April 11th in N.Y.C. History
Posted: Apr 10, 2013 | 10:26 PM
1908: Leo Rosten, humorist who brought Yiddish to American mainstream culture, born. He died in 1997.
We touch upon Yiddish culture in Lower East Side tours, East Village tours, and Jewish tours.
1919: Governor Hugh Carey born in Brooklyn. He was a vital link between the state and the city governments during NYC's fiscal crisis in the 1970s. Appropriately, the Brooklyn to Battery Tunnel was renamed for him in December 2010, months before he died.
We see this tunnel's entrance on Downtown tours, Colonial NYC tours, New Amsterdam tours, early America tours, and Financial District tours.
1932: Happy Birthday to
Joel Grey, famous for "Cabaret" (and his "Dirty Dancing" daughter Jennifer Grey from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off.")
1947: Jackie Robinson racially integrated baseball with his major league debut in an exhibition game between the Dodgers and the Yankees. It was a rough start for Robinson. Even some of his teammates did not want to play with him.
1950: Happy Birthday to funny man and philanthropist Bill Irwin .
1970: Abortion legalized in New York State after Governor Nelson Rockefeller signed it into law.
1980: Happy Birthday Mark Teixeira, Yankees first baseman.