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Brooklyn neighborhood associations and civic organizations publications

Call Number

ARC.167

Dates

1881-2010, inclusive
; 1970-1999, bulk

Creator

Friends of Fort Greene Park (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Society for Clinton Hill
Nottingham Association (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Park Slope Civil Council (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Crown Heights Progress Council (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
United Homeowners Association
Crown Heights Neighborhood Action Program (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y)
Parkway-Stuyvesant Community and Housing Council (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Wallabout Landmarks Preservation Committee (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
South Midwood Residents' Association (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Lefferts Manor Association (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Downtown Brooklyn Development Committee
Crown Heights Office of Neighborhood Government (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Flatbush Civic and Cultural Association. Committee to Preserve Flatbush Town Hall
Flatbush Development Corporation (New York, N.Y.)
Consumers' League of New York City. Brooklyn Auxiliary
Brooklyn Institutional Council (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Prospect Park South Association
Sunset Park Restoration Committee
Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History
Brooklyn Committee on City Plan
Brownstone Revival Committee
Coalition of Prospect Heights Block Associations (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Prospect Lefferts Gardens Neighborhood Association
Triangle Parks Flatbush Avenue Improvement Committee (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Brownstone Revival Coalition (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Prospect Heights Neighborhood Corporation (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Civil Service Reform Association of Brooklyn
Nineteenth Ward Improvement Association (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn Civic Club (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn Society for Parks and Playgrounds for Children
St. George Tower Tenants Association (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Little Italy Neighborhood Association
South Brooklyn Board of Trade
Brooklyn Heights Citizens for Fair Reapportionment (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn Heights Landmarks Festival
Bedford-Stuyvesant Better Housing Committee (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Bedford-Stuyvesant Ad Hoc Refugee Committee (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Boerum Hill Association
New York Urban Coalition
East Midwood Neighborhood Association
Methodist Episcopal Hospital (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Center for Holocaust Studies

Extent

1.67 Linear Feet in four manuscript boxes.

Language of Materials

English .

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

Organizations

Society for Clinton Hill; South Midwood Residents' Association (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Nottingham Association (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Park Slope Civil Council (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); United Homeowners Association; Crown Heights Neighborhood Action Program (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y); Parkway-Stuyvesant Community and Housing Council (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Wallabout Landmarks Preservation Committee (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Friends of Fort Greene Park (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Lefferts Manor Association (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Downtown Brooklyn Development Committee; Crown Heights Office of Neighborhood Government (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Crown Heights Progress Council (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Flatbush Civic and Cultural Association. Committee to Preserve Flatbush Town Hall; Flatbush Development Corporation (New York, N.Y.); Consumers' League of New York City. Brooklyn Auxiliary; Brooklyn Institutional Council (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Prospect Park South Association; Sunset Park Restoration Committee; Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History; Brooklyn Committee on City Plan; Brownstone Revival Committee; Coalition of Prospect Heights Block Associations (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Prospect Lefferts Gardens Neighborhood Association; Triangle Parks Flatbush Avenue Improvement Committee (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Brownstone Revival Coalition (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Prospect Heights Neighborhood Corporation (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Civil Service Reform Association of Brooklyn; Nineteenth Ward Improvement Association (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Brooklyn Civic Club (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Brooklyn Society for Parks and Playgrounds for Children; St. George Tower Tenants Association (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Little Italy Neighborhood Association; South Brooklyn Board of Trade; Brooklyn Heights Citizens for Fair Reapportionment (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Brooklyn Heights Landmarks Festival; Bedford-Stuyvesant Better Housing Committee (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Bedford-Stuyvesant Ad Hoc Refugee Committee (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Boerum Hill Association; New York Urban Coalition; East Midwood Neighborhood Association; Methodist Episcopal Hospital (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.); Center for Holocaust Studies

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.

Related Materials

Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation publication and photograph collection (ARC.124)

Downtown Brooklyn Development Association records (1979.021)

Brooklyn Heights Association collection (ARC.148)

H. Dickson McKenna collection (ARC.060)

Robert Vadheim Brooklyn neighborhood renewal and development collection (1987.002)

Eastern Parkway Coalition records (2007.016)

Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council publications (ARC.163)

Brooklyn newsletter collection (ARC.174)

Alice Walsh Sunset Park collection (CBHM.0005)

Collection processed by

Patricia Glowinski

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:25:18 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English.

Processing Information note

Minimally processed to the collection level.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society

Container

Box: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
Box: 2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
Box: 3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
Box: 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201