Fighting to Save Remains of Underground Railroad
Families United for Racial and Economic Equility (FUREE) held a rally last Saturday to raise awareness about the what’s at stake on Duffield Street. As we’ve discussed before, the city wants to turn the site of the 19th century homes into a parking lot for a proposed condo and hotel project nearby; residents, who believe…
Families United for Racial and Economic Equility (FUREE) held a rally last Saturday to raise awareness about the what’s at stake on Duffield Street. As we’ve discussed before, the city wants to turn the site of the 19th century homes into a parking lot for a proposed condo and hotel project nearby; residents, who believe several of the homes were used as stops on the Underground Railroad, are fighting for preservation. Charles Barron, Letitia James, Tony Avella and David Yassky (pictured) were all on hand to show their support of the preservationists. The Downtown Star article has some good color on the discovery of the Underground Railroad link:
The entire saga surrounding Duffield Street began over two decades ago, when a jeweler on Greenstein’s block told him that his home had once been used as a safehouse for escaped slaves. Greenstein never thought much about the jeweler’s claim until he was trying to stop a persistent leak in his basement. He tapped on the fieldstone wall and it gave way, revealing a three-foot square shaft that led up towards the ceiling to the ground. Under the debris there appeared to be the remnants of an old ladder…
…Greenstein’s house isn’t the only one with attributes that would suggest Duffield Street was a major thoroughfare in the Underground Railroad. [Joy] Chatel’s house has a similar shaft in the original fieldstone work, and many of the homes on Duffield Street have a trap door in the front, which leads to a void underneath the sidewalk. Greenstein and Chatel believe this was so all of the houses would be interconnected, and escaped slaves could travel from cellar to cellar without appearing at street level.
Next up: The EDC’s report followed by a final vote by the City Council.
Underground Railroad or Parking Lot? [Downtown Star]
It’s true. I hope everyone knows not to vote for Yassky on Sept. 12. Chris Owens seems like a good guy.
Doesn’t Henry Ward Beecher’s church in the area make it almost a given that his parishioners would be part of the underground railroad? It’s so important to preserve that history- to lose it to a parking lot makes me cringe. That said, of course the important thing is to verify the claim.
As for Yassky- I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. He sways in whatever direction the wind is blowing. His main interest is self.
Look at Yassky! He must really want that job in Crown Heights.
I think it is really just a question of whether or not the claim is true. Some houses on my block in Clinton hill have what some neighbors have called “vaults” in front of the normal front hatch in their front gardens. Most have been sealed up so that all you have is a regular hatch with a ladder (a roughly 4 by 4 foot square opening at the front of the house to the basement). I haven’t heard anyone claiming the larger openings that have been closed up were hiding places for escaped slaves, rather they thought they were old storage areas for coal.
Stacy, that was a burial ground for black people in general, slave and free, in Old New York. (17th, 18th century) I’m sure at the time, the establishment thought they were burying them far away from the city. Goes to show how quickly NY grew, and of course, they built right over the site without a thought, if they even knew it was there.
Anyway, a proven station of the Underground Railroad is certainly worth preserving. If that proves to be true,I wonder if there is any connection between that location and Henry Ward Beecher’s church right up the road, more or less, in the Heights? That would be interesting, and would make the site truly historical and worthy of saving.
This happened in downtown manhattan. When they were starting to dig for one of the new federal buildings they found the burial ground for many african american soldiers and I think so far they have not built over it.
I’m surpised the city is fighting this. Dissing slave history seems pretty un-p.c. Then again, you never can have too many parking lots .