Tenement and Slum Life
of New York City
Lindsey Caggiano
Dr. Dixon
GEOG 250
Where were the slums of New York City
at the turn of the 20th century?
The Lower East Side was
the dominant location of
slums and tenements in
New York City.
What is a slum?
►A
thickly populated, rundown, squalid part
of a city, inhabited by poor people.
► What
do you think a slum looks like?
What is a tenement?
►A
rundown and often overcrowded apartment
house. It is usually rented out to families, and
found in poor sections of neighborhoods.
How would you feel
living in these
conditions?
Who lived in slums and tenements at
the turn of the 20th century?
► Immigrant





populations
Italian
German
Irish
Jewish
Chinese
► Disadvantaged families
Immigration to NYC in
Castle Gardens (before Ellis Island).
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
Italy
24,485
14,076
16,033
29,312
44,274
43,927
28,810
Russia and
Poland
7,577
12,432
16,578
23,987
33,203
33,052
31,329
Hungary
13,160
15,797
11,129
18,135
17,719
12,905
15,678
Bohemia
4,877
7,093
6,697
4,222
6,449
3,982
5,412
Total
50,099
49,398
50,437
75,656
101,644
93,866
81,229
Why were immigrants stuck in
tenements?
► Americans
viewed
immigrants as inferior.
They felt they were taking
jobs away and corrupting
American Life.
► People with this attitude
were referred to as
nativists.
The Three Main Styles of
Tenement Flooring
How does this
compare with your
bedroom, house
and neighborhood?
http://tenement.org/educatio
n_lessonplans.html
Click on Josephine Baldizzi
What was happening to the Lower
East Side?
Tenements in New York
► Number
of tenements in New York, December 1888:
32, 390
► Number built from June 1888 to August 1890: 3,733
► Rear tenements in existence, August 1890: 2,630
► Total number of tenements, August 1890: 37, 316
► Estimated population of tenements, August 1890:
1,250,000
► Estimated number of children under 5 years of age in
tenements, 1890: 163,712
Gangs of New York
Part IV:
http://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=8EUnn7
_s22A&feature=relat
ed
Follow video
questionnaire.
Tenement Evolution
Due to living poor living
conditions, several laws
came into place.
Robert Moses
► The
World That
Moses Built Part 4:
http://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=QiE
d5KnGE6w
► The World That
Moses Built Part 5:
http://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=22J
dtAhX4oU
Housing Projects
► Who
lives in the housing projects?
► How
are they different from tenements?
► What
are the pros and cons of housing
projects?
What are these housing projects
like?
►
►
►
Gowanus Houses, Brooklyn:
 Gowanus Houses in Brooklyn consists of 14 buildings, 4,
6, 9, 13 and 14-stories high. It has 1,134 apartments
housing an estimated 2,836 residents. The 12.57-acre
complex was completed June 24, 1949 and is between
Wyckoff, Douglass, Bond and Hoyt Streets.
Alfred E. Smith Houses, Manhattan:
 Governor Alfred E. Smith Houses in Manhattan has 12
buildings, 15, 16 and 17-stories tall with 1,931
apartments housing some 4,316 people. The 21.75-acre
complex was completed April 1, 1953 and is bordered by
St. James Place, Madison, Catherine and South Streets.
How is this different from the tenements of the Lower East
Side at the turn of the 20th century?
Where did the housing projects move
to in New York City?
Interactive map of all
New York City Public
Housing:
http://gis.nyc.gov/nych
a/im/wmp.do?
Public
Housing is all
throughout
New York city,
but with the
creation of
housing
projects, it has
moved to the
boroughs.
Old v. New Tenements