Fifty Years Later, Park Slope Plane Crash Victims Get Memorial In Greenwood Cemetery

Fifty years ago, Unites Airlines Flight 826 crashed into Park Slope, extensively damaging ten brownstones and the Pillar Of Fire Evangelical Church on 7th Avenue. Six people were killed on the ground. All but one passenger on the plane perished. The lone survivor was 11 year old Stephen Baltz of Wilmette, Illinois. Tragically, he died of his injuries at Methodist Hospital 26 hours later.

Now, victims of the tragic airplane crash in Park Slope are being remembered. Together with New York Methodist Hospital, the Park Slope Civic Council,one of the oldest civic associations in Brooklyn, is inviting the public to attend an unveiling ceremony and memorial service at Greenwood Cemetery.Read On:

On the morning of December 16, 1960, 134 people tragically lost their lives when United Airlines flight 826 and TWA flight 266 collided over the skies of Staten Island. The United aircraft crashed in Park Slope, at the intersection of Sterling Place and Seventh Avenue. Green-Wood Cemetery will be honoring those individuals who perished, both in the sky and on the ground in Park Slope, by unveiling a new eight-foot memorial on December 16, 2010, fifty years to the day of the tragic crash. The granite monument will stand sentinel near the gravesite where the unidentified remains of victims have rested for half a century. This special unveiling ceremony and memorial service are co-sponsored by New York Methodist Hospital and the Park Slope Civic Council, and are free to the public. Please R.S.V.P. with Isabella Vlacci at 718-210-3024.

Memorial Service And Monument Unveiling Ceremony

To Commemorate The 50th Anniversary Of The Airplane Crash In Park Slope

Thursday, December 16, 2010,

gather at 9:45 a.m.

service to begin promptly at 10:00 a.m.

Green-Wood Cemetery main entrance at 25th Street and Fifth Avenue

Related Reading:

Disasters: Death In The Air (times.com

The Day The Boy Fell From The Sky (New York Times)

TWA and United Airlines Aicrafts Collide In Mid-Air (timelines.com)

Read More

The Park Slope Civic Council To Host Forum On The Future Of 4th Avenue

The Park Slope Civic Council (PSCC), one of the oldest civic associations in Brooklyn, is tackling the future of Fourth Avenue at its next forum, which will be held on March 4th. Certainly, the up-zoning of the avenue in 2003 did not result in"a grand boulevard of the 21st Century," as Borough President Marty Markowitz predicted. Instead, new construction is more reminiscent of East German Communist-era architecture than the Champs-Élysées.


From PSCC:

A Thoroughfare of Uncertain Direction:
What Route Next for 4th Avenue?

Challenges and Opportunities Along Rapidly Changing Fourth Avenue Will Be Focus of Next Park Slope Civic Council Forum

The Fourth Avenue community in Brooklyn is changing, with new construction, more people, and a growing need for better services. These changes will be among the issues to be discussed at the Park Slope Civic Council's upcoming annual public forum, titled THE FUTURE OF FOURTH AVENUE.

The forum, which is open to the public, will be held on:
Thursday, March 4, 7:00 P.M. at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street.

A panel of distinguished experts will talk to the community about Fourth Avenue – what has been happening, what challenges we face, and the opportunities we have to create a great community here. These authorities will make insightful presentations, discuss the issues, and give thoughtful responses to questions. P

Panelists include: Craig Hammerman, District Manager, Brooklyn Community Board Six; Ethan Kent, Vice President, Project for Public Spaces; Ryan Lynch, Senior Planner, Tri-State Transportation Campaign; David Sweeny, Developer; and Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director, UPROSE.

The Park Slope Civic Council has long been working hard to improve Fourth Avenue. Among the projects it has advocated for are:
• Eliminate the left turn lane from northbound Fourth Avenue to Union Street. The Civic Council, with the enthusiastic support of Assemblywoman Joan Millman, got the NYCDOT to fill in this left turn lane to create a pedestrian refuge, providing safety for those crossing this busy intersection, to and from the Union Street R train station;

• Include a public garden in the vacant lot at Fourth Avenue and Sackett Street (an access point to the City's Third Water Tunnel); • Fund tree plantings on Fourth Avenue;

• Reopen the closed entrance to the Fourth Avenue F subway station on the east side of Fourth Avenue (between Ninth and Tenth Streets); and

• Reopen the retail spaces adjacent the Fourth Avenue F subway station. This is a forum for ALL who are concerned about the future of the Fourth Avenue corridor, and your attendance and input are needed to build a better Fourth Avenue. You are welcome to participate even if you don't live or work in Park Slope.

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Read More