July 7, 1981: Ironworkers on the Brooklyn Bridge attended to cables that had snapped, closing down the pedestrian walkway from June 28 — when the cables broke — until early August. “Akira Aimi, the 32-year-old Japanese freelance photographer who was critically injured when he was hit by one of the snapped cables, died yesterday at St. Vincent’s Hospital,” reported The Times. Have no fear, however, said a representative of the Transportation Department. “When the retainers are installed, it will be equally safe for pedestrians and bicycles. I would walk across it then with my wife and family anytime,” he said.
