Hamilton: The Trolley Tour. Coming to Brooklyn Soon

Photo courtesy of Green-Wood

Here's an interesting, real history alternative or supplement to Broadway's "Hamilton": beautiful Green-Wood Cemetery has cooked up a Hamilton-filled trolley tour.

Although the lead, Alexander Hamilton, rests elsewhere, many family members and those who crossed his path are interred within Green-Wood’s 478 acres.

Green-Wood Historian Jeff Richman is the guide. Participants will visit Robert Troup, Hamilton’s college roommate with whom he had a lifelong close relationship; William Peter Van Ness, who was Aaron Burr’s “second” during that fateful duel in which Hamilton was slain; Hamilton’s son, John; Hamilton’s grandchildren, Elizabeth and Schuyler; and many others. You’ll also learn about Hamilton’s role in the Battle of Brooklyn – fought on land that is now part of Green-Wood.

The event takes place Saturday, May 13, from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

The trolley tour is $25; $20 for members of the Green-Wood Historic Fund and members of the Brooklyn Historical Society.  Reservations are recommended.  If the trolley tour is not sold out, walk-ups will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis. To make an online reservation or to find out more information, visit www.green-wood.com/toursevents or call 718-210-3080.


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Mausoleums and Catacombs at Brooklyn's Green-Wood to Open for One Day

VIDEO: Courtesy of Thirteen’s “The City Concealed."

For one day only, Green-Wood will open many of its most impressive and elaborate mausoleums for public perusal. You will be able to peek inside massive stone slabs and elaborate iron-wrought doors as you step inside stunning examples of Green-Wood’s distinct architecture.

Greenwood in a release says this self-guided tour on Sunday, Oct. 4 from noon to 6 p.m. will include the Egyptian Revival tomb of John Taylor Johnston, an early president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the ornately tiled ceiling of the Hoagland mausoleum – home to a Baking Powder empire; the imposing mausoleum of the Dewey’s, a family of early American settlers; and several more.

In total, fourteen mausoleums will be open plus the rarely-opened Catacombs. At each stop, “house” docents will explain family histories, and historic items, blueprints, and papers will further illuminate the lives of these residents.

Bring your sneakers and walk the route at your leisure, or use the Green-Wood trolley for “hop on, hop off” service between each site. A handy map, provided at the main entrance, will mark the locations of each open house. Don’t miss one of Green-Wood’s most popular events!



Green-Wood – 25th Street at 5th Avenue, Brooklyn
Take the “R” train to 25th Street in Brooklyn and walk up the hill one block and into the Cemetery.
Free parking is available.

This event is $20; $15 for members of the Green-Wood Historic Fund and members of the Brooklyn Historical Society. Reservations are recommended. To make an online reservation or to find out more information, visit www.green-wood.com/toursevents or call 718-210-3080.


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Green-Wood Turns Into 'Dark Wonderland' at Night

This is Week 2 of Green-Wood Cemetery's "Dark Wonderland" performances, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice in Wonderland.

Nighttime performances take place every Thursday and Friday from 7:30 pm to 10 pm during the month of June.

Here's the description:

"On the 150th Anniversary of the publication of Lewis Carroll’s novel, "Dark Wonderland" is a four-week showcase for New York’s most visionary performing artists to hold a modern-day looking glass to our city and the world beyond, through spectacular presentations in theater, dance, and music. The series is held at Green-Wood Cemetery, a sprawling and historic city of immense power, and curated and produced by MAPP International Productions, a nonprofit producer of major performing arts projects that spark social change."


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Squadron Not Joining de Blasio Administration? Brooklyn Flea to Flee Park; aand More Brooklyn Briefs

Gas lamp, Brooklyn Heights. MK Metz

- Senator Daniel Squadron says he's going to run for re-election -- not head off to the de Blasio administration. [Crain's]

- Cops say security for Bill de Blasio home in Park Slope would be no problem. [NY Daily News]

- The Brooklyn Flea is abandoning its East River State Park locale amid complaints from locals. [TRD]

- BP Markowitz declares Brooklyn to be the “lesbian capital” of the Northeast. [NY Post]

- Will Green-Wood Cemetery turns part of landmarked greenhouse into visitors center? [Brooklyn Eagle]

- State Ed Commissioner King meets an audience in Crown Heights that likes the  new Common Core learning standards. [NY1]

- Forrest City Ratner lowers value of Atlantic Yards by $250,000 - $350,000. [AYR]

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'Tree Deserts' of Brooklyn; Perverted Pervert Test; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- 18 wheeler tractor trailers are illegally idling for over 24 hrs at a time next to Barclays Center. [AY Report] and [AY Watch]

- Huge development site at the corner of Franklin and Dean in Crown Heights going for $18,000,000. [Brownstoner]

- Someone is stealing catalytic converters in Carroll Gardens. [PMFA]

- New tree map of shows the "tree deserts" of Brooklyn. [NY Daily News]

- Court rules sex offender should not be subject to oddly perverted penile test [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A 46-year-old man was found shot to death in a car in Crown Heights Sunday night. [NBC]

- Green-Wood Cemetery is offering a pre-Halloween tour with gorgeously ghoulish appeal: a tour inside a mausoleum. [About]

- New Coney Island YMCA to create a time capsule. [Bensonhurst Bean]

- Yeah yeah: Lhota says he'll cut the city's work force but won't reduce services. [Crain's NY]

- The FDA isn't inspecting food during the government shutdown. [Gizmodo]

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Now That It's Too Late, Queens Residents Mourn Eminent Loss of 'Fat Boy' Statue

Photo: Jim Henderson

Queens won't have Civic Virtue to kick around much longer. It's about to bid adieu to the statue, currently on display in Kew Gardens, derided by many as sexist and called "Fat Boy."

The deteriorating statue, which depicts a "muscle-bound young man (representing virtue) trampling upon two reclining young women (representing graft and corruption)" is being sent to Green-Wood Cemetery for repairs and renovation after being ignored for years in Queens.

While many Queens resident are are crying foul, "The fact is we don’t deserve to keep it," says an editorial in the Queens Chronicle.

"The main reason is that we let our officials allow it to all but fall apart over the years, and now it’s too late to do anything about it. Those who wanted it preserved should have demanded that funds be allocated for that years ago."

More details here and here. 

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