The Brooklynite, a nicely put together independent literary magazine, has announced that it is ceasing publication. Before disappearing, editor Daniel Treiman has managed to publish one final issue online. It includes an excellent article on the very first traffic jam on the Brooklyn Bridge.

I suppose we have made progress, afterall:

Officially, the bridge’s opening was dubbed "The People’s Day," yet the
people played no part in the festivities. As local and national officials, along
with their invited guests, strolled leisurely over the bridge, members of the
general public were corralled into holding pens to await their turn. This
arrived at midnight, as did chaos. A man at the front of the queue complained of
the "helter-skelter" amid those "willing to pound one another to mince-meat."