What says New York City?
Checkered cabs and tabloid newspapers? Baseballs and skyscapers? Bagels and buttons?
All that and more, writes Sam Roberts in “A History of New York in 101 Objects” (Simon & Schuster), which chronicles the city from the 1.2 billion-year-old rock formation called the Fordham gneiss to a jar of dust from the World Trade Center.
Not that even 101 objects can capture the city. They’re simply a starting point for discussions and arguments.
As Roberts quotes O. Henry about New York: “It’ll be a great place if they ever finish it.”
Here are 10 items from the book that at least provide a good beginning.
Horse’s tail
News of the Declaration of Independence sent New Yorkers into Bowling Green, the city’s first public park, on July 9, 1776.
They toppled the gilded equestrian statue of King George III — and this 19-inch remnant of the tail ended up in the New-York Historical Society.
The toppling was considered the first official act of rebellion; and much of the lead statue was melted down to make 42,088 musket balls for the Continental Army.
But while we won the war, and the tail, not all the statue went to the cause.
The horse’s head was spirited away by English loyalists. It was last seen in the home of Lord Charles Townshend, the chancellor of the exchequer who introduced many of the hated taxes that sparked our revolution.
Knickerbocker notice
Even in 1809, the New York (Evening) Post was required reading.
This “missing notice,” which appeared in the Oct. 26 edition, asked readers to be on the lookout for a man named Knickerbocker.
But it was really a hoax to promote the novel of a young Washington Irving, an early example of New York’s fabled public relations and advertising industries.
Irving contributed much to the language of the city — he was the first to call us “Gotham,” while “Knickerbocker” not only became synonymous with New Yorker, it became a basketball team.
Bridge toll ticket
Yes, it used to cost money to cross the Brooklyn Bridge — as politicians hoped to offset the $15 million ($360 million in today’s dollars) it cost to build.
It cost 1 cent for people on foot, 5 cents for railway passengers and 10 cents for a horse and wagon.
Oh, and 2 cents a sheep.
But in 1911, Mayor William J. Gaynor abolished the toll, noting that the bridge united a city, it shouldn’t divide it.
“I see no more reason for toll gates on the bridges than for toll gates on Fifth Avenue or Broadway,” he said. Don’t give them any ideas.
Ticker tape
The last ribbon of ticker tape, which could accommodate 285 words a minute, ran hours late.
“Good Night” were its final words. The market wouldn’t recover its pre-crash levels until 1954.
Subway token
In 1953, the cost of a subway ride rose from 10 cents to 15 cents.
While turnstiles could accept a dime or a nickel, they couldn’t accept both, so the token was born.
More than 90 million tokens were minted over the following decades, as fares continued to climb.
Today, we use the MetroCard, but the MTA still has 1.6 million “Y” cutout tokens in a warehouse.
What will they be used for? Cufflinks.
Greek coffee cup
Leslie Buck, a refugee from Nazi Europe, started a paper-cup company with his brother in Mount Vernon.
He drew this design in the 1960s in an attempt to break into the city’s Greek diners.
It’s called “The Anthora” — Buck’s accented pronunciation of “amphora,” a large vase or urn.
At the height of its popularity, 500 million were made annually.
In New York City, at least, its design is more recognizable than Starbucks’ mermaid.
Levittown House
Developer William J. Levitt wouldn’t sell to blacks.
“As a Jew, I have no room in my heart for racial prejudice,” he said. “But the plain fact is most whites prefer not to live in mixed communities. This attitude may be wrong morally, and someday it may change. I hope it will.”
In 1950, NYC was home to 7.1 million whites, by 1980 to only 3.7 million, as they moved to the suburbs in droves.
Con Ed chimney
Is there anything more cinematic than the steam rising off the city streets?
Con Ed delivers steam through 105 miles of mains and pipes to Manhattan below 96th Street on the West Side, and 89th on the East Side.
It’s used to heat buildings from Rockefeller Center to the Empire State Building to the World Trade Center, and cool them too by driving turbines that circulate refrigerant.
To keep pedestrians safe, Con Ed uses these chimneys. It’s the way the city blows off steam.
Black and white cookie
What food symbolizes New York? The hot dog? The bagel?
“Seinfeld” and others would say the black and white cookie, “two races of flavor living side by side in harmony.”
The cookie’s origins are murky, but some trace it Hemstrought’s Bakery in Utica, where they were first made a century ago.
But wherever they started, the “half moons,” or “harlequins,” have become city bakery staples.
Spalding
Dirty secret of the ball that is synonymous with New York City stickball — it was made by A.G. Spalding, a former Boston Red Stockings pitcher.
“New York without punch ball, stickball and Spaldeens,” one wit wrote, “is like Jersey without boredom. C’mon.”