Baseball cards (Queens)=Tickets (Brooklyn)
Baseball cards are popular all over the country. But why is (or was) the game called "tickets" in Brooklyn? The following citation is the only one I have on this. 8 July 1977, New York…
“If steak were a religion, this would be its cathedral” (Smith & Wollensky)
The Smith & Wollensky steakhouse at Third Avenue and 49th Street began in 1977. There are now other restaurants in Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami Beach,…
“How sweet it is!” & Brooklyn street signs
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz began adding "Brooklynisms" to some street signs in his borough in 2002. The most famous is probably: "Leaving Brooklyn?…
“A Way of Life” & “Think Less, Feel Better” (New York Health & Racquet Club)
The New York Health & Racquet Club is over thirty years old and has several city locations. "A Way of Life" is a slogan since 1988, and "Think Less, Feel Better" is a slogan…
“The only pizza worth eating” (Abitino’s)
Abitino's New York Style Pizza has locations such as Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street and Bleecker Street. It calls itself "The only pizza worth eating," but that can be strongly…
Planet Hollywood
This "planet" started in New York City, on West 57th Street. On October 22, 1991 the first Planet Hollywood opened on 57th Street, near Carnegie Hall and the Hard Rock Cafe. Planet…
Valley of Ashes (now Flushing Meadows Corona Park)
F. Scott's Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby (1922) described the "Valley of Ashes." This was the Corona Dump in Queens. In 1936, the Corona Dump was cleared to prepare for…
Finger Building
The "Finger Building" is the large condo building at North 7th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Why "Finger Building"? Because the building looks like a finger? Because the…
Windy Apple (summary)
The popular animated television show The Simpsons coined the nickname "Windy Apple" for the fictional Capital City. "Windy Apple" is, of course, a blend of "the Big…
Witness (2006): Joe Zito
In 2006, the Society for New York City History (SNYCH) changed its website. No longer did it declare that "the Big Apple" came from a 19th century French whore. The horseracing theory was…
Welfare Queen
A "welfare queen" is a woman who is on public assistance, often fraudulently. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani cut the welfare rolls in the 1990s, dramatically decreasing the "welfare…
Widget (New York World Journal Tribune)
The "Widget" was the short-lived New York World Journal Tribune. It marked the sad end of many once-proud New York City newspapers.…
Red Square (and the Lenin statue)
A red brick apartment building put up in 1989 at East Houston Street and Avenue A was named "Red Square." In 1994, a statue of Lenin was added to the top of the building. A conversation…
Slime Warner (Time Warner nickname)
For those who don't like their Time Warner cable/internet service, "Slime Warner" has been used as a company nickname.…
New York Daily Snooze (New York Daily News nickname)
New York Daily Snooze is an unflattering nickname of the New York (NY) Daily News newspaper. The nickname Daily Snooze has been cited in print since 1938, but has become popular since about 1995 --…
Yankee Stadium was the first “stadium” (myth)
Yankee Stadium was not the first "stadium." This myth has been repeated in the 2000s. John Tomlinson Brush was an owner of the baseball New York Giants who died in 1913. In 1911, the Polo…
Welcome to New York & New York Hello
"Welcome to New York" (or "New York Hello") can be a sincere greeting or a warning of the horrors to come. The sarcastic version probably comes from the army or the National…
Urban Jungle; Concrete Jungle; Asphalt Jungle
New York City has been called an "urban jungle" and a "concrete jungle" and an "asphalt jungle." These terms have been applied to other cities as well. The Asphalt…
“Haircuts for New Yorkers” (Dramatics NYC)
"Haircuts for New Yorkers" is, perhaps, not the most thrilling of hair salon slogans. Dramatics NYC has also used "Wash, Cut and Entertainment."…
Mitzvah Mobile (Mitzvah Tank)
A "mitzvah mobile" or "mitzvah tank" was started by Brooklyn's Lubavitch sect of ultra-Orthodox Jews in the 1970s. The mobile vans comb the streets for lapsed Jews and try…