The Bad Old Days: A Man with a Grenade and the Siege of Fifth Avenue

January 30, 2018February 26, 2019 Henry Culture, Featured Article, History 77th Street, bomb, Fifth Avenue, George Dalton, grenade, Indoor Outdoor Gardener, Oliva and Varriale, The Bad Old Days 1 Comment

In 1982, George Dalton threatened to detonate multiple explosives near 77th Street, leading to an almost 10-hour standoff that ended on a dark hill in Owl’s Head Park.

Did Verrazzano Really Ever Sail into New York?

January 3, 2018July 18, 2018 Henry Culture, History Dutch, Giovanni da Verrazzano, Henry C. Murphy, Italian-Americans, Verrazano Bridge 2 Comments

Reviving an old controversy about whether our bridge’s namesake was actually a pirate and a fraud.

True Crime Bay Ridge: A Mafia Murder on Shore Road

October 31, 2017November 8, 2018 Henry Culture, History Anthony Bonasera, Christina Oliveri, Johnny Bath Beach, Johnny Oddo, mafia, murder, Nino Columbo, Oliver Street, True Crime Bay Ridge

James Hawkes took his terrier, Spot, for a walk. It was a cloudy Sunday, February 6, 1938, and it had probably either just stopped raining or was about to start. Hawkes lived at 9203 Third Avenue, in a building long since torn down. Despite the weather, the 15-year-old planned to walk almost a mile; he […]

True Crime Bay Ridge: The Shell-Shocked Killer on Marine Avenue

October 23, 2017November 2, 2018 Henry Culture, History Brownie, criminal attack, Florence McVey, Marine Avenue, murder, Nora Kelly, St. Patrick's church, Thomas McFarland, True Crime Bay Ridge 1 Comment

The horrifying story of Thomas McFarland, who raped and murdered his niece and mother-in-law in 1935.

How Shore Road Was Ruined

September 18, 2017April 26, 2018 Henry Culture, History apartment buildings, Belt Parkway Promenade, Frederick Law Olmsted, Henry Ward Beecher, Robert Moses, shore road, Shore Road Park, the Bay Ridge Parkway, the Belt Parkway, the bike path 6 Comments

The full and tragic 100-year story of how Bay Ridge’s greatest natural wonder became full of cars, apartment buildings and a highway.

Bay Ridge’s Forgotten Slaves

August 16, 2017July 18, 2018 Henry Culture, History African-Americans, Dutch, farming, Fort Hamilton army base, New Utrecht, racism, slavery 2 Comments

Bay Ridge has a troubled history of systemic racism, from its founding to the present.

True Crime Bay Ridge: The Many Murders of John Kilbride

July 10, 2017August 2, 2018 Henry Culture, History 95th Street, 96th Street, 99th Street, Annie George, Fort Hamilton village, Frederick Hardy, Goose Hill, Hegeman's Boathouse, John Kelly, John Kilbride, Johnson's Pier, Marine Avenue, Mary Kelly, shore road, Sing Sing, True Crime Bay Ridge

A young art student was killed in Bay Ridge in 1899 and dumped in the bay. His killer remained undiscovered for decades—until two more people were murdered.