Allison Wu
Response 3 of 5
Five Points: The 19th Century New York City Neighborhood that Invented up Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World’s Most Notorious Slum by Tyler Anbinder
In Five Points: The 19th Century New York City Neighborhood that Invented up Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World’s Most Notorious Slum by Tyler Anbinder, Anbinder introduces the area of Five Points in the Lower East Side of New York City. Although Five Points no longer exists, it is a five-point intersection of Orange Street (now Baxter St), Cross St, Anthony St (now Worth St), Mulberry St and Little Water Street. Originally, this land was a nice lake full of greenery, called The Collect, but it transformed into a slum over time. Many immigrants, prostitutes and brothels lived at Five Points. Because of the increased population, tenements, where multiple families lived in small apartments, all in one large building, were built to accommodate. However, it was extremely crowded. There was drinking, fighting and sex both in the homes and on the streets from both genders and from both blacks and whites. This area declined so much that many people petitioned for the Common Council to tear the area down due to how dangerous it was. Anbinder writes, “Citizens who might venture from the easy side to shop on Broadway were disinclined to do so because they feared having to pass through five points, while businesses on pearl street to the south and east of five points suffered similarly” (22). Many people made the effort to avoid Five Points to avoid the vice that constantly goes on there.
Anbinder’s book is in relation with the themes of this class because of how ethnicity has shaped Five Points. In the 1830s, many Irish and Catholic immigrants came to New York and lived in Five Points due to the cheap housing that it provided. As these immigrants moved in, native-born Protestants moved out. There were conflicts between the two, which resulted in the natives leaving once the immigrants arrived. Five Points went from an area with predominantly natives to an area with predominantly immigrants, shaping the population of Five Points. The conflict between the two sides truly exploded and was one of the three riots that occurred in Five Points. The natives blamed the Irish while the Irish blamed the natives for starting the fight. Throughout the two days that the riot occurred, many people became involved as supporters joined in to help their own respective side. This riot was so crazy that, “the neighborhood never seemed as close to anarchy” (31). It eventually led to the creation of a nativist political party. Because of the ethnic differences and conflicts between the nativists and the immigrants, it has made Five Points even more violent and dangerous than before. This has shaped Five Points’ reputation on New Yorkers and tourists.
Over time, the Five Points area has transformed for the better. Although it is no longer called Five Points, the land that Five Points occupied is now extremely wealthy. Now, the subway stop closest to Five Points is Chambers Street, which is on the J line. Using the infographic by The New Yorker, one can see that the median household income at Chambers Street is around $135, 573, according to the 2011 Median Household Incomes. This stop on the J line had the highest median household income, compared to the other stops on the J line in Manhattan, including Fulton Street and Delancey Street. From this, one can tell that the Five Points area has transformed greatly over time from one of poverty and slumming to one that houses people with high household incomes.
Questions:
- What caused the transformation that the area of Five Points had from one of summing and poverty to one that houses New Yorkers with high household incomes?
- Does ethnicity shape all neighborhoods?
