Ghosts Of Shea
A Queens Souvenir For The
Series
By LIZ GOFF and STEPHEN McGUIRE
It all began with Casey at the bat – well, sort of.
Casey Stengel, the gnarled baseball veteran with the craggy
face had just been released by the New York Yankees – a provision, they said, of the
organization’s "Retire at 65" policy – a policy which no one had ever
heard of.
Stengel had been fired by the Yankee
management after a 12-year stretch of unprecedented success by the Bronx Bombers –
under his managerial talents.
Tom Seaver’s
last pitch at Shea.
|
When Stengel was first approached by Mets president
George Weiss to manage the fledgling baseball team, Casey was less than enthusiastic. He
had turned down a job as manager of the Detroit Tigers, and showed little interest in
Weiss’ offer.
But Weiss, a former Yankee general manager, refused to give
up and as far as he was concerned, only one man could fill the spiked shoes of the New
York Mets’ first manager.
Yankee old-timers (from left to right) Tony Kubek, Fred
Toliver, Phil Rizzuto, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Billy Martin, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle
and Joe DiMaggio took to the field at Shea in 1975 during the renovation of The House That
Ruth Built.
Photo By Bill Brent
|
With persistence and not-so-gentle
persuasion, Weiss convinced Stengel to get back into the game and on September 29, 1961,
72-year-old Casey Stengel became the first manager of the New York Mets.
Casey would take aim at structuring the new team when the
Mets took to the field for the first time in 1962.
Where would the Mets field their first fly
ball? Answer — in the old Polo Grounds, home of Mel Ott, Carl Hubbell and Willie
Mays.
Pope John Paul II prayed with
the faithfull during a 1979
Papel visit to Shea.
Photo By Bill Brent
|
Once the home of the departed Giants, the Polo
Grounds had been abandoned since the team packed up and moved away. The horseshoe-shaped
ballpark would come alive again – though temporarily – as the home of the New
York Mets . . . until they could build a home of their own.
The site for the new stadium had been chosen.
The first ballpark built in New York City since Yankee
Stadium opened in 1923 was in Queens – on a tract of land adjacent to Flushing
Meadows-Corona Park. The stadium would be paid for with money raised through a bond issue
that had been authorized by the New York State Legislature.
The choice of the site made Queens the fourth of the five
New York City boroughs to have a major league baseball club. Manhattan had been home to
the Giants, the Bronx had the Yankees, and Brooklyn, of course, had the Dodgers.
Mr. Met stopped by to visit the Tribune
and pick up a copy of
Queens’ favorite weekly.
Tribune Photo By Dee Richard
|
The Mets, unlike most professional organizations, built their team from the top down
– beginning with Weiss, Stengel, and then the players.
The future Queens Boys of Summer were eagerly awaited by
former Dodgers and Giants stalwarts. Left in limbo, and baseball club-less since their
teams departed New York City, Dodgers and Giants fans had accepted the new team on faith,
declaring themselves Mets fans.
BUILD IT
AND THEY WILL COME |
As the new Mets team battled through their
first season (1962), their new home began to take shape in Flushing Meadows.
The Mets hoped the stadium would be ready for the 1963
season, but construction delays kept the Queens team in Manhattan until Opening Day 1964.
Shea Stadium was named for William Shea, the attorney
responsible for bringing National League Baseball back to New York City.
The stadium cost $28 million and took 29 months from
it’s groundbreaking in October 1961 until its dedication on April 17, 1964 to build.
The new home of the Mets, was originally going to be called
Flushing Meadow Park, but the name was changed when city officials started a movement to
name it after Shea.
Containing 24 ramps and 21 escalators, Shea was the first
stadium able to be converted from baseball to football and back by use of motor operated
stands that moved on underground tracks.
President Bill Clinton stole home plate
in 1997 to honor baseball great
Jackie Robinson.
|
Legend has it that when city officials scouted the
location to build a ballpark, they went in winter when the LaGuardia Airport flight paths
were different.
The planner never anticipated that the sounds of planes
passing overhead would make Shea Stadium the noisiest park in all of major league
baseball.
When the stadium was opened in 1964, it was
"christened" with "Dodgers Holy Water," from the Gowanus Canal in
Brooklyn and water from the Harlem River at the exact location where it passed the Polo
Grounds.
Along the way, the Mets acquired another big-league team
– of announcers. Lindsay Nelson, Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner were hired to call the
balls and strikes for Mets fans.
Over the years, Shea Stadium has hit some
high notes of its own.
The Beatles played there, to hoards of screaming fans.
Likewise, the Rolling Stones and Elton John rocked the home of the New York Mets.
(Top) Forest Hills resident and
Yankee organist Eddie Layton and
other fans (above) showed their
support for their favorite team.
|
Pope John Paul II prayed with the faithful in the
home of the Amazins’ and President Bill Clinton took to home plate at Shea to honor
Jackie Robinson.
But there are rumors now, echoes of discontent with the
37-year-old stadium. The team’s owners are playing serious hardball with state and
city officials over the Mets organization’s plans to leave Shea when the team’s
lease expires in 2004.
Co-owner Nelson Doubleday has raised the possibility of
moving the franchise across the city line to a site near Belmont Raceway. His partner,
Fred Wilpon has discussed plans about upgrading the city-owned Shea Stadium with New York
officials. Wilpon’s plans call for a new, state-of-the-art ballpark to be built on
the site of Shea. The stadium, along with its parking lots, comprises 55 acres of city
parkland.
Wilpon has received assurances of support from city and
state officials for a proposed amusement center to be built on the site of the current
Mets ballpark, and for a new ballpark to be built on adjacent land.
The Mets haven’t started packing yet, since the
construction proposals are still on the drawing board. But organization officials vow to
make the city move on their needs before their new millennium lease expires.
Stengel told the media he had no illusions
about his new club. But he had located the spirit and character of his new players,
calling them "Amazin’." This, before the team had been completed or played
their first game.
An irrepressible phrasemaker in his own right, Stengel had
tossed off a moniker for the Mets that was destined for long and affectionate usage.
In 1969, the Mets rose from the baseball dumps to the top
of the baseball heap.
And in 1986 another miracle – fueled by a ground ball
hit down the first base line through the legs of Boston Red Sox fielder Bill Buckner by
Mookie Wilson – put the Mets on track to a Second world Championship.
This year the Mets have made it to the top – a Subway
Series—and no matter what the outcome to their fans they will always remain... simply
Amazin’!
Subway Series On The Queens
Line
Mets and Yankee fans from across the Big
Apple were flying their true colors at a pre-World Series pep- rally held in
Manhattan’s Bryant Park on Friday, Oct. 20.
Thousands of cheering fans huddled onto
both sides of the Midtown park – one side was designated for Mets fans and the other
side for Yankee fans – to cheer for their favorite baseball team.
On hand were Mayor Rudy Giuliani who wished
both teams luck in the Subway Series and Yankee organist and Forest Hills resident Eddie
Layton who wowed the crowd with his keyboard skills.
When it comes to baseball,
Queens has been the home of some good sports who have played in or have been an important
part of the game. Here are a few of baseballs favorites with ties to the city’s best
borough:
Roy Campanella – One of
"Dem Bums," this former Brooklyn Dodgers catcher and baseball Hall-of Famer once
lived in St. Albans.
Edward "Whitey" Ford
– The Yankee Hall-of-Fame pitcher held the record for scoreless innings until Oct.
2000 when Yankee hurler "El Duque" outpitched him. Ford lived in Astoria and
Little Neck and attended Aviation High School in Long Island City.
Willie Mays – The "say hey
kid," arguably the best baseball player ever once owned a home in East Elmhurst
overlooking LaGuardia Airport. Mays played for both the New York Giants and the New York
Mets.
Phil Rizzuto—"Scooter"
Rizzuto owned shortstop as a member of the indestructible 1050’s Yankee team. Scooter
called balls and strikes on the Yanks radio network until he clashed with the boss.
Rizzuto graduated from Richmond Hill High School.
Bob Shepard – The
"voice" of the Yankees – the Bombers’ public address announcer grew up
in Richmond Hill.
Jackie Robinson – After
breaking baseball’s color barrier, the Dodgers’ legend lived his retirement
years (1949-1956) in Addisleigh Park.
Babe Ruth – In addition to
having a name almost synonomous with the game of baseball, Ruth loved to play golf.
"The Babe" won some of his golf trophies playing at the St. Alban’s Golf
Course – near his Queens home. The trophies, along with other Babe Memorbilia are on
display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY.
Tom Seaver – "Tom
Terrific" once lived on 215 th Street in Bayside and in Flushing.
Allen Watson – This Yankee
relief pitcher who was on the mound during the 1999 World Series hails from Middle
Village.
On the eve of the Subway
Series, the NYPIRG Straphangars Campaign called the subway to Shea Stadium a "clear
winner" over the two lines – the D and the #4 – serving Yankee Stadium.
"The #7 serving Shea is the best line
in the city," said Gene Rusainoff, Straphangers staff attorney. He noted the #7 was
the highest rated line in the annuall state of the subways report, released in July.
‘The subway to Shea runs well ahead of
those that lead to the home of Bronx Bombers. The teams are well matched but their Subway
lines are not," Rusianoff said.
Bayside Businessman Has Mets
In Stitches
If a stitch in time saves nine then
Russ Gompers will one day have more than a few hours and a lot of Mets memories on his
hands.
Gompers is the owner of Stitches in
Bayside, the company responsible for putting the pieces together that make up the uniforms
for the New York Mets.
Russ Gompers with team turtlenecks
his Bayside company made for
players in the World Series.
Tribune Photo By Stephen McGuire
|
"It’s a dream for me"
said Gompers, a life-long Mets fan who has backed the Flushing favorites before and ever
since he ran on the field at Shea and un-rooted a sod filled souvenir after the final game
of the 1969 World Series.
From his office filled with memorabilia and
boxes filled with uniforms designed for everyone from local bar league softball teams to
both teams of this years Subway World Series, Gompers explained how he got the job tailor
made for a true Mets fan.
"On a Saturday night eight years ago,
I was shopping with my wife and I got a message from Steve Cohen," Gompers explained.
According to the Bayside businessman, the
company that previously handled the team’s uniforms was unable to help out and
"they (the Mets) were calling up a kid from Tidewater that day."
"We did the shirt" and Stitches
has been making the team uniforms ever since.
His business relationship with the team
also turned into a friendship which has allowed him to travel with the team throughout the
years.
Most of the team "knows me as
Stitches," Gompers said referring to his nickname.
"I was in Japan," with the team
at the beginning of the season and "in the locker room when they clinched,"
Gompers said referring to the Oct 16 game when the Mets became National League Champs and
pointing to an uncorked bottle of champagne sitting on an adjacent shelf.
— Stephen McGuire
Witches Work:
In Queens, It's Not What You're Thinking |
By NICK BUGLIONE
As October 31 looms, extra cobwebs, bobbing
ghosts and grinning Jack O’Lanterns are materializing on front lawns around the
borough, but if you spot a green, warty woman in a black pointy hat riding a broom-stick
on the display, two Queens gentle-men want you to know that their kind of witch
doesn’t look anything like that.
Some signs of the season are
obvious like at LaGuardia Airport
(above) and some are not, like at this
Forest Hills shop (below) that
sells Wiccan-related items.
|
"Ever since I started, I
couldn’t stop," said Vincent Ianacci, a 22-year-old Astoria resident who has
been practicing witchcraft for the past year and a half. "I just got hooked."
Ianacci, whose interest in witchcraft was
sparked by the book Modern Magic, says he’s spent over $6,000 on literature and other
witchcraft-related items since becoming involved in the occult.
Yet he’s quick to point out that
despite the fervor he and other witches display toward this ancient pagan dogma,
witchcraft has gotten an unwarranted bad reputation.
"It’s so mis-understood,"
Ianacci said. "I think television and newspapers have made it out to be something
it’s not."
According to Ianacci, witchcraft can be
either good or evil depending on the disposition of the person practicing it and a lot of
witches are mild and even-tempered.
Inaccurately believed to be messengers of
the devil by the Christian world, Ianacci said elements and ceremonies of the occult have
ironically pervaded and influenced Christian holidays.
"People are very negative toward
it," said Ianacci, noting that he’s gotten some flack for his unconventional
hobby. "If they knew what it really was then they wouldn’t be negative."
Regardless of how they are viewed, there is
a minority of Queens natives that continue to practice the rituals witchcraft.
"There are a lot of groups and
they’re not too hard to find," said Ianacci. In fact, for the past four years a
local council of one of the oldest and largest organizations of witches in the world has
been meeting in western Queens.
"There are a
lot
of groups and
they’re not
too hard to find"
Vincent Ianacci
22-year-old
Astoria resident, witch |
Located in Long Island City, Gotham
C.O.G. is a branch of the national association Covenant of the Goddess, an umbrella
organization of autonomous witchcraft congreg-ations.
Formed in 1975, this group fosters
cooperation among witches and secures for them the legal protections enjoyed by members of
other religions.
"It’s definitely something
that’s growing both in terms of people joining and people who want to go to
occasional rituals. The local council actually covers all of New York City and two
counties in New Jersey," said 55-year-old Long Island City resident Rich Wandel, who
will become first officer of Gotham C.O.G. when the council celebrates it’s new year
on Oct. 31, on the popularity of witchcraft.
"It is a goddess worshiping, nature religion,
it’s polytheistic," Wandel said, stressing the legitimacy of the following.
"We are legal clergy, I even do weddings."
Where All Queens' Political Secrets
Are Buried |
 Bayside Cemetery
in Ozone Park.
|
Election day is just around the corner, and as the politicians
search for their opponents’ buried past, the Tribune did a little searching of
our own. We discovered a website that highlights some of the borough’s more
interesting permanent residents.
PoliticalGraveyard.com lets the user dig up some of the
historic political figures buried right next door, and in the spirit of the Halloween
season, we offer the following guide to the silenced political minds that can be found
under a patch of green lawn near you.
Calvary Cemetery
WOODSIDE
Robert Ferdinand Wagner, Jr. (1910-1991) Member of New York state assembly, 1937-41;
served in the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II; mayor of New York, 1954-65; candidate
for U.S. Senator from New York, 1956; delegate to New York state constitutional
convention, 1967; U.S. Ambassador to Spain, 1968-69; alternate delegate to Democratic
National Convention from New York, 1972. Died of heart failure in New York, N.Y., February
12, 1991.
Linden Hill Cemetery
RIDGEWOOD
Jacob (Koppel) Javits (1904-1986) Colonel in the U.S. Army during World War II; U.S.
Representative from New York 21st District, 1947-54; New York State attorney general,
1955-57; U.S. senator from New York, 1957-81; delegate to Republican National Convention
from New York, 1964. Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983.
Old Montefiore Cemetery
CAMBRIA HEIGHTS
Sidney Asher Fine (1903-1982) Member of New York State Assembly, 1945-46; member of
New York State Senate 24th District, 1947-50; U.S. Repre-sentative from New York, 1951-56
(23rd District 1951-53, 22nd District 1953-56); state court judge, 1956-75.
Grace Church Cemetery
JAMAICA
Rufus King (1755-1827) Member of Massachusetts state legislature, 1783-85; Delegate to
Continental Congress from Massachusetts, 1784-87; mem-ber, U.S. Constitutional
Conven-tion, 1787; member of New York state legislature, 1788; U.S. Senator from New York,
1789-96, 1813-25; U.S. Minister to Great Britain, 1796-1803, 1825-26; candidate for Vice
President of the United States, 1804, 1808; candidate for President of the United States,
1816.
John Alsop King (1788-1867) Member of
New York state assembly, 1819-21, 1832, 1838-40; member of New York State Senate 1st
District, 1823; U.S. Representative from New York 1st District, 1849-51; governor of New
York, 1857-59.
Union Field Cemetery
RIDGEWOOD
Samuel Dickstein (1885-1954) Born in Lithuania, member of New York State Assembly,
1919-22; U.S. Representative from New York, 1923-45 (12th District 1923-45, 19th District
1945); state court judge, 1945. According to old Soviet records found in the mid-1990s, he
was a paid agent of the KGB.
Mt. Zion Cemetery
WOODSIDE
(Morris) Michael Edelstein (1888-1941) Born in Poland, U.S. representative from New
York 14th District, 1940-41. Died in the cloakroom of the House of Representatives, in the
Capitol, Washington D.C., after completing the delivery of a speech on the floor of the
House, June 4, 1941.
St. John’s Cemetery
MIDDLE VILLAGE
John F. Hylan (1868-1936) Mayor of New York,1918-25.
Bayside Cemetery
OZONE PARK
Lester David Volk (1884-1962) Member of New York state assembly, 1912; served in the
U.S. Army during World War I; U.S. Representative from New York 10th District, 1920-23;
defeated (Republican), 1922.
Astoria
• Halloween masks for children ages
six through 12 at Steinway Branch Public Library, 21-45 31st St., Long Island City.
Ghosts, bats, pumpkins are present in these masks for holiday fun on Oct. 27 at 4 p.m.
Pre-registration is required. Call 728-1965.
Bellerose
• Hallowfest at Cross Island YMCA will
be Saturday, Oct. 28, from 7 to 9 p.m. is Family Time for a light spooky night and from
9:30 to 11 p.m. teens older than 12 can enter if they dare at 238-10 Hillside Ave. Free to
all YMCA members and guests.
Corona
• Frightening tales of horror and
terror for ages seven through 12 at the Corona Branch Public Library, 38-23 104th St. on
Oct. 27. Scary stories as told by "The Dustman," who returns to the Corona
Library in time for Halloween fun. He’ll present mystifying illusions.
Pre-registration is required. Call 426-2844 for time and to register.
Elmhurst
• Queens Center will have a special
treat for shoppers on Tuesday, Oct. 31. Beginning at 3 p.m., the first 5,000 shoppers will
receive a free Halloween picture frame magnet. Customers are also invited to visit their
web site at www.ShopQueensCenter.com for a
special trick. They’re giving away $25 Queens Center gift certificates to the first
20 visitors that answer that Halloween riddle correctly.
Flushing
The Flushing YMCA is decorating its
facilities for Halloween. Halloween at the YMCA will be celebrated on Oct. 28 from 6 to 9
p.m. Planned activities include a haunted house more frightening than last year, contests
such as best costume, arts and crafts, music, dancing, movie time for young and old, trick
or treating in the building – and a safe place to celebrate when pumpkins glow and
kids masquerade. Admission fee is $5 per child age four to 16 and $2 per adult. Children
under the age of three are admitted free of charge. Space is limited to the first 400
people. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Flushing YMCA, located at 138-46
Northern Blvd. or call 961-6880.
• Halloween costume party for ages six
through 11 in the Story Room of the Flushing Library, 41-17 Main St. Come as your favorite
ghost or ghoul and get in the spirit of the spooky night on Oct. 28 at 11 a.m.
Pre-registration required. Call 661-1212.
• Halloween family concert, complete
with a costume contest for kids, will be held Sunday, Oct. 29 at 2 p.m. in Colden Center
for the Performing Arts at Queens College. For tickets and/or information, call 786-8880
or visit www.queenssymphony.org.
• On Halloween, Tuesday, Oct. 31,
Count Dracula plays host to a gathering of ghosts, witches and other scary folks at the
Queens Botanical Garden’s sixth annual Haunted Garden, from 3 to 5 p.m. Visitors will
be greeted by the famous vampire and other denizens of the dark, while touring a
"Garden of Ghouls," a witch’s herb garden, and a haunted greenhouse filled
with eerie sights and sounds.
Admission to the Haunted Garden, which
includes a tour, workshop and snacks, is $3. School groups wishing to visit the Haunted
Garden earlier in the day must register with the Education Department by Oct. 26. To
register, call 886-3800, ext. 230.
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
• "Boo at the Zoo" in the
Queens Zoo on Oct. 28 and 29 will include a visit to the "Endangered and Extinct
Species Graveyard, where the Grim Reaper and other costumed characters illustrate the
fragility of our animal friends and the importance of conservation.
Located at 53-51 111th St., the Queens
Wildlife Center is open daily April through October from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, and
to 5:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays. November through March, hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30
p.m. daily. Admission is $2.50 for adults, $1.25 for seniors (65+) and 50 cents for
children (three to 12). Children under three are admitted free. For more information, call
271-1500 or visit their web site at www.wcs.org.
• "Medevil" Madness –
Queens Recreation is hosting its annual Halloween event at the Passerelle Building, next
to the USTA. This year the event has a Renaissance/Medieval Times theme and will include
arts and crafts, games of skill, music by Endless Melodies, giveaways, goody bags, giant
inflatable slide and moaon bounce, pumpkin patch, puppet show, storytelling by Catfish
Jim, special guest performances, vendors, a hayride around the park, face painting,
refreshments, and, of course, the haunted on Saturday, Oct. 28 from 1 to 7 p.m. and
Sunday, Oct. 29 from 2 to 7 p.m.
Forest Hills
• A festival with spooky pumpkin
patch, crafts, decorate a pumpkin, face painting, costume making and contest, music, story
teller, free rollerblading and more will be held in the picnic group of Forest Park from 1
to 5 p.m. on Oct. 29. At 3 p.m., Forest Park’s first pet costume contest will be
held. Refreshments available. For more information, call 235-4100.
• Create a paper puppet for Halloween
for children in grades two through six, who will learn from Patricia Eljaiek-Tousius how
to assemble a skeleton puppet, using paper and per fasteners. Add paper cutout hats and
clothing to the puppets. North Forest Park Branch Public Library, 97-27 Metropolitan Ave.,
Forest Hills. Pre-registration is required. Call 261-5512.
Jackson Heights
• The community Halloween parade will
step off at 5 p.m. on Oct. 31 at 37th Avenue and 88th Street. School groups and families
will march in costume with treats for all ages at the end of the line of march.
Maspeth
• Frightening tales of horror and
terror for ages seven through 12 at the Maspeth Branch Public Library, 69-70 Grand Ave. on
Oct. 31 at 4 p.m. Scary stories as told by "The Dustman," who returns to the
Corona Library in time for Halloween fun. He’ll present mystifying illusions.
Pre-registration is required. Call 639-5228.
Parent's Tips:
Make The Ghoulish Season Safe |
As thousands of children
prepare to haunt Queens neighborhoods for Halloween, Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jane S.
Hoffman has warned parents to look out for safety hazards that may also be cloaked in
disguise.
"Amid the Pikachus, Harry Potters, and
Batmans seeking treats, a very real danger lurks. Across the nation, approximately 1,300
Trick -Or- Treaters in costumes suffer burns, bruises, and other injuries every
year," Hoffman said. "If parents and children follow some basic safety tips,
ghosts, goblins and ghouls are the only things they should have to worry about this
Halloween."
Goblins and ghouls are showing up
on front lawns around the borough,
like at this Fresh Meadows house, as
Queens prepares for some frightful fun.
Tribune Photo by Ira Cohen
|
The Department of Consumer Affairs
(DCA) examined Halloween costumes and various accessories in order to uncover the dangers
hidden behind these Trick -Or- Treat staples. DCA tests concluded that materials such as
nylon and polyester, labeled as ‘flame resistant’, can ignite and burn. Hoffman
urged parents to choose costumes carefully.
Parents should not outfit children in easy
flammable materials like cotton. Children should only wear costumes or accessories that
are labeled ‘flame resistant’ or are made of flame resistant fibers like nylon,
polyester, or wool. Hoffman, however, cautioned parents that children in these costumes
are still susceptible to burns.
The Department also warned against certain
masks and wigs that restrict a child’s vision and breathing.
Hoffman offered the following safety
reminders:
• Beware of potential fire hazards.
Though a costume may read flame resistant, many materials will still ignite. Use caution
when outfitting children with costumes made of 100 percent cotton (typically hand made
items), as they are particularly susceptible to burning.
• Be sure masks do not obstruct a
child’s vision or impair breathing. As an alternative to masks, parents
should consider make-up or face paint. Be aware, however, that some make-up can irritate a
child’s skin. Purchase safe, hypoallergenic make-up. If a child is wearing a
mask, have the child avoid wearing it when traveling from house to house and make sure
vision is not obstructed or breathing is not impaired.
• Trim costumes with reflective
tape. When possible, outfit children with costumes that are bright and reflective.
• Carry a flashlight. Children
should carry flashlights when they go trick-or-treating to help them see more easily and
to make it easier for motorists to see them.
• To avoid tripping, make sure
costumes do not drag on the ground and wear sensible shoes. Make sure that shoes fit
well and costumes are short enough to prevent falling or entanglement. Also, capes, hats
and scarves should be tied securely to avoid getting caught in elevator doors. Avoid
riding bicycles as costumes could get tangled in the spokes
• Do not carry real looking toy
guns. It is illegal for stores to sell toy guns that resemble the real thing. Toy guns
must have a visible orange strip and must be topped with an orange cap to insure a toy is
not mistaken for a real weapon.
• Costume swords or knives should
be made of soft, flexible material.
• Examine all treats before eating.
Instruct children to bring the candy home to be inspected before eating it.
• Children should always be
accompanied by an adult.
• Teach children how to call 9-1-1:
If they have an emergency or become lost, remind children that 9-1-1 can be dialed free of
charge from any payphone.
Ghosts & Ghoulies & Things That Go Bump
In The Queens Night |
• The restless spirit
at Flushing Town Hall ... is he actually the Impressario of the Hall, who vowed to return
to its stage after fighting in the war?
• Bowne House... the spooky spectre
wandering the halls of Queens’ oldest house is said to be none other than the spirit
of the master of the house – John Bowne.
• Houdini... Master magician Harry
vowed to try to rise from his Queens gravesite on the night of All Hallows Eve, if anyone
can do it, Harry can.
• Hammerstein... Roger rides along the
roadways of Queens on Halloween, grieving over the loss of his burnt-out mansion. He
travels in style – why how else? In a "surrey with the fringe on-top?"
• Three vampires are alive and well in
Queens – explore these facts and more at the Elmhurst based world Vampire Research
Center.
• Louis Armstrong... passersby have
recounted tales of soulful, wailing sounds emarating from a horn atop Satchmo’s
gravesite in a Flushing graveyard.
• King Manor... Ghosties and ghoulies and things that
go "bump" in the night rule the manor on All Hallows Eve. |
