Author Archives: Jessica Samide

Reflection #2: The Whiskey Wars That Left Brooklyn in Ruins

Leave a reply

I was fascinated by the assigned reading on the Whiskey Wars of Brooklyn. One of my initial thoughts while reading about the Whiskey Wars was that in some ways it reminded me of the Boston Tea Party from 1773. Both were acts of rebellion in protest of high taxes on specific items. I learned that Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn was heavily involved with creating illegal distilleries. The article mentioned that “legitimate” distilleries would close down and be replaced by “vinegar” factories. This leads me to wonder if these “vinegar” factories somehow influenced the naming of the neighborhood Vinegar Hill. I like that at the end of the article the author concludes with a small paragraph on modern day Vinegar Hill. The arrival of the Kings County Distillery is like a tip of the hat to the rebellious, rich history of late-19th century Vinegar Hill.

Homework #1: Reflection on the following Wikipedia articles: Vinegar Hill; Brooklyn; Downtown Brooklyn; and Dumbo.

Leave a reply

As I was reading through the four Wikipedia articles, the article on Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn stood out to me the most. The first thing that I noticed was the writing. While the writing throughout the article is grammatically sound, I found that the other three articles, especially the one on Brooklyn, were at a higher standard. Before this assignment I had never heard of Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn. All the information that I read was completely new to me. That said, I was disappointed that the information only went to the 18th century. I am interested in seeing how the neighborhood is now. What is the current demographic? Has this area of Brooklyn been heavily affected by gentrification? Are there any cultural sites or landmarks? Are there parks? Is it a predominantly residential neighborhood? These are all questions that I would have liked to have been answered as I was reading the article.