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October 22: ON THIS DAY in 1932, a dangerous riot on Roosevelt Island

October 22, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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ON THIS DAY IN 1932, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Police headquarters and the office of Mayor [Joseph] McKee were informed just before noon today that a riot of dangerous proportions had broken out on Welfare Island [now Roosevelt Island], on which the City Prison is located. The mayor was informed that one man had been killed in the rioting. Fifty detectives were promptly rushed to Welfare Island, as well as 25 patrolmen, four emergency squads and four ambulances. Inspector Vincent Sweeney also notified all squad commanders to rush additional detectives to Welfare Island … An extra detail of detectives and patrolmen was rushed to the Tombs as a precautionary measure against the breaking out of a ‘sympathetic’ riot there … In Brooklyn, 25 detectives armed with sawed-off shotguns were thrown around Raymond Street Jail, as a similar precaution.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1860, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The friends of Breckinridge for President and Brady for Governor, held a meeting at Binghamton on Friday, at which speeches were made by Mr. Brady, Samuel S. Courtney, Esq. and Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson, who presided. Mr. Brady’s speech was an exposition of his own position, a eulogy of Mr. Breckinridge and a denunciation of Mr. Douglas. He declared that he had no idea that the mere election of Lincoln would be regarded by the South as a cause for secession, and that it clearly should not be so considered. Mr. Courtney’s speech was mainly a discussion of the relative claims of Breckinridge and Douglas, and Mr. Dickinson went over the same ground.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1912, the Eagle reported, “The following bulletin was given out at Progressive Headquarters this afternoon by Dr. Alexander Lambert, Col. [Theodore] Roosevelt’s family physician, with the comment that all new regarding the colonel’s condition will in the future be issued from the headquarters, and no place else. ‘Col. Roosevelt has stood the journey well, but, of course, is tired. The wound is still wide open and oozing serum. Rest and quiet are essential to him to avoid possibilities of wound infection. He will be unable to see any one today or tonight. While Roosevelt is extremely anxious to take up the work of his campaign, we are not willing to say at this time that it will be possible.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1928, the Eagle reported, “Elinor Smith, 17, of Freeport, L.I., flew her Waco biplane under the four East River bridges yesterday and reported the stunt as ‘easy.’ It was said at Curtiss Field the stunt had never been done before and that Miss Smith might be ‘grounded’ by the Commerce Department for taking such a risk.” Nicknamed “The Flying Flapper of Freeport,” Smith took her first flying lessons at age 10 and set a number of endurance and speed records in the late 1920s and early 1930s. She died in 2010 at age 98.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1934, the Eagle reported, “Wellsville, Ohio, Oct. 22 (AP) — Charles (Pretty Boy) Floyd, desperate Western gunman, seemingly had made one of his characteristic disappearances today as a posse of heavily armed officers and citizens tramped through the neighboring woods looking for him. In the village jail here officers resumed their questioning of Adam Richetti, confederate of Floyd, who was captured after a gun fight Saturday from which Floyd escaped. Believed to be seriously wounded, Floyd entered the woods not far from Wellsville, and local officers said there was little likelihood that he had escaped from this section. The posse, however, was unable to locate or pick up his trail. Melvin Purvis, head investigator for the Department of Justice in Chicago, today expressed his belief that Floyd was dead or dying in the woods where he took refuge.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “One hundred paintings from more than 1,000 submitted by Bay Ridge school pupils were selected yesterday to be painted on 86th Street store windows next week for the Bay Ridge Community Council’s third annual Halloween Window Painting Contest. The pupils will transfer their work to store windows next Wednesday, according to Vincent P. Kassenbrock, who initiated the project … The 100 paintings were selected by a group of public and parochial school art teachers headed by Anna Dick of Fort Hamilton. Judging of the window paintings will be held Thursday, with J. Bruno Basil, Municipal Court Justice Roger Brock and Magistrate Anthony E. Maglio as judges. The 86th Street Board of Trade is cooperating with the council on the project.”

 


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