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Two Free Presentations in February!
Thursday, February 13, 6:30pm
"Andrew Williams of Seneca Village: A Family Visionary and his Descendants" 
Cal Jones, Manhattan Borough Historian emeritus, has traced the history of the Andrew Williams family from the mid 1800s to the present. Williams, a bootblack and cartman, bought land in Seneca Village, a community composed primarily of African Americans, that once thrived on land that is now part of Central Park, from West 83rd Street to West 89th Street.
More information at Upcoming Events Free and All Are Welcome
Thursday, February 13, 2020 ,630pm Hostelling International-NY 891 Amsterdam Avenue at 103rd Street Tuesday, February 25, 6:30pm
"Upper West Side Catholics: the History of Ascension Church on West 107th Street" 
Monsignor Thomas J. Shelley, author of the recently published book Upper West Side Catholics: Liberal Catholicism in a Conservative Archdiocese and professor emeritus of Fordham, will tell the story of this well-known upper west side church.
More information at Upcoming Events Free and All Are Welcome
Tuesday, February 25, 2020 ,630pm Hostelling International-NY 891 Amsterdam Avenue at 103rd Street Upcoming Free Walking Tour
Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 1pm Meet at Hostelling International 891 Amsterdam Avenue(103rd)  Jim Mackin
Explore the history of the
Bloomingdale Neighborhood with local historian Jim Mackin. More information at Upcoming Events 1917 New York Military Census
 Throngs of New Yorkers fill the streets of Manhattan to celebrate Armistice Day, November 11
.While doing historical research at the New York County Clerk's office, Gilbert Tauber, member of the BNHG planning committee, came across a surprising document. In this article he notes the significance of the long overlooked and highly informative 1917 New York Military Census and its possibilities for further research. Read his account at
1917 New York Military Census. The Latest Blog
See a complete list with links to all 35 BNHG Blogs at BNHG BLOGS. 
The latest blog by Pam Tice, member of the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group’s Planning Committee:
Once we had a wall running right through our Bloomingdale neighborhood. Only it wasn’t called a wall; it was the Clendening Bridge, a portion of the Croton Aqueduct, the city’s first major infrastructure project to address the problem of getting clean water to New York City. It ran through our neighborhood about 100 feet west of Columbus Avenue. It came down Amsterdam Avenue and swung over at an angle toward Columbus Avenue, straightening out at 105-104 Streets to head downtown in a straight line. Read the complete blog including eight photos at Our Bloomingdale Wall Recommended by Marjorie Cohen, BNHG planning committee member
Reclaimed Wood: A Field Guide by Alan Solomon and Klaas Armster with photographs by Michel Arnaud 
I’m betting that the recently published book, Reclaimed Wood : A Field Guide will surprise you. And I mean “surprise you” in a good way. The authors, Alan Solomon and Klaas Armster are passionate about wood, wood that has been salvaged from old buildings and then used to create new homes, staircases, boardwalks (like the one in Coney Island) and more. By the time you finish the book, you’ll understand their passion. As you thumb through its pages, you’ll be wowed at first by the beautiful photographs of what has been done with wood that has been rescued from the junkyard.
These lush photographs are paired with fascinating text--about the history of lumber and lumbering in this country, about our virgin forests, about what kind of woods were used in the earliest buildings in the country and how reclaimed wood has been come to be used in 21st century projects. Read more of this recommendation and More Books at BNHG Bookshelf
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Benefit Concert for the Hostel Scholarship Fund
January 25 at 7pm Church of St. Francis Xavier 46 W. 16th St, Manhattan 
Our partner organization, Hostelling International New York City, is promoting an upcoming benefit concert to support their scholarship fund. International tourism is experiencing a downturn that may mean cutbacks in the Hostel scholarship program.
The concert is offered by Orchestra Amadeus on January 25, 2020, at 7 PM, at the Church of St. Francis Xavier, 46 West 16th Street, Manhattan. The program will be Mahler’s Symphony NO. 1 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1. Ticket prices begin at $25. You can purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/orchestra-amadeus-two-titans-beethoven-and-mahler-for-hiny-tickets-79742408691 Over the past four years, the Hostel has provided “Explore the World” scholarships to over sixty young New Yorkers for a first international trip to enhance their education or professional development, or to participate in an international service project. The Hostel awards twenty scholarships per year to young people from underserved communities, many community-college students, providing $2000 to each recipient. Missed one of our Past Events?
"Tin Pan Alley" video recently added on our Past Events Page The BNHG offers presentations of local historical interest monthly between September and June as described at our UPCOMING EVENTS page. Thanks to the Columbus Amsterdam BID, videos of past BNHG presentations are being added to our website. October's "Tin Pan Alley" presentation is the latest addition at our PAST EVENTS page.
Join Our Mailing List If you would like email notifications of our monthly presentations, send a request through our Contact Us page.  Cal Jones receiving award
As part of its "Tin Pan Alley" presentation on September 24, 2019, the BNHG presented its "Second Annual Jim Torain Award" to Cal Jones, Manhattan Borough Historian Emeritus, for his work in furthering the public’s knowledge of, and interest in, the history of the city. Dr. Rob Snyder, incoming Manhattan Borough Historian, made the presentation in behalf of the BNHG.
See the video at our Past Events page. About Us
Celebrating its twentieth anniversary, the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group promotes education and research on the history of the Bloomingdale neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side from 96th to 110th Street between Central Park and Riverside Drive. For more than 300 years, the area has been referred to as Bloomingdale after the Netherlands town of Bloemendaal, Dutch for "valley of flowers." Learn more about our group's activities at our ABOUT US page. The Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group began in 2000 as the Park West Neighborhood History Group. 
BNHG Library Collection
During renovation of the Bloomingdale branch of the New York Public Library, public access to the collection is limited. Come visit the collection when the library reopens in late spring of 2020. 
The BNHG Library Collection, located at the Bloomingdale branch of the New York Public Library, contains more than a thousand items of local history in 150 categories, for example, this book excerpt from the "Pasteur Institute" file. Explore the history of your Bloomingdale neighborhood. Come to the library to explore the many items in this file and the 150 other files!
More information at BNHG Library Collection. Read historical background on the New York Pasteur Institute at Pam Tice’s blog: The New York Pasteur Institute 
'Park West Village was one of Robert Moses's earlier housing projects. It was intended to provide an incentive to middle- income residents to return to the Upper West Side and be part of the multi-economic, multi-ethnic neighborhood. Winifred Armstrong and Barbara Earnest wrote this pamphlet in 2007 for the Park West Neighborhood History Group (predecessor of the BNHG.)
Read the entire pamphlet at Park West Village. |