66

metropolis and converts one of our great and neglected avenues into a thoroughfare second in importance to none in the country. For as the facilities which are now supplied increase, as they must, by their own onward movement, the entire character of Myrtle avenue must change. Buildings commensurate with the demands of commerce must take the places of the small and antique structure that now line the avenue; land must rise in value and before another five years' period has elapsed we shall find that Brooklyn has in reality three great thoroughfares of which Fulton street will be the greatest only because of its earliest start. For the completion of one part of its system the Union Elevated company deserves the cordial commendation of the public. Its promoters proceeded from the onset in good faith. They have been harassed at every point by the special interests which have kept Brooklyn in a state of bondage since her infancy, but they have gone forward with a singleness of purpose and a degree of courage which kept their opponents busy devising new obstacles to place in their path. Their system

67

may be likened to the introduction into our community of an entirely independent set of vessels through which will flow the new and healthy blood which is destined to develop Brooklyn into a giant city in the near future. Too long the vitalizing processes have been in control of confederated cliques of men whose sole object was not only to enrich themselves, but to take care that nobody else should be enriched.

Progress, development, pride of community - all these were held in abeyance whenever they appeared to threaten the old ring's monopoly, of tribute might cease. They owned the ferries, the banks, the gas, the street railroads and the cemetaries; they had their subsidized newspaper, and they made each contribute to the revenue yielding capacity of the others. So it came about that one could not visit or leave Brooklyn or journey from place to place, or obtain means to conduct business without surrendering something to this ring. One could not even die without raising the price of lots in Greenwood Cemetery and strengthening the grip of these persons on the throat of the community. The

68

[Image of these pages not available due to copyright restrictions]

Bridge dealt them a blow and the elevated railroads accomplished our full emancipation. That this fact is largely appreciated by the public is proved by the popularity of the road. The first train this morning, run on schedule time, was received with cheers along the whole length of the line and nothing that the residents could do to express their satisfaction was wanting. A rapid transit system thus auspiciously undertaken bids fair to be popular and in turn to render good service to the people."

August 12.1969

[New York Times Article: End of myrtle Ave. El Protested by Battista, July 30, 1969]

[Describes Vito P. Battista's protest of the plan to demolish the Myrtle Avenue Line on the grounds that the demolition will create hardship for residents]

Times July 30, 1969

69

[Pasted in typewritten card]

Sometimes of an evening I would go for a solitary promenade. I knew the neighborhood intimately, having lived for a time right opposite the Park (Fort Green park). Only a few blocks away- Myrtle Avenue was the boundary line- the slums commenced. After strolling through the sedate quarters it was a thrill to cross the line, to mingle with Italians, Filipinos, Chinese and other "undesirables". A pungent odor invested the poor quarters: it was compounded of cheese, salami, wine, punk, incense, cork, dried fish skins, spices, coffee, stale horse piss, sweat and bad plumbing. The shops were full of nostalgic wares familiar from childhood. I loved the funeral parlor (the Italian ones especially), the religious shops, the junk shops, the delicatessen stores, the stationery stores. It was like passing from a cool, immaculate mausoleum into the thick of life. The tongues employed had a musical quality, even when it was nothing but an exchange of oaths. People dressed differently, each one in his own crazy fashion. The horse and wagon were still in evidence. Children were everywhere, amusing themselves with that lusty exuberance which only the children of the poor display. There were no longer the stereotyped wooden faces of the born American but racial types, all saturated with character.

Here it was easy to wonder astray; in every direction fascinating detours opened up. At night one walked with dream feet. Everything appeared to be upended, churned, tossed about. Sometimes I found myself winding up at Borough Hall, sometimes in Williamsburg. Always within striking distance where the navy Yard, fantastic Wallabout Market, the sugar refineries, the big bridges, roller mills, grain elevators, foundries, paint factories, tombstone yards, livery stables, glaziers, saddlers, grill works, canneries, fish markets, slaughterhouses, tin factories- a vast conglomeration of workaday horrors over which hung a pall of smoke impregnated with the stench of burning chemicals, rotting flesh, and seared metals.