New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

New York City

The Theatre District & Hell’s Kitchen Revival

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42nd Street Burlesque theaterWith the recent reopening of Broadway and the Theatre District in the city of New York, which is claimed to be a $1.8 billion industry, it’s appropriate to remember James R. McManus’s role in the efforts to bring Broadway and the adjacent Hell’s Kitchen district to what it is today.

Around 1972 economic and social conditions in Hell’s Kitchen and the rest of the city of New York were beginning to deteriorate. At the time that Jim’s father and great grand uncle had been the District Leaders, living conditions in the once notorious slum had improved for most residents.

This was partially because of improvements in the city’s manufacturing economy during the two world wars, and because of the New Deal social welfare policies pioneered by Al Smith and Frances Perkins. [Read more…] about The Theatre District & Hell’s Kitchen Revival

Please Support New York Almanack’s Year-End Fundraising

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As we come toward the end of our lucky 13th year of the New York Almanack, I want to say thank you for reading and for your support.

It’s also time to ask for your help in raising the last $3,770 to reach our 2021 fundraising goal.

Please make a contribution online at our new Rally.org page: https://rally.org/f/4LBVKo9zYjO    Or, send a check to: [Read more…] about Please Support New York Almanack’s Year-End Fundraising

Tammany’s Last Stand: The McManus Club & The McGovern Campaign

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Jimmy McManus in 1972James R. McManus was born in Hell’s Kitchen in 1936 and recently died in 2019. For 54 years (from 1962 to 2016) he was the Democratic Party District Leader from the Hell’s Kitchen area. This was a position that his father Eugene E. McManus had held for 20 years before him.

Previously Eugene McManus’s great grand uncle, Thomas J. McManus, had held the position, since the formation of the McManus Democratic Club in 1892, when he defeated the prior District Leader George Washington Plunkitt, author of Plunkitt of Tammany Hall: A Series of Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics (1905). [Read more…] about Tammany’s Last Stand: The McManus Club & The McGovern Campaign

Storm Closes Shellfish Harvest at Long Island

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shellfish harvesting courtesy DECNYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced emergency temporary shellfish closures are in effect for areas of Nassau and Suffolk counties due to the extremely heavy rainfall and extraordinary amounts of stormwater runoff and localized street flooding on October 26th and October 27th.

DEC temporarily closes specific areas that exceed certain rainfall amounts to prevent the harvest of potentially contaminated shellfish and to protect public health. [Read more…] about Storm Closes Shellfish Harvest at Long Island

State Parks Rangers Sought for 2022 Season

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State Parks RangersState Parks is recruiting Rangers for the 2022 season to handle duties that focus on protecting park patrons and park property.

Park Rangers are there to assist and guide patrons, as well as enforce park rules and regulations through voluntary compliance where possible. Park Rangers patrol campgrounds, beaches, cabin areas, marinas, trails, gorges, picnic areas, and park buildings. Park Rangers are generally hired to work from mid-May through Labor Day, although some assignments can run beyond that. Park Rangers act as security guards for NYS Parks and are neither police nor peace officers. [Read more…] about State Parks Rangers Sought for 2022 Season

The Astor Dynasty: Rag Street to Broadway, A Waldorf Tale of New York

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Holywell and Wych StreetIn 1780, a young man traveled from his provincial hometown in Baden-Württemberg to London to meet his elder brother who had settled there two years previously as a wooden instrument maker. The many small states that constituted Germany at the time had a reputation for developing and producing musical instruments. The export of technology was an important feature of German design and many craftsmen had migrated to London (and eventually to New York and other American cities).

The seedy location of his brother’s workshop must have come as a shock to the youngster and he was eager to better himself. Four years later he left the capital for the docks of Southampton, carrying few belongings and a number of flutes with him, and set sail for America. Half a century later he owned large parts of Manhattan.

This remarkable tale could have served as one of the “rags to riches” stories that made Horatio Alger such a popular author in America during the later decades of the nineteenth century. [Read more…] about The Astor Dynasty: Rag Street to Broadway, A Waldorf Tale of New York

17th Century Immigrant Ancestors (Podcast)

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crossroads of rockland historyThe October 2021 episode of “Crossroads of Rockland History,” focused on the new book by Ralph Blauvelt: Four Hundred Years in America: 17th Century Immigrant Ancestors (Self-Published, 2021).

This the story of the first immigrant settlers in New Netherland, including Blauvelt’s own ancestors. Their lives are reconstructed from the documents they left behind, and their stories are those of strangers in a strange land trying to build a new life. [Read more…] about 17th Century Immigrant Ancestors (Podcast)

DEC’s Opens New Division of Marine Resources Headquarters

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DEC, State Parks, and Suffolk County officials cutting the ribbon at DEC Marine Resources HeadquartersNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) new Marine Resources headquarters has opened in the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s Nissequogue River State Park, Kings Park, in Suffolk County. [Read more…] about DEC’s Opens New Division of Marine Resources Headquarters

Albany’s Thurlow Weed: Seward, Lincoln’s Election, & The Civil War Years

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Lincoln Hamlin 1860 campaign banner The second Republican Party Presidential election was held in 1860. Thurlow Weed wanted supporters of the recently formed Republican Party to nominate William Seward.

Working against Weed was the fact that the Republican convention was to be held in Chicago, Illinois, home state of Abraham Lincoln. Weed knew that his man, Seward, was far better known throughout the country. In addition to being New York’s Governor, Seward had been a U.S. Senator and as a leading anti-slavery proponent he had received extensive publicity. His biggest drawback was that he had been considered at one time to be the most radical anti-slavery member of the Senate. [Read more…] about Albany’s Thurlow Weed: Seward, Lincoln’s Election, & The Civil War Years