By 1963, the Civil Rights Movement had become a major fixture in American society. Protests and demonstrations in the name of racial equality were being held across the country. In New York, one of the greatest areas for discrimination was employment, and Brooklyn CORE took this issue seriously. The construction at Brooklyn's Downstate Medical Center in 1963 was supposed to be a major boost for Brooklyn's economy, providing years of employment for laborers and construction workers. Unfortunately, the majority of the jobs were given to unions that were "unavailable" to black workers. In response, CORE joined with the Black Ministers Coalition and other organizations to stage a major sit-in at the construction site. On July 15, 1963, fourteen of Brooklyn's African American ministers arrived at Downstate with over 75 parishioners to picket. In the weeks that followed, several hundred people, many of who were members of Brooklyn CORE, were arrested from picketing. Demonstrators made human chains in front of wrecking balls, lay down in front of bulldozers, and climbed on tops of cranes. The actions severely slowed work on the building and garnered significant public and media attention.

T Building of Kings County Hospital, 1929. Seen at left, from Clarkson Avenue, is what was known as the Acute Hospital of the the Kings County Hospital.

1177 Nostrand Avenue, 1962. Notice the long gone gas tanks behind the blockfront on Nostrand Avenue.

Maintained by the Department of Charities and Corrections of Kings County (Brooklyn), this almshouse shared a sixty-five-acre site with the Kings County Hospital and the Long Island Hospital for the Insane. While the grounds were beautifully laid out, the facilities were notoriously overcrowded and shabby. The women's almshouse was established in 1850, and a men's section was added in 1869.

151 Linden Boulevard, at the northwest corner of Rogers Avenue, 1932.