As I approach the end of The Power Broker I am thinking I'd like to read a book about Jimmy Walker next. Any book in particular that people liked?

I’m just wondering if anyone remembers if you could ride your bike across the Gil Hodges/Marine Parkway bridge from Brooklyn to Rockaway in the 70s and 80s. I’m doing some research, and it says a path was added in the 90s, but I’m wondering if there was a way to get across on a bike before that time. Thanks for your help.

I’m 99% sure this was taken on top of the Rock

I’ve been reading Bellevue by David Oshinsky. Do any of the older buildings (ie the psychiatric hospital) still exist? Is it possible to get a historic tour? I’m not having much luck in my search for answers. Thanks!

I'm doing a large research project on the City of Greater New York, and I was wondering if anybody has any book recommendations on how and why Brooklyn and the Bronx became a part of NYC. I'm specifically interested in the culture of Brooklyn and the Bronx at the time and how the residents of those two areas felt about consolidation and annexation.

Scholarly books would be great, but I also like to read fiction and memoirs, so really anything that helps me get a sense of the attitudes of Brooklynites and Bronxites at the time would be helpful. Even documentaries if any exist. Thanks!

More typos in Highbridge

Somewhere in the 19th century, Highbridge acquired the nickname “Dangerville.” According to McNamara’s Old Bronx, the name may have come from the reputation of the Irish, who accounted for the majority of the neighborhood’s residents. 

McNamara has a better explanation, though. There was a wealthy landowner who decided his grand estate overlooking the Harlem River needed a name. He hired a blacksmith to forge four-foot-tall wrought iron letters spelling out the name “GARDEN VILLA.” Unfortunately, something was lost in translation, and the metalworker substituted the final “A” with an “E.” The landowner wasn’t about to name his estate GARDEN VILLE, so he left the letters stacked on his lawn while waiting for the new vowel.

The next night, some locals with a knack for witty anagrams snuck in and set the letters up in a prominent river-facing location. The following day, everyone traveling by train or on the river was treated to a glimpse of what would become the neighborhood’s new nickname—DANGERVILLE.