Unsettling Streets: How the NYPD Began

Have you ever wondered: “Where does the NYPD come from?”

Starting at Abolition Square (City Hall Park) we’ll walk south through the plazas of justice infrastructure and begin to connect the dots.

We’ll uncover the origins of policing in response to urban unrest–which was blamed on crowds of immigrants. We’ll investigate the intended and actual effects of the moral reform movement and “slum clearance,” and the idea that “loitering” in the streets leads to crime. And we’ll trace the connections between “urban renewal”, park redesign, and changing laws regarding public assembly over time.

As we walk we’ll think it through: If this is where the police come from, what does that say about what they’ve become?