Feb. 18, 1949: Garbage was dumped onto a scow at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, on its way to Staten Island, where the city had high hopes to reclaim nearly 2,000 acres of marsh for a parkway or even an airport. “We go everywhere against opposition and deep-rooted prejudice,” said Henry F. Cunningham, a World War II naval commander who oversaw the fleet charged with taking trash to Fresh Kills landfills. “We take a swampy area full of mosquitos and odors no better than those from refuse and transform it into fertile soil that can be made into beautiful parks,” Mr. Cunningham said.
