A Couple of Books About NYC, Not in Chronological Order

With the local library closed, I have resorted to buying paperbacks on line.  As usual, I try to stick with nonfiction and history and ordered two books about NYC.  In reverse chronological order, let me write my impressions of Damnation Island:  Poor, Sick, Mad & Criminal in 19th Century New York by Stacy Horn.

To "alleviate" the crowded conditions at Bellevue, which served not only as a hospital but also was the location of the City's penitentiary, lunatic asylum, almshouse, workhouse and prison for people convicted of minor crimes, construction was begun on Blackwell Island, a two mile long island in the East River, of new buildings.  Beginning in 1832, with a hospital for the poor and a second building, the penitentiary, and expanding in 1839 with a lunatic asylum, and again in 1848 with an almshouse and in 1852 with a workhouse.  All were horrible:  understaffed, abusive to patients and inmates alike, medical "treatment" typical of early 19th century "practices" and care of insane more barbaric than caring.  Patients were used as nurses, inmates as workers.

The book cites practices off the island as well, in privately owned as orphanages, social trends of immigration and poverty as direct causes of ending up on the Island, incompetent and even cruel facility directors.  It all brought back my six months of working in the Department of Mental Health (prior to its more correct new name).  Six months was barely enough to introduce me to the problems still rampant in the 20th century and to conclude that there still was very little effective treatments.  Then came deinstitutionalization.

All I conclude from this book is that the problems go back centuries and the treatments are still ineffective.  Under the guise of philanthropy, people and organization capitalized on the problem to overcharge families and the State for meager services.

I left OMH, realizing that my assignment was quietly being performed as well several floors below our office, just as eternally and ineffectually.  Too bad this book brought back all these memories.