Jun

2

Tuesday, June 2, 2026 – A TRIBUTE TO THE TITANIC HAS BEEN BEAUTIFULLY RESTORED

By admin

A BEACON RESTORED


MANHATTAN’S MONUMENT

TO A

SHIP THAT NEVER ARRIVED

The Titanic Memorial Lighthouse, at the corner of Pearl and Fulton Streets since 1976, has been restored by the South Street Seaport Museum.

After a year of stabilization and refurbishment, the restoration of the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse by the South Street Seaport Museum is nearing completion.

Museum president Captain Jonathan Boulware reported to Community Board 1 members that programmers were finalizing the project and configuring the Memorial’s time ball, a long-dormant horological aid. A large metal globe that once descended a pole precisely at the stroke of noon each day (triggered by a telegraphic signal from the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.), the time ball of the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse enabled sailors aboard ships offshore to calibrate their marine chronometers, needed for celestial navigation and the determination of longitude at sea. (This device was the origin of the now-renowned Times Square ball drop on New York’s Eve.) “That maritime tradition will now happen again every day at noon,” Mr. Boulware said.

Above: The Titanic Memorial Lighthouse was originally located atop the now-demolished Seamen’s Church Institute at the corner of South Street and Coenties Slip, on the site of what is now Vietnam Veterans Plaza. Below: The “time ball” at the top of the lighthouse descended a pole precisely at the stroke of noon each day, triggered by a telegraphic signal from the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.

This local memorial to the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic has been hiding in plain sight at the corner at the corner of Pearl and Fulton Streets for five decades. Originally perched atop the Seamen’s Church Institute (a philanthropic organization that provides social services to mariners) at the corner of South Street and Coenties Slip, it was dedicated on April 15, 1913, the one-year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Designed by the architectural firm Warren and Wetmore (who created Grand Central Terminal), the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse featured a trio of 2500-candle power mercury lamps, the emerald beams from which could be seen ten miles out at sea.

“There is a new set of lights in there, which are green,” Captain Boulware noted. “When the lighthouse was erected on the Seamen’s Church building on Lower South Street in 1913, it had three green lanterns, which were deliberately intended to avoid confusion with an actual lighthouse.”

The South Street Seaport Museum saved the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse a half century ago, by arranging to accept the structure as a donation when the Seamen’s Church Institute building was demolished in the mid-1970s. The Titanic Memorial was initially moved to Pier 16 and then in 1976, after a partial restoration, the lighthouse was moved to its current location atop a lighthouse-like base at Titanic Memorial Park where it welcomes visitors to the South Street Seaport Historic District.

“We also had a treatment for the plinth, the base, which is not part of the artifact itself,” Captain Boulware added, “but inhabits one of this object’s multiple roles, that of wayfinding, the entry point to the Seaport, making it really clear where you are. We’re already finding that people say, ‘meet by the lighthouse.’”

“The Titanic Memorial Lighthouse will again shine in Lower Manhattan as a beacon of history and hope in honor of those lost in the Titanic disaster,” he said, suggesting the lighthouse as a new locale for “a downtown New Year’s Eve celebration for New Yorkers.”

Matthew Fenton

THE BROADSHEET

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

Copyright © 2026 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com

Jun

1

Monday, June 1, 2026 – Beautiful and Creative Stationery Design on Business Correspondence

By admin

19th Century Stationery

NYC Municipal Archives

During the Covid pandemic in 2020 the Department of Records & Information Services assigned several Municipal Archives staff to assignments that could be completed remotely. The projects included transcribing collection inventories, lists, finding guides and other descriptive materials into searchable databases and spreadsheets.

Pen-maker John Foley to Mayor Abram Hewitt, 1887. Early Mayors records, NYC Municipal Archives.

Recently, archivist Cynthia Brenwall resumed transcribing descriptions of documents in the Early Mayors’ collection. This series comprises correspondence and documents from New York City mayoral administrations from 1826 through 1897 and totals 157.5 cubic feet. The collection had been assembled by Rebecca Rankin during her 32-year tenure as the Director of the Municipal Library between 1920 and 1952. This was a core collection in the Municipal Archives when it opened in 1952, and remains one of the most important series documenting nineteenth-century government and policies.

One feature of the correspondence noted by Ms. Brenwall during her work in 2020 and again more recently, is the elaborate commercially produced stationery and letterheads used by businesses and governments. This week For the Record takes a closer look at these wonderful works of art that defined an era of letter writing.

Real-Estate Union letterhead form 1893. Early Mayors records, NYC Municipal Archives.

An example of the original documents that were transcribed by NYC Municipal Archives staff in 2020. Entry 146 is the reference to the Real-Estate Union letterhead shown above.

Pastor Nathan Hubbell to Mayor Gilroy, 1893. Early Mayors records, NYC Municipal Archives.

Johnson & Johnson Company, 1893. Early Mayors records, NYC Municipal Archives.

Twine, rope, cord and hammock makers the Travers Brother Company highlighted the products that they produced in this elaborate letterhead. 1892. Early Mayors records, NYC Municipal Archives.

Sherriff John J. Gorman to Mayor Grant in 1893. Early Mayors records, NYC Municipal Archives.

Leo Schlesinger & Company was located on Crosby Street and manufactured tin toys, among other items. 1893. Early Mayors records, NYC Municipal Archives.

The 1893 letterhead for the Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company the graphic logo of the original glass company. Early Mayors records, NYC Municipal Archives.

Technically, the term letterhead did not appear until 1890. Before then, it was simply called “letter paper.” The rich illustrations depicted on the stationery corresponds with industrialization in America. By the 1860s, the images became more detailed and creative. It was a period when Americans could see their growing nation reflected in the artwork on their bills and correspondence.

The primary role of these illustrations was publicity. The images show busy factories, bustling street corners, and bold bank buildings. Government agency and department correspondence visually conveys the nature of their responsibilities.  

While the content of the letters in the Early Mayors’ collection might be standard government business, the stationery offers a delight for the eye and creates a window into the business and government culture of a time gone by. For more examples, readers are also invited to review two For the Record articles published in 2020:  The Transcription Project, Early Mayors’ Collection and Early Mayors Collection Part 2

The Grand Union Hotel was located across the street from the Grand Central Depot. 1888. Early Mayors records, NYC Municipal Archives.

William McCoy to Mayor Thomas Gilroy shows off the work of both the engraver and designer of this letterhead. Early Mayors records, NYC Municipal Archives.

This detailed letterhead features an image of a beehive to promote the business of a grocery and tea dealing company. Letter from the office of Callahan and Kemp sent to Mayor Hugh Grant, 1889. Early Mayors records, NYC Municipal Archives.

Eureka Fire Hose Company logo on a letter dated 1893. Early Mayors records, NYC Municipal Archives.

STOP BY THE RIHS VISITOR CENTER
FOR GREAT GIFTS
GET YOUR RIHS EXCLUSIVE TRAM 50 TEE SHIRT IN ADULT SIZES AT THE RIHS KIOSK $20-

New York Municipal Archives

JUDITH BERDY

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

Copyright © 2026 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com

May

31

Sunday, May 31, 2026 – Celebrate Art! New Creatures on Park Avenue South

By admin

JOYOUS WHIMSICAL ART

ON PARK AVENUE SOUTH

WORKS BY 

DORIT LEVINSTEIN

EDEN, The House of Art, invites you to discover Dorit Levinstein’s Park Avenue Exhibition, a vibrant open-air presentation set along one of Manhattan’s most iconic avenues.

On view from May 2026 to May 2027, the exhibition spans Park Avenue from 34th to 39th Streets, introducing nine monumental sculptures that bring movement, color, and rhythm into the urban landscape.

Through her signature visual language, Levinstein transforms the city into a living gallery, creating moments of joy, energy, and artistic discovery in the heart of New York.

On view May 2026 – May 2027
Park Avenue, NYC
34th–39th Streets

STOP BY THE RIHS VISITOR CENTER
FOR GREAT GIFTS

GET YOUR RIHS EXCLUSIVE TRAM 50 TEE SHIRT IN ADULT SIZES AT THE RIHS KIOSK $20-

EDEN GALLERY

JUDITH BERDY

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

Copyright © 2026 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com

May

29

Friday, May 29, 2026 – Tram’s 50th Anniversary Celebration , A Grand Celebration

By admin

ISLAND CELEBRATES 50 YEARS

OF THE TRAM

NEW COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUES FOR BOTH TRAM STATIONS DONATED BY POMA

FREE TEES  WERE GIVEN OUT BY POMA 
AND SUPPLIES  ARE GONE.

RIHS 50th ANNIVERSARY TEES ARE AVAILABLE AT THE KIOSK FOR $20- 

GET YOUR RIHS EXCLUSIVE TRAM 50 TEE SHIRT IN ADULT SIZES AT THE RIHS KIOSK $20-

REPLICAS OF ORIGINAL COINS AND PINS WERE DISTRIBUTED

ADDING SUGGESTIONS FOR USES FOR ORIGINAL TRAM CABINS

IRIS CHAN-RIOC

JUDITH BERDY

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

Copyright © 2026 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com

May

29

Thursday, May 28, 2026 – Tram’s 50th Anniversary Celebration Awaits!

By admin

ISLAND CELEBRATES 50 YEARS

OF THE TRAM

THE INFLATABLE TRAM TRIED TO TAKE OFF DURING HE CEREMONY AND JOIN THE CABINS MID AIR.

CUTTING THE 50TH BIRTHDAY CAKE WITH B.J. JONES.

THE MEETING OF THE TWO POLIVYS: LANCE POLIVY NEW RIOC COUNSEL  & VERY DISTANT RELATIVE, (MAYBE) AND RIOC BOARD MEMBER HOWARD POLIVY

GET YOUR RIHS EXCLUSIVE TRAM 50 TEE SHIRT IN ADULT SIZES AT THE RIHS KIOSK $20-

SHARON CARSON

JUDITH BERDY

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

Copyright © 2026 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com

May

26

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 – Explore 1930’s New York Through a Photographer’s Lens

By admin

CELEBRATE THE TRAM’S 50TH BIRTHDAY
THURSDAY, MAY 28TH
 TRAM PLAZA 3 P.M.  ALL ARE WELCOME!!

The Midcentury Street Photographer

who

Documented New Yorkers

in all their raw,

Unfiltered Humanity

As a young woman she moved to Paris and studied music with Modernist composer Arnold Schoenberg.

Through Schoenberg, she was introduced to the emerging style of German Expressionism, in which painters used aggressive brushstrokes and exaggerated forms to highlight the psychological turmoil of modern life.

After abandoning a music career, Model thought she would become a darkroom technician—then realized taking photos was more to her liking. She borrowed a 35 millimeter camera from her sister and set out to document men and women lounging on the beach in Nice.

“The nascent photographer lifted the camera to her eye and captured them in a series of images that draw out the awkwardness of their well-fed, well-dressed bodies and the fascination of faces modeled by age, which appear almost grotesque, but also striking, even sculptural,” states Artsy.

After marrying Russian-born painter Evsa Model in 1937 and immigrating with him to New York one year later amid growing antisemitism in Europe, she committed herself to a career as a visual artist.

Model published photos in magazines like PM and Harper’s Bazaar, and she became part of the city’s postwar photography community. The couple’s first Gotham home was in the Master Apartments on Riverside Drive.

Drawing on the influence of German Expressionism, she pioneered a different kind of street photography, relying on tilted angles and close-ups to expose the raw, unposed, and unbeautiful sides of her subjects and reflect their inner emotions rather than the city outside.

One of Model’s earliest photos, taken in the 1940s for Harper’s Bazaar, brought her to Coney Island (second photo). “There she found a corpulent woman in a black bathing suit and with a beaming expression that radiated confidence and joyfulness,” states Artsy.

“Model captured this woman—who would become immortalized in her photographs as the Coney Island bather—standing in a high crouch and lying on her side with her head propped up on one arm.”

Jazz clubs and the Lower East Side became popular haunts for Model. There she found her subjects in unguarded moments, displaying their imperfect humanity against an unsentimental (and often close-cropped) stage or streetscape.

Unsparing portraits weren’t her only focus. Model seemed to be captivated by street life of New York City, its vitality and mystery. She produced a series of photos that reveal the city’s many layers in shadows and glass reflections.

“Then, as now, the storefront served as mirror and stage, showcasing a performative play of products and pedestrians,” wrote MOMA under a 1939 photo exhibited in the museum: “Reflections, Fifth Avenue, New York.” (fourth photo)

Unsparing portraits weren’t her only focus. Model seemed to be captivated by street life of New York City, its vitality and mystery. She produced a series of photos that reveal the city’s many layers in shadows and glass reflections.

“Then, as now, the storefront served as mirror and stage, showcasing a performative play of products and pedestrians,” wrote MOMA under a 1939 photo exhibited in the museum: “Reflections, Fifth Avenue, New York.” (fourth photo)

Model continued teaching and taking photos through the 1970s. In 1982, she died of heart failure. Intensely private, she seemed to give few formal interviews or publicly share thoughts about her craft.

She apparently did leave one simple piece of advice: “Never take a picture of anything you are not passionately interested in” is a quote often attributed to her.

Ephemeral New York

[Top photo, “Little Man, Lower East Side,” National Gallery of Art; second photo, “Coney Island,” MOMA; third photo: “Lower East Side,” Sotheby’s; fourth photo: “Reflections, Fifth Avenue, New York,” National Gallery of Art; fifth photo, “Lower East Side,” MOMA; sixth photo: “Window Reflections,” MOMA; seventh photo: “Sammy’s, New York,” Whitney Museum of Art]


JUDITH BERDY

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

Copyright © 2026 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com

May

25

Monday, May 25, 2026 – Transforming Memories: 2013 Steam Plant Proposal

By admin

PROPOSALS FOR CONSIDERATION OF A

ROOSEVELT ISLAND MUSEUM

OF

TECHNOLOGY, ART & SCIENCE

FRIENDS OF ROOSEVELT ISLANDS STEAM PLANT


SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

While looking thru the RIHS files last week, I came upon a memo from RIOC memo entititled “Request for Expressions of Interest to attract reuse or redevelopment of the Steam Plant.  The only response was that of the one attached from FRISP.

Anyone interested is welcome to see the entire file.

ROOSEVELT ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVES
JUDITH BERD
Y

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

Copyright © 2026 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com

May

23

Weekend May 23-24, 2026 – May Iconic Tram’s Story: From 1976 Dedication to 2010 Rebuild!

By admin

CELEBRATE THE TRAM’S 50TH BIRTHDAY
THURSDAY, MAY 28TH
TRAM PLAZA 3 P.M.  ALL ARE WELCOME!!

This is a text block. You can use it to add text to your template.

The invitation with the date stamped in, just in case.

The Program for the Opening Ceremony

A Boarding Pass for Opening Day

I has watched Welfare Island for many years since I was a student working at the Goldwater Hospital in 1967.  When I heard the Tram was opening, I walked over from my home at 65th Street on the evening of March 17th, 1967 and took my first ride that day.

FLOATING OVER SECOND AVENUE PAST THE KIOSK STILL ON SECOND AVENUE

TAKE THE WINDOW OUT AND GET INTO THE RESCUE CABIN

WANT TO DO THIS CLIMB OUT THE WINDOW TO THE RESCUE CABIN?

ONLY ONCE THE RESCUE CABINS WERE USED IN APRIL OF 2006, WHEN THE CABINS WERE STUCK OVER THE RIVER.  IT TOOK HOURS TO RESCUE ALL PASSEGERS SAFELY.,

EVERYONE HAD TO PARTICIPATE ON A SUNDAY MORNING

STAFF WAITING FOR THEIR TURN TO GET OUT THE FLOOR HATCH

DOWN YOU GO THRU THE FLOOR, WHEN THE CABIN WAS OVER LAND

DISMANTLING THE OLD HANGER ARMS

Input caption text here. Use the block’s Settings tab to change the caption position and set other styles.

RESUE CABINS TO THE DUMP AFER ONE USE.

PARKED AT THE BUS STOP, WAITING FOR 15 YEARS NOW TO FIND A NEW LIFE……

ONE TRIP ON GROUND LEVEL TO MOTORGATE

THE NEW HANGER ARMS BEING INSTALLED DURING THE SUMMER OF 2010

ARMANDO CORDOVA, TRAM MANAGER CHECKING OUT NEW CABIN. ARMANDO OUR BEST FRIEND AND GREAT MANAGER IS RETIRED NOW AND SORELY MISSED… MY AMIGO!

ROOSEVELT ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVES
JUDITH BERDY

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

Copyright © 2026 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com

May

21

Thursday, May 21, 2026 – Discover Saratoga’s Secret Deals and World Series Drama!

By admin

CELEBRATE THE TRAM’S 50TH BIRTHDAY
THURSDAY, MAY 28TH
 TRAM PLAZA 3 P.M.  ALL ARE WELCOME!!

 

May 20, 2026 by Guest Contributor 

Arnold Rothstein was of the most famous of America’s 20th century criminal masterminds, and for more than 20 years, the New York City native spent his summers in Saratoga Springs, gambling on the horses by day – and just plain gambling by night.

He first started coming to Saratoga on a regular basis in 1904, when he was 22 years old, and he largely gave up on Saratoga after 1925 – by then, he was able to make so much money bootlegging liquor that he no longer spent much time gambling at the Saratoga Race Course.

In his gambling, he never minded doing things to tweak the odds in his favor – and his most audacious tweak, the fixing of the 1919 Chicago White Sox-Cincinnati Reds World Series, was at least discussed at his famous and exclusive private club in Saratoga, The Brook.

Rothstein was variously known as “The Brain” or “The Big Bankroll” – he was said to have never made a mistake with numbers. He was always thinking a step ahead and was a ready source of cash, though always with repayment at high interest.

It was that reputation that led to his involvement in the White Sox’s 1919 Chicago World Series scandal, which would have the team forever after known as the “Black Sox,” though none of the involved players was ever convicted of a crime, and neither were any of the gamblers.

Rothstein denied involvement, though there’s no question that his name was being thrown around by nearly everyone.

The one person the scandal couldn’t have happened without, though, was Charlie Comiskey, the owner of the White Sox, and builder of the legendary Comiskey Park, demolished in 1991.

The White Sox, with Shoeless Joe Jackson (1887-1951) as one of their leading hitters, were one of the great teams of all time, but Comiskey was known as a cheapskate who paid his players poorly, taking advantage of the “reserve clause,” a major league baseball policy that bound a player forever to the team that first signed him, unless he was traded.

During the 1919 season, when star pitcher Eddie Cicotte (1884-1969) reached 29 wins, Comiskey ordered the manager to bench him, to avoid having to pay a $10,000 bonus promised if he won 30 games.

Not surprisingly, many of the players hated him. With Cicotte among their leaders, they begin thinking about whether they could make a lot more money from gamblers by agreeing to lose the World Series to the Reds, even though the White Sox were the much better team.

The gamblers would be able to get a big payoff by betting on the long-shot Reds, secretly knowing that the Reds were going to win.

The White Sox were well-secured in first place in August, when the rich, the sports gamblers, and the mob were mixing in Saratoga Springs, even though the World Series was many weeks away.

At Rothstein’s club, The Brook, there would later be testimony that a Chicago gambler and wire service operator, Mont Tennes, was talking about having inside information that the World Series was going to be fixed.

Tennes told wealthy restaurateur and recreational gambler Charles Weeghman, who until recently had owned the Chicago Cubs, that he had heard the rumors from Rothstein himself, and from other gamblers including Nat Evans and Abe Attell.

Weeks later, it would be Attell – a former lightweight boxer turned professional gambler – who made actual contact with the White Sox players.

The players – eight to ten of them – wanted $10,000 each to throw the series. The fix was going to cost $100,000. Only one person in the underworld, Rothstein, had that kind of money, so it made sense that Attell turned to him.

One of the enduring questions is whether Attell turned to Rothstein for the money, or Rothstein was the fix’s mastermind who sent Attell to Chicago.

In any event, the players saw almost none of the promised payoffs. Cicotte was given $1,000 after the Cubs lost the first game, but few if any of the other promised payoffs came through.

Rumors about the series being fixed started almost immediately, and Rothstein was at the center of the rumors. In the end, the Reds won the World Series in eight games (the World Series was a nine-game series at that time.)

What happened is recounted by Glenville, NY, author David Pietrusza in his Rothstein: The Life, Times and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series (2011).

After the series was over Monte Tennes saw Weeghman in a Chicago barbershop, and reminded him of the conversation they’d had earlier in Saratoga Springs.

Weeghman remembered; he would later testify that he just didn’t believe it was possible to fix the World Series.

Eventually, in 1920, there would be a Chicago grand jury investigation. Weeghman testified to what he heard in Saratoga; by then, three players, including Cicotte and Jackson, had made police confessions.

On the advice of his New York City lawyer, Rothstein went before the grand jury, and denied any knowledge of the fix. In the end, eight players were indicted, as were Attell and several other gamblers.

Rothstein wasn’t indicted. By the time the case went to trial, the player confessions and much of the other grand jury testimony had somehow disappeared from the district attorney’s files. The remaining evidence was unpersuasive, and everyone was acquitted.

If the series was fixed, no one was ever held legally responsible.

The Brook, out Church Street, near the corner with West, was the finest and best-known clubs in Saratoga Springs during its brief life. Rothstein knew that the gambling odds always favored the house, and believed running a house that appealed to richest visitors would be best for his business.

The food at The Brook was excellent, but there were no prices listed on the menu; his clientele was meant to be the sort who didn’t need to worry about such things.

Rothstein almost certainly was doing his best to manipulate horse races, including the 1921 Travers, which was won by a Rothstein-owned horse, Sporting Blood.

Arnold Rothstein was murdered in New York City in 1928 at age 46, but his Saratoga legacy lasted decades longer.

The young proteges who worked at The Brook included Dutch Schultz (1901-1935)Lucky Luciano (1897-1962) and Meyer Lansky (1902-1983), the latter of whom went on to run a (by then illegal) gambling house on Woodlawn Avenue, the Chicago Club, for decades, until the 1950s.

Editorial Notes on Upstate New York Crime Syndicates

Arnold Rothstein, Lanksy and his compatriot Bugsy Siegel (1906-1947) took part in pragmatic alliances with the dominate Italian crime syndicates operating in upstate New York.

In 1936, Luciano was convicted for his prostitution racket by the District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey and sentenced to 30-50 years in prison. Thanks to a deal made by Lansky, he was released after providing naval intelligence during the Second World War, and deported to Italy. His body was returned to the United States for burial.

Arnold Rothstein was also a mentor to Frank Costello (1891-1973), boss of Luciano’s crime syndicate . Costello spent several years in prison before retiring in 1957, following an assassination attempt ordered by Vito Genovese (1897-1969).

Rothstein is believed to have been killed over a poker debt in a game he thought was fixed, or possibly by Dutch Schultz in retaliation for the killing of his friend and associate Joey Noe by another Rothstein protege, Jack “Legs” Diamond (1897-1931).

Diamond was murdered in 1931 (probably by Schutlz’s orders) in Albany, NY on the evening of his acquittal in Troy, NY on kidnapping charges.

Dutch Schultz was killed at the Palace Chop House in Newark, New Jersey four years later, in 1935, after disobeying an order not to put a hit on Thomas Dewey.

The invitation with the date stamped in, just in case.

The Program for the Opening Ceremony

A Boarding Pass for Opening Day

I has watched Welfare Island for many years since I was a student working at the Goldwater Hospital in 1967. When I heard the Tram was opening, I walked over from my home at 65th Street on the evening of March 17th, 1967 and took my first ride that day.

Finally, maybe a use?

EPHEMERAL NEW YORK

[Top photo: MCNY, 88.1

.1.528
; second image: Christadora House, M.A.Tricca; third image: Christadora.org via Gotham Center; fourth image: Bain Collection/LOC; fifth image: LOC; sixth image: Daily World; seventh image: MCNY, X2010.29.175; eighth image: NYC Department of Records & Information Services; ninth image: MCNY, 2013.3.1.59; tenth image: NYU Journalism Projects]

Tags: Christina MacColl Christodora HouseChristodora House Early Years NYCChristodora House East Village NYCChristodora House history NYCChristodora House Settlement Houses in NYCChristodora House Tompkins Square Park RiotsThe Story of the Christodora House on Avenue B

Posted in East VillageLower East Side |

ROOSEVELT ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVES
JUDITH BERDY

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

Copyright © 2026 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com

May

18

Monday, May 18, 2026 – Happy 50th Anniversary, Roosevelt Island Tram! 

By admin

Happy 50th Birthday

The invitation with the date stamped in, just in case.

The Program for the Opening Ceremony

A Boarding Pass for Opening Day

I has watched Welfare Island for many years since I was a student working at the Goldwater Hospital in 1967.  When I heard the Tram was opening, I walked over from my home at 65th Street on the evening of March 17th, 1967 and took my first ride that day.

TRAM AT MOTORGATE STORAGE FOR 16 YEARS

Finally, maybe a use?

ROOSEVELT ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVES
JUDITH BERDY

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

Copyright © 2026 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com