Gambling In Long Island City Explodes In July 1882

Gazette photo The Steinway Reformed Church was originally the Union Church.

Get into a conversation with a long-time Queens resident and you’re likely to discover a subscriber of the Long Island Star-Journal, a daily paper that informed the community about local and world news until it folded in 1968. A banner across the Star-Journal masthead reminded readers that the newspaper’s name came from the merger of the Long Island Daily Star (1876) and the North Shore Daily Journal--The Flushing Journal (1841).

Welcome to July 1882!

The Fourth of July was ushered in with the usual ringing of bells and blowing of steam whistles. From daylight to well after sundown, the air resounded with the crack of torpedoes and the firing of pistols. At noon, all the church bells in Astoria, and also the fire bell, were rung. The bell ringer at the Church of the Redeemer played on his chimes "My Country, ‘tis of Thee" and other patriotic tunes. Although it rained that day, there were many church and family picnics. During the evening, a great many private displays of fireworks were observed in the upper part of the city. The Long Island Railroad terminal at Hunters Point saw a great deal of business, with the four days before the Fourth taxing the resources of the company to their fullest capacity.

Several young boys were injured by unplanned explosions of pistols or cannon. Willie Murtha was shot in the face with a toy pistol loaded with a blank, and narrowly escaped losing his eye. A little daughter of Mr. P. Conklin had her clothes set on fire by a torpedo or cracker, and was severely burned about the body and legs. Fortunately, a neighbor saw the accident, seized a blanket, quickly wrapped it around the child and extinguished the flames.

Gazette photo The bell ringer at the Church of the Redeemer played on his chimes “My Country, ‘tis of Thee” and other patriotic tunes on July 4th 1882.

The major news story was the Star’s ongoing coverage of pool-sellers (who today would be called "bookies") in Hunters Point. The pool-selling operations allowed gamblers to bet on horse races. At the end of every race, a little whistle was sounded and the winning horse was announced. The few lucky winners collected their winnings. The losers cursed their bad luck, but were usually back the next day, hoping to retrieve their losses. "Gamblers, bankers, merchants, farmers, clerks, salesmen and men in all branches of mercantile business and trade" played the pools.

A Star reporter visited some of the poolrooms and reported that clerks were busy figuring and entering odds or the names of horses on slates. Cashiers were selling tickets and there was an immense rush of purchasers, young and old. Each succeeding ferryboat from Manhattan brought over large numbers to swell the crowd of eager and excited gamblers.

In early July, the police chief, Captain Woods, was ordered by the Police Commissioners to arrest the pool-sellers. He did not carry out their order, and so, at another Police Commission meeting on July 20, Woods was ordered to "fully carry out" the previous order. Four were arrested, but one was discharged and the other three remanded for another week. Captain Woods had allowed a Patrolman Welsh to conduct the prosecutions. Although the officer’s efforts were well meant, the judge was unable to discover any evidence on which to hold the accused, mainly since the officer could not produce pool-selling tickets.

The Star commented editorially: "Captain Woods has had months in which to secure evidence or perfect arrangements for the arrest of the Hunters Point pool-sellers, and yet in all that time he has done nothing but demonstrate his incapacity and entire unfittedness for the position he holds."

On July 28, the Star reported that the next meeting of the Police Board would yet again order Captain Woods to arrest the pool-sellers. (The Star of August 4 reported the results. Police Commissioners Williams and Armstrong resigned. Captain Woods and the mayor did nothing about the situation, and pool-selling in Hunters Point continued unabated.)

In a classic example of the pot calling the kettle black, at a meeting of the Police Board, Commissioner Armstrong mentioned complaints made to him of foul odors that were wafted to Hunters Point from the neighborhood of 47th Street to 11th Street in Manhattan. He moved that the clerk be directed to notify the New York Board of Health of the smells and ask that body to abate the nuisance. The Commissioners immediately concurred in the motion.

On this issue The Star commented editorially that the action taken was a just retribution on the heads of New Yorkers. "Hunter’s Point is at last thoroughly ‘cleaned up’ and its residents can afford to ‘talk back’ on the stink question, in which it cannot be denied they are connoisseurs. The New York health authorities had better wake up or every ‘mother’s son of them’ will be indicted and shipped over to Blackwell’s Island."

Steinway & Sons ran a real estate ad in every issue of the Star. "The attention of Manufacturers, Mechanics and Workingmen, and of those whose arts are not engaged in any obnoxious or offensive business or trades, and are desirous of living in comfortable and cheerful homes-in a thoroughly healthy and desirable neighborhood-in the immediate vicinity of, and of easy access to, all parts of the CITY OF NEW YORK, is specially directed to the Extraordinary Inducements offered by Messrs. STEINWAY & SONS in the disposal of portions of their VALUABLE AND MOST ELIGIBLY LOCATED PROPERTY…They have erected and now have in active operation a LARGE MILL, IRON & BRASS FOUNDRY, MACHINE SHOPS, METAL WORKS, Wood carving and Piano-Forte Key-making Departments, also the extensive Lumber Yards storing 2,000,000 feet of lumber for open air drying! Steinway & Sons have also, during the summer of 1879, erected a New Factory Building, four stories high, 213 feet long, and 60 feet deep for the accommodation of 300 additional workingmen…The Blackwell’s Island Bridge-which will be completed in a few years-will terminate within a short distance of the Steinway property. Over one hundred neat and well-constructed Brick and Frame Dwelling Houses and Stores are already erected, and others are being rapidly constructed on streets and avenues well graded, curbed, guttered, and planted with shade trees, and are occupied by a highly respectable class of residents…A public school, capable of accommodating 500 children, is in successful operation. The new Union Church building has been completed and opened to the public. LIBERAL ARRANGEMENTS will be made with Manufacturers and all other respectable parties desirous of obtaining plots or building lots. For further information, apply personally or by letter, to STEINWAY & SONS, Steinway Hall, 14th Street, New York."

The Star received numerous complaints about the disgraceful behavior of persons bathing in Bowery Bay, near the residence of Mr. Daniel S. Riker. The Star reported: "It is alleged that owing to the indecent way in which bathing is permitted in that vicinity, it is impossible for ladies during hot weather to pass along the road abutting on the bay in the afternoon and evenings. Full grown men, it is said, bathe there without the slightest regard to decency, wearing no bathing suits or drawers, and naked men and boys may be seen running about or drying themselves without any appearance of shame and utterly regardless of the fact they are within sight of a public thoroughfare. It is suggested that a few arrests might serve as a warning and stop the evil."

A cat-fight is still a cat-fight, no matter what the century. Ellen O’Donnell and her husband Patrick, and Catherine Murray and her husband John, lived in a house on Borden Avenue, Hunters Point. On a Sunday they got drunk, and the two men began to fight. The women joined in the fray and finally turned their attention to each other. When the police arrived, the women were found in the yard, where the fight took place, without any clothing on except their stockings. They had torn the clothes off each other in the encounter. The officers had to dress the women before taking them to the police station.

That’s the way it was in July 1882.

For more information, contact the Greater Astoria Historical Society at 718-728-0700 or visit www.astorialic.org.