OP-ED
Rockefeller charms in Queens and more from
In conjunction with the Greater Astoria
Historical Society, TimesLedger
Newspapers presents noteworthy
events in the borough’s history.
Welcome to December 1965!
The Star Journal reported that
St. John University’s chapter of the
United Federation of College Teachers
planned a demonstration on its
Hillcrest campus as university officials
were to bestow an honorary
degree to the UN’s General Assembly
President Amintore Fanfani.
At issue was St. John’s decision to
fire those teachers who previously
sought to organize.
Governor Nelson Rockefeller
ended a month long “people to people”
state tour with his arrival to
Queens, where he engaged in “a
flawless political performance.” In
a whirlwind four-hour visit, Rockefeller
toured the Children’s unit at
Creedmoor State hospital and partook
in a Christmas tree lighting
ceremony. The Star Journal noted
that it was clear that Rocky was
laying the groundwork to run for a
third term.
The Star Journal noted in the latter
part of December that the Site Selection
Board chose the site for the
proposed $467,500 East River branch
library in Long Island City. Located
on the west side of 21st street, 123
feet north of 40th avenue, the site
would cover 7,125 feet and was assessed
at $21,000.
The Star Journal reported on the
first passenger helicopter lifting off
of the roof of the Pan Am Building
on Park Avenue and heading out to
Queens.
“A little wiggle, a little backwards
jerk and the copter was aloft… turning
west towards Broadway and
Times Square, then spinning…east
over Central park to the Queensborough
Bridge, rotors slapping,
engines thudding” was the Star
Journal’s depiction of this unique
maiden voyage.
After the spectacle of these aircraft
coming into the heart of the
city, the Star Journal wistfully noted
that they came in to land “almost anti
climactically.” Regularly scheduled
flights between Midtown and
Kennedy Airport were to take place
for a fare of seven dollars! A round
trip took you back ten dollars. In a
trip that lasted only seven minutes,
passengers experienced vistas that
took their breaths away, including a
close up view of the Chrysler building,
looking down into Con Edison’s
riverside smokestacks, and sitting
motionless above the entrance of the
Lincoln tunnel “watching cars like
an all-seeing traffic cop.”
With the regularity of the subway
(the Star Journal reported a
quip that it all was like the IRT with
flight insurance) passengers were
treated to the glimmering sun over
New York Harbor and ocean mists
in the distance. All this was a novel
attempt to solve a persistent problem
in commercial aviation: getting
people from the city to the airport
“in a time reasonably proportionate
to the length of the total trip.”
(Their novelty notwithstanding,
these flights proved to be unprofitable
and were cancelled about three
years later in 1968.)
That’s the way it was on December
1965!
For further information, contact
the Greater Astoria Historical Society
at 718-278-0700.
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