History center highlights borough battle

The Center for Brooklyn History is located at 128 Pierrepont St., in the former Brooklyn Historical Society Building on the corner of Clinton and Pierrepont streets. And it is now part of the Brooklyn Public Library boroughwide system. Henry Pierrepont (1808-1888) founded the original Long Island Historical Society in 1863, which was changed in 1985 to the BHS.

At 3 p.m. on Friday, March 6, Saturday, March 14 and Friday, March 20, CBH will be holding tours of its interactive exhibition, “The Battle of Brooklyn: Fought and Remembered.”  A recent announcement describes it as follows:

“In August of 1776, the first and largest battle of the American Revolution took place in what is now Brooklyn, NY. The Battle of Brooklyn: Fought and Remembered uses primary source material from the Center for Brooklyn History’s collection to relay the story of this turning point in American history, sharing the events of this battle with new relevance. 

Artifacts, archival documents, and exclusive access to rare maps bring the summer of 1776 alive, 250 years later.” It also incorporates digital interactive technology to show where you can compare sites from the 1976 Bicentennial era to current events.

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The recent appointments of Rev. Peter Purpura as chancellor of the Brooklyn Catholic Diocese and as chaplain for the FDNY reminds me he is the son of the elder Peter and Cathy Purpura, former longtime residents of Bay Ridge who now live in Breezy Point.  

While still a born-and-bred Bay Ridgeite and parishioner of Our Lady of Angels, he owned and operated the highly successful Bay Ridge Travel Agency at the corner of Fourth Avenue and 86th Street for many years. He was always a busy civic leader and served as president of the Bay Ridge Community Council in 1973.

In 2014, Rev. Peter flew in from Rome for the holidays. He had been studying at the Vatican. He then helped celebrate Midnight Mass at Bay Ridge’s St. Patrick’s Church and then on Christmas Day celebrated Mass at St. Finbar’s Church in Bensonhurst. When he returned to the Vatican he helped distribute Holy Communion at the installation Mass of Pope Francis.