The Five Points was a 19th-century neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York. The neighborhood was bound by Center...
The Five Points
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Jacob Riis – Photographed The Gangs of New York
Jacob Riis was born in Denmark in 1849 and emigrated to the US in the 1870's, he was a pioneer in photography, a...
Dandy Johnny Dolan – More Than a Comic Book Character
Dandy Johnny Dolan was the subject of a Simon & Kirby comic book in the 1940's, based on the life and crimes of...
The Dead Rabbits & The 1857 Riot
The Dead Rabbits were a street gang in Lower Manhattan in the 1850s, whose members were mostly Irish. The were also...
Dennis “Dinny” Meehan – The Leader of the White Hand Gang
Dennis "Dinny" Meehan became leader of the White Hand Gang around 1910 and led the gang up until his death in 1920...
Brooklyn’s Battle Row Gang Kill Officer Donoghue
Long before Brooklyn became incorporated into New York and became one the Borough's it was just as notorious as other...
The First Gang – The Forty Thieves
The Forty Thieves were formed in 1825 and said to be the first known and oldest New York City criminal street gang. At...
Henry Bergh Shuts Down The Rat Pit
Henry Bergh was born on the Lower East Side in 1813, the Lower East Side in the 1800's had some of the most notorious...
Captain Isaiah Rynders – The First Political Boss
Isaiah Rynders was born in January 1804 in Waterford, New York to an Irish mother and German father. At around 12...