Generally Speaking: Remember Pearl Harbor on December 7th

December 7 marks the 72nd anniversary of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.It was back on December 7, 1941, that Japanese bombers in a sneak attack over Hawaii struck the U.S. Navy fleet based at Pearl Harbor.

Over 3,390 members of the armed forces, mostly sailors, and 49 civilians were killed, and nearly 2,000 people were wounded.Four battleshipswere sunk with four others sustaining extensive damage. Other Navy vessels sunk or damaged were cruisers and destroyers.Thishorrific event plunged our nation into World War II.

My good buddy Howie Dunn ***

Ambassador for New York City!Doesn’t that have a nice ring to it? It would also be a good fit for our term-limited Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.City Public Advocate-elect Tish James and re-elected Brooklyn City CouncilmemberDavid Greenfieldare recommending and encouraging Mayor-elect Billdi Blasio to consider filling and renaming the city post of Commissioner of International Affairs for Markowitz.

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I’m sure from news reports you have heard about all acrimony Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has caused in this metropolitan Canadian city.

Much less controversial but none the less newsworthy, isthe trip by Community Board Six’sDistrict Manager Craig Hammerman to Toronto to address a civic group of lawmakers, local developers and prominent residents to talk about how community boards function in the city of New York.

Hammerman, a former City Council candidate, has been the CB6 district manager since 1963.He was recently honored as one of the Kings of Kings County at the business expo and breakfast at the El Caribe sponsored by this paper.

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The Society of Old Brooklynites — of which Hammerman is a life member along with Brooklyn Beep Markowitz — is holding its annual holiday party on December 4, at 6:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Borough Hall.Ron Schweiger ***

Our hearty congratulations to Bob Capano and Michele Vigeant on their recent marriage. Capano is a former top aide to Markowitz, a past state Assembly and City Council candidate and more recently served on the campaign committee for past GOP mayoral contender John Catsimatidis.

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Schweiger, a resident expert on the homes and mansions of Victorian Flatbush, in addition to his role as borough historian, gave a splendid presentation on the history of the area to the Friends of Historic New Utrecht in the parish house of the Dutch Reformed Church, at 84th Street and 18th Avenue. He was greeted at the event by local attorney and Bay Ridgeite Dave Elligers who is the president of the Historic New Utrecht group.

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Over at the Shore Hill NeighborhoodCenter, the other evening, the Bay Ridge Historical Society hosted its annual presentation of the Samuel Thomas Winter Collection of vintage Bay Ridge photos dating back to over 100 years ago.

The original images were digitalizedfrom glass plate negatives by BRHS Second Vice President Matthew Scarpa who along with his grandfather and former BRHS President Peter Scarpa narrated an interesting and entertaining show.

One of the photos they projected was of the famousand now long defunct Bay Ridge Athenaeum Buildingwhich originally stood on Ridge Boulevard near Ovington Avenue.The three-story edifice housed a readingroom, ballroom and Bay Ridge’s first post office.

The night before, the town of New Utrecht — which the villages of New Utrecht, Fort Hamilton, Bay Ridge and Bath Beach were part of– was annexed by the then-city of Brooklyn, on July 1, 1984.

The town board members and their supervisor, Mayor Norman DikeCharles Schieren and members of his cabinet.

When the clock struck midnight, the former New Utrecht town residents stood up and gave a big cheer as they were welcomed into the nation’s third largest city.