A spinoff of Jake and the Fatman debuting on CBS this fall.

But seriously folks.

H.G. Maybeck is a local manufacturer that has been in business since 1907 and currently specializes in laundry bags and carts. Its name doesn't show up much in the newspaper archives, but I did find an awning industry ad in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1923 — "You Are Going to Need AWNINGS, ORDER NOW" — that lists H.G. Maybeck as one of the members of the Canvas Goods Manufacturers Association of Greater New York, a group of "Makers of Awnings of Dependability".

Putzmeister — which means "Plaster Master" in German, and something else in Yiddish — makes concrete pumps, primarily. The one pictured above is a relatively modest affair, but the company is best known for its extremely long boom pumps. On a number of occasions, in fact, Putzmeister machines have set new world records for pumping concrete the greatest vertical distance, with the most recent record-breaking performance of 1,988 feet achieved during the construction of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The company's boom pumps have also been utilized in disaster response efforts, most notably at Chernobyl, where they helped entomb the plant's damaged nuclear reactor in a concrete and steel sarcophagus, and at Fukushima, where they pumped seawater to cool the overheated reactors.

From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 22, 1930:

Queens Boy Asked to Choose Grandmother's or Dad's Home

Francis Morra, 12, who has been living with his grandmother, Mrs. Caroline Caputo, at 91-28 184th St., Hollis, since his father and mother separated six years ago, will have to [choose] between his mother and maternal grandmother on the one hand and his father and step-mother on the other when he is taken before Justice Burt Jay Humphrey In the Supreme Court at Jamaica Monday.

Justice Humphrey yesterday reserved decision on the writ of habeas corpus sued out by the father, John Morra of Manhattan, to gain custody of the boy from his grandmother. The Justice directed the grandmother to bring the boy before him Monday, saying that he would then let the boy decide with whom he wishes to live In the future.

The grandmother stated In an affidavit that the boy has lived with her since his mother, Mrs. Sarah Morra, left her husband in 1924, after repeated beatings at his hands and threats against her life. Last September, the affidavit stated, Morra procured an Enoch Arden divorce [named for Tennyson's Enoch Arden] from his wife and subsequently married another woman, promising at that time, the grandmother said, to pay her $7 a week for the support of the boy.

He told the grandmother, according to the affidavit, that he was afraid the boy might cause trouble between him and his second wife. When Morra's first wife learned of his second marriage she went to the home of her mother and has since assisted her In caring for her son, the grandmother said.

This tiny park (Street View) honors the life of Benigno Aquino Jr., the Philippine political leader and bitter foe of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Aquino's assassination in 1983 galvanized opposition to the Marcos regime and catapulted his widow, Corazon Aquino, to the presidency, which she held from 1986 to 1992. The couple's son, Benigno Aquino III, currently serves as president of the country, having been elected in 2010.

To the best of my recollection — i.e., I might be totally wrong — I believe the Philippine flag flying over the monument is the only foreign flag I've seen on display in a city park.

Keeping up with the Joneses? Check out these Street View photos of the next-door neighbors' driveway in 2013 ("David and Goliath") and 2012 ("Baby Hammer").

Located at 89-19 187th Place, this garage looks like it may have once been a carriage house. Standing next to it on the property is a stately, similarly styled dwelling where Lawrence Gresser, who served as the fourth Borough President of Queens from 1908 to 1911, moved in with his son and spent the final months of his life before passing away in 1935.

Gresser was the third in an illustrious string of four consecutive borough presidents who were brought down by charges of corruption. Two of them ended up in prison, while another left for Italy on a steamer two hours before he was supposed to appear in front of a grand jury for questioning. Gresser, the saint of the bunch, was removed from office by the governor not because of any particular misdeeds on his part, but merely because he was deemed "inefficient and incompetent and . . . neglectful of his duty to protect the city and the Borough of Queens against fraud and corruption on the part of his subordinates".

Here in Hollis, Gotham Greens is constructing the 60,000-square-foot rooftop greenhouse pictured above. The company expects to grow more than 500 tons of hydroponic produce per year at this facility.

The building beneath the greenhouse was once part of the Ideal Toy Corporation's manufacturing complex. Founded by the American inventor of the teddy bear, Ideal produced many famous toys and games over the years, including Betsy Wetsy, the Magic 8 Ball, Mouse Trap, and the Rubik's Cube.

beneath the Long Island Rail Road

Compare to its neighbors.

on a 1986 Nissan 300ZX