MILESTONES: November 28, birthdays for Trey Songz, Bryshere Y. Gray, Jon Stewart

Brooklyn Today

November 28, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Trey Songz. Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 334th day of the year.

On this day in 1910, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that the opening of Penn Station on 34th Street and the new shuttle service from Flatbush Terminal were not immune from controversy. An irate rider wrote letters to the Eagle complaining that the 35-cent fare was too high and that the shuttle service was too slow and inconveniently located. Passenger agent Enoch Barker’s response was that the shuttle’s purpose was for Brooklyn long-distance passengers to be able to connect into the railroad and the higher fare was to discourage local riders from overcrowding the shuttle. Today, the Flatbush station is called Atlantic Terminal and connects Brooklynites riding the Long Island Railroad via two additional points in the borough: Nostrand Avenue and East New York.

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On this day in 1939, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that the Soviet Union annulled its peace pact with neighboring Finland after an incident in which the Finns were accused of firing on and killing four Russians. The Finns denied instigating hostility, claiming instead that they were responding to a Russian artillery volley. Soviet premier Viahceslav Molotov, in rejecting the Finnish response, ordered Finland’s troops to withdraw from the region or face annihilation. Finland and Russia have not always enjoyed friendly relations, but the Finns can hardly be said to have been intimidated by the Russian military. In the “Winter War,” not long after the November incident, Finland was able to repel a Soviet invasion. Over time, Finland has built one of the largest military budgets in Europe.

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On this day in 1943, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that a third of Berlin had been wrecked following the British Royal Air Force’s fifth raid, and that the Soviet army was narrowing the Nazis’ escape route. But there was another kind of battle being waged closer to home: A grand jury accused Robert Moses — parks commissioner at the time — of neglecting Bedford-Stuyvesant when developing recreational space. Moses denied the charge, mentioning to then-Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia other improvements that his department was making or planned, such as at the Kingsborough Houses. However, the grand jury making the probe demanded an increased staff for its investigation.

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On this day in 1951, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported on the first A-bomb raid drill conducted in New York City and the nation. A surprise drill at 10:33 that morning emptied streets and sidewalks. Authorities hailed the test, which lasted 10 minutes, as “excellent.” And overseas, Korea stopped the fighting as part of a cease-fire along a 145-mile front.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include U.S. Sen. MICHAEL BENNET, who was born in 1964; director and screenwriter ALFONSO CUARON, who was born in 1961; record producer and songwriter BERRY GORDY JR., who was born in 1929; actor BRYSHERE Y. GRAY, who was born in 1993; actor ED HARRIS, who was born in 1950; former U.S. Sen. and former presidential candidate GARY HART, who was born in 1938; actor RYAN KWANTEN, who was born in 1976; actress S. EPATHA MERKERSON, who was born in 1952; actor JUDD NELSON, who was born in 1959; singer, songwriter and composer RANDY NEWMAN, who was born in 1943; bandleader PAUL SHAFFER, who was born in 1949; R&B star TREY SONGZ, who was born in 1984; writer and comedian JON STEWART, who was born in 1962; former baseball player MATT WILLIAMS, who was born in 1965; and actress MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD, who was born in 1984.

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TODAY IS GIVING TUESDAY. Created by 92Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, it is a national day of giving to kick off the giving season on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations.

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ANNA NICOLE SMITH WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1967. Born Vickie Lynn Hogan, the model and actress earned a certain degree of fame for appearing in Playboy and marrying an 89-year-old billionaire. Her life was one of publicity, scandal and drug abuse, and her death from a lethal drug interaction in Hollywood, Florida, in 2007 sparked an unexpected media frenzy. The cause of her death, the paternity and custody of her infant daughter and the disposition of her estate were all subjects of intense interest by the tabloid and mainstream media.

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WILLIAM BLAKE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1757. The Romantic visionary poet and artist is best known for his poem “The Tyger” and for his series of engravings for Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy.” He died in poverty in London in 1827.

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TODAY IS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF TRUMAN CAPOTE’S BLACK AND WHITE BALL. The author, buoyed financially by the tremendous success of his book “In Cold Blood,” held a masquerade ball at the Plaza Hotel for 500 friends honoring friend and Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham. Celebrities from all over the world flocked to the ball to show off custom-made black or white gowns and masks, many created by the hottest designers of the day.

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CHARLES H. ALSTON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1907. The African-American painter and sculptor experimented with styles ranging from realism to abstraction throughout his career. His realistic WPA murals at Harlem Hospital depict a narrative in the style of Diego Rivera. A number of his paintings also show the cultural influence of Italy and Egypt. “Walking,” which depicts a silent crowd, almost prophesied the turmoil and social agitation of the civil rights movement. He died in New York in 1977.

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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.

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“The internet is just a world passing around notes in a classroom.” — Jon Stewart, who was born on this day in 1962