The UN project cleared whole neighborhoods and set the foundation for urban renewal projects. While it seemed that there was no resistance to it, and resistance to such projects only formed later, I did research in the Rockefeller Archive Center and found that people in New York City were still very much opposed to it. Through the media coverage and the books written on the period, residents are made to seem complacent in the process. It is interesting that Samuel Zipp in his work mentions that people appealed to Rockefeller over Lincoln Center, yet does not note anything about the UN development. Looking at the Rockefeller Archive Center, there are folders full of similar appeals relating to the UN project. It is not surprising that Rockefeller did not respond to pleas over Lincoln Center, because he had ignored earlier pleas over the UN taking over Turtle Bay. These letters from the 1940s show an overlooked trend that links back to the UN project. The goal of the paper is to discover how people of New York felt about this early project and to show their strong sense of community. While there is evident resistance to later developments, very little is noted about this one.
About the presenterPeter Astras
Peter Astras has a doctorate from St. John’s University, focusing on literary and environmental history.