Brownsville Primary Source Packet

BROWNSVILLE PRIMARY SOURCE PACKET

Student Name

INTRODUCTORY READING "American Revolution." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Ed. Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk. Detroit: Gale, 1999. Student Resources in Adaptation

Neighborhood in southeastern Brooklyn (2000 pop. 85,000) bounded to the north by Eastern Parkway, to the east by Van Sinderen Avenue, to the south by Linden Boulevard, and to the west by Rockaway Parkway. It is named for Charles S. Brown, who built 250 frame houses there after 1865. Development remained slow until 1887, when Aaron Kaplan purchased land, built tenements, and enticed Jewish garment markers to the area from the Lower East Side. Further settlement was spurred by the opening of the Fulton Street elevated railway in 1889. As the area became more accessible, two-family homes and small tenements with storefronts at street level replaced earlier houses, and by 1910, large multifamily buildings dominated. The area was largely Jewish, with sweatshops and pushcarts and few sewers or paved streets.

Living conditions improved after 1920, as did rapid transit connections to Manhattan in 1922 from the New Lots branch of the Interborough Rapid Transit. The neighborhood prospered from the 1920s to the 1940s and was a center of labor radicalism: it elected socialists to the state assembly between 1915 and 1921 and a candidate of the American Labor Party in 1936. Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the United States at 46 Amboy Street on 16 October 1916 (it was closed 9 days later by the vice squad). During these years the neighborhood inspired the most evocative accounts of the Jewish experience in New York City, including Henry Roth’s novel Call It Sleep (1934) and Alfred Kazin’s memoir A Walker in the City (1951). Some local residents who later became prominent include the composer Aaron Copland, the actor Danny Kaye, and the impresario Sol Hurok.

Many of its residents moved to the suburbs after World War II. There followed a cycle of decay, abandonment, vandalism, and arson, which high-rise public housing projects built doing the 1950s and 1960s did little to alleviate. Later housing renewal efforts were more successful, notably those sponsored by the Council of East Brooklyn Churches to provide affordable one- family houses at Marcus Garvey Village and Nehemiah Housing. At the beginning of the 21st Century, Pitkin Avenue, the main commercial thoroughfare, was lined with small businesses, shoe and clothing outlets, and restaurants. Loew’s Pitkin Theater, a lavish movie theater built in 1930 by Thomas W. Lamb, remained at the corner of East New York Avenue and Pitkin Avenue as a retail store. The heavy-weight boxing champions Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe both grew up in the neighborhood.

Brownsville attracted many immigrants from the Caribbean during the 1980s, especially from Jamaica, Guyana and Haiti, Grenada, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. In the early twenty- first century the population of Brownsville was largely African American, with smaller groups of Latinos and West Indians. The neighborhood remained mostly low-income with one of the highest densities of public housing projects in the city.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

CITATION: Rawson, Elizabeth Reich. “Brownsville.” The Encyclopedia of New York. 2010. 2nd Ed.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

Document 1 - Young and Currie. "Map of Brooklyn." 1820. Brooklyn Collection, Brooklyn Public Library.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

1. What year was Document 1 created?

2. Look at the areas where you see development. Why do you think those areas developed first?

3. DOCUMENT 1 doesn’t show Brownsville. Find the area where Brownsville is today. What was there in 1820?

4. Draw a picture of what you think the area that is now Brownsville looked like in the 1820s.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

Document 2A: “The Jews of Brooklyn.” Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 10 Jan 1909.

Excerpt Aaron Kaplan succeeded in interesting some of his Manhattan friends in Brownsville lots. One of the first Jewish settlers is said to have been Elias Kaplan. He was a clothing contractor and ran a large shop in Manhattan. As the sweat-shop laws hampered his business, he came to Brownsville and established a shop on what is now Watkins street, between Belmont and Sutter avenues. Others followed his example, so that within a short time enough Jews came over to enable them to organize a religious society. This society met and prayed in Elias Kaplan’s shop. Slowly but surely the little community grew. Some came over to escape from the inconvenience of the sweat-shop laws, some to speculate in real estate, others for their health.

The growth of Brownsville may be divided into two periods. The first extends from 1884 to 1902, in which time immigration was slow. The second period extends from 1902 to the present day. In this time thousands of Jews have poured into Brownsville from Manhattan and elsewhere. The opening of the Williamsburg Bridge and the persecution in Russia have stimulated this influx.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

Document 2B: Israelowitz, Oscar. Synagogues of New York City. New York: Dover Publication, 1982.

Ohav Sholom, 135 Thatford Avenue. Brownsville’s synagogue history began in 1889 when Congregation Ohav Sholom was organized in the Watkins Avenue tailor shop of Elias Kaplan. The 1906 Shtetl Revival structure, near Belmont Street, was the largest in Brownsville. The synagogue is no longer extant.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

1. According to Document 1B, who was one of the first Jewish settlers in Brownsville? What did he do for work? Why did he leave Manhattan?

2. What did Elias Kaplan’s shop turn into? Be specific. (Hint: Look at DOCUMENT 2A and 2B.)

3. Document 2A lists three reasons that the community grew. What are they?

4. What two things “stimulated the influx” of Jews to Brownsville after 1902?

5. Document 2B shows Brownsville synagogue Ohav Sholom. Describe the structure. Is it still there?

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

Document 3A: Brown Brothers. Librarian and children in crowded reading room in former Brownsville Children's Library. ca. 1915. Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection.

Document 3B: Brown Brothers. Children outside of Brownsville Children's Library. ca. 1930. Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

1. The original Brownsville Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library opened in 1905. It was quickly seen that the library was not big enough to hold the growing community. Thus, in 1914, the Brownsville Branch on Stone Avenue (now Mother Gaston Blvd) was opened. It was the first library in the country to be dedicated to children and children’s books. Why do you think this was?

2. Look at Document 3a. It is a picture of the reading room. What do you notice about the way the library is laid out? How is it different from libraries today?

3. In Document 3b the children are waiting outside for the library to open. Have you ever waited in a long line for something? What was it and why?

4. Why do you think the Stone Avenue Branch was so popular? What does that tell you about the importance of reading in the early 1900s?

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

Document 4: “Clinic Opened Here For Birth Control; Challenges Police.” Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 22 Oct 1916.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

1. Margaret Sanger was a birth control advocate. Contraception, even passing out flyers and pamphlets about it, was illegal at this time. She opened her clinic to give women information about contraception. (Note: This clinic did not perform abortions.) Other than fliers, what other tactics did Margaret Sanger use to get her message across?

2. Where was Margaret Sanger’s clinic located?

3. Margaret Sanger’s clinic would be shut down nine days after it opened. When the clinic was raided by the police, did they find any pamphlets or fliers? Why do you think that was?

4. Brownsville, at this time, was very densely populated, primarily Jewish, and very poor. Why do you think Margaret Sanger decided to open her clinic in Brownsville? What evidence can you find in the article to support your claim?

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

Document 5: “New Theater in Brownsville Section of Boro.” Brooklyn Daily Eagle 24. Nov 1929.

A notable addition to the Brownsville section of the boro is the new Lowe’s Pitkin Theater at Pitkin and Saratoga aves., opened last evening. The building is situated in the very heart of a thickly populated section and is in the busiest part of the shopping thoroughfare. In general design the theater is similar to the Kings Theater in Flatbush. It was designed by Thomas W. Lamb, architect, and contains the very latest equipment for the presentation of moving pictures and vaudeville acts. The architectural style is Spanish, which is carried out in its interior decoration. The capacity of the house is 3,500, and the cost of the entire enterprise, including the value of the land, is placed at $1,000,000.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

1. Who designed the Lowes Pitkin Theater?

2. Why do you think the builders decided to build it where they did? What does this tell you about how the economic status of the neighborhood changed?

3. What was the theater primarily used for? What was the capacity of the theater?

4. Is the Lowes Pitkin Theater building still at Pitkin and Saratoga Avenue? What is there today?

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

Document 6: Blames Murder, Inc., On Brownsville Slums”. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 2 April 1940.

Transcript

Blames Murder, Inc., on Brownsville Slums

Better Housing Committee Speaker Warns Crime Will Flourish Until Area Is Improved

“Slums in the Brownsville area will continue to spawn gangsterism and such combines as Murder, Inc., until these slums are wiped out and replaced by some form of public housing within easy reach of those in low-income brackets.” Milton J. Goell, chairman of the radio and forum committee of the Brooklyn Committee for Better Housing, declared last night. Addressing the Housing Committee of the Brownsville Neighborhood Council in the Hebrew Educational Society, 564 Hopkinson Ave., Mr. Goell said: “It is by this time well recognized that slums and crime have a close affinity with each other. The only way to wipe out crime in Brownsville is to wipe out the shameful housing conditions with lead to crime. This is to tackle the problem at the root.

Brownsville Neglected “Each slum area in New York City which had a high incidence of crime was provided with a public housing project except Brownsville… The public authorities must now turn their attention to slum clearance and better housing for Brownsville, just as they have done in Red Hook, Williamsburg, and the Navy Yard. Each slum area in New York City which had a high incidence of crime was provided with a public housing project except Brownsville… The public authorities must now turn their attention to slum clearance and better housing for Brownsville, just as they have done in Red Hook, Williamsburg, and the Navy Yard districts of Brooklyn.” He cited statistics gathered in 1934 by the Real Property Inventory and the Committee on Crime and Delinquency which defined an area within the boundaries of Brownsville as having the highest incidence of crime to the total population of any slum area in Greater New York…

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

Since these studies were concluded, he observed, conditions have been growing steadily worse with the deterioration of tenements and the other housing units. The 1934 survey showed that of 5,150 Brownsville housing units, 1,383 were more than 35 years old, 1,691 were from 20 to 35 years old and only 518 had been erected in the past ten years.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

1. According to Document 6, who was Milton J. Goell and to what organization did he belong?

2. Murder Inc. was a very dangerous crime syndicate. What reasons does the article give to explain the crime in Brownsville?

3. What does the article say the solution is?

4. What neighborhoods already had already undergone slum clearance and housing revitalization?

5. In 1934, a survey of 5,150 Brownsville housing units found that 1,383 were more than 35 years old. Why did that finding matter?

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

Document 7: New York City Housing Authority. Brownsville Houses project takes shape. 1947. Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

1. Describe what you see in Document 7.

2. Document 7 is from 1947. is from 1947. What conclusions can you make from looking at both Document 6 and Document 7?

3. Document 7 is of the Brownsville Houses, completed in 1948. Describe the Brownsville Houses today.

4. Brownsville has the highest concentration of New York Housing Authority Developments (NYCHA) in New York City, 18 in total. Many were built in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. Why do you think that is?

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

Document 8: “Agreement sabotaged, teachers strike again.” American Teacher. Oct 1968.

Excerpt from Article

Teachers will not return to work unless and until the demonstration project in Ocean Hill-Brownsville us declared to be a failure, the governing board, the unit administrator, and the teachers and the supervisors in the schools who are guilty of intimidation and threats of violence are permanently removed, and the eight schools in the district are returned to the NYC school system; that we declare that we are prepared to enter into cooperative relationships with any other district interested in developing a program in decentralization in a manner which respects the rights of teachers, supervisors, and other staff members, and a collective bargaining agreement entered into between the UFT [United Federation of Teachers] and the board of education.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

1. In 1967 the NYC Board of Education attempted to decentralize some NYC schools. The NYC Board of Education was to the running of the school, hiring of teachers, and general programing to a committee from the community (parents, community leaders, etc.) and not the city government. What do you think the pros and cons of this decision might be?

2. According to the image in Document 8, how many people were demonstrating in front of city hall? Who were they supporting?

3. According to the article, what did the teachers want before they would return to work?

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

Document 9: Shipler, David K. “The Brownsville Way of Life: Grinding Poverty and Squalor.” New York Times. 6 May 1971.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

1. Document 9 was published in 1971. According to the article, who was living in Brownsville in 1940? Who was living there in 1970?

2. Who does the article state were the main wage earners in 1971?

3. Why did middle-class whites and middle-class blacks leave Brownsville?

4. When residents left Brownsville, the article reads, the city had to step in. What did the city do to try to fix some of the problems?

5. What about the article rings true about Brownsville today? What is different?

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

Documents 10a and 10b: Shabazz, Jamel. Brownsville. 1983. Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

1. Describe the photos. Who is pictured? What is the location?

2. These photographs were taken in the New York City subway. What is different about the subway today?

3. The photos were taken by a street photographer named Jamel Shabazz in 1983. What about the images tells you that they were taken in the 1980s?

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

DOCUMENT 11a: New York City Department of Planning, Population Division. Socioeconomic Profiles: A Portrait of New York City’s Community Districts from the 1980 & 1990 Censuses of Population and Housing. New York: City of New York, 1993.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

DOCUMENT 11b: Department of City Planning, City of New York. Community District Needs for the Borough of Brooklyn. New York: City of New York, 2009.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

1. In Document 11a, what is the total population of Brownsville in 1980? In 1990?

2. In Document 11a, what percent of the total population is West Indian in 1990? What is the second largest group?

3. In Document 11a, how many of Brownsville’s residents were foreign-born (immigrants)?

4. Document 11b is from 2009, but reflects data from the 2000 census. Looking at both Document 11a and 11b, what is different about the ethnic categories? Why might they have changed?

5. In 2000, what was the largest group living in Brownsville?

6. Did the total population of Brownsville increase or decrease between 1990 and 2000? What was the total population in 2000?

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

DOCUMENT 12: Misheloff, J. and M. Nechemias. Brownsville Tomorrow. New York: Brownsville Centennial Committee Inc., 1964.

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

1. In 1964, the Brownsville Centennial Committee, Inc. prepared a series of maps and charts to submit to New York City’s government. They wanted to let the city know what the community wanted, as opposed to the city deciding for the people. Look at the key in Document 12. Anything with a white arrow is proposed. What do you see that is proposed?

2. The Committee also proposed an Educational Park, a place where all of the schools would be linked together. They felt this would bring people to the community because people would no longer have to travel for school. Do you think this would have worked?

3. If you were to create a Brownsville Tomorrow map TODAY, what would you put on it? How would you change Brownsville for the better? Draw your map here:

Brownsville Primary Source Packet

GLOSSARY

Advocate: to be in support of, a supporter Affinity: a natural liking of something American Labor Party: minor U.S. political party that was based in New York State in the 1930-40s Collective bargaining: negation between employees and an employer Decentralization: taking power from one and giving it to many Density: crowded Economic status: a social standing based on money (middle class, upper class, etc.) Foreign: from another country Interborough Rapid Transit: first subway company in New York City, opened on Oct 27, 1904 Labor radicalism: a movement focused on better working conditions and worker’s rights Revitalize: to make something better Shtetl Revival: a type of architecture that pulls from shtetls, or small towns in Eastern Europe where many Jews immigrated from in the late 19th century Speculate: to assess Sweatshop: a small shop where people work in harsh conditions Synagogue: Jewish house of worship Syndicate: a self-organized group of people put together by choice Thoroughfare: a major street Vaudeville: a variety show type of theater popular in the early 20th century Vice Squad: police division whose focus is stopping public-order crimes like gambling, narcotics, prostitution, and illegal sales of alcohol Wage: money earned

Brownsville Primary Source Packet