"This waste...contained many families of colored people with whom consorted and in many cases amalgamated, debased and outcast whites. Many of the inhabitants of this village had no regular occupation..." (J.P. Peters 1907).
Seneca Village and Central Park
"This waste...contained many families of colored people with whom consorted and in many cases amalgamated, debased and outcast whites. Many of the inhabitants of this village had no regular occupation..." (J.P. Peters 1907).
Seneca Village, a 19th century African-American and Irish settlement on Manhattan's Upper West Side, was evicted and razed for the construction of Central Park. The comment from Peters reflected the sentiments of New York City officials, who wanted to eradicate the settlements and homes that literally stood in the way of the park. The park's builders succeeded for more than a century, as Seneca Village's physical disappearance was mirrored by its disappearance from the consciousness of New Yorkers. Until recently, Seneca Village appeared as brief side mentions in histories of New York City, described vaguely and unflatteringly as squatters.