Home
Search transcripts:    Advanced Search
Notable New     Yorkers
Select     Notable New Yorker

Mary LaskerMary Lasker
Photo Gallery
Transcript

Part:         Session:         Page of 1143

Lasker:

Yes, the New Yorker wrote an article about it, although the Park Department was very grudging in its attitude. But theNew Yorker wrote an article about it and quoted a taxicab driver that somebody or another had found saying that it was the greatest thing that had never happened to the taxi drivers in New York because they got so much business from people who wanted to go up and down looking at the tulips. And this taxicab driver had a committee of other taxicab drivers all of whom pointed out the flowers to taxicab riders, and this man was very sympathetic. There was a great deal of publicity about it.

Later, both This Week magazine and the Reader's Digest had articles about it.

Q:

What did the Mayor have to say?

Lasker:

Well, the Mayor didn't have anything to say. I went to see Bob Moses or I had lunch with him, and I said that I'd like to give some money to make plantings in honor of him, if the City would continue these plantings and also do begonia plantings in the summer and chrysanthemum plantings in the fall. Well, this was very upsetting to Mr. Moses, as I had said I would pay about $35,000 for some plantings in other parts of the City. He said, “You ought to plant everything in Brooklyn. Everybody is the same size in Brooklyn, and something ought to be done about Brooklyn.” So, in order to placate him, I said, “All right, I'll even give something to Brooklyn in your honor.”





© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help