Gothamist: Please Explain: RMS Titanic Memorial in Long Island City

Dirk

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 19:37:00 -0500

Personally, I'm sick of hearing about the Titantic. I think Leo forever ruined it for me...

dana

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 15:18:56 -0500

Here's the NY1 story. For what it's worth, he's unfailingly courteous (he says hello to me nearly every morning) and I'm fairly certain that he doesn't drive a Volvo, with or without an inflatable rabbit in it.

Kevin Walsh

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 14:10:57 -0500

From the upcoming Forgotten NY book: The left side of 11th Street as you drive north from the Pulaski Bridge presents a fairly uniform façade of three-story brick buildings and they all look pretty much the same, except for 47-08. It sports an American flag, a couple of green awnings…and a plethora of photographs and plaques dedicated to RMS Titanic, the largest steamship in the world in April 1912, deemed unsinkable before an iceberg sent it to the bottom, killing 1490 passengers and crew. Collector Joe Colletti assembled the shrine in 1984 after seeing "Raise the Titanic." A member of the Titanic Memorial Society, he has assembled hundreds of newspaper clippings, movie posters, photographs, and correspondence with survivors both inside his apartment and facing the sidewalk, some of which stops pedestrian and even some vehicular traffic outside his brownstone. Dave Herman of City Reliquary has told me the Titanic memorial is a direct inspiration for his operation. www.forgotten-ny.com

Jack

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 13:37:11 -0500

NY1 did a short piece on him during the summer. He's just a history buff with a creative streak. We need more people like him in this city!

control

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 13:22:52 -0500

It was just put together by the guy that lives in that house because he was interested in the titanic.The part about him thinking he died on it in a former life and rides around with a blow-up bugs bunny in his car sounds like some very silly urban mythology to me. I forget where offhand (perhaps forgotten-ny?) but there was an article/write up and interview tiht he guy that created it recently, and he seemed pretty down to earth...

T

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 12:22:37 -0500

I used to live down the block. The gentleman that maintains the facade (and can be seen sweeping, polishing, or otherwise tidying up out front every morning) in fact lives in the building. Local lore says that he claims to have died during the sinking of the Titanic in a past life. Also, I think he may drive a Volvo with a blow-up bugs bunny in the passenger seat. Brilliant.