Month: May 2019

New York is home to the “best of the best” of many things in the world and the hospitals are no exception to this fact. The city boasts a large number of elite and notable hospitals, many of which are located in a region called Bedpan Alley, nicknamed this because of the multitude of medical centers in the neighborhood with a wordplay on hospitals’ use of bedpans. From 60th Street to 72nd Street and from First Avenue to Franklin Roosevelt Drive, these 20 blocks hosts a number of well-renowned hospitals. Some of such hospitals include Sloan Memorial Kettering Cancer Center, Hospital for Special Surgery, Bellevue Hospital, and many more. Take a walk around this part of town and you’ll find yourself surrounded by hospital staff running around in their scrubs, more patients in wheelchairs than babies in strollers, trashcans filled with latex medical gloves and constantly enveloped in the sound of ambulance sirens. 

This has been the standard for many of the residents in Bedpan Alley and something that they have grown accustomed to. In an interview with New York Times, Judi Squire, who has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, stated that “It was honestly never a big part of my life” and that although there was an abundance of ambulances and hospital staff in the neighborhood, it never encroached on the lives of those who lived there. However, as hospitals begin to grow more successful, they’ve also grown more ambitious. With the years passing by, hospitals have begun to expand their buildings little by little and occupy more of the neighborhood, pushing out residents, small businesses and workers who were already in the area. As hospitals continue to pop up around the neighborhood, apartment buildings and residential areas are being forced to evacuate so the grounds could be demolished and left vacant for a hospital to occupy. A New York Times article from 1972 reveals a time in Bedpan Alley history when residents joined together to protest the expansions of the hospitals. The expansion plans in 1972 would have led to the eviction of over 5,000 tenants in the area however, the protests were successful and led many hospitals to cancel such plans, allowing people to continue living in their homes.

Residents have not always been this lucky. More recently in 2006, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center unveiled its 23 stories high research center on 68th Street between First and York Avenue. This “monstrosity”, as some residents called it, directly invaded the residential areas of Bedpan Alley and was only the first of many to follow. Unsuccessful in stopping the expansion, First Avenue found itself in a slew of recently evacuated residential buildings and the closing of many locally owned businesses. Squire, who once had no issue with the hospitals in the neighborhood, watched restaurants, small businesses, and the barbershop, in which her brother was a customer for 20 years, close because of these expansions.

There was once a time when people had little to no access to hospitals and their services or cures to illnesses that plagued many lives. Since then, as science advances and our knowledge grows, we’ve seen the creation and increase in hospitals, research centers, medical schools, specialized treatment centers, and many others with the sole purpose of being able to heal and change the lives of patients. We have access to all this in Bedpan Alley alone, with multiple choices all within a 20 block radius and access to hospitals that specialize in all fields of medicine from cancer to orthopedics. However, despite this growth, hospitals lose their purpose of being there to aid those in need if they’re displacing those who were already there.

The stress and the strain that being evicted and losing your job brings into a persons life is unquantifiable and affects one’s mental and physical health. Poor mental health has been proven to affect your physical health, making one more susceptible and at risk for illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease, to name a few. Not only does it make one more vulnerable to illnesses, but it also limits a person’s access to good health care. Someone who has just lost their job or home is not likely to be able to afford proper medical care, further deteriorating their health. When thinking of a hospital, one imagines a place of healing and health. Bedpan Alley boasts some of the best, top-notch hospitals in the world but on its way to the top, it did the opposite of what it was supposed to. These hospitals and medical centers in all their ambition to expand have lost sight of their purpose through the displacements of residents and workers in the area, negatively impacting the health of the public and abandoning its own philosophy and reason for being. 

Works Cited:

By, RALPH B. “Neighbors Fight Hospitals’ Expansion.” New York Times (1923-Current file), Jan 24, 1972, pp. 35. ProQuest, https://remote.baruch.cuny.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/docview/119299252?accountid=8500.

C., Noel Y. “‘Bedpan Alley.’” NYC ♥ NYC, 1 Jan. 1970, nyclovesnyc.blogspot.com/2013/01/bedpan-alley.html.   

“Chronic Illness & Mental Health.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/chronic-illness-mental-health/index.shtml.

Gray, Christopher. “STREETSCAPES/First Avenue: A Stroll Along Bedpan Alley.” New York Times (1923-Current file), Jun 06, 2010, pp. 1. ProQuest, https://remote.baruch.cuny.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/docview/1461120555?accountid=8500.

Hawkins, Andrew J. “The Battle of Bedpan Alley.” Crain’s New York Business, 25 Oct. 2013, www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20131027/HEALTH_CARE/310279984/yorkville-the-battle-of-bedpan-alley.

Rasenberger, Jim. “HOSPITAL LAND: DESPITE WORLD-CLASS IMPORTANCE AND DEEP LOCAL ROOTS, A RECENT GROWTH SPURT IN ‘BEDPAN ALLEY’ RANKLES MANY RESIDENTS.” New York Times (1923-Current file), Jan 29, 2006, pp. 2. ProQuest, https://remote.baruch.cuny.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/docview/93278479?accountid=8500.

 

Established in 1971, the Northern Dispensary in Greenwich Village provided medical care for the poor. This was an alternative to hospital admission, so people would not be taken from their jobs or families for too long. Though it began with great intentions, the Northern Dispensary is currently wasting away due to the restrictions put in place by the city.

This non-profit public clinic first rented quarters in a myriad of locations until 1831. They were then given a location by New York City on the condition that the site remain a dispensary. The dispensary was a massive success. In 1886 over 13,000 patients were admitted and 20,245 prescriptions were written. By 1920, the dispensary’s number of patients declined to less than 5,000. In the annual report of that year, the board reestablished their mission by stating “We treat anybody and everybody who is sick and poor; if they can’t come to us we go to them, just the same as your doctor goes to you [3].”

The dispensary’s quantity of patients remained low over the next twenty years. In 1940, half of the patients at the Northern Dispensary came in for dental work.  This spike of popularity in dental work and the dispensary later led to the change in the dispensary’s sole mission. Originally for the poor and ill, the dispensary transformed into a place for solely dental work [3].

Though the dispensary transformed itself, it continued to struggle financially [4]. In 1986, at the height of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (widely known today as AIDS) epidemic, George Whitmore went to get dental work done at the dispensary. While he was at the clinic, he mentioned to the doctor that he had AIDS so the dentist can be careful with his teeth, as his immune system takes a longer time to recover. In a telephone interview with the New York Times, Whitmore stated that the dentist discussed with his colleagues then told Whitmore that “it was not their policy to treat people with AIDS [2].”

Whitmore, a freelance writer, corresponded with the city’s Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission sued the dispensary and Whitmore was rewarded $20,120 (1988). Whitmore went on to spend the remainder of his life writing a myriad of works discussing AIDS patients’ profiles and how you should speak to those with the condition [1]. Another patient, David Whittacre, was refused dental care from the dispensary on account that he had HIV, gained $26,647 from the lawsuit [2]Following these financial losses, the Northern Dispensary closed their doors in 1989 [1].

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York took over the building and planned to reopen the former dispensary as a clinic for HIV patients. The idea was to take fifteen rooms and fill each room with one patient. This plan was faced with some protest due to its exclusivity. With thousands of HIV and AIDS patients in New York, housing fifteen will not provide much relief. The Northern Dispensary is not such a small space that it can only hold fifteen people. Therefore, many wanted The Northern Dispensary to serve as many people as possible. Kenneth Ranftle, member of the Coalition for the Northern dispensary, would rather the dispensary be transformed into a dental clinic for HIV patients or a women’s health center.

Ranftle noted that the fifteen patients who would be occupying the dispensary would be given leases to their rooms. This would “convert a public mission into a private purpose.” Therefore, the city can choose to disapprove of the conversion. A spokesman for the Archdiocese, Joseph Zwilling stated that they “don’t anticipate it being a big deal [3].”

The plans for the dispensary were never brought to life. Instead, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York sold the Northern Dispensary for $750,000 to Mr. Gottlieb in 1998. Mr. Gottlieb did not flip properties. He was rather known for buying properties and allowing them to languish. Due to the restrictions placed on the Northern Dispensary by the city, there are not many legal uses for the property. The dispensary was one of the last properties bought by Mr. Gottlieb, as he passed away in 1999. Today, his nephew, Neil Bender has control over the property as well as Gottlieb’s real estate company. The company must work to determine the definition of the restrictions and figure out what to do with this property. Experimenting by planning and placing a profitable business in the former dispensary can likely end in a lawsuit.

The Northern Dispensary is located in a prime real estate location and has yet to be put into use. The building has been closed and uncared for for thirty years with the exception of a roof repair in 2013 [4]. This historically significant building continues to have no known plans for the future.

Citations:

1. Susan Heller Anderson, “George Whitmore, 43, an Author Who Wrote on the Impact of AIDS,” The New York Times, April 20, 1989 https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/20/obituaries/george-whitmore-43-an-author-who-wrote-on-the-impact-of-aids.html

 

2. The Associated Press, “A Dental Clinic is Fined 47,000 for Refusing to Treat AIDS Cases” The New York Times, September 29, 1988 https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/29/nyregion/a-dental-clinic-is-fined-47000-for-refusing-to-treat-aids-cases.html

 

3. Christopher Gray, “Streetscapes/ The Northern Dispensary; Plan to House Homeless With AIDS Stirs A Protest” The New York Times, October 10, 1993 https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/10/realestate/streetscapes-northern-dispensary-plan-house-homeless-with-aids-stirs-protest.html

 

4. Elizabeth A. Harris, “At High-Priced Corner, a Building Forlorn” The New York Times, March 25, 2013 https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/nyregion/former-village-dispensary-must-untangle-restrictions.html

 

Bradley Ng

Prof. Jones

His 3450

05/13/19

 

Alevy v. Downstate Med Center

 

Approximately 50 or so odd years ago, if one were to seek medical attention from a trained doctor in the U.S.A, a Caucasian male would more than likely be the one tending to your needs. Nowadays, the cultural, gender, and ethnic backgrounds of medically trained professionals are much more diverse comparatively speaking. This ‘opening of the gate’ for minorities in the medical field can be attributed to the rise of affirmative action policies in medical schools following the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Despite their noble intention to make the medical field more inclusive, these affirmative action policies received resistance. It can be argued that affirmative action, preferential treatment based on race and/or sex, violates the very foundation of what it means to be equal. In this case, we will be discussing Alevy v. Downstate Med Center and its place in the treatment of minorities in medical education.

Prior to the 1840s, the formal medical field was strictly limited to Caucasian men. In October 1847, Elizabeth Black was accepted Geneva Medical School in New York; however, due to her unique nature of being female, her enrollment process called for a special condition.  Elizabeth was only allowed to enroll as a student if all 150 of the male students unanimously agreed on her acceptance. All 150 of the male students jokingly voted yes on her enrollment, unaware that they had all unknowingly made history for a quick laugh. Thus, in 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell became the first formally trained doctor in the United States. In the case of African Americans in the medical profession, the obscure David J. Peck became the first African American to graduate from a medical school (Rush Medical College, IL) and earn a medical degree just two years prior in 1847. While both David J. Peck and Elizabeth Blackwell have different ethnic and gender backgrounds, their achievements set a precedent for minorities in a field dominated by Caucasian males.

As we shift our perspective to the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement has made meaningful progress with the ratification of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In short, the act outlaws segregation in public places and employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Come 1974, Martin C. Alevy, an honor graduate of Brooklyn College, was applying for admission to the 1974-1975 class of Downstate Medical Center, a publicly funded school located in Brooklyn, NY. Alevy performed exceptionally well in the admissions process; however, his efforts only granted him a spot on the class’s second waiting list.  In a case that is now known as Alevy v. Downstate Med Center (1976), Martin C. Alevy believes he is a victim of reverse discrimination in the admission process. Alevy argued that Black and Puerto Rican applicants had a 12% higher chance over other applicants of being accepted for an admissions interview. Furthermore, Dr.Parnell, the Admissions Committee Chairman, stated that Alevy scored well above the average for the accepted minorities on the Medical College Application Test (MCAT) and that he would have more than likely been accepted if he were a minority. The court ruled that in circumstances in which a ‘special’ interest underlies policy, namely affirmative action, reverse discrimination is constitutional.

The ruling of Alevy v. Downstate Med Center (1976) gave minorities the push they needed to make headway into the Caucasian male-dominated medical field. Preceding the similar landmark case of Regents of the Univ. of Cal. v. Bakke (1978) on affirmative action, Alevy v. Downstate Med Center granted legal precedence to affirmative action. Nevertheless, it can be argued that the precedence set by Alevy v. Downstate Med Center has needlessly injected racial politics in the medical field. It can be argued that affirmative action policies will divide the medical community along racial lines. It is possible that minorities, with the aid of affirmative action policies, will undermine the incentives to improve for those not supported by said policies. Furthermore, racial groups granted preferential treatment due to affirmative action policies may be seen as inferior to their non-policy supported counterparts. Lastly, the implementation of affirmative action policies opens ‘pandora’s box’ for preferential treatment. How is one to determine the criteria to be considered a minority? What minority groups should receive preferential treatment? Regardless of the potential consequences that may arise from affirmative action policies, according to statistics from 2013, 48.9% of all practicing doctors in the United States are Caucasian, 65% of which are men. If anything, Alevy v. Downstate Med Center has encouraged more minorities that may not be well represented in the medical field to pursue a career in the medical profession.

Works Cited

Court of Appeals of the State of New York. Alevy v. Downstate Med Center. 8 Apr. 1976.

Ashman, Allan. “What’s New in the Law.” American Bar Association Journal, vol. 62, no. 11, Nov. 1976, pp. 1490–1494.

“Section II: Current Status of the U.S. Physician Workforce.” AAMC Interactive Report Section II Current Status of the US Physician Workforce Comments, www.aamcdiversityfactsandfigures.org/section-ii-current-status-of-us-physician-workforce/index.html.

Richard Rudman

Doctor Jones

History 3450

5/16/19

The Polio Epidemic of 1916

The year is 1916 and you just woke up to your child struggling to breathe. He or she is just an infant so they try crying to alert you but it is too late. This unfortunate reality was the case for many Americans during the summer of 1916 when the polio outbreak occurred. According to the “History of Vaccines” website, more than 2,000 people would die in New York City alone in the 1916 epidemic. (HistoryofVaccines). Due to the spreading of the disease, polio would take the lives of about 6,000 people and leaving thousands more paralyzed. This epidemic would turn out to be one of the most fatal events to happen to the country and epically New York.

To understand how severe this epidemic was, I will discuss the side effects and who it effects mostly. The full name of the virus is poliomyelitis or infantile paralysis. As hinted in the name, mostly children and infants were effected by polio during this time period and would cause parents to forbid their children from going outside and during the hottest days cities would close theatres, schools, and stores would due to fear of the virus. According to the New York State Department of Health website “Polio is a viral disease which may affect the spinal cord causing muscle weakness and paralysis… enters the body through the mouth, usually from hands contaminated with the stool of an infected person. Polio is more common in infants and young children and occurs under conditions of poor hygiene.” (Department of Health).  At a time where New York was still figuring out how the sanitation department was going to implement its procedures and other cleanly matters were being discussed, this virus was able to run rampant.

To understand how much this virus effected children and infants we can look back to the “History of Vaccines” website I discussed earlier. The website provide a “NYC Polio Epidemic Graph” which is provided by the “Historical Medical Library of the College of Physicians” (Figure 1). In this graph we can see that the total deaths in 1916 from poliomyelitis deaths was 1922 of all ages. The biggest group that was effected was children of 1 year old at 402 or almost a fifth of this population. To compare o older groups the total of 5-9 year olds was 321 while the next section of ages which was 10-14 year olds was only 54. As the ages increased the number of deaths decreased dramatically making it evident why parents at the time went to extreme lengths to protect their children.

Although this epidemic ended as quickly as it started, what doctors could do to help was limited. In the “History of Vaccines” website we can see doctors and nurses providing massage therapy for children. In one picture in particular which is captioned “Trained Masseuse treating a Paralyzed Leg.” We can see a child of no more than 5 years old having her left leg massaged. The child looks sad as she looks at the camera and the masseuse has a worried look on her face. (Figure 2). Another picture on the same page of the website titled “These polo patients all suffered eye paralysis” of 8 children no older than the age of 5 is shown. These children are either sitting in rocking chairs due to the paralysis of their legs along with their eyes or are sitting as doctors or nurses are in the back treating other patients. There were many cases similar to the one depicted in the picture. One that stands out to me is that of Debby Warner Anderson.

Anderson is the owner of the blog titled “Debby’s family genealogy blog” which she provides the history about her family in relation to the polio epidemic during this time period. She provides primary source documents about the epidemic such as a polio quarantine card which was posted on houses warning people to keep away. One of these sources that I will focus on is a newspaper article from the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” which was published on July 14^th of 1916. The title of the article is “Advice to Mothers for Safeguarding Children-Health Dept. Suggestions”. This article suggests for parents to primarily be clean and to be weary of who they associate with. The article goes as far as to say “Don’t have children’s parties” which speaks to how fatal this virus was. (Anderson, figure 3) The article ends with a dark reminder that “there is no proprietary remedy for infantile paralysis.”

To this date there is still no cure for polio. According to the “Polio eradication” site they describe that there is no cure but there are safe and effective vaccines. (Polio Prevention) Unfortunately, there are still 200,00 new cases every year that include children as old as a few months to senior citizens. Based on the knowledge we have, hopefully one day we can find a cure so that people of all ages don’t have to lose the ability to walk or worse.

 

Works Cited

Anderson, Debby Warner. “Polio Epidemic of 1916 in Brooklyn, NY.” Polio Epidemic of

1916 in Brooklyn, NY., 1 Jan. 1970, debbysfamilygenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2017/02/polio-epidemic-of-1916-in-brooklyn-ny.html.

“Department of Health.” Poliomyelitis (Infantile Paralysis, Polio),
www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/poliomyelitis/fact_sheet.htm.

“NYC Polio Epidemic Graph.” New York City Polio Epidemic | History of Vaccines, www.historyofvaccines.org/content/new-york-city-polio-epidemic.

“Polio Prevention.” GPEI, polioeradication.org/polio-today/polio-prevention/.

 

Appendix

Figure 1: Poliomyelteic Deaths in the City of New York

Figure 2: A polio patient being massaged

Figure 3: Article posted in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle Newspaper from July 1916

William Sixsmith

Professor Kelly Jones

HIS 3450: Health Care in America

May 16^th, 2019

Final Paper

When you think of Randall’s Island the first thing that would come to one’s mind would be its unique landscape and spacious property where many high school and college students would enjoy music festivals like Global Citizens Festival, Panorama, and Electric Zoo. With no residents or apartment buildings located in this area, Randall’s Island has been a spinning image of all the good that comes outdoor recreational parks for the New York citizens. However what people don’t know is its dark past of Wards Island. This strip of land is located in Randall’s Island but is divided by a channel of water that was known as “The Little Hell Gate Channel”.  Back in the 19^th and part of the 20^th century, Wards Island was home to the Manhattan Psychiatric Center and several other institutions that were responsible for the care and watch of New York City’s outcast and villains. The center took the responsible of caring for New York City’s criminals, terminally ill individuals, and the mentally unstable. Based on the idea of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York, the patients were to remain on this strip of island and remain there a body of water preventing them from escaping and returning to civilization. The psychiatric is just \the tip of the iceberg compared to the rest of the endeavors that they established when functional. In essence, Randall’s and Wards Island served as a horrific significant of everything improper and inhumane with the treatment and served an image of how not to run a psychiatric center but still has a purpose towards an island as a whole.

 

 

 

 

There are many reasons to why this location matters to the medicine sector, but it’s how they treated their patients that set them apart from everything else. In 1854, Wards Island established the House of Refuge which housed criminals and street urchins by the hundreds, and both groups were largely comprised of Irish teenage boys. The children spent four hours a day in religious and secular classes, and six and a half hours caning chairs and making shoes for outside contractors. Children who misbehaved were hung up by their thumbs. In 1887, business finally forced the state to stop using House of Refuge inmates as workers (perhaps because the streets of New York were already flooded with cheap immigrant labor) and conditions improved slightly, though there were still reports of inhuman treatment by drunken officers and armed revolts by the boy.[1] The dark past of the island continues to haunt them outside the brutal memories that were left at this refuge house. The Island was also home to a refuge for the smallpox outbreak centuries ago. Once the outbreak began, the island first started to go downhill in 1776 when George Washington declared it a quarantine area for those infected with smallpox.[2] On top of the bodies that were dumped into the East River during this time period, Wards Island also became a burial ground for over 100,000 bodies that were transferred from Madison Square Park and Bryant Park in end of the 19^th century. During this time period, Ward’s Island was merely being considered as a drop off station for the dead, sick, and criminally insane with no way of returning to a normal lifestyle.

Although these Islands dark history is something that has always been a topic of conversation, the two islands are holding a purpose for the city that can be commemorated. For some time now, Randall’s Island is responsible for the training program for the FDNY. The Island’s training program, is responsible for formulating and conducting all formal fire suppression training programs within the Department. Randall’s Island, chosen because of its central location to the East River, is surrounded by the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. The numerous training facilities include state of the art audio-visual technology, a Distance Learning Center, buildings that simulate similar dwellings found in the city (tenements, brownstones, commercial buildings), field house, burn building, and propane-fueled automobile fire simulator.[3] The Island is now also responsible for the sewage system for New York City and more. Ward is home to a major sewage treatment center, which takes up about a quarter of the island, and several homeless shelters, some of which are “emergency” shelters that have nevertheless been there for decades.[4] The Islands dark history can still haunt them as they are still home to two functional asylums today, but the Islands serves a growing purpose to the function of the city that will only grow more as time goes on.

The past of the two islands would bring concern to anyone if they’ve lived through the amount of pain that the refuge and psychiatric houses produced, but it’s a new day to commemorate what they’ve done for the city as of late. Stabilizing a quarter of our cities sewage line, emergency homeless shelters, and a Fire Department Training facility are enough examples to see the growth of the two islands since their rocky beginning. The island’s taken in the responsibility for the city with sewage center and the proper care of the homeless shelter to those less fortunate give them the opportunity for making up for their past mistakes. Only time will tell what Randall’s and Wards Island does next to further benefit our city.

 

References:

[1] Lovejoy, Bess. “Islands of the Undesirables: Randall’s Island and Wards Island”. Atlas Obscura. June 2, 2015.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/islands-of-the-undesirables-randall-s-island-and-wards-island

[2] Childers, Elena. “The Dark Story of Randall’s Island”. BTRToday. May 15, 2016.

https://www.btrtoday.com/read/sunday-island-week/

 

[3] National College Credit Recommendation Service. “New York City Fire Department”. The University of the State of New York.

http://www.nationalccrs.org/organizations/new-york-city-fire-department

[4] Lovejoy, Bess. “Islands of the Undesirables: Randall’s Island and Wards Island”. Atlas Obscura. June 2, 2015.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/islands-of-the-undesirables-randall-s-island-and-wards-island

The New York Hydropathic and Physiological School, was opened in 1853, and is a groundbreaking institution for it was the first medical school to approach the challenges of medicine from a holistic and natural perspective.

Firstly, this medical school was the first of its kind to place emphasis on patients overall living conditions and healthy diet as a focal point in order to achieve optimum health and wellness.  The school’s founder, Dr. Russell Thatcher Trall, was a very open minded and progressive doctor for the time—admitting over 50% of females into his first doctoral class.  At a time when doctors were relying heavily on faith, unbalanced humours, and “noxious spirits”; Dr.Trall discovered that the traditional route that Western medicine was taking was that of synthetic treatments.  These treatments almost always treated symptoms without acknowledging their underlying causes.  A good example of this being Mrs. Winslow’s “soothing syrup”, a concoction of several mind-altering substances, (namely morphine and cocaine), which was accepted as a natural cure-all remedy.  Toothache?  Narcotics will do the trick.  Upset stomach?  Nothing some “soothing syrup” can’t handle.

Dr. Trall heavily refuted this approach to medicine; as such he opted to explore new medical treatments and therapies that were unknown to the vast majority of medical practitioners at the time—namely due to class and sex divisions that separated society into separate spheres.  Thus, The New York Hydropathic and Physiological School earned its reputation as a bastion of free-thought and progressive attitude as it pertained to science and medicine—another testament as to the site’s significance.

As time progressed a groundbreaking discovery occurred in the field of medicine—the discovery of Hydropathic treatments, and mainly Veganism, as a means of helping patients heal and cope with all sorts of ailments.  Dr. Trall himself authored more than one cookbook featuring healthy vegan recipes.  The cookbooks were more than just recipes but rather prescriptions of sorts.  Different recipes corresponded to different ailments and thus Dr.Trall is looked backed on as the godfather of the modern Vegan approach to healthy living.

Hydropathic medicine is still a blossoming field of medicine, (which paved the way for medical fields that led to the study of Osteopathic medicine and Physical Therapy), and is used as a therapeutic means for people suffering from arthritis, strokes, nerve damage, neurological diseases, and in today’s day and age—a range of psychiatric treatments for patients suffering from PTSD and general anxiety disorder.

This was a monumental achievement in the world of medicine due to the fact, that in earlier times, after a patient was discharged from the direct care of a physician/hospital they were sent home to fend for themselves—without follow ups, therapy of any sort, or further preventative care.  As scientific data has proven, a significant amount of patients who were admitted to hospitals [at the time] ended up returning for the same or worsened conditions; (in today’s day and age this is less common due to technological advances as well as liability issues holding doctors more accountable for patient sickness relapse.)

While the NYHP School’s discovery of hydrotherapy was groundbreaking due to its ability to treat inflammation and joint pain, the unintended consequences were even more profound.  Hydrotherapy opened-up an entirely new basket of “natural” treatments—that in Eastern and African parts of the world had already been used, however due to the patriarchal “gentlemanly” dominated field of medicine in the US at the time, such breakthroughs did not occur.  Therefore, in the field of physical therapy, and nutrition there was seriously lag in The United States.  Once patients began receiving post-trauma care it became clear that it wasn’t just up to one single doctor to determine the positive outcome of a patients prognosis but rather a holistic approach to medicine and health—the same approach that became extremely popular in the US just a century later; and even more so in our current time due to the advent of social media and aggressive marketing and branding aimed at fitness “influencers” and models etc.

Today at 15 Laight Street, the original location of the New York Hydropathic and Physiological School, is the same building that was once a medical school—only now it is office space; and under construction.  While the external facade of the building does not give any indication as to the building’s history, the many signs advertising medical offices on its exterior remind the passerby that although real estate can change, some societal needs wont.

Overall The New York Hydropathic and Physiological School was more than just a former medical school, it was the first to emphasize things such as “…rhetoric, drawing, music, dietetics, and calisthenics” as a focal point to human health.  It revolutionized the entire Western way of medicine in the United States, and even in today’s day and age this approach to medicine is irrefutably strong; This is exactly why this site has so much significance in our contemporary times.

citations

TRALL, R. T. (1853, 08). NEW YORK HYDROPATHIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL SCHOOL.Water – Cure Journal (1845-1861), 16, 45. Retrieved from https://remote.baruch.cuny.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/docview/91180942?accountid=8500

NEW YORK HYDROPATHIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL SCHOOL. (1853, 09). Water – Cure Journal (1845-1861), 16, 64. Retrieved from https://remote.baruch.cuny.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/docview/91200393?accountid=8500

“Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D. Hobart and William Smith Colleges.” Hobart and William Smith Colleges, www.hws.edu/about/blackwell/articles/nyc.aspx.

https://amhistory.si.edu/archives/AC0060_physicalculture.pdf

“Russell Trall.” Russell Trall – Health Facts, www.ndhealthfacts.org/wiki/Russell_Trall. (AUGUST, 2012)

( https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-d39c-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99-advertisement picture)

In many ways, Green-wood Cemetery embodies all that is great in New York City. In 1776, the Battle of Long Island was fought on what are now the many green valleys of Green-Wood Cemetery. It was also one of the first rural cemeteries established in the United States and has since become a must visit with over 500,000 visitors a year. Although many cannot imagine how a cemetery could be beautiful, the 478 acres of gorgeous hills, valleys, monuments, and mausoleums will surely make you reconsider the beauty of one of New York’s finest gems. People visit this beautiful cemetery to pay tribute to the many famous people buried within its confines such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Horace Greeley, Leonard Bernstein, Boss Tweed, Peter Cooper, Samuel F.B. Morse, William Livingston, and many others. Many of the grave robbing’s that occurred during the era evaded Green-wood cemetery, making it one of the most historic and incredible places in New York and the United States.

Surprisingly, Green-Wood was untouched by the grave robbing scandals of the 18^th century. In 1847, many were concerned about the lack of supply of corpses, used to train doctors. The shortage, according to Oshinksy, fell hardest on the two best medical schools at the time, Columbia and New York University, and threatened to hinder the prospects of another medical school popping up, Bellevue. The need for cadavers left many hospitals searching for alternatives. There was a sharp increase in grave robbing, leaving many hospital officials asking for a way to get access to more resources. This led to New York University’s physician, John Draper, to lobby “the state legislature to increase the supply of fresh corpses to medical schools.” (p.g 67) In 1854, he got what wished for with the passing of the “Act to Promote Medical Science and Protect Burial Grounds” or what some opponents called it “the Bone Bill.” The new law allowed corpses to be taken from prisons and almshouses, adding to the existing category of executed criminals. Despite, the many opponents to the bill, grave robbing dropped significantly in the years to come, which gave medical schools the resources they so desired. The other famous cemeteries at the time, like Trinity Church, Washington Square Park, and numerous others felt the impact of grave robbing, something Green-Wood did not.

You might be thinking, so what is the importance of this precious cemetery you want to describe. Well, if you walk through those incredible Gothic entrance gates, you cannot help but feel like you are walking into something very special. As you walk up and down the many hills and valleys in the cemetery, you will see the gorgeous Green-Wood Chapel, which was built in 1911. If you ever read Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow or 1776 by David McCullough, your mind will inevitably wander and you will begin to picture red coats firing their muskets at George Washington’s men at the Battle of Long Island. Below is a photo, of the battle of Long Island reenactment organized by the Green-Wood historical society:

New York City’s cemeteries were plagued by grave robbing throughout the 19^th century, but Green-Wood managed to escape this terrible fate. If anything, Green-Wood has gone out of its way to help identify and honor the many unidentified soldiers from the Civil War buried in the cemetery. They helped establish the Historic Fund’s Civil War Project, which helps identify the many soldiers that lost their lives fighting during the Civil War. This has been a difficult task to achieve because many graves have been damaged or sunk into the soil. Green-Wood has historically avoided any damage to the cemetery as well, aside from one incident that occurred in the 21^st century. This project among others has contributed to the charm and the attraction of Green-Wood Cemetery.

Some of the most interesting figures in New York’s history are buried in Green-Wood Cemetery. If you wish to buy a plot for one yourself, it will cost you $17,000 today, which limits it to some well off people. If you do not wish to be buried there, you can always come and visit some of the incredible figures of history buried throughout the cemetery. Many come and pay their respects to famous 20th-century artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and legendary composer Leonard Bernstein. If you are a history buff, like me, you can see the creator of the Morse code, Samuel F.B. Morse or William Livingston, signer of the constitution and the first Governor of New Jersey.

I urge all of you to go visit this incredible landmark of Brooklyn and New York, trust me you will not regret it.

Bibliography

“About / History | Green-Wood.” n.d. Accessed May 15, 2019. https://www.green-wood.com/about-history/.

Moylan, Richard J. “Green-Wood Cemetery” in Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. (2010), The Encyclopedia of New York City(2nd ed.), New Haven: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-11465-2, pp. 557-58

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

 

 

“About / History | Green-Wood.” n.d. Accessed May 15, 2019. https://www.green-wood.com/about-history/.

 

Moylan, Richard J. “Green-Wood Cemetery” in Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. (2010), The Encyclopedia of New York City(2nd ed.), New Haven: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-11465-2, pp. 557-58

 

“The poor, century-behind-the-times public officials of this country might as well forget their moss-grown statutes and accept birth control as an established fact. …. birth control propaganda if it were carried out in a safe and sane manner, cannot sympathize with nor countenance the methods I have followed in my attempt to arouse the working women to the fact that bringing a child into the world is the greatest responsibility.’’

– Margaret Sanger, October 22, 1916 

 

Margaret Sanger wrote about one of most important problem of her time. Prohibition for women to plan how many children they want have. Indeed, until the second decade of the twentieth century, women had little choice but to bear as many children as they conceived. Victims of rape, incest victims, prostitutes, unmarried women who have sex, and even married women who didn’t want to have more children – all of them had no safe, easily accessible, or medical reliable ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Women who used contraception were considered as amoral. According to the 1900 census, Maternal mortality was 99% higher than it is today; 40% of those deaths were caused by infection, half of those from self-induced abortion. At that time birth control was illegal for two reasons. First, Catholic doctrine expressly forbade the use of contraception. Secondary, because of Anthony Comstock, who formed the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice and had declared birth prevention, and distribution of birth control as immoral and obscene. These laws ensured that the practice of “birth control”, would remain dangerously uninformed and largely unobtainable, especially for people with low income.

Exactly at this time, Margaret Sanger established the clinic in the United States that become an incubator for the birth control movement. Margaret Sanger was an American activist, sex teacher, nurse and writer whose idea that women should live full, healthy lives and satisfy their dreams has changed the world.  In the United States, she popularized the term “birth control,” opened the first birth control clinic and created organizations that have become the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. [2] She had a revolutionary idea that women should control their own body – and, therefore, their own destiny. Sanger grew up in an Irish family of 11 children in Corning, New York.[3] Her mother’s story, who lost her health from many pregnancies, including 7 miscarriages, inspired Sanger to travel to Europe and learn birth control. At this time, birth control education was illegal in the United States. On return home, she planned to open a birth control clinic modeled on the world’s first such clinic, which she had visited in Amsterdam. In 1916, during her speaking tour, Sanger promoted birth control clinics based on the Dutch model she had observed during her 1914 trip to Europe. Although she inspired many local communities to create birth control leagues, no clinics were established.[4] Sanger therefore resolved to create a birth control clinic in New York that would provide free contraceptive services to women.[4] New York state law prohibited the distribution of contraceptives or even contraceptive information, but Sanger hoped to exploit a provision in the law which permitted doctors to prescribe contraceptives for the prevention of disease.[4]

On October 16, 1916, she, partnering with Fania Mindell and Ethel Byrne, opened the Brownsville clinic in Brooklyn, staffed by only female. Sanger’s clinic was located in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn—a densely populated, impoverished area. Population who lived in Brownsville were primarily working-class immigrants, a socioeconomic group that, in Sanger’s eyes, was most in need of access to birth control.

To advertise the clinic’s services, Sanger produced trilingual leaflets written in English, Yiddish, and Italian, in which were told: “Mothers! Can you afford to have a large family? Do you want any more children? If not, why do you have them? Do not kill, do not take life, but Prevent. Safe, Harmless Information can be obtained of trained Nurses at 46 Amboy Street…”[ 4] Her efforts were successful. The clinic was an immediate success. The women lined up to receive birth control information and advice from Sanger, Byrne and Mindell. On its opening day, 140 women visited the clinic. For the nine days, while it remained open, the clinic had a total of 450 visitors, and many of the women seen offered testimonials

One mother shared:

“This is the kind of place we have been wanting all the time. I have had seven children, two are dead, and my husband is a sick man. Do you know how I got bread for them? By getting down on my knees and scrubbing floors for the baker; that’s what I did when we couldn’t pay the bill. Seven children…that’s enough for any woman.”

—New York Tribune, 20 October 1916

Despite excellent reviews, in nine days Sanger was arrested and clinic was shut down. During the arrest of Sanger, Byrne, and Mindell, the three women resisted, creating a scene to publicly expose their violation of the law. In the trials that followed, Sanger obtained the platform she had been seeking.

“I absolutely believe she was doing it as a statement to violate the law and get herself arrested,” said the activist’s grandson and former president of Planned Parenthood of New York City, Alexander Sanger.

“She knew to change the law she had to break it.”

Her subsequent trial and appeal caused controversy. Sanger believed that in order for women to have more equal rights in society and lead a healthier lifestyle, they need to be able to determine when to have children. She also wanted to prevent so-called abortions from behind, [6] which were common at the time, because abortions were illegal in the United States [6]. Mothers unwilling to face another pregnancy or unable to support another child, resorted to back alley abortions, relied on charlatans, or used ineffective and often dangerous home remedies. The consequences often were, tragic. Sanger and most of her colleagues mentioned the physical danger and moral undesirability of abortion in their efforts to educate the public about the reasonableness of preventing unwanted pregnancies rather than either terminating them or allowing women to bring unwanted children.  According Sanger’s point of view, although abortion sometimes was justified, but it should usually be avoided.   She tends to treat abortion, infanticide, and excessively large families as tragedies that can be prevented by using reliable, safe, and convenient contraception. Sanger was sure that contraception is the only practical way to avoid it.

January 2, 1923, four years after the New York Court of Appeals opened the doors for physicians to prescribe contraceptives, Sanger opened a second birth control clinic, named as the Clinical Research Bureau. [4] In order to avoid persecution by the police, the existence of the clinic was not published, until December 1923. [4]. Finally, the existence of the clinic was announced to the public.  But this time there were without arrests or disputes. This convinced activists that after ten years of struggle, birth control finally became widespread, in the United States. The Clinical Research Bureau was the first legal birth control clinic in the United States that quickly became the world’s leading center for contraceptive research. Fifteen years later Clinical Research Bureau merged with American Birth Control League, also established by Sanger, that studied the global impact of  population growth, disarmament, and famine. The resultant group was known as the Birth Control Federation of America.   [7] Efforts from Sanger and other birth control proponents led to a 1936 court ruling that birth control devices and information would no longer be classified as obscene, and could be legally distributed in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. [4] Although it took another 30 years for these rights to spread to married couples throughout the whole of the country, it was tremendous step toward making birth control available to everyone.  Notwithstanding Sanger still was president of Birth Control Federation of America., she no longer possessed the same power that she had in the early years of the movement. In1942, despite Sanger’s objections, conservative forces within the organization changed the name to Planned Parenthood Federation of America,[8].

In 1948, Planned Parenthood awarded a small grant that was provided for group of biologists Gregory Pincus, John Rock, and M.C. Chang in order to conduct research into a birth control pill. In 1956, in Puerto Rico was carried out the first human trial of the birth control pill Although testing conducted was done without informed Puerto Rican women and had harmful side effects, ,  this step was critical to the pill’s development As time went on, the pill was refined to become the safe and effective birth control method used by

millions of women today. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the sale of pills for contraception on May 9, 1960. Within 5 years, 1 out of every 4 married women in the U.S. under the age of 45 had used the pill.[2] The pills soon changed the lives of women and families in the United States and around the world. Finally, was found a simple, effective and reversible way to prevent pregnancy. But the pills were still not available throughout the country. In some states, all forms of contraception are prohibited until 1970, when Public Health Services Act was accepted, which established public funding for family planning and sex education programs in the United States. This meant that Planned Parenthood and other family planning organizations involved in reproductive health could provide birth control and sex education services to more people, especially with low income.

Today, birth control no longer an interdiction point at issue, hiding in the shadows, opposite, this theme is a part of the public conversation and widely accessible to women of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Tracing its roots back from the Brownsville clinic for 100 years, Planned Parenthood now serves 2.5 million patients in about 600 centers across the U.S. This the nation’s leading provider of high-quality, affordable health care for women, as well as it is largest center of sex education. “We’re the only national network of [women’s] health care services and it all started with Margaret Sanger’s clinic in Brooklyn, “said Joan Malin the current president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of New York City.

1916, Sanger, Byrne, and Mindell began a century-long process; their actions ignited a series of changes in how the public would regard contraceptives and how the law would increasingly allow for birth control services. One hundred years later, we have these three strong women to thank for the advancement of our country’s relationship with birth control services.

 

 

 

References:

1. Margaret Sander “Hotel Brevoort Speech”, 17 Jan. 1916
2. Attacks on Planned Parenthood are Treat to Woman’s Health. Scientific American, June 7, 2018
3. Planned Parenthood, https://www.plannedorg
4. Engelman, Peter “History of Birth Control Movement in America”
5. Benjamin Hazel, “Lobbying for Birth Control” Public Opinion Quarterly, January 1, 1938
6. Vicki Cox “Margaret Sanger” Infobase publishing, January 1, 2009
7. NYU Margaret Sanger Paper Project “Birth Control Clinic of America”, October 12, 2011
8. MS Papers: “Planned Parenthood”, October 14, 2011

New York has always been known for its growing population- both alive and dead. Following the first Dutch settlement in the 1600s, the city of New York grew as the years passed by and as the population increased, so did diseases like yellow fever, typhoid and cholera which presented New Yorkers with a staggering number of dead bodies to bury in churchyards. In 1822, the city of Manhattan experienced a burial crisis. With a growing number of bodies and not enough space to bury them, Manhattan’s lurking issue could not be avoided any longer– too many dead people with nowhere to go. In 1823, Manhattan forbade new burials south of Canal Street with the hopes of clearing out the air and all of the issues that come with a flood of decomposing bodies. In addition to the growing number of bodies, there was a public health crisis on the rise as a result of poor burial maintenance of the overcrowded graveyards leading to serious health issues.

Prior to this resolution in 1823, which prohibited further digging of graves south of Canal Street, the stench of the decomposing bodies began to completely overwhelm the neighborhood and residents surrounding the graveyards. As the summer heat kicked in, so did the miasma of hundreds of decaying bodies. The burial crisis of 1822 led to a health crisis where there were correlations between the location of graveyards and those developing yellow fever and other illnesses. The August of 1822 was the straw that broke the camels back and forced public officials to implement the no burial line for the sake of the living population in New York. The harmful effects of miasma attributed to the graveyard, which is the polluted air that might arise from decaying bodies, were taking over the city and urging public officials to take action to resolve these issues. Certain areas of the city, like those falling below Canal Street, were home to graveyards like that of Trinity Church which were burying copious amounts of bodies at staggering rates.

Trinity Church, located in the heart of Wall Street, is one of the churchyards that is associated with the 1823 resolution as it is a graveyard that falls below Canal Street. If you walk through the area now, you’re presented with the headstones of well known Americans including Alexander Hamilton. But if you were to walk through there during August of 1822, who was buried there wouldn’t impress you much as you would be more concerned and stunned by the foul odor that was saturating the air of Wall Street. The Trinity churchyard cemetery first began burying bodies in the 17^th century.  But from the time it was created until 1822, Manhattan’s population grew twenty-five fold. At this time that the No Burial Line was implemented, there were upwards of 125,000 packed into the churchyard like sardines. By taking one glance at this churchyard, you would see that 125,000 dead bodies couldn’t fit in this space. And what was once a contained city was growing exponentially with immigrants arriving into the area and in particular, Wall Street and lower Manhattan. The odor of these poorly buried bodies was enough to cause panic amongst those who encountered these scents every day. At this point in history, people were beginning to make connections between the odors and diseases being churned up from the ground and the illnesses that people who came in contact with them were contracting.

When the yellow fever outbreak of 1822 hit downtown Manhattan, those being buried in Trinity Church’s graveyard were hitting record numbers and causing public officials in Manhattan to reevaluate burials and how they were impacting the lives of those coming into contact with them. In addition to the record number of people being buried there, the way their graves were dug also came into question. With the stench of decomposing bodies, it was evident that the burial process was not working. There were many reports of shallow graves and even caskets that were not properly contained. As mentioned above, the concept of miasma was becoming more widely known and doctors and the public were developing their own theories of polluted air due to bodies. It was becoming cyclical. There were people dying from these diseases, then being buried in poor conditions which the public was being exposed to, then they developed the diseases as well. There was a growing link between those developing cholera and yellow fever and those living nearby or interacting daily with the graveyards.

The no burial line of 1823 set a future precedent for graveyards in Manhattan. In 1852, all burials on Manhattan were prohibited. With the ever-growing number of people we have on this island today, it’s hard to imagine if this resolution was never passed. This island is simply too small to keep up with the copious amount of bodies piling up. Although miasma from the graveyards is not the cause of all deaths, it is hard to deny any connection. It is for the best of the health of the public and respect for the dead that those who have died are not able to be buried on the island on Manhattan.

 

 

Citations:

         Cohen, Michelle. “Five Million Dead in Queens: The History of New York City’s ‘Cemetery Belt’.” 6sqft, 28 Apr. 2017, www.6sqft.com/five-million-dead-in-queens-new-york-citys-cemetery-belt/.

         Editors, History.com. “New York City.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 12 Jan. 2010, www.history.com/topics/us-states/new-york-city.

         Hedstrom, Casey. “The Manhattan Burial Crisis of 1822 Makes Every Cemetery Today Seem Amazing.” Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, 15 Feb. 2016, www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-manhattan-burial-crisis-of-1822-makes-every-cemetery-today-seem-amazing.

       Meier, Allison, et al. “Manhattan’s Art of the Dead.” Hyperallergic, 15 July 2012, hyperallergic.com/54052/trinity-church-burial-grounds-manhattan/.

         Staff. “Spreading the News of Yellow Fever | From the Stacks.” New-York Historical Society, 6 Sept. 2018, blog.nyhistory.org/yellow-fever-hits-1790s-new-york/

          “Trinity Church’s Four Cemeteries in NYC.” Untapped Cities, 19 Mar. 2019, untappedcities.com/2017/05/23/trinity-churchs-four-cemeteries-in-nyc/.

          Tucker, Reed. “The Hidden Cemeteries of NYC.” New York Post, New York Post, 27 Oct. 2014, nypost.com/2014/10/25/the-hidden-cemeteries-of-nyc/.

        Williams, Keith. “Why the Brooklyn-Queens Border Is Full of Dead People.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Apr. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/nyregion/why-the-brooklyn-queens-border-is-full-of-dead-people.html.

 

On a cloudy Sunday afternoon, I was rejoicing at the sight of the cherry blossom trees that were planted alongside the riverfront that overlooked Manhattan. On my stroll, I stumbled upon a gothic-style building that seemed as if it were being close to being demolished. Some of the exterior walls had crumbled down and I could make out the uncanny rooms inside the neglected building. It was the Renwick Smallpox Hospital—and the sight of it sent shivers down my spine. Roosevelt Island was not just a tiny island that housed luxurious condominiums, overlooking the skyline of Manhattan. Walking to one side of the ruins, I observed thick vines that had grown in through the windows, interlacing the ancient structure in an embrace of luscious greenery. As I stood staring at the spectral wrecks of what Roosevelt Island had once represented, I began to wonder about the stories that existed within the grim structure. Indeed, being able to witness a historic site that was involved in a viral epidemic in New York City was crucial. What tales were hidden behind the walls of this colossal structure that had housed the patients infected with the notorious smallpox disease?

Located on Roosevelt Island, the abandoned remnants of the Renwick Smallpox Hospital still stand erected. In 1856, the Smallpox Hospital was completed by the famous architect James Renwick Jr. He was also the mastermind behind the St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. The hospital is a large skeleton of a structure that is reminiscent of a paramount part of New York’s history—of when it was struggling to combat the deadly epidemic of smallpox. The earliest known record of smallpox dates back to the third century when smallpox symptoms were discovered on Egyptian mummies. Records have shown that the disease was responsible for the lives of every three in ten victims. The vaccination for smallpox was eventually discovered in 1796, although smallpox continued to be viral and deadly, especially in cities that were dominated by immigrants. Through the early routes of trade, smallpox was spread to various cities in the European and Asian continent, affecting even the Native Americans across the Atlantic Ocean. At one point, smallpox was introduced to Indian tribes as a mechanism of biological genocide. The history of the Renwick Smallpox Hospital stands relevant to the key formation of American society, especially as it spread through industrial cities where poor immigrants settled in.

The Renwick Smallpox Hospital was diligent in caring for its patients; at one given time, it was able to take in one hundred patients—many of whom were desolate immigrants that had arrived recently through Ellis Island. Unfortunately, about four hundred fifty patients were reported to die annually. Because of its location along the East River and the fact that the hospital offered spectacular views of the river, it was renamed as the Riverside Hospital, making it less blatant that the hospital focused primarily on those suffering with the viral smallpox. During this time in history, Roosevelt Island was known as Blackwell’s Island. The hospital’s location provided that smallpox patients would be kept away from the general population of New York City. The hospital ran for about nineteen years before it formally closed down in 1875, converting the structure into a nursing school known as the Maternity and Charity Hospital Training School. With the transition of the building from a hospital specializing in treating smallpox patients to a school for nurses, two additional wings were added, mimicking the original Neo-Gothic architecture implemented. It was an established nursing school in New York City for seventy years before it became a neglected structure. The Renwick Smallpox Hospital was relocated to another island that was south of the Bronx: North Brother Island. The island was known to house hospitals for those suffering with typhoid, tuberculosis, and smallpox.

The 1901 smallpox outbreak in New York City led to historical changes within the immigrant community—who were affected greatly by the outbreak of smallpox because of the grim conditions they were often resorted to. Because of threats that it may contain to the community of New York City, the police would raid the homes of families under the direct order of the Bureau of Contagious Diseases. During the routine smallpox raids, the police would take away anyone who had symptoms of smallpox, tearing apart suspected individuals from members of their family. During this outbreak, those who were showing symptoms of smallpox were taken to and quarantined in North Brother Island—once again, isolating the smallpox victims from the general population in order to avoid the spread of the contagious disease.

In 1972, Blackwell’s Island was renamed as Roosevelt Island to honor Franklin D. Roosevelt. The nursing school was eventually left abandoned, converting the gothic-style structure into an ancient ruin. Architect Giorgio Cavaglieri studied what had been left over of the Renwick Smallpox Hospital; he decided it was appropriate to install a structure to support the decaying walls. It was preserved and is known to be New York City’s only historic landmark by the National Register of Historic Places. Currently, there are not any tours that are being offered within the ghastly building that has much stories to recount of those who were dying of a viral disease during the industrialization of one of the greatest cities in the United States. Today, the current structure in Roosevelt Island is officially referred to as the Renwick Ruins.

I glanced one last time through the large black fence that bordered the lawn around the abandoned building of Renwick Smallpox Hospital. By then, the sun was fading behind the opaque overhead clouds, making the brick decayed walls appear to be blackened. As I followed the path that led back to the luxury condominiums, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of enlightenment upon discovering such a classical structure that voiced the dark history of New York City’s epidemic crisis.

Sources:

• “History: Smallpox Hospital.” Smallpox Hospital, www.theruin.org/history-hospitals
• “History of Smallpox | Smallpox | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html
• Marvar, Alexandra. “How New York Separated Immigrant Families in the Smallpox Outbreak of 1901.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 10 Jan. 2019, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-new-york-separated-immigrant-families-smallpox-outbreak-1901-180971211/.