Friends of Abolitionist Place

227 Abolitionist Place was owned by Harriet and Thomas Truesdell in the 1850s and Mama Joy in the 2000s. We work to carry forward their legacy of Abolitionism.

[Preserve Our Brooklyn Neighborhoods @infopobn]

“The NYC Economic Development Corp wants to erase history by rejecting what we had proposed with the monument for these five women,” said Raul Rothblatt, who slammed the move to install a play pen for local pups next to the historic structure “terrible.”

https://t.co/jd6UGKgZP8

[Raul Rothblatt @rauldougou]

@NYCulture @tonyc_action This micro-park will put a dog run on top on an Underground Railroad location. @NYCEDC prepares superficial, cynical questions, but ignores that it is a product of the Downtown Brooklyn rezoning that used eminent domain to displace Black-owned businesses at this very location.

[Raul Rothblatt @rauldougou]

NYC EDC launched its new effort to deface the abolitionist legacy. This is part of gentrification on steroids they pushed in Downtown Brooklyn. Ida B Wells & Harriet Truesdell lived here but real activists r being erased from history. The irony is brutal.
https://t.co/QqKMZdRYn1

[Raul Rothblatt @rauldougou]

@afinelyne #SavingPlaces is good #AbolitionstPlace. EDC demolished 223 & 225 Duffield, which were connected by underground passage to 227. Instead of honoring this history, the EDC design wud put a dog run. Please don't let dogs urinate on UGRR site.

Our alternate:
https://t.co/Fu8FcCzWcr

[NY AG James @NewYorkStateAG]

Brooklyn’s 227 Abolitionist Place is one of the most important ties that New York has to our abolitionist roots.

For years, I've fought to protect this site, and I'm proud that today, during #BlackHistoryMonth, it has officially become a historic landmark.

[Raul Rothblatt @rauldougou]

This is a bit of a painful brag. Our group of activists was responsible for the best news for preserving Abolitionist history in Brooklyn. It's painful because it was the ONLY victory in landmarking Brooklyn's history in 2021.

The article HT @Brownstoner:
https://t.co/NMdCtBfyus

[Raul Rothblatt @rauldougou]

.@plitter wrote about the home of Black Suffragist movement, which today is more often known for its new high-rise buildings.

There is more to @DowntownBklyn than meets the eye.

@girlscoutsnyc Troop #2663 petition reveals why Ida B Wells moved there:
https://t.co/Fu8FcCzWcr

[Raul Rothblatt @rauldougou]

@Noah__Goldberg .@Noah__Goldberg
It's the best neighborhood because it was central to US Civil Rights history. It's not just Abolitionists who lived there, but it's where Black churches started in Brooklyn. And it's where the 1st African-American suffragists organized.

https://t.co/Fu8FcCzWcr

[Raul Rothblatt @rauldougou]

.@nytimes published a photo of Abolitionist Place & mentioned importance of 227 Abolitionist Place as a likely #UndergroundRailroad stop.
https://t.co/uUmWIhkNWq

It's time to honor #BlackSuffragist history of @DowntownBklyn. We need #SistersInFreedom:
https://t.co/Fu8FcCzWcr

[Raul Rothblatt @rauldougou]

.@StephenLevin33 wrote this letter supporting #SisterInFreedom 2 years ago today. We want the #BlackSuffragist statue at Abolitionist Place plaza, fulfilling Mayor Bloomberg's promise for the site.

@NYCEDC by contrast wants a dog run there—next to @227Place, a likely #UGRR stop.

[Raul Rothblatt @rauldougou]

.@colsonwhitehead~
@nytimes reports @gageandtollner is now one of the top 10 restaurants in NYC.

It shows progress actually means building on the past:
https://t.co/6HOFqu1jTd

We're hoping to do that with @DowntownBklyn's Black suffragist history, too:
https://t.co/Fu8FcCzWcr

[Friends of Abolitionist Place @227Place]

.@DowntownBklyn history deserves some love.

Thank you @MyrtleAveBklyn.

[Raul Rothblatt @rauldougou]

.@MyrtleAveBklyn published this essential article about African-American education in Brooklyn. It shows yet again the unrecognized importance of @DowntownBklyn to American education history.

https://t.co/VW82fY44bA

[EqualityforFlatbush @EqualFlatbush]

The struggle to #Save227Duffield is NOT over! Construction of #LuxuryTowers is destroying this site of the #UndergroundRailroad in #DowntownBrooklyn @227Place has been asking for access to the building & a meeting w/ @NYCMayor & @NYCFirstLady for months. #BlackLandmarksMatter

[Raul Rothblatt @rauldougou]

.@jessepiercebk - please ask the Public Design Commission to discuss Abolitionist Place Park on Monday with public testimony, not as part the the "consent agenda."

https://t.co/obJcuLztVe

[fuelgrannie @fuelgrannie]

huh

the @nycedc is *trying to block public testimony*

😳

how is that legal, @nycedc @NYCMayor @NYCMayorsOffice?

why don’t you want the *public* to be able to speak on a *public issue*?

are you guys all yimbys or something?🤔

let nyc communities have a voice

👋

[Raul Rothblatt @rauldougou]

Here are better images of the damage to #227AbolitionistPlace. This is the responsibility of @NYCEDC to maintain. The workers in the photo are there for 1 Willoughby Square.

Demolition by neglect is still demolition.

#BlackMonumentsMatter

[EqualityforFlatbush @EqualFlatbush]

#ShawneLee , the daughter of #MamaJoyChatel , the owner of #227Duffield is asking everyone to pls help her get keys to the property from @NYCMayor & @NYCMayorsOffice by tweeting everyday ! #BlackLandMarksMatter #BlackHistoryMatters #BlackBrooklynMatters