Brooklyn

Naval Power & The 1776 Taking of New York City

September 11, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The occupation of New York Harbor, and the capture of the city of New York were the most conspicuous British successes of the summer and fall of 1776 during the Revolutionary War. In June, Commodore Peter Parker (1721-1811) and General Henry Clinton (1730-1795) were meeting with defeat at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island at Charleston, SC, and Benedict Arnold was racing to construct a makeshift naval fleet to stall a British invasion from Canada on Lake Champlain.

At the same time, two brothers, General Sir William Howe (1729 –1814) and Commander-in-Chief of the North American Station, Richard Howe (later Earl Howe, 1726-1799), were arriving in New York Bay. [Read more…] about Naval Power & The 1776 Taking of New York City

The Swamp: Tanneries, Bucktails, Loco Focos & Democracy

September 7, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

“The Swamp” was a lowland area in Lower Manhattan centered around Beekman’s Swamp, bounded roughly by modern-day Gold, Frankfort, Pearl, Water, and Ferry streets just south of the Brooklyn Bridge in the Financial District.

In the 17th century the marshy wetland was known by the Dutch as Bestevaer’s Kripplebush. It was later acquired by the Beekman and Roosevelt families and filled and drained over the 18th and early 19th centuries. [Read more…] about The Swamp: Tanneries, Bucktails, Loco Focos & Democracy

25 New Netherland Biographies Published

September 2, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

In the spring of 1613, a sailor named Jan Rodrigues arrived at the shore of the Hudson River from a Dutch trading ship, likely the Jonge Tobias. Identifying himself as a free individual, he became the earliest documented Black man in New Netherland. Jan Rodrigues is the subject of one of 25 new, peer-reviewed biographical sketches published by the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society in August, part of the NYG&B’s New Netherland Settlers initiative. [Read more…] about 25 New Netherland Biographies Published

Sudden and Violent: The Battle of Brooklyn

August 29, 2026 by Jack Kelly Leave a Comment

During the summer of 1776, General George Washington knew that the city of New York had to be held. He also knew that the city could not be held. “Whoever commands the sea must command the town,” General Charles Lee wrote from New York earlier. By the end of June, the British commanded the sea.

From a vast fleet anchored off Staten Island, the largest expeditionary force in British history began landing thousands of regular troops and German mercenaries. Only days later, the Second Continental Congress formally declared independence. “The fate of unborn millions,” Washington wrote to his men, “will now depend on the courage and conduct of this army.” [Read more…] about Sudden and Violent: The Battle of Brooklyn

Battle of Brooklyn 250th Anniversary Spawns Battlefield App

August 28, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Just six weeks after Patriots at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia declared independence on July 4, 1776, tens of thousands of troops clashed in one of the largest engagements of the American Revolution, across now-unrecognizable areas of New York City. [Read more…] about Battle of Brooklyn 250th Anniversary Spawns Battlefield App

Mapping NYC’s Historic Waterfront Development

August 23, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Most people have seen surveyors at work — marking boundaries, determining distances, angles and positions. It’s the kind of essential data necessary for all types of construction projects, and is an ongoing endeavor for all cities.

The New York City Municipal Archives holds a variety of records from government agencies responsible for surveying what now are the five boroughs, ranging from Brooklyn maps documenting 19th century road placement to aerial photographic maps from the 20th century. One notable collection of maps and notebooks depicts waterfront development. [Read more…] about Mapping NYC’s Historic Waterfront Development

Wildlife Rescues: Burmese Python, Rattlesnake, and Turkey Poults

August 21, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

New York State Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) responded to several wildlife rescue incidents recently, including exotic snakes on the Coney Island boardwalk, a rattlesnake in Ulster County, and a mother Turkey hen and her poults on Long Island. [Read more…] about Wildlife Rescues: Burmese Python, Rattlesnake, and Turkey Poults

A NYC Fire Department Fireboats History

August 17, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

With over 500 miles of shoreline, the fireboats of the FDNY have protected the city of New York for the last century and a half.

Utilizing historic images, David Rocco showcases their fascinating evolution from wooden-hull tugboats to modern-day specialized watercraft in Fireboats of the FDNY (Arcadia Press, 2026). [Read more…] about A NYC Fire Department Fireboats History

Newcomers: Anthony and Grietje and the Founding of New York

August 11, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A man thought to be a Muslim from Morocco and a German barmaid fleeing poverty are hardly the images we have of America’s august founders. In Newcomers (Liveright, 2026), Alan Mikhail upends the traditional story of America’s origins through the revelatory tale of a seventeenth-century immigrant couple by the names of Anthony and Grietje.

Married in Amsterdam, the destitute pair emerged from lives of piracy and prostitution in Europe and arrived in 1630s Dutch New Amsterdam, hoping to build a new life. Upon landing on New York City’s shores, the swarthy Anthony was attacked for being the Muslim he was not, while Grietje, branded a whore by crude harbor denizens, would become the model of an independent colonial American woman, defiantly mooning her attackers rather than accepting their derision. [Read more…] about Newcomers: Anthony and Grietje and the Founding of New York

A Short History New York Pasta Makers

July 23, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Although some industrial production of pasta took place prior to the industrial revolution, the introduction of steam-powered machines during the nineteenth century enabled the mass production of pasta and marginalized the artisanal production of the staple in Italy. [Read more…] about A Short History New York Pasta Makers

Play Streets & New York City Recreation History

July 20, 2026 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

In summer thoughts turn to fun at the beach, pool and in parks. The vertical files of the New York City Municipal Library include a trove of publications describing City government’s 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. [Read more…] about Play Streets & New York City Recreation History

New York’s Early Torpedo Development History

July 15, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The word “torpedo” is generally believed to have been first used by New York steamboat pioneer Robert Fulton (1765-1815) around 1800 to describe a device with an enclosed mass of gunpowder which was to be exploded beneath enemy ships.

The word may have been chosen due to the similarity in the way in which the device and the torpedo fish both communicated shock, or simply because detonation of the charge rendered fish torpid. [Read more…] about New York’s Early Torpedo Development History

A New York State 19-Century Baseball All-Star Team

July 13, 2026 by Phil Brown 2 Comments

Major League Baseball’s annual all-star game (taking place Tuesday in Philly) invariably fosters debates. Who’s the more worthy first-baseman, Vladimer Guerrero Jr. or Ben Rice? Should Aaron Judge be on the roster if he hasn’t played in over a month? Why is Cody Bellinger starting in the outfield over Randy Arozarena?

Baseball fans love arguing these sort of questions every year as the midsummer classic approaches. They lead naturally to questions about who was the greatest of all time. Babe Ruth? Ted Williams? Barry Bonds?

I don’t have the answers, but I would like to recognize a class of players who are often overlooked in these debates: the nineteenth-century greats. [Read more…] about A New York State 19-Century Baseball All-Star Team

Otsego County’s Eliphalet Williams Bliss: Industrial Machine Maker

July 13, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Eliphalet Williams Bliss (1836-1903) was one of the six children of John Stebbins Bliss, a physician and farmer whose ancestors had settled in Springfield, Massachusetts, and of Ruby Ann (Williams) Bliss.

He was born at Fly Creek about three miles west of Cooperstown, in Otsego County, NY on April 12, 1836. Educated in the public schools and at Fort Plain Seminary (later Clinton Liberal Institute), he spent his boyhood on a farm. He had a pronounced mechanical bent, which led him to an apprenticeship in a machine shop in Otsego County, where he remained until he turned 21 years old. [Read more…] about Otsego County’s Eliphalet Williams Bliss: Industrial Machine Maker

Revolutionary New York City: America at 250

July 9, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Revolutionary New York City: America at 250 (2026) is a five-borough collaborative multi-year effort by The Bronx County Historical Society, Historic Richmond Town, Center for Brooklyn History, and the Gotham Center, with contributions from Philipse Manor Hall, the Lott House, Queens County Farm, and others.

This book of essays moves beyond the iconic battles and founding fathers to reveal the complex, messy, and deeply human reality of the American Revolution in New York City. [Read more…] about Revolutionary New York City: America at 250

16 Socialists Poised for State Legislature, Most in New York State History

June 25, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

At least seven Democratic Socialist candidates have won primary elections for the New York Legislature in districts considered safe in November. The primary sweep included multiple victories over incumbent Democrats and in competitive open seats.

Not only will it more than double the socialist contingent in the state house to 16 across both chambers, it will mark the largest socialist contingent in the state legislature in New York history. [Read more…] about 16 Socialists Poised for State Legislature, Most in New York State History

Fake Turkey Shot From Road; Poaching Canada Geese; Illegal Fishing

June 24, 2026 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

An angler caught in the act filleting his illegal catch, and a large group ticketed for poaching more than a dozen striped bass are just some of the cases NYS Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) encountered in recent weeks.

The most surprising occurred on Sunday morning, May 10th, ECOs Brown, Dorrett, Heckler, and Hilton were using a robotic wild turkey decoy to catch people illegally road hunting in Williamstown, Oswego County, NY– it didn’t take long. [Read more…] about Fake Turkey Shot From Road; Poaching Canada Geese; Illegal Fishing

Burning Bushwick & The 1977 New York City Blackout

June 23, 2026 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

In 2010, The New York Times Magazine called Bushwick, Brooklyn “the coolest place on the planet,” four years later Vogue Magazine named it the “7th coolest neighborhood in the world.”

Whether or not you agree, there is no denying the transformations the neighborhood has gone through since the 1600s, when the Dutch named it Boswijck, or “heavy woods.” [Read more…] about Burning Bushwick & The 1977 New York City Blackout

New York’s Provincial Congress: From Association to State Government

June 11, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The New York Provincial Congress on May 26, 1775, appointed a “standing committee of correspondence” and the next day ordered all the counties in the Province of New York to name committees for the counties, towns and districts and to have the “general association” signed, in order to execute the orders of the Second Continental Congress.

Every citizen was to be invited to sign the “association” and by July 1775, all the non-signers (loyalist, or otherwise) were to be reported to the Provincial Congress. [Read more…] about New York’s Provincial Congress: From Association to State Government

19 NY Places Recommended for State and National Registers

June 8, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has announced recommendations by the New York State Board for Historic Preservation to add 19 properties and districts to the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

The nominations include a nineteenth-century church in Jefferson County that developed and promoted Universalism in Upstate New York, a pre-Revolutionary War house owned by seven generations of the Hulse family on Long Island’s North Shore, and additional documentation for New York City’s Hotel Chelsea recognizing its significance as a center of LGBTQ cultural and creative life. [Read more…] about 19 NY Places Recommended for State and National Registers

Brooklyn

We Need Your Help Now More Than Ever

New York Almanack receives no public funds.

It’s supported only by readers like you.

Please give today (a monthly recurring gift is best)