February 17: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “LONDON (U.P.) — An official British source said today that Soviet Premier Josef Stalin’s new ‘war is not inevitable’ statement seemed designed to split Britain away from the United States. Stalin coupled his estimate of the prospects of another world war with a warning that British Prime Minister Clement R. Attlee is leading Britain down the American path toward another conflict. He also called Attlee a liar for telling Commons last Monday that Russia not only has not demobilized its armies but is constantly increasing them. Stalin’s statement appeared in the official Soviet newspaper Pravda in the form of an interview and was broadcast by Radio Moscow early today. The British source said Stalin’s statement undoubtedly would feed ammunition to the pacifist left-wing of Attlee’s Labor Party who could say: ‘Stalin wouldn’t be attacking Attlee like this if we’d stop provoking him by rearming.’ The source said Stalin may have decided to issue the statement at this time so as to stall off any decision on a proposed Big Four Foreign Ministers’ meeting until after the ‘world peace council’ meets next Wednesday in Moscow.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “The intent of the present city administration to give New York City a ‘business administration,’ to attract new business and industries here and thus create more employment, was heavily underscored in talks given by Mayor [Robert] Wagner and Council President Abe Stark last night at the installation of officers of the Bushwick Real Estate Board in Ridgewood Masonic Temple, Bushwick and Gates Ave. Addressing an audience of nearly 500 persons, Mayor Wagner appealed for their help to do ‘a difficult job.’ Taking up where the mayor left off, Mr. Stark said that to stem the tide of people moving out of New York City an attempt will be made to bring ‘new business and new industries’ here. If this is not done, Mr. Stark said, the city ‘will go backwards and sooner or later it will die.’ ‘The City of New York,’ he declared, ‘is the barometer of the world; unemployment here will bring a terrible reaction everywhere.’”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.