Brooklyn Today: Aug. 24, 2012
Good morning. Today is the 237th day of the year. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle of Aug. 24, 1899, revealed that the Citizens Union, a “do-gooder” organization, was coming to Brooklyn to organize here. The group’s objectives, according to the Eagle, were to separate state from federal elections, to make sure government employees were hired solely based on their merit, to eliminate party bosses, and to institute municipal ownership of franchises.
Well-known people who were born today include former boxer Gerry Cooney, Brooklyn-born actor Steve Guttenberg, former Arkansas Governor Mike Kuckabee, former basketball player and Knicks villain Reggie Miller and Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken Jr.
Today at 4 p.m. at Long Island University’s Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center, the Brooklyn Nets will hold auditions for their Nets Kids Dance Team. Boys and girls from 6 to 13 with at least two years of dance training are encouraged to try out. Tumbling and break-dancing skills are a plus. … Tomorrow at 1 p.m., the Islamic Circle of North America will be giving away free school supplies at the MAS Sheepshead Bay Center, 2812 Voorhees Ave., Sheepshead Bay. … On Sunday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at Green-Wood Cemetery, the Green-Wood Historic Fund will commemorate the Battle of Brooklyn with daylong events. At 10 a.m. there will be a trolley tour of the Revolutionary War battlefield in the cemetery. At 12:30 p.m., re-enactors will demonstrate Revolutionary War weaponry. The Battle of Brooklyn Parade will take place at 1:30 p.m., and a commemoration ceremony will follow at 2 p.m. The entrance to Green-Wood Cemetery is located at 25th Street and Fifth Avenue, Sunset Park.