Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library
40 West 20 th street
New York, NY 10011
In Memory of Andrew Heiskell
August 21, 1915-May 7, 2003

Andrew Heiskell was born on August 21, 1915 in Naples, Italy. He was most notably through out the world for being the publisher of Life Magazine until 1972 when he rose up to CEO. In 1974 Andrew Heiskell created People Magazine which to this day still sells in the millions every week and was chairman of Time Inc. Andrew Heiskell believed that information in to journalism was from reading as much as you can to make your story/article have life. Mr. Heiskell became a valuable donor to the New York Public Library and in particular to the blind community. For his generous donations and work within the world of journalism and education, The NY Public Library decided to name one of the accessable libraries for the visually impaired after him.
The Andrew Heiskell Talking Book Library is located at 40 West 20th Street between fifth and sixth avenues in New York City.
Andrew Heiskell on a personal level was known to be through many marriages with the most recognized marriage being to actress Madeleine Carroll. AN award named “The Andrew Heiskell Award” was created by Institute of International Education. This library is special to me for the sole reason before I lost my sight I was never interested in reading any books that were longer than maybe a hundred pages, I received a call from Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library and they asked me if I wanted to try out their system of reading which is in audio tapes and digital copies as well. I agreed and assumed by the time I got my audio book player and a couple of books and started trying it out and by the end of the first book I was hooked and I go about every three weeks get a handful of audio and digital tapes via mail or downloads through their official web site. Sadly on May 7, 2003 Andrew Heiskell, who was stated as not only being a publisher but a civic leader passed away. Later that same year, the New York Public Library honored Andrew Heiskell by naming one of their accessable libraries for visually impaired people after him. Today The Andrew Heiskell, Talking Book Library has a very large circulation via regular audio and digital books as well as online versions of downloads of books.

The Namm Building
New York City College Of Technology
300 Jay Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Named in honor of Major Benjamin Namm

The Namm building at New York City College Technology was named in the memory of Major Benjamin Namm who was a veteran of World War I, owned owned and operated A.I. Namm & Son Department Store on Fulton Street and was the president of the National Retail Dry Goods Association. Major Namm believed that there should be a program focusing on returning soldiers from World War II so they can have college-level general
education and comprehensive training in the new and emerging technologies of the
era under the GI Bill. After meeting with then Governer Thomas
E. Dewey who believed in Namm’s vision so much that he put in to motion a school that would be first placed in an abandoned warehouse on Pearl Street in down town Brooklyn.

I spend most of my week taking classes at the Namm building while working on my associates degree in Legal studies and law which I will finish in Spring of 2015.

Father Capodanno Blvd.
South Beach
Staten Island, New York
Named after Father Vincent Robert Capodanno
February 13, 1929 – September 4, 1967

On the north shore of Staten Island there is a long strip of road heading north towards the Verazanno Narrows Bridge was named after Father Vincent Robert Capodanno who was a resident of Staten Island. Nick named the “Grunt Padre”, and was born on February 13, 1929.
Father Capodanno was a Lieutenant for the United States Naval Chaplain Core, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division during the Vietnam War. While in service this Staten Island resident was honored with a medal of honor, bronze star and a purple heart for his merit’s of bravery as a chaplain. He attended Curtis High School and after graduation attended Fordham University for a year before joining the Maryknoll
Missionary in Ossining,, New York and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in June of 1957.
His first assignment as a missionary was with aboriginal Taiwanese in the mountains of
Taiwan
where he served in a parish and later in a school. After seven years, Father Capodanno
returned to the United States for leave and then was assigned to a Maryknoll school
in Hong Kong. As ordered by the arch diasis, Father Vincent was commissioned to Vietnam as a chaplain in the Navy Chaplain Core with the rank of Lieutenant.
Father Capodanno was revered by all members of the Staten Island community for his bravery as not just aMarine but a community leader among the church and residents of Staten Island. The avenue is not the only place where this brave priest is memorialized, the U.S. Navy also named Capodanno for respect of his bravery as a Marine chaplin at The Capodanno Hall on the San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard. On September 4, 1967 in the early morning during a mission named “Operation Swift” IN A DISTRICT named Thang BinH IN THE Que Son Valley a small marine unit were under siege by close to 2,500 Vietnamese soldiers in the village of Dong Son. The Marines were heavily outnumbered and requested for reinforcements during the battle. Sometime around 9:30 AM twenty six of that Marine unit were pronounced dead and more soldiers were called in to assist. Father Capodanno went among the wounded and dying, giving
last rites to Wounded soldiers in the face and hand, he went to help a wounded corpsman only yards from where there was heavy fired
an enemy machine gun sprayed the area where the priest was killed.
Two days after Christmas in 1967, the secretary of the U.S. Navy informed the Capodanno family was contacted and given news that Father Capodanno would be receiving the highest medal to be given which was the medal of honor. This medal was given recognition for his bravery and ultimate sacrifice for his country and there was a ceremony on January 7, 1969 to give the medal to his surviving family.
Formerly named Seaside Boulevard, in 1972 the Boulevard was named after Father Capodanno . Father Capodanno Boulevard is close to me in many ways for the ocean side of Father Capodanno Boulevard there is a boardwalk that stretches the entire Boulevard where I take Gibson on summer days as well as fall days and during the summer is a place that though smaller in size compared to boardwalks in places like Atlantic City, Seaside Heights and Wildwood in New Jersey it still has attractions and game booths.

The Captain Roald Amundsen Circle
Located in Oakwood Heights, Staten Island, New York where Amboy Road, Clarke Avenue and Savoy Street join together
Named in honor of Captain Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen
July 16, 1872-June 18, 1928 (disappeared

This monument of Norwegian explorer Captain Roald Amundsen was acquired by the city in 1928 and then named on September 7, 1929. The boulder that the plate to memorialize this great explorer who led the first expedition to the South Pole was a boulder dropped
off from a glacier during the ice age when Captain Amundsen went on one of his exploration voyages. Captain Roald Amundsen was born on July 16, 1872 in Østfold, Norway. During an exploration the Captain disappeared and pronounced lost during exploration on June 18, 1928 at the age of 55. There is no known location where the captain disappeared or in fact when or if he died or how for that matter. Theinteresting part of this monument is that it is located at the top of Clark Avenue at the start of historic Richmondtown and is part of Richmondtowns guided tours. Historic Richmondtown is where during the Civil War one of the base of operations for the North’s army and where in fact the president at that time was Abraham Lincoln stayed often to oversee the troop activities of the North for their battle against the Confederates.
The park where the monument stands is also a venue for Earth Day among grammer schools through out the community where along with the monument there are other things to look at such as a garden on the south west area of the circle where a garden is.
This monument is where I take my guide dog Gibson for exercise and play time since it is not far from my house.

The Verrazano Narrows Bridge,
Location: I-278
Crosses
The Narrows
Locale
New York City connecting from Staten Island to Brooklyn
Named in Honor of Giovanni da Verrazzano
1485–1528

This bridge was open on November 21, 1964 and connects the borough of Staten Island in to Brooklyn in New York City.The bridge is named after the Florentine
explorer
Giovanni da Verrazzano, however the name is misspelled on the bridge. In 1524 while
in the service of
Francis I of France
, Verrazzano became the first European to enter
New York Harbor
and the
Hudson River. According to statistics, over 22,000 cars travel over this bridge every week but that is a conservative number due to it only can count standard automobiles that can seat only five people, if you count city buses, commercial trucks,motorcycles,SUV’s,mini-vans etc. the number ir to that statistic is much , much more. Due to the economy that we are currently in the price for entry in to Staten Island via the bridge is sixteen dollars average when considering types of vehicles come through Staten Island. The Verrazano Bridge holds another historical location as it is the start line for the New York City Five Borough Marathon every November. Thousands of runners from across the world come to New York to run this history making event where the finish line is at Central Park. I will be running the next marathon for Parents Of Blind Children of New York. The funny thing about the Verrazano Bridge is that un-like the Brooklyn, Ed Koch bridge and Trhorgs neck Bridge which all look aged the Verrazano however has a sleek and a more modern look even though the bridge was built over fifty years ago and like most bridges has a bottom section where vehicles can drive over as well considering the vehicle type. Weather conditions played a big factor on the reasoning of this bridge also before the bridge was built, under normal conditions, the five miles crossing to Manhattan could be made in half
an hour, the mile crossing to Brooklyn in about ten minutes. But if the bay was heavy
with ice, or if a fog suddenly closed in, either trip could take much longer or not leave Staten Island at all. And
on clear days, when the ferries had no trouble in making their crossings on schedule,
they were often so crowded, particularly on summer weekends, that drivers had to
wait for hours to get to one. On the bridge, the crossing to Brooklyn can be made in three or four minutes.
The bridge will always have a special place for anyone who lives on Staten Island and Brooklyn. Staten Island is usually called the forgotten borough that lives in the shadow of the four other borough’s but to me it looks like an arch to places beyond New York City, like a gateway to other landmarks across the country.