Brooklyn neighborhood associations and civic organizations publications
Call Number
Dates
Creator
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Language of Materials
Abstract
The Brooklyn neighborhood associations and civic organizations publications span the years 1881 to 2010 and are housed in three manuscript boxes. Materials represented in the collection include annual reports, reports, newsletters, yearbooks, and programs. The bulk of the collection consists of newsletters dating from the 1970s through the 1990s.
Historical note
As of 2010, there were over 400 different neighborhoods within the five boroughs of New York City. The origins of New York City neighborhoods are thought to have stemmed from the original six wards that were chartered under Governor Thomas Dongan in 1686 in what is now lower Manhattan. Over the years, neighborhoods gradually became defined by several factors: the people that lived within the neighborhoods; neighborhood churches; and neighborhood businesses and their customers. As wealth grew in New York City, neighborhoods became increasingly segregated according to class and ethnicity. For example, in Manhattan, the wealthy began to move into enclaves uptown, while the working poor remained in the tenements of lower Manhattan. Further, Jewish and African American neighborhoods had historically been segregated.
In Brooklyn, several other factors helped to grow and define its neighborhoods. As Brooklyn consolidated, first into a city (1834) and then as a borough (1898), areas that were once independent villages or towns often became neighborhoods. Further, many working class and ethnic groups moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn to escape cramped living conditions or discrimination. As mass transit became more widely accessible during the late 19th to early 20th centuries, workers were able to live in Brooklyn and commute to their jobs in Manhattan.
Throughout the boroughs, as the middle and upper classes grew, property values within the middle and upper class neighborhoods rose. Rising property values often led to gentrification, discrepancies in public services amongst the neighborhoods, and the displacement of long-time residents. As some neighborhoods thrived, others declined. With the rise of the historic preservation movement, such as the Municipal Art Society's work in the 1950s and 1960s to preserve historic structures and neighborhoods throughout New York City, many new neighborhood associations and civic organizations drew inspiration from the movement and modeled their community organizing after it. For example, the Brooklyn Heights Association, the oldest ongoing neighborhood association in New York City (since 1910), succeeded in making Brooklyn Heights the first Historic District in New York City in 1965. From the 1960s onward, neighborhood associations and civic organizations have greatly influenced city policies and have played an important role in the preservation, restoration, and development of neighborhoods.
Sources:
- Scherzer, Kenneth A. "Neighborhoods." In The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson, 886-887. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press; New York: New-York Historical Society, 2010.
- Pearson, Marjorie. "Historic preservation." In The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson, 599-601. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press; New York: New-York Historical Society, 2010.
- Brooklyn Heights Association. "BHA History." Accessed January 24, 2011. http://www.thebha.org/about-us/bha-history/
Scope and Contents
The Brooklyn neighborhood associations and civic organizations publications span the years 1881 to 2010 and are housed in three manuscript boxes. Materials represented in the collection include annual reports, reports, newsletters, yearbooks, and programs. The bulk of the collection consists of newsletters dating from the 1970s through the 1990s.
Box 1 contains:
Bedford-Stuyvesant Ad Hoc Refugee Committee – Newsletter, circa 1970
Bedford-Stuyvesant Better Housing Committee – Progress report, circa 1970
United Home Owners Association - Reports and press releases, 1971 (Bedford-Stuyvesant)
Boerum Hill Association - Boerum Hill News, 1979 to 1999
Brooklyn Heights Landmarks Festival – Programs, 1984
Brooklyn Heights Citizens for Fair Reapportionment – Newsletter, circa 1970
St. George Tower Tenants Association – St. George News & Views, 1982-1984 (Brooklyn Heights)
Little Italy Neighborhood Association – Publications, 1908 to 1929 (Carroll Gardens)
The Society for Clinton Hill; Friends of Fort Greene Park; Wallabout Landmarks Preservation Committee - The Hill: Neighborhood News of Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, and Wallabout – 1983 to 2008. The first issue, December 1983 to January 1984, is included.
The Boardwalk (Coney Island), circa 1920.
Parkway-Stuyvesant Community and Housing Council – Community Life, 1965 to 1966 (Crown Heights area)
Crown Heights Neighborhood Action Program - The Melting Pot, 1971 to 1972
Crown Heights Progress Council – Progress Report, 1980 to 1981
Crown Heights Office of Neighborhood Government – Crown Heights Newsletter, 1973 to 1974
Downtown Brooklyn Association (later, Downtown Brooklyn Development Association) – Bylaws (1929); annual reports (1930 and 1949); annual meeting program (1961); and newsletter, Downtown Brooklyn (for the years 1975, 1990, 1991)
Downtown Brooklyn Development Committee – Annual reports, 1969, 1970, and 1971
Box 2 contains:
Flatbush Development Corporation - So This is Flatbush, summer 1977 (1st issue)
The Committee to Preserve Flatbush Town Hall – The Spirit of Flatbush and related material, 1972 to 1974
Beach News, 1948 (Gerritsen Beach)
Lefferts Manor Association – 2 items: Manor Echo (newsletter) and a letter from the Lefferts Manor Association, 1992
South Midwood Residents' Association – Annual reports, 1901 to 1933 (incomplete)
Nottingham Association – Nottingham Park News, 1959 to 1999 (Midwood)
Park Slope Civic Council – Civic News, 1998 to 2010 (incomplete)
Triangle Parks Flatbush Avenue Improvement Committee – Triangle Tribune, 1974 to 1976 (Park Slope/Prospect Heights area)
Coalition of Prospect Heights Block Associations - The Prospect Heights One, 1983
Prospect Heights Neighborhood Corporation - News & View, 1986
Prospect Park South Association – Yearbooks, 1927 and 1931
Prospect Lefferts Gardens Neighborhood Association – The Good News, 1971 to 1973
Sunset Park Restoration Committee - News, 1983 to 1985
Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History – The Weeksville Newsletter, 1971 to 1990 (incomplete)
Box 3 contains:
Brooklyn Civic Center Committee – Report to the Mayor and the Board of Estimate, dated June 20, 1963; Press release for the report, dated June 26, 1963.
Brooklyn Civic Club - Bulletin (with membership list), August 1917
Brooklyn Committee on City Plan - Yearbook, 1912
Brooklyn Institutional Council - Status report and program ideas, December 1969
Brooklyn Society for Parks and Playgrounds for Children - Informational pamphlet with list of contributors, 1903 to 1904
The Brownstone Revival Committee (later, the Brownstone Revival Coalition) – The Brownstoner, 1968 to 1981 and 1994 to 1999
Civil-Service Reform Association of Brooklyn - Annual reports, 1881 to 1890, and 1894
Consumers' League of New York, Brooklyn Auxiliary - Annual reports, 1912 and 1913
The Old Neighborhood Heritage - Our Neighborhood, (eighteen issues dating from 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2007, with some duplicate copies)
Nineteenth Ward Improvement Association - Constitution and bylaws, 1910 to 1911
South Brooklyn Board of Trade - Yearbooks, 1907 and 1922; constitution and bylaws, 1937
Box 4 contains:
New York Urban Coalition Coalition News (1970-1972)
New York Urban Coalition Give A Damn (1972-1974)
Midwood Sentry (1978-1983)
East Midwood Neighborhood Association Bulletin (1978-1986)
Methodist Hospital Brooklyn, Today (1983-1984)
Community Planning Disctrict 8 Crown Heights Melting Pot (1971)
Crown Heights Progress Council, Progress Report (1981)
Center for Holocaust Studies Newsletters (1986-1988)
Subjects
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Please consult library staff for more information.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Brooklyn neighborhood associations and civic organizations publications, ARC.167, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Source and date of acquisition for this collection are unknown.
About this Guide
Processing Information note
Minimally processed to the collection level.
