It’s Hot, But . . .

Sure, it’s hot, but it’s no 1936:

That’s when New York City hit a record high of 106, during a heat wave that lasted several months. Listen to the details: you might even feel a little bit cooler.

The heat wave prompted thousands of sweaty New Yorkers to flee their stifling apartments for spots on park benches or by the ocean at Coney Island and the Rockaways, where they slept at night. Some who left their windows or doors open in hopes of a cool breeze fell victim to burglars.

The “little phantom” robber, who had evaded police capture for five years, filched quarters and half dollars from Long Island homes. The “big phantom” burglar, who came before him, robbed the wealthy.

. . .

In Midtown, crosswalks softened by the heat were dotted with the rubber heels of women who had been caught in the blistered asphalt and tar. On upper Park Avenue, open fire hydrants made pools of water at least six inches deep. In New Jersey, a railroad station chef fried eggs on a pan heated by the sidewalk.

A month into the 1936 heat wave, which hit New York City in May, hysteria erupted at a factory after 75 seamstresses fainted in the heat. Three of the five Harlem River bridges expanded, tying up car and boat traffic for hours. Concrete buckled on state roads in New Jersey, where the heat killed thousands of chickens and was blamed for a fire that drove 40 families into the street, pajama-clad and bleary-eyed.