Defending Brooklyn Before Brooklyn Was Cool

Brooklyn is cool. It's a destination. It's a brand. But before it was all of those things, people didn't think much of the borough. So in 1941, one Brooklynite did something about it.

Sidney H. Ascher formed the "Society to Prevent Disparaging Remarks about Brooklyn" with a simple goal in mind: to stop what he called the picturization of a Brooklynite as a dumbbell and someone who says "dees, dems and does."

While he says the society was initially a humorous endeavor, about half a million people signed up. It even gained a huge following from Brooklyn soldiers fighting overseas in World War II.

The Society to Prevent Disparaging Remarks About Brooklyn handed out these cards to its member. The group's only requirement to join was to love Brooklyn.

(WNYC/WNYC)

 Hear Ascher's complete interview that aired on WNYC in 1948.