tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58016664713713062572024-03-17T23:04:09.989-04:00OLD NEW YORKThe history of
The Empire StateJeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.comBlogger221125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-9170694855011147852018-10-11T09:10:00.003-04:002018-10-11T09:10:54.343-04:00Balto<div class="_5pbx userContent _3576" data-ad-preview="message" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_u51">
Location: New York City<br />
Year: 1925<br /><br />
Among the statues in Central Park is one of Balto the sled dog whose
team traversed 600 miles in subzero whiteout conditions to bring
diphtheria antitoxin to stricken Nome, Alaska in late January 1925.
Coverage of Balto's feat was literally worldwide in an era of uncertain
communications, and the dog was given many humanitarian awards and his
own motto: "Endurance - Fidelity - Intelligence."<br />
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The statue of
this world-famous dog was unveiled in Central Park in December 1925 just
a few months after the event. It stands not far from the Central Park
Zoo. Balto himself was in attendance and undoubtedly made some
appropriate canine remarks.<br />
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<img alt="Image may contain: tree, outdoor and nature" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/43059882_10156118150454132_547318570271375360_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&oh=370d4ccfd96515520014d787d27f9c15&oe=5C18B0B3" style="height: 520px; width: 390px;" /></div>
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Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-24294204496547879462018-10-11T09:02:00.002-04:002018-10-11T09:08:03.641-04:00The Central ParkLocation: New York City<br />
Year: 1853<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Around 1850 it was already becoming evident that New York needed
lungs. The city's populationhad quadrupled since 1800 and would
quadruple again before the end of the century, and then quadruple yet
again. </div>
<img alt="Image may contain: sky and outdoor" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/42935354_10156115561024132_4349528228361142272_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&oh=7643622c31b0b6142d0f282931298041&oe=5C53FC53" style="height: 283px; width: 678px;" /><br />
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The tangled packed quarters of downtown were swarming
with human beings. By 1910 the immigrant neighborhood of the Lower East
Side, less than one and a half miles square, would have 543,000
inhabitants, a population density of 362,000 per square mile, the most
populous residential district in history.<br />
<br />
If the Commissioner’s
Plan had one failing it was in providing a lack of green space. The
regimented blocks above 14th Street marched --- even if they weren’t
developed --- unrelievedly up the length of Manhattan Island. In a
sense, this was surprising. Central London’s parks --- Hyde Park,
Kensington Gardens, Green Park, St. James’ Park, and Regent’s Park ---
once royal hunting preserves --- had been opened to the public beginning
in the 17th Century, a fact of which the New York Commissioners were
very well aware, and the huge parks of London acted as London’s “lungs”
giving residents a respite from the aggressiveness of urban
development. Why such spaces were not built into the Plan for New York
is evidence of an amazing blind spot in the midst of one of the most
foresighted development plans ever.<br />
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<img alt="Image may contain: sky and outdoor" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/42991703_10156115990454132_6903551911274741760_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&oh=1563ef53ca0264dae470d1f28077d8fe&oe=5C19BC5E" style="height: 250px; width: 200px;" /> </div>
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Neighborhood people took
charge of the problem. Cemeteries became impromptu parks. Here and there
throughout lower Manhattan, especially where meandering Broadway
intersected with the grid at odd angles, “postage stamp parks” like
Union Square and Tompkins Square were laid out, but they underwent
limited development until the late 19th Century. In the meantime, the
city had other plans. <br />
<br />
Buying up an immense rectangle of land in
the approximate center of Manhattan then consisting of farms and small
villages, the Common Council evicted these people and declared the
entire area to be “the central park of New York City” in 1853. The
central park was so far uptown at that point (59th Street) and stretched
so, seemingly forever, far to 106th Street, that hardly anyone visited.
And the park was later enlarged, reaching then to 110th Street. In
total, it would be 843 acres, more than a square mile of Manhattan real
estate dedicated to man and nature. Today its financial worth is in the
billions --- one estimate is $528,783,552,000. It's value is
incalculable.<br />
<br />
To attract New Yorkers to the central park a
design competition was held in 1857. Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert
Vaux submitted the winning design, “The Greensward Plan,” a carefully
sculpted and landscaped series of lawns, lakes, and hills, joined
together by carriage and footpaths and 36 stunningly carved bridges.
Basically, their plan was to recreate what the Commissioners had
banished, a wooded and hilly sanctuary in the heart of Manahatta. And
though “The Central Park” (like “The Yankee Stadium” the article was
part and parcel of the name at first) seems like a region of unspoilt
Manhattan never touched by human hands, the truth is that not a rock
stands or a blade of grass grew or grows there that hadn’t been
carefully selected for that purpose. Even in its most seemingly natural
place, Manhattan is an environment where Man has completely subjugated
nature. Four million plants, representing 1,500 species, made up the
original arboretum.<br />
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<img alt="Image may contain: 1 person, tree and outdoor" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/42965152_10156115997344132_8829254821182701568_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&oh=76aca7172751181fc7dddf3694052bcc&oe=5C62C072" style="height: 350px; width: 500px;" /></div>
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Construction continued into the 1860s,
slowed but never abandoned in the midst of the Civil War and the Draft
Riots. It took until 1873 for the park to be completed.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, after a period of intense interest that lasted into the
1880s, New Yorkers began taking the park for granted. The City, pressed
for monies to use for Progressive Era projects, ceased funding the park,
which became increasingly raggedy, a place for ne’er-do-wells. By the
1920s the park was in very sad shape. During the Depression the sheep in
the Sheep Meadow were carted away for fear that they would be eaten by
starving New Yorkers. Between 1930 and 1933, a series of Hoovervilles
sprang up.<br />
<br />
When Fiorello LaGuardia became New York’s Mayor in
1934 he immediately appointed a young firebrand developer named Robert
Moses to redevelop Central Park. Moses replanted. He created The Great
Lawn on the site of the old Croton Reservoir. He installed ballfields
and playgrounds. He created spaces for public events such as concerts.
Depression-weary New Yorkers began to visit Central Park in great
numbers (it’s said that Moses dropped the “The”) as a place of respite.
It was Robert Moses’ first great development project. Over the next 30
years he would remake New York, sometimes in ways that were inimical to
New Yorkers’ needs and sensibilities. But Central Park was his early
masterpiece --- maybe because he was improving on something already
intrinsically sound. <br />
<br />
The Park thrived until the late 1960s,
when again, the city had to divert funds to other purposes. Neglected
again, Central Park declined rapidly. It soon became a very dangerous
place to be, especially at night. The 1970s were the Park’s worst years.<br />
<br />
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<img alt="Image may contain: sky, tree and outdoor" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/43062510_10156115999044132_5756595094039822336_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&oh=439375d5bbbf3eaed591041dc2aed0a1&oe=5C4F006F" style="height: 688px; width: 452px;" /> </div>
<br />
In 1979, the Central Park Conservancy was formed to reclaim the
park from the marauders who had turned it into a battle zone and put it
back into the hands of law-abiding New Yorkers. Renovations and
maintenance have been ongoing since then, under the direction of 250
Parks and Recreation workers aided by 3,000 volunteers. Crime has
dropped precipitously; from a high of over 1,000 a year in the 1980s,
the crime rate is now under 100 per year.<br />
<br />
Cars have largely
been banned, helping to maintain the park's rustic, if not always quiet,
atmosphere. The Park is a regular stop for migrating birds. Almost
every North American species has been seen there. There are no large
animals (except in the Zoo and the stables) but there are raccoons
galore, squirrels, and even some chipmunks. There are also five people
listed as permanent residents of the Park, though the City denies that
anyone actually lives there.<br />
<br />
With the continuing gentrification
of New York, Central Park, though different from what Olmstead and Vaux
imagined, is the breathing space of the busy city.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Image may contain: bridge, outdoor and nature" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/43070668_10156116010094132_1486837134353498112_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&oh=50e57a7e3e909f762ebcbbd33be9bea0&oe=5C41E21A" style="height: 337px; width: 565px;" /> </div>
Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-65092563617194774502015-08-12T16:56:00.002-04:002015-08-12T17:04:08.922-04:00Old Home Movies<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Location: New York City</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Year: Turn of the Last Century</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The oldest moving-picture film footage of New York City, dating from 1896 forward.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=492&v=AQR-HKzESsM" rel="nofollow">Old New York</a></b></span><br />
<br />Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-23977459003521778142014-12-05T10:02:00.002-05:002014-12-05T10:02:49.200-05:00Lucys<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: New York City</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: Present day</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">40% of all cigarettes sold in New York City are untaxed.</span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJ5myq0Yswo0BICgGQguSvAaKStRa6rI5ZBY8WYOXlJ0nUsoqgHEJVn4jQ7HPAq0OMqeFfiOXqCrwAyAtJQiNvwI6vihJPaa4D8nZ5zMYz-Hhzok3gm9OqWB5U1eUWPNww_80k89GKo4/s1600/earns-altria-group.jpg" height="335" width="400" /></div>
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Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-81914240183880545512014-11-28T11:34:00.001-05:002014-11-28T11:34:23.301-05:00The Queen City<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1789<br />Location: Buffalo</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">Mew York's Second City, Buffalo, was originally named Buffalo Creek. The name has nothing to do with bison; rather, it is derived from the French "beau
fleuve" meaning "beautiful river." The city lies on the Niagara River.</span></span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMWz8xX3FIbdGvN_kUGursvw4UV5Bp8t3QP__ZcPT18qUCE3kiY0oaa2RedKOWZSbxDddgiSA9omQcPrv_vCfVakE2U-192YzYGgmoeJlw8odYLMcUc-osLxXPG1piEHT26fbZr6y-tQ/s1600/the-niagara-river.jpg" height="298" width="400" /> </div>
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Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-8954241756119264582014-11-26T21:56:00.001-05:002014-11-26T22:04:48.342-05:00Miracle on 34th Street<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: 34th Street</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1947</span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdhcGV2nbnINolCuQW2PaSl_8xhlt80UXSrDjH3a9UX2AYazA1UhAmG3tA5O42vjKVqeh0TsZn4eel-DFddtMbwD__0leBG-d3n73wEMj0nPF5kJVbysYWyqRUfChOYb9xnU_Brnhyvc/s1600/20121121_still-from-miracle-on-34th-street_33.jpg" height="441" width="640" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The perennial Thanksgiving/Christmas favorite, <i>Miracle on 34th Street</i>, was born on Christmas Eve 1944, when screenwriter Valentine Davies was caught in the last minute holiday shopping rush at Macy*s Herald Square, trying to buy a few last minute stocking stuffers for Mrs. Davies. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Davies' friend George Seaton loved the story so much that Seaton covered the studio's expenses in live filming during the 1946 Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade. All the New York shooting was done in one take because of the frigid temperatures that November, and because the parade did not allow for re-shoots. Edmund Gwenn, who plays Santa Claus in the film was Macy*s Santa that year, and the people in the crowd are actual paradegoers. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In a high-risk move, Macy*s and Gimbel's were given a "kill option" on the film to be exercised by either store at the time the final film was first privately screened. The use of either "kill option" would have required almost total re-scripting and re-shooting; fortunately, both stores embraced the film enthusiastically. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Darryl F. Zanuck loved <i>Miracle on 34th Street </i>so much that he had the film released in June of 1947. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Maureen O'Hara, who plays the skeptical Doris Walker, said that the cast and crew had a wonderful time working on the film, and it shows; the film was an instant hit and remains a nostalgic favorite. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ms. O'Hara, who is known as "The Lady Who Knows Santa Claus" has said that by the time production wrapped everyone was convinced that Edmund Gwenn really <i>was</i> Santa Claus. The beard is genuine. </span></span>Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-68831212888902997712014-11-23T10:44:00.001-05:002014-11-23T10:44:15.429-05:00What's that smell?<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Location: Manhattan</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Year: Present-Day</span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWFW4ri96FKyZqZTPLqPzOColsuHJiKp7KTRamIgxdjORWC4aqaSJNBxiLq3NMmDCoGG6MURsMGxBNDZLsFQkH5vIXYYLIyYAtWZ80vY3piA9eTFIal8VWkuYSeK5yEBncPtosc0DKMw/s1600/fashion_institutenyc.jpg" height="273" width="400" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan is the only school in the world offering a Bachelor of Science Degree with a Major in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing. </span></span><br />
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Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-15259357679517557402014-10-28T08:49:00.002-04:002014-10-28T08:49:44.588-04:00Dance The Night Away<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: The Big Apple</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: Now</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sanitation workers in New York City refer to maggots as “disco rice.”</span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_O45opIiV8KVFP59BD3feifsFNRaAjnbmjD9NhS1jAf6fAeOfByBQxgiBK8d0hohUMjPOI2FheimMrQk22V-ga4eWUH748aWJm0O2JZKGeAcUn-tthMUVv98uz5iloiTAjoeUjh7f0Y/s1600/saving-fuel-with-wireless-da_1.jpg" /></div>
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Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-31213767101294338322014-10-26T23:27:00.001-04:002014-10-26T23:27:14.308-04:00Yellow Cabs<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: Manhattan and Chicago</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: Early 1900s</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ever wonder why New York taxis are all yellow? It's because John D. Hertz, an enterprising immigrant from Hungary, discovered through his own researches that bright yellow is the color most quickly identified against a busy background. Beginning in 1915, Hertz founded the Fifth Avenue Cab Company in New York, the Yellow Cab Company in Chicago, and the nationwide Hertz Auto and Truck Rental businesses. Until he sold his interests in these companies in the 1940s, he maintained a virtual monopoly on the "pay-to-ride" / "pay-to-drive" industry in the Northeast and Midwest. Yellow became, and remains, the traditional color for taxis.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyxVq9O6uE_COkS-8guXxh4p2ntiQHbiIX62EArm9Zf1a2l_eKE-Z7Xr4hvT6-h-AQaJT1FW1Zfx9XK5DDBWlUq8an0oyQZ-ZaxQzeylHqLnvy-kgEnd4JLaaQfXWBkdR7mVxRoguI5QI/s1600/Yellow_cabs_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyxVq9O6uE_COkS-8guXxh4p2ntiQHbiIX62EArm9Zf1a2l_eKE-Z7Xr4hvT6-h-AQaJT1FW1Zfx9XK5DDBWlUq8an0oyQZ-ZaxQzeylHqLnvy-kgEnd4JLaaQfXWBkdR7mVxRoguI5QI/s1600/Yellow_cabs_2.jpg" height="248" width="320" /></a></div>
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Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-18640894460723319222014-10-26T23:04:00.001-04:002014-10-26T23:04:45.097-04:00The Dutch skyscraper<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: New York, New York</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1660s</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZpPn7mwa_uk0fI93i2Hp2K3O5ZCguLXkluTPVIQ-BLt31FT4fwX9rJU8fTE8sYRnVy1TUCi8zQ4TBpes1Qff2a5I155xDHQYzixs79AjYLWvEAdJbr8mk6FVkS-EliiTrTtdikowIcU/s1600/NewYorkSkyline.gif" height="297" width="640" /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> The New York City skyline is world famous for its skyscrapers, which have been the tallest buildings in the world and the Western Hemisphere. In 1660, however, the New Amsterdam skyline <span id="SmallContent">was dominated by a two-story-high windmill.</span></span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJC_s4pQiOwzweFKU4HJlxIQyWy5kRdq91Q0CUnfmB1hLKaeZsJMVzctpx30iMQG55WzDfbcB-wBdphVIXnZnBX1rZGtd1AFmfHCHJxwyLGriAf4B6aEgyuPnvChg8Xhf4XPy91AIeMk/s1600/GezichtOpNieuwAmsterdam.jpg" height="436" width="640" /></div>
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Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-72359140655496662952014-10-25T11:57:00.001-04:002014-10-25T12:08:39.440-04:00Paying The Beer Tax<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: New York City</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1931</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ah, Prohibition! The Eighteenth Amendment was easily the most violated law in American history. Everybody violated the Volstead Act, even Volstead. Besides mountain moonshiners and urban bathtub gin distillers, numberless speakeasies and blind pigs dotted the American map ("blind pigs" got their name because they exhibited odd animals --- one-armed monkeys, tailless raccoons, and blind pigs --- for a small fee. Visitors were entitled to a free snort with their admission price. Since the hooch wasn't being sold, </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">technically </span></span>it wasn't illegal). </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbsW3FP-IelxTeRNjucmY4Jllzz5p1EuPZOa4z6bmkzoVNnqH0c8NcEvcDuX_0ArhTEJvarfn-BqV_J5XiYlr-Rjg2ZEA5CypBajjUH61YFFyqpHbOeThRYguCd4WGx1nWeNhBxNCYdk/s1600/jimmy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbsW3FP-IelxTeRNjucmY4Jllzz5p1EuPZOa4z6bmkzoVNnqH0c8NcEvcDuX_0ArhTEJvarfn-BqV_J5XiYlr-Rjg2ZEA5CypBajjUH61YFFyqpHbOeThRYguCd4WGx1nWeNhBxNCYdk/s1600/jimmy.jpg" height="448" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Gentleman Jim. "Would you care for some tea with that tea, sir?" </span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Bob Hope as "Beau James"</span></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">When it came right down to it, there was nothing New York City's "Night Mayor" Jimmy Walker loved more than a good brouhaha unless it was a chorus girl. "Beau James" was a fierce opponent of Prohibition, and made no secret of it, taking on the stodgy Federal government and its ardent (and not so ardent) drys at every opportunity. Populist that he was, he supported the citizenry's right to knock a few back. In 1932, he organized a "We Want Beer" parade down Fifth Avenue in lieu of a dry Oktoberfest. And he made sure, quietly, that the people got what they wanted.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here's a toast to raising taxes! ;)</span></span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Walker maintained several secret stashes of expensive liquor for his own use all around the city. Walker might not have known it, but he had a friend in FDR, who kept his own secret stashes in the White House, the Presidential retreat at Shangri-La (Camp David), and at his home, "Springwood" in New Hyde Park, New York. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Bottoms up!</span></span>Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-46116510625833959832014-10-24T06:27:00.001-04:002014-10-24T06:27:42.854-04:00"When it rains, it pours."<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: Wyoming County, New York</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1848</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Onondaga Salt Company opens its first salt mine in Wyoming County, New York, in anticipation of a massive demand for salt by the '49ers of the California Gold Rush.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Business booms, and the company relocates its headquarters from Syracuse to Chicago in 1849, changing its name to the Richmond Salt Company. In 1889, Joy Morton, the son of J. Sterling Morton, robber baron, politician, and founder of Arbor Day, buys the Richmond Salt Company, renaming it the Morton Salt Company in 1910. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In 1911, Morton devises a salt compound that does not cake with dampness. In 1914, the company adopts its famous "Morton Salt Girl" logo and and motto, "When it rains, it pours." </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Eventually, the company becomes the world's largest producer of table
salt. Its Wyoming County salt mine still produces salt to this day. </span></span><br />
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<img alt="History of the Umbrella Girl" src="http://www.mortonsalt.com/content/images/our-history-images/history-umbrella-girl.jpg?v=1.4" /> </div>
Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-33710872678311517162014-10-23T15:27:00.004-04:002014-10-23T15:28:24.588-04:00Ithaca, New York, or: Sodom-By-The-Lake <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: Ithaca, New York</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1790</span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7leljJErRqLWr4MYTwnif1mGB8ciIj1RPYd3aA1NZAib05dWPZWd5HHzxw-qewLGhDKEXqVzTQTkxChkmk-heTCgBMOUGoN8-V2OLNP6X1vpfWOHepZaWJNcuJHx0zIFLeD86o5E8lk/s1600/03.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The City of Ithaca, New York, at the southern end of Cayuga Lake, was named for Odysseus' home island in the eponymous Homeric epic. There are over 100 waterfalls within a ten square mile radius of the town. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Originally Iroquois land, Euroamerican settlement in the Ithaca area began in 1790, when the U.S. Congress began giving land grants to Revolutionary War veterans in lieu of back pay. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The region was known as "The Central Military Tract" and the main settlement was known first as "Ulysses" and then "Odysseus" before it became "Ithaca". Ithaca was also informally called "Sodom-By-The-Lake" for awhile due to the many taverns and houses of ill-fame that served its early mostly male population. It is now the site of Cornell University and Ithaca College. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Famous natives of Ithaca include "Roots" author Alex Haley, astronomer Carl Sagan, television writer Rod Serling, and former World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz.</span></span>Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-18600847196416230722014-10-22T11:20:00.000-04:002014-10-22T11:22:17.953-04:00The blast-proof Buddhist<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: The Upper West Side of Manhattan</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1955</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Shinran Shonen (1173-1263) was the founder of the True Pure Land School of Buddhism in Japan. Ordained a monk at age nine, in his twenties he became disillusioned with the increasing deification of the Shogun within Japanese society and within Japanese Buddhist practice. He joined the monk Honen, who founded the Pure Land School.Pure Land Buddhism taught that society was so corrupt that individuals necessarily had to seek spiritual intercession from a higher power to achieve Enlightenment. Both men's practice focused on chanting the <i>Nembutsu</i>:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Namu Amida Butsu</i> --- "I take refuge in the Amida Buddha."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Due to their disregard for the Shogun, both Honen and Shinran were forbidden to associate or teach. Although they each continued to teach secretly, their long separation caused the two men to develop different approaches to the practice they taught. Shinran believed that entry to the Pure Land (Enlightenment) could be attained in life, while Honen believed that it could only be attained at life's end. Honen died in 1212, the two men never having seen each other again. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Although Shinran always considered himself a disciple of Honen's, their followers did not, and the Pure Land School and the True Pure Land School remained distinct. Eventually, Shinran's True Pure Land Buddhism (<i>Jodo Shinshu</i> or Shin Buddhism) became the largest Buddhist sect in Japan, a status it retains today. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Shin temples all have a statue of Shinran standing guard at their entrance. The Shinran figure at the doorway of the New York Buddhist Church on Riverside Drive is unique. Until 1945, the statue stood before a Shin temple in Hiroshima just over a mile from Ground Zero of the atomic bomb blast. Although the temple was utterly destroyed in the blast, the statue endured, unscathed. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In 1955, the statue was gifted to the NYBC as, “a testimonial to the atomic bomb devastation and a symbol of lasting hope for world peace,” as its commemorative plaque reads.</span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1OyTg8oMir6ASptWKjlAaaLLfWPdDUy4GWboYGrM0f-l6IPno03EDbODNHedCjUqprpKtHGI6mXZRdldrAgpa-SArw0akUN9naht4ZLCUzqbvyPmy7o0NyaYSTYsSSYyGkHvaWR5S8w/s1600/Shinran_statue_nyc.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></div>
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<br />Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-77814313895956424812014-10-21T11:11:00.001-04:002014-10-21T11:11:57.530-04:00She who climbs to the Sphinx's head a millionaire shall surely wed<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Location: Montauk Highway, New York</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Year: 1899</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, the Long Island village of Bayport was a fashionable resort area spotted with hotels and summer homes. South of Montauk Highway (Route 27A) and adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, large comfortable-looking clapboard houses are still the norm, while north of Montauk Highway, the area is impoverished. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A remnant of the resort days, a rather surprised-looking cement Sphinx stands on the grounds of the Fontana Cement Company along Route 27A. </span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5W9jcxvfhyphenhyphenZPqWZxjDFvKvKpVrOK27bQQXJfTPEl5iXLMbD-0ke5tFQ7GMEWLTrW7_NQdEpyK6v3KnrHluLuvUH1m17nMFuJaaFDUjf2nRTlzULKZ4rqFNU4mdr-maJF9wgiznBPU-Xw/s1600/NYBAYsphinx_leita.jpg" height="332" width="400" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Sphinx once stood in front of the now-vanished Anchorage Hotel. Emblazoned with the inscription: <i>"She who climbs to the Sphinx's head a millionaire shall surely wed,"</i> it's said that the owner of the Anchorage used to sit on a strategically-placed park bench nearby so that he could catch a glimpse of ladies' unmentionables as the daring young maidens of the area made the ascent. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After the Anchorage burned down, the Fontana family bought the land and built a service station there. In 1972, the Fontanas moved the Sphinx to the family's cement company property as a unique business sign. </span></span><br />
<br />Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-31306542422403436902014-10-20T11:39:00.002-04:002014-10-20T11:39:47.187-04:00Glorious Leader<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: 250 East Houston Street, New York, New York</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1989</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">A bronze statue of Vladimir Lenin stands atop an apartment building in New York's East Village. Why? Nobody quite knows. And the Russian revolutionary stands in front of a huge clock face with its numbers all out of order. Why, you ask? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Because it's New York. </span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgml30mrVDI6HtiDIQjVS-Dd40mvI8oNUwbFbdyfKilmC743tULVigJroPdaPj9h2gmRTVSvyCU-xAYSv7Id9aoI-MFdsxJ_fBWBgaP4c4M0sJt4nf0vzIha4bcQ-Sy9WZ9RG2jqpIaiiE/s1600/Lenin-east_village.jpg" height="510" width="640" /></div>
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Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-72368340341877864322014-10-15T09:52:00.005-04:002014-10-15T13:58:33.250-04:00"A suitable bathing suit . . . "<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: Throughout The State</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: Timeless</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /> Just as the State of New York has passed all sorts of really peculiar State laws, local municipalities have done the same. A few of the oddest ones:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Town of Hempstead:</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is illegal to be naked or fondle yourself in public unless you are breastfeeding or under 10 years old.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is unlawful to operate a mechanical bull.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Town of Babylon:</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Anyone under the age of 16 cannot play commercial video games during school hours on any weekday that school is in session. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is illegal to shoot a bow and arrow. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Residents must remove snow, ice, dirt or any other object or material from the sidewalk between the property line and curb line within four hours of its appearance, except from 9:00 PM to 7:00 AM.<br /><br /><b>Town of Kendall:</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">During a concert, it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalks.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is against town ordinances to camp out on your own land more than 72 hours a month. If you want to camp out for 2 weeks you need a permit, which can only be obtained once a year.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Village of Sag Harbor:</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is illegal to disrobe in your horse-drawn carriage, farm wagon, or gas-powered car. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">If one wishes to bathe within the municipal limits, they must be clothed in a “suitable bathing suit”.<br /><br /><b>Village of Head of the Harbor:</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is illegal to hold a picnic in public. <br /><br /><b>Richmond County (Staten Island):</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is illegal for a father to call his son a “faggot” or “queer” in an effort to curb "effeminate" behavior.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">You may only water your lawn if the hose is held in your hand.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Nassau County:</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is illegal to sell trading cards to minors depicting a heinous crime, an element of a heinous crime or a heinous criminal.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is illegal to feed migratory waterfowl.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is illegal to sell broad tipped markers to minors in fear of vandalism.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is illegal to possess a deceptively colored handgun.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">An employee is allowed seven days paid leave to donate bone marrow or 30 days paid leave as an organ donor. They can do this only if they provide their supervisor with written notice no less than 14 days before the surgery unless it is an emergency.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Suffolk County:</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">You cannot release 25 or more helium balloons within a 24-hour period.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is illegal to perform a concert under another band's name.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">You cannot sell marijuana-flavored candy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is illegal to sell alcohol to an habitual drunkard.</span></span><br />
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<br />Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-82159069319110448452014-10-14T19:20:00.002-04:002014-10-14T19:20:25.338-04:00The Quincy Adams House<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: Deer Park, New York</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1835</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">After President John Quincy Adams left office in 1829, he habitually spent his summers at his Long Island estate. The former President-turned-Congressman led the legislative fight against slavery from his summer house. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Although the house itself no longer exists, the John Quincy Adams Primary School stands on the former grounds adjacent to appropriately-named Adams Street. </span></span><br />
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Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-52974915013605415912014-10-14T11:49:00.001-04:002014-10-14T11:54:59.238-04:00Slippers . . . ? <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: New York State</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: It Seems Like Forever</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">New York State has an entire set of bizarre laws on the books, some of which date from colonial times, and some of which address out-of-date, one-of-a-kind, or simply strange circumstances:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">When
one is in a elevator, one is not permitted to talk to anyone and must
look straight ahead at the door with one's arms crossed. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">You are not allowed to divorce for irreconcilable difference unless the parties agree to it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It
is illegal for people to stand in public with two or more other people
with their faces covered by masks or disguising their identity.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Slippers are not to be worn after 10pm</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is legal for women to be topless in public, as long as it is not for business purposes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">People cannot greet each other with their thumb up against their nose while wiggling their fingers.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is against the law to throw a ball at someone's face for fun.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">A license must be purchased before hanging clothes on a clothesline. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">A person is not allowed to walk around Sundays with an ice cream cone in his or her pocket.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">A $25 fine can be levied for flirting. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is illegal for women to wear body hugging clothing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jumping off a building is illegal and punishable by death.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In 1980, the
State Senate passed a resolution to commemorate the 25th anniversary of
the Brooklyn Dodgers’ 1955 world championship. The resolution expressed the desire
that someday the Dodgers will return to “their one and only true home.”</span></span></span><br />
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</span></span>Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-21195167605926847512014-10-13T07:47:00.002-04:002014-10-13T08:23:27.076-04:00Camp Siegfried<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: Yaphank, New York</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1936</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">After Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, he attempted to influence American public opinion by inducing German-American immigrants and ethnic German-Americans to actively support Naziism. The U.S.-based Nazi Party organization, eventually called the German-American Bund, had at its peak some 25,000 members. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The group, headquartered out of New York City, ran several "summer camps" for children and families where Nazi indoctrination was on the daily entertainment schedule. The largest of these "summer camps" was Camp Siegfried, in Yaphank on Long Island, where portraits of George Washington and Adolf Hitler hung side by side. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Come and meet people who think as you think!" the camp's brochure read. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Bund remained active until America entered World War II in December 1941. Long under surveillance, most Bund members were interned along with other suspected pro-Fascist German-Americans and Italian-Americans, and, more famously and dubiously, Japanese-Americans. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The largest Bund Internment Camp was in Crystal City, Texas, on the Rio Grande. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">With a captive audience at their beck and call, the Bund used the Crystal City Internment Camp as a recruitment center, convincing many otherwise-innocent young German-Americans that their internment proved that American democracy was a sham. Many embraced Naziism, and their descendants number among American neo-Nazis today. </span></span>Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-87598567807773483112014-08-25T13:52:00.001-04:002014-08-25T13:52:11.000-04:00Motorcyclepedia<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: Newburgh, New York </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1949 </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Motorcyclepedia is a comprehensive museum of the motorcycle. Started as a private collection by father and son Jerry and Ted Doering, Motorcyclepedia now showcases motorcycles of all makes and nationalities, from the most out-of-the-box Hondas to early steam-powered bikes, to German World War II half-tracks.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The earliest motorcycle in the collection dates to 1867. Many of the displays are one-of-a-kind designs.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Motorcyclepedia's collection of Indian-brand motorcycles is the most complete in the world.</span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The museum houses custom Harleys, movie props like Peter Fonda's bike from <i>Easy Rider</i>, and a police motorcycle that served in JFK's motorcade the day he was assassinated. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><img height="400" src="http://aphillips66.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Motorcyclepedia-Museum/i-jj4cvs6/0/M/IMG7415-M.jpg" width="600" /> </span></span></div>
Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-19108659974167167142014-08-22T10:03:00.003-04:002014-08-22T10:03:56.561-04:00The Hall of Fame of Great Americans<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: Bronx Community College</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1900</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Hall of Fame of Great Americans is the country’s original Hall of Fame. It was founded by New York University when NYU opened a Bronx campus (now Bronx Community College). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Its main architectural feature, a 630-foot-high, open-air colonnade designed by the noted architect Stanford Law White, gives visitors a panoramic view of the Cloisters across the Harlem River. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The colonnade is home to 98 bronze busts, including those of Alexander Graham Bell, Eli Whitney, George Westinghouse, and President Franklin Roosevelt.</span></span><br />
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Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-36660120790239568882014-08-20T10:30:00.000-04:002014-08-20T10:30:16.035-04:00The Cooper Union Dome<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: Lower Manhattan</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1859</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Peter Cooper established Cooper Union in 1859. Famed for many reasons, Cooper Union was the site of Abraham Lincoln's greatest early speech, the 1860 speech that ultimately propelled him into the White House. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">When Peter Cooper built Cooper Union Hall he included an elevator shaft --- even though the elevator had not yet reached its final, usable design. When Elisha Otis finally perfected the elevator, it took the shape of a rectangle, not the egg-shaped container that Cooper had anticipated. The original elevator dome however still graces the roof of Cooper Union Hall. </span></span><br />
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Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-31411676673853228742014-08-20T09:52:00.000-04:002014-08-20T09:52:43.669-04:00The Pooh of New York<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Location: The New York Public Library</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Year: 1921</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1987, the publisher E.P. Dutton granted an odd bequest to the Children's Room of the central branch of the New York Public Library --- Winnie-the-Pooh. The original Pooh is a stuffed bear purchased by A.A. Milne in 1921 at Harrod's in London as a gift for his son Christopher Robin. Milne later added other stuffed toys to his son's collection, including a tiger, a donkey, and a pig. As Christopher Robin grew a little older, Milne began making up bedtime stories for the boy in which his stuffed animals played the heroes. When Milne decided to write them down a beloved series of children's books was born. </span></span><br />
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Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5801666471371306257.post-38981995071460832802014-08-18T09:50:00.001-04:002014-08-18T09:50:17.131-04:00Of Bears and Bulls . . . and Pigs<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Location: Manhattan</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Year: 1860</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-768051 alignleft" height="237" src="http://guestofaguest.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/pigg.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #ced1e5; padding: 4px;" title="Pig" width="218" /> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The New York City Sanitation Department was established in 1860. Prior to that time, the city had no real trash collection system. Instead, herds of roaming pigs were allowed to do the job. Garbage was simply dumped out in roadways and alleys, and the pigs ate of it what they could, including the ubiquitous horse droppings that were everywhere. Wall Street was particularly overpopulated with refuse-eating swine.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Using pigs was far from perfect. In the rain the streets became pits of disease-ridden goo, the pigs became rabid and feral (and in poorer areas sometimes ate small children), rats "big enough to wear saddles" competed with the pigs, and the muck all found its way into the city's water supply, causing typhoid and a dozen other infectious diseases even among the city's upper classes. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Given New York's population explosion of the 1840s (Irish and German immigrants arrived by the million), the decision to employ humans as trash collectors came late to City Hall. But since 1860, the Sanitation Department has traveled every highway and byway of New York City in safe neighborhoods and bad, in all kinds of weather on a daily basis, keeping the city (relatively) clean. </span></span>Jeff Konrei Mindehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946672174719227144noreply@blogger.com0