The Bloomberg administration announced yesterday that it was creating a six-person panel charged with formulating a plan to honor Brooklyn’s role in the abolitionist movement. The formation of the $2 million panel is largely a response to the controversy surrounding the EDC’s plan to seize and demolish six Duffield Street row houses that are believed to have ties to the Underground Railroad, but it leaves the future of those houses unclear. In fact, the city’s press release yesterday affirms that an EDC-funded study did not directly connect Underground Railroad activity to the houses, but it did confirm a great deal of abolitionist activity in the area. While the city’s announcement is unlikely to stanch community outcry about the EDC’s plans, blogger Duffield Street Underground notes that If the new panel has some real power, then there is hope to develop Downtown Brooklyn through the promoting of the Abolitionist history at 227 Duffield. Sounds to us like the city’s just throwing a bone, albeit a $2 million bone, to the pesky preservationists to push them out of the way. Do you think this has a chance of silencing the protesters?
Mayor Appeases on Underground Railroad Rancor [NY Observer]
Panel to Honor Brooklyn’s Role in Abolition [City Room]
Honoring Brooklyn’s Role in Ending Slavery [Duffield St. Underground]
Busy Day for Brooklyn’s Underground Railroad History [Gowanus Lounge]
Underground Movement on Duffield [NY Post]
Duffield Preservationists Fight Back with Lawsuit [Brownstoner]
LPC Turns Its Back on Underground Railroad Houses [Brownstoner]
Undergound RR: Consultants Caught In Another Lie [Brownstoner]
LPC Head Tries To Save Underground RR Site [Brownstoner]