Shipwrecks and Calamities of New York Harbor
Numerous catastrophes have occurred in and around the waters of Staten Island. Why they occurred, who was responsible, and their ultimate effects on Staten Island will be examined. Incidents to be explored include the Vanderbilt Landing bridge collapse in 1852; the Westfield ferry explosion of 1871; the New Street building collapse in New Brighton during 1937; the mid-air plane collision over New Dorp in 1960; the crash of the Sea Witch and Esso Brussels under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1973, and others. Discover how several of these occurrences changed governmental rules and regulations.
Patricia M. Salmon retired as Curator of History at the Staten Island Museum in 2012. A Staten Island resident for almost fifty years, she was a Naturalist/Historian at Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve in that borough for eight years. Ms. Salmon has authored the books Realms of History: The Cemeteries of Staten Island, The Staten Island Ferry: A History, Murder & Mayhem on Staten Island and Staten Island Slayings: Murderers and Mysteries of the Forgotten Borough. A board member of the Tottenville Historical Society, she is a consultant to the Friends of Abandoned Cemeteries of Staten Island and an adjunct professor at Wagner College in Staten Island.