#325 The Staten Island Quarantine War

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Tom Meyers

Places & Travel, History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.7 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2020

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

EPISODE 325 In 1858, during two terrible nights of violence in September, the needs of the few outweighed the needs of the many when a community, endangered for decades and ignored by the state, finally reached its breaking point. In Staten Island, near the spot of today’s St. George Ferry Terminal, where thousands board and disembark the Staten Island Ferry everyday, was once America’s largest quarantine station – 30 acres of hospitals, medical facilities, shanties and doctors' homes, surrounded by a six-foot-tall brick wall. Since its construction in the year 1799, Staten Islanders had fought for the removal of the Quarantine Ground, considered a menacing danger to the health of residents and a blight upon any possible development. Yet the need for such an extensive facility at the Narrows -- the gateway to the New York Upper Bay and the Hudson River -- was so important that the state of New York mostly turned a blind eye to their wishes. And so the residents of Staten Island took matters into their own hands. Was this a case of righteous revolution in the service of safety and well-being against a tyrannical state? Or a grave and malicious act of terror? FEATURING: Cornelius Vanderbilt and two American vice presidents. And origins of New York neighborhoods, Tompkinsville, St. George and Bay Ridge, Brooklyn! boweryboyshistory.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello there. This is Greg Young and I'm Tom Myers and we thought that we would just pop in here before
0:07.8	Today show starts with a quick check-in. Yeah, because today marks the seventh week Greg that we have been on this more frequent schedule
0:16.8	That is so crazy although I can't really tell if if that's like a long time or no time
0:23.8	I have like no
0:25.0	Perspective of time right now. Yeah time has become kind of a strange thing these past two months
0:30.8	I'm happy that we've all been able to experience this time warped together
0:35.8	But Tom you've been gone the past few episodes. It's true. Yes. I have disappeared for the last two shows
0:41.4	And I'm actually gone for the one you're about to listen to as well
0:45.0	Yeah, I'm sure people are wondering what you're up to so do have a good excuse for the teacher. I
0:50.9	Teacher I have an eight and a half pound excuse to be precise and she is taking a nap as we speak
0:57.8	I am so happy to announce that my husband and I received a call about two weeks ago
1:04.1	That we'd been selected to adopt a little girl who had just been born and so we are we are so thrilled
1:10.6	We are so tired, but we are so thrilled and delighted and Greg
1:14.8	Thank you for stepping up and in the midst of all of this keeping the show on track
1:19.2	Well, I suppose that's a very good excuse having a newborn and quarantine
1:24.4	So congratulations and we'll actually we'll be discussing this a bit more in the takeout episode that will be recording for our patrons
1:33.4	It will be released this weekend. Yes, and I I'll tell you all about listening to you discuss moving day Greg while I've been changing diapers
1:40.7	I also want to I want to know how things are going over in your neck of the woods in Brooklyn
1:47.3	You we have to fill each other in that's true. Well, and you'll be back on the show of course
1:52.0	Yes, hopefully next week. I'm pulling together our special listener show at home in New York that we talked about for a few episodes
2:00.4	We got so many wonderful submissions, so we really can't wait to share them with you and
2:07.0	So without further ado on with the show
	...

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