18: The Etan Patz Investigation, Possible St. Patrick's Arson is Stopped, and Subway Tokens Get Modernized

A Great Big City — New York City News, History, and Events

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I hope you enjoyed the roundup of baseball history on last week's episode. Today I have a selection of events from New York history and a discussion of two of the biggest news stories this week. Today's podcast does make mention of murder, but there will not be graphic details described.

• 16 years ago on April 13, 2003 — Subway tokens are phased out

• 37 years ago on April 12, 1982 — Three CBS employees are killed after encountering a gunman abducting a woman on the top of the Pier 92 parking garage

• 13 years ago on April 18, 2006 — Roosevelt Island Tram suffers mechanical problems, trapping 69 people in two tram cars in the air for seven hours

• 1 year ago on April 14, 2018 — David Buckel, a prominent gay rights lawyer and environmental advocate, sets himself on fire in Prospect Park.

• 8 years ago on April 16, 2011 — Area code 929 enters service in the outer boroughs

• 112 years ago on April 17, 1907 — Ellis Island sets a record for most immigrants processed in one day

• A man was taken into custody on April 17th after attempting to enter St. Patrick's Cathedral with cans of gasoline.

• 40 years ago on April 18, 1979 — New York Airways helicopter crashes upon takeoff at Newark International Airport

• 58 years ago in 1961: Bob Dylan Plays in Greenwich Village for the First Time

• 7 years ago — New Evidence Brings FBI and NYPD Investigators to SoHo in the Search For Etan Patz

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Park of the day

• Castle Hill Park — Barrett Ave., Hart St. bet. Olmstead Ave. and Zerega Ave., the Bronx — Castle Hill Park lies at the tip of Castle Hill Neck, a peninsula named by English settlers for a fortified Native American village located on a hill overlooking the East River. Castle Hill Neck was owned by the Cromwell family until the late 1700s, during which time the area was known as Cromwell's Neck.

Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd and Arbor Day is on the 26th and the Parks Department has events in every borough over the next two weeks to celebrate! There will be an events ranging from an Earth Day egg-hunt in Co-Op City in the Bronx, pizza-making with a solar oven in Harlem, and you can even learn how to take care of a bee hive at the Queens County Farm Museum. View the full schedule of events.

Concert Calendar

• Children of Bodom, Summoner's Circle, Swallow the Sun, and Wolfheart are playing Irving Plaza on Friday, April 19th.
• Hatebreed, Cro-Mags, Fit For An Autopsy, Obituary, and Terror are playing Playstation Theater on Friday, April 19th.
• Black Lips, Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Wooing, Black Lips, Quintron and Miss Pussycat, and Wooing are playing Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, April 20th.
• Soul Clap and Dance-Off, Sheer Mag, Mighty Fine, and Smarthearts are playing Brooklyn Bazaar on Saturday, April 20th.
• A Special Evening with The National and The National are playing Beacon Theatre on Monday, April 22nd.
• Ufomammut and Kings Destroy are playing Saint Vitus Bar on Tuesday, April 23rd.
• Girlpool and Hatchie are playing Music Hall of Williamsburg on Wednesday, April 24th.
• Injury Reserve @ Elsewhere (Zone One) and Injury Reserve are playing Zone One at Elsewhere on Wednesday, April 24th.
• Girlpool and Hatchie are playing The Bowery Ballroom on Thursday, April 25th.
• As Friends Rust, ageist, and Somerset Thrower are playing The Kingsland on Thursday, April 25th.
• Hot Water Music, Errortype:11, and Iron Chic are playing Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday, April 25th.
• Camp Cope is playing Warsaw on Thursday, April 25th.
• Health, Pictureplane, and Youth Code are playing Elsewhere on Thursday, April 25th.
• An Evening With Oh Land and Oh Land are playing (le) Poisson Rouge on Thursday, April 25th.
• Desertfest NYC, Danava, Dommengang, Elder, Mirror Queen, Monolord, The Atomic Bitchwax, The Skull, Windhand, and Worshipper are playing The Well on Friday, April 26th.
• PUP, Diet Cig, and ratboy are playing Brooklyn Steel on Friday, April 26th.
• Orville Peck is playing Elsewhere on Friday, April 26th.
• Hot Water Music, Errortype:11, and Iron Chic are playing Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday, April 26th.
• Now, Now, Daddy Issues, and Foxing are playing Warsaw on Friday, April 26th.
• Kris Kristofferson is playing City Winery on Sunday, April 28th.
• Will Haven, Architect, Locked In A Vacancy, and Nerveshatter are playing Saint Vitus Bar on Sunday, April 28th.
• Neotheater Album Release Show and AJR are playing The Bowery Ballroom on Monday, April 29th.
• Sasami is playing Elsewhere on Tuesday, April 30th.
• The Mountain Goats and shana cleveland are playing Brooklyn Steel on Tuesday, April 30th.
• Kalmah, Vreid, and Winter Nights are playing Gramercy Theater on Tuesday, April 30th.
• Stephen Malkmus is playing 92nd Street Y on Tuesday, April 30th.
• Patti Smith is playing Webster Hall on Wednesday, May 1st.
• Infest, Scapegoat, and The Fight are playing The Kingsland on Friday, May 3rd.
• TR/ST is playing Elsewhere on Friday, May 3rd.
• "Out of the Vein" Live w/Tony Fredianelli (XEB), XEB, and Tony Fredianelli are playing Rockwood Music Hall on Saturday, May 4th.

Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

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Today's fact about New York

• Allen Kay of advertising agency Korey Kay & Partners brainstormed the slogan "If you see something, say something" one day after September 11th, and it would debut as an MTA awareness campaign one year later

Weather

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:
Record High: 92°F on April 19, 1976
Record Low: 22°F on April 19, 1875

Weather for the week ahead:
Light rain today through Saturday, with high temperatures bottoming out at 56°F on Thursday.

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Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com