Latest news with #BrooklynPublicLibrary
Forbes
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
New York Liberty Themed Brooklyn Public Library Cards Debut This June
Ellie the Elephant, New York Liberty's mascot, poses with her new Brooklyn Public Library card in ... More honor of the 2024 WNBA Championship New York City hoopers and readers, your time has come. In honor of the New York Liberty winning the 2024 WNBA Championship and the kickoff of the 2025 WNBA season, The Brooklyn Public Library today announced a collaboration to issue special edition library cards featuring the New York Liberty players, and Liberty mascot, Ellie the Elephant. 100,00 Liberty and Brooklyn Basketball-themed library cards will be available at all branches of the Brooklyn Public Library starting next Monday, June 2. Library cards are free to New Yorkers of all ages and can be used at all 61 branches of the Brooklyn Public Library, as well as for digital resources including ebooks and audiobooks. This partnership is also an initiative to support the library's summer reading programming and promote literacy. New York Liberty Forward Breanna Stewart ("Stewie") poses with the Brooklyn Public Library WNBA ... More Championship library card This Sunday, June 1, The Liberty and Brooklyn Public Library will celebrate their collaboration as part of Ellie's Birthday at the Liberty game at Barclays Center. Fans attending the 1 p.m. game can enjoy book-themed activations in and around the arena, including a Brooklyn Public Library bookmobile on the plaza, offering books for loan to library card holders. Inside the arena, a special photo booth will be set up, and Ellie-themed bookmarks will be given away for free. Each bookmark will include a QR code linking to an Ellie-approved reading list for readers of all ages. Ellie's curated summer reading list includes Brooklyn and basketball themed titles like Lola Joins the Team by Keka Novales, A Kids Book about Equality by Billie Jean King, Love and Sportsball by Meka James, Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson, and Coming Home by Brittney Griner. To further recognize the New York Liberty's commitment to the community, Liberty CEO Keia Clarke will accept the 2025 Brooklyn Public Library Gala Award, presented by Jacqueline Woodson, on behalf of the team at the library's annual gala on Wednesday, June 11 at the Brooklyn Central Library. Ros Gold-Onwude, a national sportscaster and retired basketball player, will host the charitable event, also honoring Google. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver are on the chair committee, among other notable philanthropists and business leaders. Individual tickets start at $1500. The New York Liberty recently broke records with a $450 million valuation, the highest ever for a professional women's sports franchise. The new valuation followed a recently announced investment in the team by a group including supermodel Karlie Kloss, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Metropolitan Capital CEO Karen Finerman, TIAA president and CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett, philanthropist and private equity founder Gabrielle Rubenstein, and philanthropist Samantha Lasry.
21-05-2025
- General
Ships have been hitting the Brooklyn Bridge for nearly 150 years
NEW YORK -- A Mexican navy tall ship's fatal collision with the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday highlighted a hazard that has worried seafarers for nearly 150 years. Even before construction on the bridge was finished in the late 19th century, the topmast of a passing U.S. Navy ship hit the span's wires — and vessels continued to clip the iconic New York City structure for many years. But historians say Saturday's crash appears to be the first boat collision with the bridge to take the lives of crew members. Two Mexican naval cadets died and more were injured after the training ship Cuauhtémoc's masts crashed into the bridge as dozens of sailors stood harnessed high up in rigging as part of a public display. 'That's the first and possibly only time where there's been a fatality onboard of a ship that struck the Brooklyn Bridge,' said Dominique Jean-Louis, chief historian at the Center for Brooklyn History, part of the Brooklyn Public Library. Opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge spans the East River, connecting its eponymous borough's downtown to Manhattan. The highest point of the bridge's underside is listed at 135 feet (41.1 meters) on average above the water, but it fluctuates with the tides. During construction, a warehouse owner sued state officials — first to stop the bridge and then for compensation — arguing that some ships still had topmasts that exceeded the height. The case made it all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which dismissed the lawsuit, determining that the bridge did not unduly restrict ship navigation. Before that decision, however, at least one ship had already tangled with the still-under-construction crossing. According to an 1878 report in the New York Daily Tribune, the U.S. Navy wooden steam training ship USS Minnesota was headed toward the high point of the bridge after planning ahead and lowering its topmast. But at the last minute, it had to change course to avoid an oncoming ship, sending it to an area with lower clearance and striking the bridge's wires. Nobody was reported injured. By the time the bridge was complete, steam ships were transporting the lion's share of goods, and high-masted ships were waning in importance, said Richard Haw, professor of interdisciplinary studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the author of two books about the Brooklyn Bridge. 'They go from sail ships to steam ships,' Haw said. 'You don't need a huge clearance.' Yet mast strikes continued, including at least two reported in the 1920s — one of which was with the U.S. Navy's flagship USS Seattle, which had 'a little wooden pole that was a little too high," Jean-Louis said. In 1941, the SS Nyassa was bringing hundreds of refugees to New York City when the captain miscalculated the tide and part of its mast was bent into a right angle by the bridge's underspan, according to a New York Times article at the time that described a 'crunching sound.' Among the refugees on board was Hedwig Ehrlich, widow of the Nobel Prize-winning Jewish German scientist Paul Ehrlich, as she headed to live with daughters in San Francisco. As the 20th century went on, ships got taller and wider. And they still required mast-like appendages for observation and communication. A shipyard just north of the bridge, now known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard, churned out larger and larger ships during and after World War II, including aircraft carriers that could barely fit beneath the bridge. One photo from 1961 shows the USS Constellation aircraft carrier leaving the navy yard and passing underneath the Brooklyn Bridge with a mast that folded down onto the ship's deck, specially designed to get out into the harbor. In the past two decades, at least three minor strikes have been reported against the bridge's underside or base, including a crane being pulled via barge in 2012, which tore into temporary scaffolding mounted underneath the bridge. A similar crane accident damaged peripheral bridge maintenance equipment in July of 2023, according to a Coast Guard incident report. None of the modern accident reports document serious injuries. But off the water, the bridge has been a site of tragedy long before Saturday's crash. More than 20 people were killed and countless crippled while building it, including workers injured by decompression sickness, a little-understood affect of working in underwater in boxes sunk to the riverbed. Twelve people died in a panic-driven stampede among crowds visiting the bridge shortly after it opened to the public in 1883.
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Business Standard
21-05-2025
- General
- Business Standard
Latest crash shows how ships have been hitting Brooklyn Bridge for 150 yrs
A Mexican navy tall ship's fatal collision with the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday highlighted a hazard that has worried seafarers for nearly 150 years. Even before construction on the bridge was finished in the late 19th century, the topmast of a passing US Navy ship hit the span's wires and vessels continued to clip the iconic New York City structure for many years. But historians say Saturday's crash appears to be the first boat collision with the bridge to take the lives of crew members. Two Mexican naval cadets died and more were injured after the training ship Cuauhtemoc's masts crashed into the bridge as dozens of sailors stood harnessed high up in rigging as part of a public display. That's the first and possibly only time where there's been a fatality onboard of a ship that struck the Brooklyn Bridge, said Dominique Jean-Louis, chief historian at the Center for Brooklyn History, part of the Brooklyn Public Library. Opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge spans the East River, connecting its eponymous borough's downtown to Manhattan. The highest point of the bridge's underside is listed at 135 feet (41.1 metres) on average above the water, but it fluctuates with the tides. During construction, a warehouse owner sued state officials first to stop the bridge and then for compensation arguing that some ships still had topmasts that exceeded the height. The case made it all the way up to the US Supreme Court, which dismissed the lawsuit, determining that the bridge did not unduly restrict ship navigation. Before that decision, however, at least one ship had already tangled with the still-under-construction crossing. According to an 1878 report in the New York Daily Tribune, the US Navy wooden steam training ship USS Minnesota was headed toward the high point of the bridge after planning ahead and lowering its topmast. But at the last minute, it had to change course to avoid an oncoming ship, sending it to an area with lower clearance and striking the bridge's wires. Nobody was reported injured. By the time the bridge was complete, steam ships were transporting the lion's share of goods, and high-masted ships were waning in importance, said Richard Haw, professor of interdisciplinary studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the author of two books about the Brooklyn Bridge. They go from sail ships to steam ships, Haw said. You don't need a huge clearance. Yet mast strikes continued, including at least two reported in the 1920s one of which was with the US Navy's flagship USS Seattle, which had a little wooden pole that was a little too high," Jean-Louis said. In 1941, the SS Nyassa was bringing hundreds of refugees to New York City when the captain miscalculated the tide and part of its mast was bent into a right angle by the bridge's underspan, according to a New York Times article at the time that described a crunching sound. Among the refugees on board was Hedwig Ehrlich, widow of the Nobel Prize-winning Jewish German scientist Paul Ehrlich, as she headed to live with daughters in San Francisco. As the 20th century went on, ships got taller and wider. And they still required mast-like appendages for observation and communication. A shipyard just north of the bridge, now known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard, churned out larger and larger ships during and after World War II, including aircraft carriers that could barely fit beneath the bridge. One photo from 1961 shows the USS Constellation aircraft carrier leaving the navy yard and passing underneath the Brooklyn Bridge with a mast that folded down onto the ship's deck, specially designed to get out into the harbour. In the past two decades, at least three minor strikes have been reported against the bridge's underside or base, including a crane being pulled via barge in 2012, which tore into temporary scaffolding mounted underneath the bridge. A similar crane accident damaged peripheral bridge maintenance equipment in July of 2023, according to a Coast Guard incident report. None of the modern accident reports document serious injuries. But off the water, the bridge has been a site of tragedy long before Saturday's crash. More than 20 people were killed and countless crippled while building it, including workers injured by decompression sickness, a little-understood affect of working in underwater in boxes sunk to the riverbed. Twelve people died in a panic-driven stampede among crowds visiting the bridge shortly after it opened to the public in 1883.
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First Post
21-05-2025
- General
- First Post
Fatal Mexican collision not the first to hit Brooklyn Bridge, it has been going on for nearly 150 years
A Mexican navy tall ship collided with the Brooklyn Bridge, killing two cadets. This is the first fatal collision with the bridge, which has seen various accidents since its opening in 1883. read more A Mexican navy tall ship's fatal collision with the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday highlighted a hazard that has worried seafarers for nearly 150 years. Even before construction on the bridge was finished in the late 19th century, the topmast of a passing US Navy ship hit the span's wires — and vessels continued to clip the iconic New York City structure for many years. But historians say Saturday's crash appears to be the first boat collision with the bridge to take the lives of crew members. Two Mexican naval cadets died and more were injured after the training ship Cuauhtemoc's masts crashed into the bridge as dozens of sailors stood harnessed high up in rigging as part of a public display. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'That's the first and possibly only time where there's been a fatality onboard of a ship that struck the Brooklyn Bridge,' said Dominique Jean-Louis, chief historian at the Center for Brooklyn History, part of the Brooklyn Public Library. Opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge spans the East River, connecting its eponymous borough's downtown to Manhattan. The highest point of the bridge's underside is listed at 135 feet (41.1 metres) on average above the water, but it fluctuates with the tides. During construction, a warehouse owner sued state officials — first to stop the bridge and then for compensation — arguing that some ships still had topmasts that exceeded the height. The case made it all the way up to the US Supreme Court, which dismissed the lawsuit, determining that the bridge did not unduly restrict ship navigation. Before that decision, however, at least one ship had already tangled with the still-under-construction crossing. According to an 1878 report in the New York Daily Tribune, the US Navy wooden steam training ship USS Minnesota was headed toward the high point of the bridge after planning ahead and lowering its topmast. But at the last minute, it had to change course to avoid an oncoming ship, sending it to an area with lower clearance and striking the bridge's wires. Nobody was reported injured. the bridge was complete, steam ships were transporting the lion's share of goods, and high-masted ships were waning in importance, said Richard Haw, professor of interdisciplinary studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the author of two books about the Brooklyn Bridge. 'They go from sail ships to steam ships,' Haw said. 'You don't need a huge clearance.' Yet mast strikes continued, including at least two reported in the 1920s — one of which was with the US Navy's flagship USS Seattle, which had 'a little wooden pole that was a little too high," Jean-Louis said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In 1941, the SS Nyassa was bringing hundreds of refugees to New York City when the captain miscalculated the tide and part of its mast was bent into a right angle by the bridge's underspan, according to a New York Times article at the time that described a 'crunching sound.' Among the refugees on board was Hedwig Ehrlich, widow of the Nobel Prize-winning Jewish German scientist Paul Ehrlich, as she headed to live with daughters in San Francisco. As the 20th century went on, ships got taller and wider. And they still required mast-like appendages for observation and communication. A shipyard just north of the bridge, now known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard, churned out larger and larger ships during and after World War II, including aircraft carriers that could barely fit beneath the bridge. One photo from 1961 shows the USS Constellation aircraft carrier leaving the navy yard and passing underneath the Brooklyn Bridge with a mast that folded down onto the ship's deck, specially designed to get out into the harbour. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the past two decades, at least three minor strikes have been reported against the bridge's underside or base, including a crane being pulled via barge in 2012, which tore into temporary scaffolding mounted underneath the bridge. A similar crane accident damaged peripheral bridge maintenance equipment in July of 2023, according to a Coast Guard incident report. None of the modern accident reports document serious injuries. But off the water, the bridge has been a site of tragedy long before Saturday's crash. More than 20 people were killed and countless crippled while building it, including workers injured by decompression sickness, a little-understood affect of working in underwater in boxes sunk to the riverbed. Twelve people died in a panic-driven stampede among crowds visiting the bridge shortly after it opened to the public in 1883. (Except headline, this story has not been edted by Firstpost staff)
Boston Globe
21-05-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Ships have been hitting the Brooklyn Bridge for nearly 150 years
'That's the first and possibly only time where there's been a fatality onboard of a ship that struck the Brooklyn Bridge,' said Dominique Jean-Louis, chief historian at the Center for Brooklyn History, part of the Brooklyn Public Library. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge spans the East River, connecting its eponymous borough's downtown to Manhattan. The highest point of the bridge's underside is listed at 135 feet (41.1 meters) on average above the water, but it fluctuates with the tides. Advertisement During construction, a warehouse owner sued state officials — first to stop the bridge and then for compensation — arguing that some ships still had topmasts that exceeded the height. The case made it all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which dismissed the lawsuit, determining that the bridge did not unduly restrict ship navigation. Advertisement Before that decision, however, at least one ship had already tangled with the still-under-construction crossing. According to an 1878 report in the New York Daily Tribune, the U.S. Navy wooden steam training ship USS Minnesota was headed toward the high point of the bridge after planning ahead and lowering its topmast. But at the last minute, it had to change course to avoid an oncoming ship, sending it to an area with lower clearance and striking the bridge's wires. Nobody was reported injured. By the time the bridge was complete, steam ships were transporting the lion's share of goods, and high-masted ships were waning in importance, said Richard Haw, professor of interdisciplinary studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the author of two books about the Brooklyn Bridge. 'They go from sail ships to steam ships,' Haw said. 'You don't need a huge clearance.' Yet mast strikes continued, including at least two reported in the 1920s — one of which was with the U.S. Navy's flagship USS Seattle, which had 'a little wooden pole that was a little too high,' Jean-Louis said. In 1941, the SS Nyassa was bringing hundreds of refugees to New York City when the captain miscalculated the tide and part of its mast was bent into a right angle by the bridge's underspan, according to a New York Times article at the time that described a 'crunching sound.' Among the refugees on board was Hedwig Ehrlich, widow of the Nobel Prize-winning Jewish German scientist Paul Ehrlich, as she headed to live with daughters in San Francisco. As the 20th century went on, ships got taller and wider. And they still required mast-like appendages for observation and communication. Advertisement A shipyard just north of the bridge, now known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard, churned out larger and larger ships during and after World War II, including aircraft carriers that could barely fit beneath the bridge. One photo from 1961 shows the USS Constellation aircraft carrier leaving the navy yard and passing underneath the Brooklyn Bridge with a mast that folded down onto the ship's deck, specially designed to get out into the harbor. In the past two decades, at least three minor strikes have been reported against the bridge's underside or base, including a crane being pulled via barge in 2012, which tore into temporary scaffolding mounted underneath the bridge. A similar crane accident damaged peripheral bridge maintenance equipment in July of 2023, according to a Coast Guard incident report. None of the modern accident reports document serious injuries. But off the water, the bridge has been a site of tragedy long before Saturday's crash. More than 20 people were killed and countless crippled while building it, including workers injured by decompression sickness, a little-understood affect of working in underwater in boxes sunk to the riverbed. Twelve people died in a panic-driven stampede among crowds visiting the bridge shortly after it opened to the public in 1883.
