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Great stuff! This area has a fascinating history. (General Slocum anniversary is tomorrow.)
ReplyDeleteQuestion 4
ReplyDelete"How many species of birds are their in Tompkins Square Park?"
We can safely assume that someone who works for the park does not know the difference between THERE and THEIR.
In Answer #2:
ReplyDeleteIs it true that Union Square was originally called The Union Square?
Is it true that Times Square was originally called Time Square?
Surely it's not Parks. Besides the typos, much of the information is misleading at best.
ReplyDelete@Rob
ReplyDeleteI was thinking a local school? The Parks Dept would have their logo all over it. Well, at least in a corner.
Woodstock was in 1960? The park re-opened after being rehabbed in 1879? Whaaaa? They better NOT be a school project!
ReplyDeleteWigstock is certainly NOT "still taking place in the park." It ended in 2005. Unless we are counting a small group of Wigstockers/Wigstock descendants who perform at Howl, but that is hardly the same. Who vetted this stuff?
ReplyDeleteAlso, pick a font, please.
It would be a public service for someone to rip these signs down and trash them.
ReplyDeleteNever mind they don't contain accurate information.
The fact that they're full of grammatical and spelling and punctuation errors is reason enough!
The children's monument in the Park near the library was built to honor the children killed in the Slocum disaster. Bodies washed up on the banks of the east river for days after. The NY Historical Society had an exhibit about it a few years ago; the newspaper coverage was reminiscent of 9/11. There were outraged editorials and a trial and of course, the men who built the boat and were responsible for the upkeep got a slap on the wrist.
ReplyDeletethere's a good summary here:
http://antiquephotographics.com/the-general-slocum-disaster-ny-harbor-1904/
here is a picture of the monument, from the Sympathy Society of German Ladies.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/501178134/
@ Grieve. Every good deed must be punished in your comment box. (-;
ReplyDeleteHare Krishna is not a religion.
ReplyDeleteDid a 1st grader compile these "factoids"? Woodstock happened in 1960? This is truly embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteDID YOU KNOW?
ReplyDeleteThere was a kid in Tompkins Square Park who ate pop rocks and coke and HE DIED! For real!
What's up with all the negative comments? Okay spelling mistakes and graphic faux pas aside someone (a nearby school history project) is most likely proud of the research and effort it took to place these signs. They are not permanent so everyone relax and yes there is some correct information here.
ReplyDeleteThese ar almost all factually incorrect. Whoever wrote these is probably from shaker heights, ohio.
ReplyDeleteDID YOU KNOW that Tompkins Square Park was closed for more than a year after yet another riot jump-started by the NYPD on May 27, 1991 and re-opened with the bandshell gone, less trees, more lights and wider walkways so that the park would be more policable and yuppie-friendly??
ReplyDeleteA year of no access to the park also enabled the Parks Dept to change the demographics in the park.
DID YOU KNOW that while the official excuse for closing the park was the "Memorial Day Riot," The SHADOW investigated and discovered that contracts to rip the park apart and remodel it were signed and sealed many months before the riot?
All they needed was an excuse to close the park for a year and they made one happen.