From urban decay to economic revival, the City of New York has changed dramatically over the past forty years. Over that same period of time, New Yorkers gained an increasing ability to tell their stories through advances in video technology. Today, we take for granted a nearly universal ability to create and distribute videos all over the world, instantaneously. From 1961 to 1996, publicly owned WNYC-TV on Channel 31 fulfilled this role for average New Yorkers by enabling them to share their stories and discuss issues facing them in their daily lives.
The Manhattan Building Plans Project, 1977-2018
On Monday, July 2, 2018, the Municipal Archives began working on a project first envisioned more than 40 years ago—inventorying and re-housing architectural plans for buildings in lower Manhattan. Digitizing selected plans, not envisioned 40 years ago, will be part of the new project. Saved from near destruction in the 1970s, and containing materials spanning more than one hundred years, City archivists are looking forward to discovering long-hidden treasures and preserving this significant historical and cultural collection.
SUMMER IN THE CITY: RECREATION
As we approach the start of the summer, thoughts turn to fun at the beach, pool and in parks. The vertical files of the Municipal Library once again provide a trove of publications describing City government’ role in providing recreational opportunities between 1919 and 1979. A good portion of the contents are news clippings that track, decade by decade, City residents’ recreational choices. “Eel Season Ending For City Anglers” the New York Times reported in 1967; “People Pushing Horses Out Of Park” the Daily News decried as the Claremont Riding Academy was poised to close in 1970, and the perennial “New York on Next to Nothing” from the New York Post are just a few of the titles. Other items include reports and communications from City offices which is the focus of this blog.
Bodies in Transit
The information in the ledgers about deceased persons whose bodies were transported through Manhattan prior to burial is a rich resource for genealogists and historians researching diverse topics in American urban history including public health, mortality and the Civil War.
The origins of this record arise from the City’s efforts to protect the health of its rapidly growing population. In 1804, the New York State Legislature authorized the New York City Common Council to enact sanitary ordinances and appoint a City Inspector. The first Board of Health was established the following year and oversaw the City Inspector’s Department.
Department of Public Welfare of the City of New York
The vertical files in the Municipal Library contain a treasure trove of newspaper clippings, media releases and documents from City agencies. There also are original analyses written by the legendary Rebecca Rankin, the long-time Municipal Librarian and her staff. Written on onion-skin paper, the articles are distinctive and elicit a jolt of anticipation when located. This week’s blog is a history of public welfare in the City, circa 1922 as written by Ms. Rankin and staff.
Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited
The Municipal Archives’ collection of New York Police Department Intelligence Division records contains more than 2,500 files on groups and organizations that operated between the 1940s-1970s. The files were created by the Bureau of Special Services, a unit within the NYPD Intelligence Division that conducted investigations on groups both on the right and left of the political spectrum.