I was bemused by an article in the NY Times by columnist Lindsay Crouse, about how her life was changed by being unable to run outdoors during the covid pandemic. My immediate thought was, what was stopping her?
Other than a two-month period in April and May 2020 in which I restricted myself to Little Neck and Douglaston, I have continued my Forgotten NY explorations on a fairly normal basis. I have ridden the buses, subways and trains. I have walked for miles, though not as much as I’d like when the wind is harsh. I keep a mask on when there’s people around, but that’s been my only concession. I’ve been “lucky” in that I do not have a lot of public contact.
I am aware that a lot of people have a running obsession. Risking sounding like Fran Lebowitz, I never run unless something is chasing me. I tried to run a bit when I was much younger, but I’d get winded after a couple of blocks, so I stopped. But not leaving the house? What planet is this?
Here’s one of Brooklyn’s more prominent and enduring remaining painted ads, on Middagh Street, this one advertising a long-gone real estate office on Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue. The old-fashioned “To Let Flats” today means “Apartments For Rent.” The ad appears above the Engine 205/Hook & Ladder 118 firehouse. A famed photograph taken on 9/11/01 shows H&L 118 making its way across the Brooklyn Bridge to the burning towers, where the company lost six firefighters. The firehouse also battled raging wildfires in the Hamptons on eastern Long Island and the devastating St. George Hotel fire in August 1995.
Why place a prominent ads like this on modest Middagh Street? Until 1940 the Fulton Street El roared past on what is now Cadman Plaza West, and it was easily seen from a passing train.
Check out the ForgottenBook, take a look at the gift shop, and as always, “comment…as you see fit.”
3/8/21