ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Churches, synagogues, department stores, transit corporations, newspapers and political organizations were called upon yesterday to join in an intensive drive to bring in the more than 100,000 tardy income tax returns of the district before Monday night, the end of the last day of grace. Collector Harry P. Kieth said before the Income Tax Enlightenment Committee yesterday that only about 60,000 returns had been filed and that with midnight Monday as the last minute allowed for filing them, more than 100,000 were still outstanding. In the belief that to penalize a majority of the taxpayers would be a mistake, Collector Kieth has asked Washington for an extension of time, but said that he had received no answer to his plea. ‘The publicity given by the newspapers has done wonders,’ he said. ‘Today alone brought in 10,000 returns.’ Upon motions by James F. Quigley and Harris M. Crist, the committee passed resolutions requesting every clergyman and rabbi in Brooklyn to urge promptness in making returns upon their Friday and Easter Sunday congregations. Mr. Crist suggested that the department stores enclose printed income tax slips in every package sent out today and tomorrow.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1925, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, MARCH 28 — Secretary of Labor James J. Davis has no idea how many aliens are being smuggled into the United States at the present time. It may be a hundred a day or it may be a thousand. To get the facts on this smuggling problem which is bothering immigration officials more than anything else today, Secretary Davis has called a conference here this summer to formulate an improved policy for stopping the leaks and to collect data to use before Congress at the next session to put through more drastic immigration legislation.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “The campaign to bring back the cop on the beat in Brooklyn gained further momentum today as the Kings County Criminal Bar Association joined borough civic organizations and individuals in calling for action by city officials on the matter of police protection. Copies of a resolution, unanimously approved last night at a meeting of the association at Michel’s Restaurant, 346 Flatbush Ave., were forwarded to Mayor [William] O’Dwyer and Police Commissioner William P. O’Brien. … Recommending an increase of the force to 25,000 men, ‘with a proper allotment of foot patrol police for Brooklyn,’ the resolution praised O’Brien for ‘doing an excellent job with the present force.’ An increased police personnel and additional foot patrolmen ‘would give immediate relief and would make Brooklyn a better and safer place in which to live,’ the resolution concluded.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Eagle reported, “A jury in Federal Court, Manhattan, today found three American citizens guilty of conspiring to steal U.S. atom secrets for Russia during World War II. The verdict, carrying possible death sentences, was returned in a hushed courtroom at 11 a.m., by a jury that had deliberated 7 hours and 15 minutes. Facing Judge Irving R. Kaufman, the jury foreman, Vincent J. Lebonitte, spoke three sentences: ‘We the jury find Julius Rosenberg guilty as charged.’ ‘We the jury find Ethel Rosenberg guilty as charged.’ ‘We the jury find Morton Sobell guilty as charged.’ Rosenberg, 32, rocked slightly in his first-row spectator chair as the impact of the verdict reached him. His wife, Ethel, 35, in a navy blue skirt, pink blouse and red waistcoat, remained expressionless and motionless. Sobell, 35, stared at the jurors, not a muscle in his face moving. After a long moment the spell was broken and the court went on with its routine. One by one the 12 jurors — 11 men and a woman — were asked their verdict. One by one the jurors pronounced the verdict ‘guilty as charged’ as to each of the three defendants.”
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Lucy Lawless Andy Kropa/Invision/APEric Idle Matt Sayles/AP
NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Ordinary People” author Judith Guest, who was born in 1936; Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr., who was born in 1941; “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” star Eric Idle, who was born in 1943; N.Y. Knicks legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Walt Frazier, who was born in 1945; Pro Football Hall of Famer Earl Campbell, who was born in 1955; “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Marina Sirtis, who was born in 1955; Jane’s Addiction founder Perry Farrell, who was born in 1959; actress and comedian Amy Sedaris, who was born in 1961; Oakland A’s executive Billy Beane, who was born in 1962; model and actress Elle Macpherson, who was born in 1964; “Xena” star Lucy Lawless, who was born in 1968; International Tennis Hall of Famer Jennifer Capriati, who was born in 1976; and “Smash” star Megan Hilty, who was born in 1981;
Walt Frazier Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
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A YOUNG MAN’S GAME: Cy Young was born on this day in 1867. The Ohio native is baseball’s all-time winningest pitcher, with 511 victories in a 22-year career. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937 and died in 1955. The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitcher in each league.
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SAM I AM: Sam Walton was born on this day in 1918. The pioneering, charismatic business executive caused a seismic shift in the retail landscape with his discount mega-store chain Walmart, which he founded in 1962. He died a multibillionaire in 1992.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will make me go in a corner and cry by myself for hours.”
— actor and comedian Eric Idle, who was born on this day in 1943
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
