Thousands of Brooklynites headed outside on Monday afternoon to take in the rare solar eclipse — the likes of which won’t be seen again in the U.S. until 2044.
Though New York City wasn’t in the “path of totality,” about 90% of the sun was blotted out at the eclipse’s peak just before 3:30 p.m. — and everyone, from space enthusiasts to students to regular ol’ Brooklynites — wanted to catch a glimpse.
The line for Green-Wood Cemetery’s viewing party stretched around the block as people filed in to watch the event from the graveyard. Equipped with their all-important eclipse glasses, viewers set up telescopes and stretched out on the grass as the moon slowly moved over the face of the sun.
Lillian Vargas, Carmen Sytco, and Moraima Suarez headed to Green-Wood together, excited to see the eclipse – especially, they said, since they might not be around for the next one in 2044. This is Sytco’s second time seeing a solar eclipse, she said.
“It’s a nice day, it’s nice to see everybody going around to see what’s happening,” Vargas said.
“That’s not something ordinary,” Sytco added.
At Brooklyn Commons, students gathered at a viewing party hosted by NYU Tandon School of Engineering. The university ordered 5,000 pairs of eclipse glasses, said Lauren Ptak, chief marketing officer of NYU Tandon, and staff took bets on whether or not they would run out. The party drew a big crowd of students and judges who work at Brooklyn courts just blocks away — and they did in fact give away every single pair.
Aaron Kesser, a third year chemical and biomolecular engineering student, plopped down on the ground to watch the eclipse right before sitting for a big exam. He got his eclipse glasses ahead of time, he said, to skip the line at the event.
“Originally I wanted to go out to Buffalo for the totality, but I have an exam today,” Kesser said. “This is my reward.”
Adam Perlmutter, a judge in Brooklyn Criminal Court,…
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