Reviews for Five Points: The 19th-Century New York City Neighborhood That Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became The World's Most Notorious Slum

The average rating for Five Points: The 19th-Century New York City Neighborhood That Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became The World's Most Notorious Slum based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-07-15 00:00:00 Kevin Adkins This is a must read for anyone who enjoyed the film "Gangs of New York." Unlike the book of the same name by Herbert Asbury, the author utilized statistics to debunk some of the hyperbole surrounding America's most notorious slum. There were even some fairly well-to-do merchants who chose to remain because they owned businesses there. However, it was still a level of misery few can imagine. The neighborhood became a cesspool around the 1820s when tannery businesses congregated there. Rioting and fighting seemed to be a staple of life. However, the massive overcrowding did not begin until the well-known exodus from Ireland due to the Potato Famine. The poorest refugees congregated in the "Five Points" intersection, which today can be located precisely at Baxter and Worth Streets (although "The Old Brewery" and other streets that gave the intersection its name are now buried under the Federal Courthouse). Following the Civil War Draft Riot (which took place largely outside the Five-Points even though they got most of the blame), Protestant relief efforts and Irish assimilation into mainstream politics combined to diminish the unsavory reputation of the "Bloody 6th" Ward. However this did not last long as Italian and Chinese immigrants replaced the Irish at the bottom of the ladder. Hence, the overcrowding, which was documented by Jacob Riis, began anew. The author points out that while the slumlords were greedy in overcharging their tenants and neglecting their properties, they were not entirely to blame for the overcrowding. Even enlightened landlords who built "model tenements" and charged reasonable rents, saw their properties degenerate within a few years. The unlivable conditions only stopped when the government ended its open door immigration policy in the 1920s.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-05-31 00:00:00 John Falkinburg This book was big when The Gangs of New York movie came out. I picked it up because I am a sucker for 17th-19th NYC history for some reason. It is a fabulous read for a history nerd with a dark side like me.