PROJECT 4 OUTLINE AND DRAFT

Intro: The Brooklyn Historical Society is an institution which is dedicated to preserve and encourage the Brooklyn’s rich Heritage from the past.It has a diverse varieties of maps, texts, images etc to innovate people to learn more about Brooklyn’s history. One of the reasons why Brooklyn Historical society is recognized as National Historic landmark today is due to the magnificent architectural work done by George B. Post in 1881 and the  current exciting changes made by architect Christoff in 2012-2013. 

Body 1:  The Brooklyn Historical society’s 4 story building was completed in 1881 and was designed by architect George B. Post. His plan included using of Terra cotta and red brick to support the central ceiling of the library.  An article published in the NY times states that the building’s unglazed Terra cotta and repressed brick was the first building in New York City to use locally produced Terra Cotta.

Body 2: The plan proposed by Christoff will provide BHS members and visitors with improved exhibition, retail, and program space, and a state-of-the-art classroom for school groups. Clarissa who is a press conducted an interview with Christoff where he shared the benefits of renovating BHS. It will now provide full access to people who are handicapped instead of limited access. The entranceway lobby and first floor exhibition space will be equipped with updated technology for performances and events.The lower level basement and storage space will be transformed into a gallery space.

Body 3 : Comparing the changes between 1881 and 2012-2013 and talk about as time has changed Brooklyn historical society’s architecture has been magnificently improved and the new changed have added a prestigious value to the place. Thus it should be considered on a walking tour so that the work done by these great architectures for us gets appreciated.

Conclusion: Restating the introduction and making strong points which makes direct sense to the reader about the thesis/ purpose for writing this paper.

 

Fulton Times—the change of Fulton Street

Fulton Times—the change of Fulton Street
Since I came to New York, I always walked to school, I never take any trains or buses to school, so it is so difficult to me to find the way out of the station and the way to my college. I still remember that was the first day of my school, I took the A train in Fulton Street and stopped at the station at Fulton, Jay street. I thought I lost and never left the Fulton Street in Manhattan, but the train did move in the same direction and pass through a stop. Therefore, I got out of the station and finally I found out where am I?
Brooklyn Fulton Street, the same street name in Manhattan downtown. It is named after Robert Fulton, who owned the monopoly business of steam ferries. In that time, the only way traveled to Manhattan and Brooklyn is by the steam ferries, and these two Fulton Street is where the steam ferries linked with. So as we can see Robert Fulton is the huge character in hundred year ago and his name still remain on today local history.Even thought Fulton’s monopoly steam ferries business is no longer exist now, the monopolistic businese along the Fulton Street still going on;(thesis) and the rent cause and effect the business competition along the street.
The retail business along Fulton Street cannot go without its transportation. From the past century, the road structure has great change and influence the area efficiently. Fulton Street has been a marketplace since early 19th century, for example, the Orpheum Theater between Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue, “the street is full of pedestrians. A trolley track line was next to the (Orpheum) Theater and an over pass train track as well” (Afo). Today, there are no more train lines and train track, the MTA subway trains and buses replace the streetcars. And it easier for people come to Fulton Street and shop along the street. The great transportation gather the lots of customers to this street, the store owners have more chance to sell their products; however, too much customers give the land lords a opportunity to increase the rent.
From the last century, people are more flavors to the local stores on Fulton Street, like the shops that sell hip-hop fashion, cellphone, sneaker and gold jewelry… however, in recent years, those local and independent shops are disappeared, since they cannot afford the high rent in that area and the competition with national chain stores. According to article “National Retailers Discover Fulton Street Mall in Brooklyn”, an associate director at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Retail, Hymie Dweck said, “rent on Fulton Street were always around $150 to $200, but they are pushing past that now” (Julie Satow). For the small retailers this is like putting a feather on a horse whose already carries 999.99 kilograms goods on its back—-push it to fall. The owner of Stellar European Design, Sam Yung Kim said “driving up rents beyond $200 a square foot that may make it impossible for him to remain when his lease comes up for renewal in a year” (Joseph Berger). For the small retailers, rent is one of the important factors that they cannot compete with the national stores.
The disappearance of those local stores make some people worry that Fulton Street will lose the African-American and Caribbean-American customers, since they like the unique style and bright color clothing, which make them show off their figure. On the other hand, “some small stores are pleased with the chains’ arrival. ‘They bring more people in this area and it’s better,’ said Frank Flower, an Egyptian immigrant who owns a hole-in-the-wall shop that sells gold chains and earrings” (Berger, Joseph).
Do the national chain stores joining in Fulton Street really change the whole community? Weiner, deputy director of the Pratt Center for Community Development who also worried about the unbalance between national retailer, local retailer and the independent shops did a survey in 2006, asking the architectural significance of the mall’s buildings, and found out that street is “functioning like a traditional marketplace, where people see people they know and come to network and socialize as well as shop.” Weiner believed Fulton Mall has not lost its character.

Cited Work
Aqbere, Dawuda(Afo), “Vaudeville Project-Orpheum.” What is Vaudeville? The Brooklyn Experience. OpenLAB AT CITY TECH, November 7, 2013. Web. November 20, 2013
Berger, Joseph. “On Fulton Street, Worries about Change.” The New York Times Online 20 September 2013. 20 November 2013.
Satow, Julie. “National Retailer Discover a Brooklyn Mall.” The New York Times Online 28 August 2012. 20 November 2013.

The Connector, The Brooklyn bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge.  One of the most famous landmarks of New York. It extends for 5,989 feet and it is one of the best things in New York. It was the reason why New York became what it is today. The Bridges construction started in 1869 by the man called John Augustus Roebling. It was completed on May 24 1883 and the first day estimate of 250,000 people walked across on the bridge promenade. The bridge connected the two major boroughs of New York city today, The boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The Bridge was completed but do people today wonder how the construction must have felt like or the how John Augustus Roebling managed to do this. Well that is what I will tell you guys today how the Brooklyn Bridge was built, who built it and how it has helped New York City.

The man who thought of he Bridge is John Augustus Roebling. He was a great pioneer in the design of steel suspension bridges. He was born in Germany in 1806 and migrated to Pennsylvania and tried to be a farmer but could not be successful so he moved to the capital   Harrisburg, where he found work as a civil engineer. He promoted the use of wire cable and established a successful wire-cable factory. He made his name in Bridge construction and in 1867 the legislature approved to of a bridge over the east river of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

However when John was inspecting the site he hurt himself and 17 days later he passed away. Than his son Washington A. Roebling, took over as chief engineer. Roebling had worked with his father on several bridges and had helped design the Brooklyn Bridge.

Out Line

Introduction- The Brooklyn Bridge one of the famous land marks of New York and the one the connects Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Body 1- The Bridge is there but who made it like who designed it , who thought of making the Brooklyn bridge

Body 2- How was the bridge constructed, the ways used to built and the people that did all the work.

Body 3- How the bridge has helped New York City

conclusion- review all the 3 points.

The Sandy Days of Brooklyn Tech – 1st Draft

The hurricane of 2012 known as Hurricane Sandy, can arguably be one of New York’s greatest tragedies. Hurricane Sandy devastated the city and left many people homeless and nowhere to live. As a result, many schools became shelters for these homeless people . Brooklyn Technical High School was one of these schools opened up to become a shelter. From October 29th,2012 to November  12th, 2012, Brooklyn Tech housed over 300 patients from the adult homes, Surf Manor and Chai Home. Many of these patients were of special needs. However, despite Brooklyn Tech becoming a shelter, students were still mandated to go back to school on November 7th 2012 and this led to what is one of the most interesting weeks of Brooklyn Tech’s history for both students and the patients staying in the shelter.

Brooklyn Tech became a full time shelter on October 29th 2012 and took in over 300 people from Surf Manor Adult Home and Chai Manor Adult Home. These two adult homes were terribly flooded and the patients living there had to move away. These patients initially stayed in the first floor of the school and in the gymnasium. They were allowed to go to the 1st, 2nd and 7th floors and even use the 3rd floor showers located in the boys locker room. The general population eventually relocated leaving the special needs of the adult homes in Brooklyn Tech, dropping the amount of people to less than 250. The school set up a clinic to help those that needed medicinal attention and provided them with blankets, medicine, pet supplies, and numerous other supplies that was needed.  These special needs patients were rumored to do their “business” not in the bathrooms of Brooklyn Tech but on the floors and walls. Eventually, the school announced on November 5th 2012, that on the following Wednesday, students will be returning to school and these people in the shelter were relocated to the7th floor cafeteria.

Hurricane Sandy was a devastating storm for all of New York City. Despite this horrific storm, it had a silver lining for students. For students that despised school, this was like a mini vacation, except with a hurricane outside. Many students skipped school for over a week because of this storm and some schools that were sheltering people, had even more days off.  Students at Brooklyn Tech got 11th days off.  We had off from the Friday of October 27th 2012 to the Wednesday of November 7th 2012. “When we heard that school was cancelled for the 5th & 6th, we were all so happy! But had we known what we were going to go through the next week, I think I’d take back my two days of school” said Brain Li, a current senior at Brooklyn Tech. It was true. We knew about the people living in the Brooklyn Tech shelters and had heard rumors about it but we did not know just how horrible the next week was going to go be.  When we got back to school, we were told that each period was going to be cut by a third of its regular time. This seemed like a dream come true but the students of Brooklyn Tech soon realized that it was just the cherry on top of a pile of very disgusting feces. Students that had class on the 6th floor during these patents’ stay were really unfortunate. This is not only because they had to walk due to elevators being disabled but because of the horrible stench coming from the floor above them, where the patients stayed. “It smelled like feces and human waste. Those 6th floor periods were the longest periods I’ve ever been through in my life even though they were  30 minutes long. It was unbearable” said Brain Li, a current Brooklyn Tech senior.

Brooklyn Tech students attended school with 250 special needs patients living in the 7th floor cafeteria from November 7th 2012 to November 12th 2012. Because the 7th floor cafeteria was closed off from student access, students were forced to eat lunch at the auditorium. Each lunch period had over a thousand students and each period of lunch was a riot of students all trying squish their way into the auditorium before the last lunch bell rang. Imagine the dawn of Black Friday in front of Wal-Mart except with teenagers all trying to get a very stale turkey sandwich instead of a good deal. Despite students not being able to access the 7th floor, patients on the 7th floor were allowed to go around the school and even outside.  Students that were walking around during class hours would occasionally bump into these patients with special needs and it was a very scary and awkward experience. Students were told strictly to stay away from these patients and not to interact with them just in case. Patients were not monitored as well as they were before school began.  Mark Thomas, a 52 year old schizophrenic refugee, disappeared during this time and was not found until a long time after.

The week of that Brooklyn Tech was a shelter was definitely an interesting one for both students and the patients.  On the afternoon of the following Tuesday, the people in the shelters were evacuated and displaced from the school. Students were told they can start using the 7th & 8th floor facilities but this made a lot of people worried. The cafeteria was used for nearly two weeks of housing people and they had planned to clean it and let us use it right away.  Many parents demanded that it be checked out and deemed safe before students were allowed back into the cafeteria.  The 11 day break we received because of Hurricane Sandy resulted in a cut in our winter break. Students and staff of Brooklyn Tech all received a weird once in a lifetime experience to go to attend school while being used as a shelter and patients’ all got their back safely.

Work Cited
Shapiro, Julie. “All City Schools Reopen for Class, as Some Kids Share Space with Shelters.” DNAinfo.com New York. 7 Nov. 2012. 19 Nov. 2013

SMITH, GREG B. “Mental patient disappears from a Hurricane Sandy evacuation shelter at a Brooklyn high school.” NY Daily News. 7 Nov. 2012. 19 Nov. 2013

Vladu, Daniel. “Http://www.bthsnews.org/2012/12/15/hurricane-sandy-an-interview-with-a-volunteer/.” Interview by Linda Nguyen. Http://www.bthsnews.org/. 15 Dec. 2012. 19 Nov. 2013

MONIHAN, RACHEl. “With transit down and many schools damaged, New York City kids won’t be back to school until Monday.” NY Daily News. 2 Nov. 2012. 19 Nov. 2013

Bayliss, Sarah. “Many Return to School in a Landscape Altered by Hurricane Sandy.” School Library Journal. 6 Nov. 2012. 19 Nov. 2013

Li, Brain. “Brooklyn Tech Sandy days.” Online interview. 16 Nov. 2013

The Significance Of Plymouth Church

 

Plymouth Church was founded in 1847 by 21 New Englanders who wanted a Congregational church that had  a simple order of worship, governed by the congregation. With this Purpose they named Henry Ward Beecher the first pastor of this church. This decision made the church increase its popularity rapidly. This reason is because Henry Ward Beecher stated  from his first sermon he was abolitionist and that he will be the pastor to have a greater possibility to stop slavery. When Plymouth church burned out a new one was rapidly build with a more sophisticated architecture to be able to accommodate Beecher and its people better. Now Plymouth Church has been designated as a historical landmark since 1961 for the impact it had towards the abolitionist movement, and there are around 4,000 adults and schoolchildren that tour Plymouth Church each year.[1]

In 1847 when the church was founded its Location was in Cranberry Street. It was a normal church that had the same amount of seats a ordinary church has. Beecher as a pastor and abolitionist gave speeches on this church but it didn’t have enough space for people to come listen to him preach. Two Years from its foundation the church burned. Even though the fire wasn’t that bad they decided to change its location and to rebuilt it so people were able to still listen to Beecher preach.

The location was moved to Orange Street. It was Designed by architect J.C Wells a founder of the American Institute Of Architects. The Church was Designed to seat 2,800 people. Therefore, it was made so people were able to listen to Rev Beecher preach. Its architecture was unique it looked more like a theatre or a huge auditorium than a church.[2]

 

[1] http://www.plymouthchurch.org/our_history.php

[2] http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/04/01/a_building_with_a_mission_brooklyns_plymouth_church.php

Borough Hall

Introduction – Brooklyn Borough Hall building was originally the City Hall of the City of Brooklyn in 1848, before it merged with the City of New York in 1898. It held the mayors office, a courthouse and a jail.

Paragraph 1 – Borough hall was originally designed in 1845 by Gamaliel King. It was completed in 1848 with a greek architectural style. In 1895 the cupola and top floors of the building were destroyed in a fire.

Paragraph 2 – 1900 community wanted to have building destroyed (news paper article)

Paragraph 3 – Comparison between architecture styles. Building appreciation in the past vs now.

Project 4 Outline

Intro – The Brooklyn Bridge is a landmark and one of the greatest achievements in the history of New York. Its grand opening on May 24th, 1883. But the bridge has also has its moments that didn’t end as expected.

Body 1 – P.T. Barnum’s Circus “Jumbo” crosses the bridge with twenty-one elephants to ridicule any rumors that the bridge was unsafe.

Body 2 – The Many deaths that occurred on or as a result of the bridge. (ex: Suicides and the death of John Roebling).

Body 3 – Safety Officials in a report in 2010 rule the Brooklyn Bridge dire in need of repairs due to its safety system being outdated.

Conclusion – The Brooklyn Bridge may seem as an outstanding and remarkable landmark but as we research further in depth we can clearly see that not everything that includes the Brooklyn Bridge have ended in a pleasing manner.

The Historical History Behind The Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883, was a crowning achievement in New York City history. The bridge has placed itself as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service and a New York City Landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Brooklyn Bridge was the first bridge in history to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn together. It took 14 years to build the bridge which cost close to 15 million dollars. The Brooklyn Bridge is called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” and is a top attraction for tourists visiting New York City. The bridge spans the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan and stretches for a length of 5989 ft., about 1.8 km. The span measures 1595.5 ft. The bridge was the world’s largest suspension bridge.

John A. Roebling was a civil engineer who designed the Brooklyn Bridge in the early 1800’s. Even though he came up with the design he never got to see the bridge because he died after crushing his foot in an accident on the bridge.  Roebling learned how to build suspension bridges such as the “Brooklyn Bridge” when he was trained as an engineer at Berlin’s Royal Polytechnic Institute. In 1866 a company called “The New York Bridge Company” was founded and they hired John as a chief engineer. He planned the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge, as they called it at the time and told them to make the bridge with newly available steel wire, which would allow the bridge to be larger, stronger, and longer than any bridge to be built yet. He was not the only one that died during the construction in total twenty people died during the construction. When John died his son Washington Roebling took after the leadership of the plan of the bridge. But from working on the pillars of the bridge he suffered from caisson-disease and was on his deathbed on the day of the opening of the “Brooklyn Bridge”.

The Brooklyn Bridge was needed in the early 1800’s because at the time New York City consisted only of Manhattan with about 400,000 residents, twice as many residents as there are today. So the solution they came up with was to develop Brooklyn and people and goods could cross the East River quickly, regardless of weather conditions. This was not the first time building a bridge over the East River was talked about, it was talked about as long as anyone can remember, but nothing was done until the 1800’s.        The bridge had two central purposes which were to bear the weight of four immense cables, and they would hold both the cables and the roadway of the bridge high enough so they would not interfere with traffic on the river. The bridge was designed to have a load capacity of 18,700 tons. They designed two elevated railroad tracks, which were connected to elevated railroad systems in New York and Brooklyn, down to the center of the bridge. On the other side, they designed four lanes, two lanes on two outer roadways. To be used for carriages and horseback riders. Right over the track they provided an elevated promenade for pedestrians and bicyclists. After 15 years it helped unite Brooklyn and Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island to form a larger New York. When the Brooklyn Bridge first opened, it cost a penny to cross by foot, 5 cents for a horse and rider and 10 cents for a horse and wagon. The Brooklyn Bridge served as an important landmark for New York City and added character. It allowed people to travel from Brooklyn to Manhattan in a very fast and convenient way. It allowed Manhattan to be a very attracted tourist area and as well Brooklyn. It allowed cars, horses, carriages, etc. to travel using the bridge at a cheap rate at the time. The footpath of the bridge allowed you to cross the river in peace by not being bothered by the traffic on the lower life and also offered a great view of the downtown Manhattan Skyline.

The Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time. . The bridge spans the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan and stretches for a length of 5989 ft., about 1.8 km. The bridge remained the longest suspension until 1903 when the Williams burg Bridge overhauls it by 4.5 ft. On May 24, 1883, the opening ceremony of the bridge was described as “the greatest gala day in the history of that moral suburb. The wife of John A. Roebling was given the first ride over the bridge which represented a symbol of victory for her. As soon as the bridge opened 150,000 people poured the bridge. It carried trolley lines, horse-drawn vehicles, and livestock on its opening day. A week after the bridge opened a tragic attack happened on Memorial Day, 20,000 people died in a panic attack which said that the bridge was about to collapse. The bridge inspired more art than another other man made structure in the United States. The towers of the bridge made the bridge become a national monument in 1964.

The Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883, was a crowning achievement in New York City history. The Brooklyn Bridge has many historical values behind it and serves an important factor for people back then. It allowed them to get from Manhattan and Brooklyn in a beneficial way. It was more expensive o use the bridge then it was today. Today the bridge is free to use thanks to New York Mayor William J. Gaynor in 1911, when he said “I see no more reason for toll gates on the bridges than for toll gates on Fifth Avenue or Broadway.”

MLA Format:

“Brooklyn Bridge.” Brooklyn Bridge. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/brooklyn/>.

“Brooklyn Bridge.” , New York City. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/brooklynbridge.htm>.

“Today in History.” : June 12. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun12.html>.

“Infrastructure.” NYC DOT. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/brooklyn-bridge.shtml>.

“10 Things You May Not Know About the Brooklyn Bridge.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 23 May 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-brooklyn-bridge>.