Holidays
New York Election Day traditions no longer celebrated
In the past, New Yorkers have celebrated election days with some behaviors and traditions that are no longer with us: 1) Lights and drama at the…
Articles
History, stories, and deep dives from the Bowery Boys.
Latest Article
Bronx HistoryMorrisania: The South Bronx and the old days of American aristocracy
November 6, 2026
Was there an estate in New York ever as beautiful as Morrisania, nearly 2,000 acres that hugged the Harlem River until it opened out into the turbulent East River as it coursed past small islands and flowed into the Long Island Sound? A property…
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More Articles
Amusements and Thrills
Harry Houdini sitting upon his own grave 1916
Anybody watching the Houdini mini-series on the History Channel? It's, um, interesting, I guess. It breezes over any actual character development -- eschews all forms of…
Events
Celebrate Red Hook History: A Special Brooklyn 250 Event
Did you know that there once was a Revolutionary War fort located in today's Red Hook, Brooklyn? Hear about Red Hook's role in the Battle of…
Friday Night Fever
Welcome to the Haymarket, New York’s scandalous Moulin Rouge
To get you in the mood for the weekend, every other Friday we'll be celebrating 'FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER', featuring an old New York nightlife haunt, from…
Gilded Age New York
The Fifth Avenue Hotel: Opulence, glamour and power on Madison Square
The double-breasted, cigar-chewing gentlemen who gathered in the sumptuous rooms of the Fifth Avenue Hotel were occasional connoisseurs of New York City history, and in particular,…
Landmarks
A Tour of New York City Through 60 Years of Spider-Man Comic Book Covers
The summer blockbuster Spider-Man: Homecoming may be the greatest New York City superhero movie ever. It doesn't treat New York like a series of famous backdrops (although there…
Events
The Bowery Boys Live: Ghost Stories of Old New York TICKETS NOW ON SALE
Tickets for this year's Bowery Boys Ghost Stories of Old New York show at Joe's Pub are now sale over at the Joe's Pub website. Tom and…
Brooklyn History
Screaming Phantoms, Tomahawks, Phantom Lords, Dirty Ones and other gangs of 1970s Williamsburg, Brooklyn
The Dirty Ones, a notorious gang from Williamsburg. My new column for A24 Films (a tie-in to the new movie A Most Violent Year) is up…
Events
Live at the Salmagundi Club! It’s the Bowery Boys and the Gilded Gentleman
Join us for a book event in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Bowery Boys' Adventures in Old New York -- and at the famed…
Gangs of New York
Who were the Short Tails? The crazy, violent habits of the real Lower East Side gang
One of the few photos ever taken of any New York street gang was this image shot in 1887 by Jacob Riis of the Short…
Adventures In Old New York
Firecracker Lane: New York’s explosive shopping district
Looking for a healthy assortment of fireworks to ignite for the Fourth of July holiday? In New York, from the late 19th century until the 1930s,…
Revolutionary History
George Washington’s copy of the Declaration of Independence
George Washington’s copy of the Declaration of Independence is perhaps the most well-known of the almost 200 copies first made of the document. As a facsimile, it’s certainly…