New York then and now

An unusual selection of photographs from the archive of the New York Daily News crime chronicle made in the style of "then and now." Added description, links to the scene and in some places original photos to make it clearer.

(Total 17 photos)

Source: Journal/samsebeskazal

1. March 19, 1942. In the photo, Edna Egbert is the mother of a soldier who went to the front, and from whom there was not a single news from that moment. Deciding that her son was dead, she went mad with grief and went to the eaves of the building to jump down. But this was not so easy to do, and she remained standing outside silently, looking at the gathering crowd of onlookers. After a while, the police pulled a net downstairs, and two officers climbed out of the windows of neighboring apartments to persuade her to return inside. When persuasion failed, they tried to simply push her down. Instead of falling, Edna began to scream loudly and fight back.

497 Dean st.

2. Original photo.

3. July 1, 1928. Pictured is the body of Frankie Yale, one of the most powerful gangsters in Brooklyn at the time. While sitting in a bar, he received a phone call from an unknown person who said that something had happened to his wife. Yale jumped into his new Lincoln coupe and drove home. At one of the intersections next to him, a Buick stopped with four armed men and Yale tried to break away. But he was overtaken, shot, lost control and crashed into a residential building in the Borough Park area.

923 44th street

4. Original photo.

5. January 11, 1951. In the photo, a large fire almost destroyed the Church of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Carrolls Gardens. The church was later restored.

Hicks st. and Summit st.

6. July 28, 1958 A New Yorker who had just been released from prison decided not to delay, but immediately return to his usual craft - car theft. He stole a car, but he could not go far in it. At the corner of Pacific and Classon, he overspeeded, lost control and crashed into a pole. The day went according to schedule: prison-release-theft-accident and again prison.

Classon ave and Pacific st.

7. January 31, 1961. A gas leak led to a massive explosion in a 30-story building located in downtown Brooklyn. 28 people were injured, but the building itself was not damaged in any way, except for broken shop windows and windows.

66 Court st.

8. February 16, 1946. Firefighters fight a fire on the third floor of a residential building in Williamsburg. The building has survived to this day, but now it is one floor lower.

31 Grandst.

9. July 22, 1943. A 105mm M7 Priest (Priest) self-propelled howitzer passes City Hall on its way to the New York Public Library building on 42nd Street, where it was on display as part of a military display.

park row.

10. December 17, 1960 The photo was taken the day after the horrific plane crash, when United Airlines Flight 826 and Trans World Airlines Flight 266 collided in the sky over New York City. Debris from one of the planes fell on Brooklyn's Park Slope residential area and destroyed many houses. As a result, almost all the passengers of the airliners (128 people) and 6 people on the ground died. The only survivor was 11-year-old Steven Baltz, who fell into a snowdrift. Unfortunately, he lived only a day and died suddenly of pneumonia. At that time, it was the largest air crash in the history of civil aviation.

7th ave. and Sterleng pl., Wiki article on the disaster.

11. Photo taken by a Life magazine photographer from almost the same angle.

12. April 4, 1959 3-year-old Martha Cartagena was hit by a car while riding a tricycle in front of her house. In the photo, the pastor comforts her older sister. There are still chips and scratches left from that tragic incident on the brick facing of the building.

Porter ave. and Harrison pl.

13. February 26, 1961. Fire in the buildings of the old fish market. The buildings are still standing, although some of them have become several floors lower.

Fulton Fish Market.

14. July 30, 1950. Police officers guard the body of Detective Michael Dauer, who committed suicide.

Prospect Park Wes and 15th street.

15. January 31, 1957. The body of small-time gangster Salvatore Santoro, nicknamed the "black hawk", lies in the lobby of a building in Brooklyn. He was killed with four shots to the head. The killer threw the gun next to the body.

475 1/2 Hicks st.

16. September 25, 1961. Josephine Dexidor holds a bleeding James Lenares, who was shot dead by her jealous husband on the stairs of an apartment building in the Bronx.

992 Southern blvd.

17. February 16, 1958. Serious fire at Elkins Paper & Twine Co. claimed the lives of 6 firefighters. The building was completely destroyed, and its remains were demolished immediately after the remains of the dead were removed from the ashes.

137 Woosterst.

Original photo and editing: Marc H. Hermann and New York Daily News.