during the Rally for Our Waterfronts on the steps of City Hall on the first day of hurricane season, Thursday, June 1. The Scorecard evaluates and scores each of New York’s 59 community districts by their waterfront access, water quality, and coastal resiliency. The release comes...
Waterfront Alliance president Roland Lewis: "The next Sandy is coming, I repeat, the next Sandy is coming."

June 2 ~ It was fifty years ago today that Sgt Pepper taught the Band to Play

455 – King Gaiseric and the Vandals sack Rome – Rome looted for 14 days 1098 – First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later. 1615 – First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. 1692 – Bridget Bishop is...

Whose Oceans Are They, Anyway?

On Sunday, June 4, New York will kick off the World Ocean Festival with two observances: the Ocean March and the Ocean Village, both free and open to all. The Ocean March will be a grand parade of large and small boats from the Hudson to the East River around Lower Manhattan, with an official...