Brooklyn Today: July 3, 2012

July 3, 2012 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Good morning. Today is the 185th day of the year. On July 3, 1901, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that the parents of Christina Doran, a mentally ill girl, had kept her in a filthy cage for two years at the family’s home at 1905 Atlantic Ave.

For years, the article read, neighbors had been suspicious of goings-on at the house, and the case came to a head when a social worker was walking by, heard screams coming from the inside, and decided to investigate. The father, Edward Doran, described as a well-to-do plumber, insisted that he had treated the girl well and kept insisting that she was “feeble-minded.”

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Tomorrow, of course, is the Fourth of July. While Brooklyn Heights and Red Hook residents continue to complain about the fact that Macy’s no longer puts on fireworks displays in the East River, they can take a special NY Waterway cruise that will let them see the pyrotechnics on the Hudson. The cruise ship starts loading at Fulton Ferry Landing at 6 p.m., and costs $75.