Monday, September 19, 2016

Bombings. And New York.

Dateline, New York City, October 22, 1951.

BOMBS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE CONSOLIDATED EDISON COMPANY IS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE FOR THEIR DASTARDLY ACTS AGAINST ME. I HAVE EXHAUSTED ALL OTHER MEANS. I INTEND WITH BOMBS TO CAUSE OTHERS TO CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE FOR ME.
The police found a home-made pipe-bomb cut into the cushions of a seat at the Paramount. 
The above note directed police to the Paramount Theater in Times Square and to a telephone booth in the Pennsylvania Station. A bomb was found at the theater; nothing was found at the train station.

Dateline, New York City, November 29, 1951.
Special to The New York Times



Some weeks after the subway locker explosion, the liberal Republican "New York Herald Tribune" received this note. Like the note above it was written in pencil in block letters. Experts of the NYPD noticed that the Gs and Ys were peculiarly-shaped, leading them to surmise that the bomber might have been educated in Europe.

HAVE YOU NOTICED THE BOMBS IN YOUR CITY – IF YOU ARE WORRIED, I AM SORRY – AND ALSO IF ANYONE IS INJURED. BUT IT CANNOT BE HELPED – FOR JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED. I AM NOT WELL, AND FOR THIS I WILL MAKE THE CON EDISON SORRY – YES, THEY WILL REGRET THEIR DASTARDLY DEEDS – I WILL BRING THEM BEFORE THE BAR OF JUSTICE – PUBLIC OPINION WILL CONDEMN THEM – FOR BEWARE, I WILL PLACE MORE UNITS UNDER THEATER SEATS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. F.P.

On March 19, 1952, a bomb exploded in Port Authority Bus Terminal without injury. In June and then December bombs exploded in seats of the Loews Lexington Avenue theater. The December bomb caused one injury.

In 1953, bombs exploded at the following sites:
  • Radio City Music Hall
  • The Capitol Theater
  • A rental locker near the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Terminal
  • an unexploded bomb was found in a rental locker at Pennsylvania Station.
NY Police described the Grand Central bomb as the "homemade product of a publicity-seeking jerk."

On St. Patrick's Day, 1954, "The New York Times" reported this story.

Later that same year, bombs were found in a phone booth in Port Authority and another bomb was found in a phone booth in Pennsylvania Station.

On November 7th, a capacity audience of 6,200 were at Radio City Music Hall viewing Bing Crosby in "White Christmas."  A bomb stuffed into the bottom cushion of a seat in the 15th row exploded, injuring four movie-goers.

This time the bomber got more press. In a front page story, the Times reported the explosion.

Victor Borella, vice president of Rockefeller Center and a member of the board of directors of the Radio City Music Hall was, according to the Times, "convinced the bombing was the work of a "crackpot."




More later or tomorrow.





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