The New York Daily News ran this cover headline on October 30, 1975 when NYC was on the verge of bankruptcy and appealing to Washington for federal assistance.

In an unfortunate coincidence, given the beating NY took from Hurricane Sandy and the need for federal disaster assistance, today is the anniversary (October 30, 1975) of the infamous NY Daily News headline, FORD TO CITY: Drop Dead. It appeared when New York (and several other major metropolises) were mired in a fiscal crisis and on the verge of bankruptcy. President Ford vowed he would veto any fiscal relief package passed by Congress, saying New York needed to set its financial house in order on its own. And yet, in a move seemingly unimaginable in today’s political climate, Ford, who never actually said “drop dead,” eventually relented and federal loans were made available to the city.