420-426 Ralph Avenue (no. 420 is at right), June 13, 1940. This row of four apartment houses (at left) with ground level retail was demolished in the early 1940s to make way for the NYCHA-Kingsborough Houses. In the 1930s Shirley St. Hall (later Chisholm) lived with her family above a candy shop at no. 420.

Pacific Street, north side, east from Buffalo Avenue, 1940. According to P.L. Sperr, the photographer, this large tent was the set up of an African American female evangelist. Because Brooklyn was becoming the center of Pentecostal churches in the 1940s and 1950s, it is not hard to imagine that this might have been the preaching or healing space of a member of that religious sect. A 1935 New York Times article describes the rivalry between two evangelists that resulted in a march by the followers of one man to the tent location of the second man. The second preacher, named Prophet Costonie, had his tent located on Pacific St. between Rochester and Utica Avenues, only a block from the pictured 1940 location.

Public School 137 Brooklyn, ca. 1900. This C.B.J Snyder-built school was completed circa 1905. Today it still stands and is named for Rachel Jean Mitchell, a local mother, President of the Community School Board for District 23, and advocate for PTAs in all of Brooklyn District 23 schools.

Richmond Barthé, an African-American sculptor who gained prominence during the Harlem Renaissance, created an 8-foot by 80-foot frieze "Green Pastures: The Walls of Jericho" (1938), which has been located at the Kingsborough Houses since 1941. Barthe’s largest work, "Green Pastures" was originally intended for the Harlem River Houses (1936-37), one of the nation’s first federal public housing projects, that was built for African Americans. He was recruited as part of a team of sculptors commissioned to create public art for the project through the Works Progress Administration. Barthé was interested in creating a site-specific work for the back wall of an amphitheater that would be used by African-American residents. The frieze was inspired by Marc Connelly’s 1930 Pulitzer-Prize winning play The Green Pastures, which portrays episodes from the Old Testament through the eyes of a young African-American child. This was Barthé’s first work in relief and he depicted scenes of African-inspired figures in two 40-foot Art-Deco stylized panels that he titled Exodus and Dance. Months after the Harlem River Houses were opened, Barthé’s panels were still in storage since the amphitheater project was never built. As a federal employee, he had no control over what was done with his work and in 1941 the panels were installed without his consultation on one of the main walks at the Kingsborough Houses. Barthé was disappointed since, although low-income federal housing, African Americans were not the primary residents and therefore he felt the inspirational power of his work was diminished. Today, residents fondly refer to the work as “The Wall.”

"Dean Street, east from Ralph Avenue. On the north side (left) of the street, and extending to Howard Avenue, is Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum, 1940." In 1878, the Hebrew Benefit Society and Orphan Asylum, a Manhattan organization decided to only accept children from Manhattan. As a result the Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum was created, and was housed in the ivy covered building seen at left after 1892. In 1936 more than 1000 children were being cared for by Brooklyn institution (some of whom were in fosters homes throughout the boroughs).

Pacific Street, north side, east from Buffalo Avenue, 1940. The brick garages with wooden doors at left still stand. The tent of the evangelist seen in the distance, which likely occupied the lot for some brief but unknown amount of time, has been replaced by late 20th century setback brick homes that attempt to mimic some of the details of the early 20th century apartments and rowhouses nearby.

Public School 28, March 5, 1931. The original Public School 28 (of the City of Brooklyn) was a wood-frame structure, which according to a 1912 Brooklyn Daily Eagle article, was constructed in 1858 and actually was lined with brick, inside the wood framing. According to the same article the school was closed briefly in 1911 following the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire because the school was not up-to-date with fire department regulations. The old building was closed at the end of the 1912 school year. Though the building was intended to be demolished, instead the long, narrow structure, which originally ran between Herkimer and Fulton, was turned 90 degrees and placed on a new foundation along Fulton Street. (It is unclear how long the building remained in this location; a 1916 map of the block does not include the wood-frame school.) A new 27-classroom, brick building (seen here) was erected in its place.

Hunger is not only a big issue around the world, but also inNew York City. We see people struggling with food insecurity all around our neighborhoods. After the Bronx, Brooklyn has the second highest rate of food insecurity of almost 16 % (Emergency Food in NYC, 2023). How are communities addressing hunger in Brooklyn? In New York City over 2 million individuals face hunger (Hunger in New York, 2023), and over 600 hundred thousand of them are children. Since the average cost of a meal in NYC is almost $4, this means we would need over $1.5 billion to address their food needs. What is striking is that food insecurity has increased by more than 30 %for people in New York who are 65 years and older. However those who face the most hunger overall are households with children. Food insecurity impacted the African American and Hispanic populations at over twice the rate (Nearly 1 in 10 NYers Were Food Insufficient in 2022:Study, 2023). The three sites featured here are programs in Brooklyn dedicated to helping individuals with food insecurity. This includes “The Campaign Against Hunger”, “Bay Ridge Community Development Center” and “Institute for Community Equity and Sharing, INC.” Hunger in New York. Feeding America. (n.d.-b). https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/new-york Staff, N. N. Y. (2023a, May 27). Nearly 1 in 10 Nyers were food insufficient in 2022: Study. https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nearly-1-in-10-nyers-were-food-insufficient-in-2022-study/4251419/ Emergency food in NYC. Data Team. (n.d.). https://council.nyc.gov/data/emergency-food-in-nyc/