July 31st in NYC History
Posted: Jul 31, 2013 | 11:53 AM
by Jared Goldstein
1822: Abram S. Hewitt, Mayor, industrialist and benefactor of Cooper Union and Columbia College, born. He died in 1903.
1850: Exiled Italian Revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi arrived in Staten Island, becoming a candle-maker to get by. He would return to Italy to fight and become a nationalist leader.
Garibald statue in Washington Square Park
1923: After a split from the New York Historical Society, The Museum of the City of New York opened in Gracie Mansion. Nine years later it would move to its present Museum Mile location. Gracie Mansion became the official the mayor's residence in 1942.
1948: JFK airport was dedicated as Idlewild Airport by President Harry S Truman. The airport was renamed for President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
1977: "Son of Sam" David Berkowitz, the .44 caliber killer, slayed his final victim, Stacey Moskowitz, in Brooklyn. Berkowitz was captured ten days later due to a traffic violation. He was sentenced to life in prison. His year of terror personified the city as out of control, nightmarish, and hostile to the struggling middle class. Berkowitz wrote a book, and, in reaction, the Son of Sam law was enacted to prevent criminals from profiting from their crimes. Berkowitz has been Born Again.