QUEENSLINE
March 1957: BP Lundy promises to fi ght for a zoo in Queens
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MARCH 12-MARCH 18, 2021 13
In conjunction with the
Greater Astoria Historical
Society, TimesLedger Newspapers
presents noteworthy
events in the borough’s
history.
Welcome to March 1957!
In an article entitled,
“People You Know,” John J.
Kreeger Jr. read a report prepared
by his father, an Astoria
developer, at the Long Island
City Kiwanis Club. His
father noted that broccoli was
first grown on the site now occupied
by the Mount Carmel
Roman Catholic Church.
In other local news, 5,428
free chest X-rays were given
by the Queensboro Tuberculosis
and Health Association
to residents of College Point.
A front page article noted
that the Queens Medical Society’s
polio inoculation center
would be shut down because
the supply of vaccine was
“completely exhausted.”
In entertainment news,
the Playhouse 90 television
series won six Emmy awards
for the season and planned
to rebroadcast “Requiem for
a Heavyweight” and “The
Miracle Worker.” The opening
offering for the following
season was slated to be “Good
Night Sweet Prince,” from the
Fowler biography of John Barrymore.
Parks Commissioner
Robert Moses blasted the
plan put forth by City Council
President Abe Stark to use
the Parade Grounds opposite
Brooklyn’s Prospect Park for
a new Dodgers Stadium.
Borough President Lundy
promised to bring the fight for
a Queens zoo to the Board of
Estimate, saying “The people
of Queens deserve a zoo just
as much as do the people of
other boroughs, all of which
have zoos of their own.” Over
12,000 signatures were collected
in zoo-for-Queens petitions.
An editorial observed
that a trip to the zoo was an
essential part of a child’s education.
Queens was the only
borough without a zoo. The
editorial said that it behooved
the City and Mayor Wagner to
rectify the situation, observing
that the Parks Department
had been petitioning
the City for a Queens zoo as
far back as 1946.
Above a photograph of a
very 1950’s smiling woman
ladling beef-broth from a
punch bowl into punch glasses
and a flanked by tray of
Danish blue cheese wheels,
the “Modern Living” column
that day had the kind of heading
that shows the age of the
paper: “Plan a Gay Spring
Luncheon.”
Wednesday saw a 52-page
edition of the paper, replete
with sales info. Gertz Flushing
was having a three-day
spring sale. Men’s fine cotton
pajamas “all Sanforized in a
huge selection of seersuckers,
cotton broadcloths, end-onend
styles...” were reduced to
$2.77, ladies’ silk scarves were
$0.59. At Bloomingdale’s on
Horace Harding Boulevard at
188th Street (Olympia 8-5900),
the three-day sale included
monogrammed glassware for
$2.98 a dozen and included
ice tea, highball, water, juice,
whiskey, cocktail, and oldfashioned
glasses.
Britain ordered Archbishop
Makarios, the leader of
the Greek Cypriots, released
from exile in the Seychelles
Islands but he was not immediately
permitted to return to
Cyprus. The Archbishop was
stationed for a short time with
the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
of North and South
America, when it was located
at 25th Street and 30th Drive
in Astoria.
At the 29th annual Academy
Awards, the film industry
gave Ingrid Bergman her
second Oscar for her portrayal
in “Anastasia,” Yul Brynner
won Best Actor for “The
King and I,” and Best Picture
was awarded to “Around the
World in 80 Days.” And Madeleine
Seelig of Rego Park was
announced as the new Miss
Subways.
That’s the way it was in
March 1957!
For further info, call the
Greater Astoria Historical
Society at 718-
278-0700 or www.
astorialic.org.
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LAST WEEK’S TOP STORY:
Maspeth High School launches pen pal program with
local senior home
SUMMARY: Jesse Pachter, an assistant principal at Maspeth
High School launched a pen pal program that encourages students
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