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39-586: Under the leadership of Monk Eastman , a well known bouncer and hired thug, the Eastman Gang spent the next decade establishing a criminal empire in Manhattan 's Lower East Side through criminal activities, including prostitution and illegal gambling . They operated stuss games , and established strong political connections through Tammany Hall . According to an article in the April 26, 1903, edition of

78-597: A Civil War veteran and wallpaper-hanger, and his wife Mary (Parks) Eastman. They were most likely descended from English ancestors of the colonial period. By the time Monk was five, his father had abandoned the family. Mary moved with her children to her father George Parks' home on the Upper East Side . According to the 1880 United States Census, 5-year-old Edward Eastman lived with his mother and other family on East Seventy-Fifth Street, in Manhattan. The household

117-484: A boxing match between Eastman and Kelly in an old barn in the Bronx to settle the feuding. The fight lasted two hours, with both men taking hard punishment before it was called a draw. The politicians pressed the leaders to call a truce and end the street violence. On February 3, 1904, Eastman tried to rob a young man on 42nd Street and Broadway in Manhattan . As the man was being followed by two Pinkerton agents hired by

156-573: A failed armed robbery. The two factions were involved in gun battles throughout the city during the next year. A failed attempt on Zelig's life at the hands of Julie Morrell resulted in the would-be assassin being killed in December 1911. Both Sirocco and Tricker assumed control of what was left of the Eastmans after Zelig was killed by "Red" Phil Davidson shortly before he could testify against NYPD Lieutenant Charles Becker on October 5, 1912, in

195-581: A life of petty crime. One of his partners was Jerry Bohan, a corrupt Prohibition agent. On the morning of December 26, 1920, Eastman and Bohan met with other men at the Bluebird Cafe in Lower Manhattan . Around 4:00 am, they argued over money, with Eastman and Bohan particularly at odds. When Bohan left, Eastman followed him and accused him of being a rat . Feeling threatened, Bohan fatally shot Eastman several times with his pistol. Eastman

234-501: A messy head of wild hair, wearing a derby hat two sizes too small for his head, sporting numerous gold-capped teeth, and often parading around shirtless or in tatters, always accompanied by his cherished pigeons. He had a broad five-foot-six inch frame. In time, Monk's reputation as a tough guy earned him the job of "sheriff" or bouncer at the New Irving Hall, a celebrated club on Broome Street, not far from his pet shop. At

273-604: A pet shop on Broome Street. For years after being widely known as a gangster, Eastman listed "bird seller" as his occupation on government forms. At some point, he returned to live on the Lower East Side and became involved with the neighborhood gangs made up of poor, young men, often children of immigrants. Operations included a bike rental racket. Eastman's ancestry has been a subject of debate by reporters and historians. Because his criminal enterprise involved so many members of Jewish-American organized crime , Eastman

312-459: A policeman. Numerous innocent civilians were injured. Some 18 members of the Eastman gang were reported as arrested. Tammany Hall worked closely with both Kelly and Eastman to mobilize their members in elections and patronage schemes. Its officials grew tired of the feuding and the bad press generated when civilians were killed or injured in the gangs' cross-fire. In 1903, Tammany Hall set up

351-558: A trial for the murder of Herman Rosenthal . After this what was left of the Eastmans began to crumble and the gang finally disintegrated. Monk Eastman Edward "Monk" Eastman (1875 – December 26, 1920) was an American gangster who founded and led the Eastman Gang in the late 19th and early 20th century; it became one of the most powerful street gangs in the city. His aliases included Joseph "Joe" Morris, Joe Marvin, William "Bill" Delaney, and Edward "Eddie" Delaney. Eastman

390-533: Is a longstanding business in the area. In 1973, RTÉ Radio 1 producer, Seán Mac Réamoinn set out to capture life in the North Wall and Sheriff Street area of the city in a radio documentary, Inner City Island , looking to the past, present and future, which aired on RTÉ Radio 1 on 17 March 2009. Parts of the film In The Name Of The Father were shot in Sheriff Street in the early 1990s, as well as

429-525: Is also a recurring character in the Molly Murphy mystery series by Rhys Bowen . In P.G. Wodehouse's 1914 novel Psmith, Journalist the author mentions the real Monk Eastman in passing while giving Eastman's personality, physical appearance, and underworld prominence to the fictional gang leader Bat Jarvis. Stephen Mendillo played Eastman as a henchman for Arnold Rothstein in the 1988 movie Eight Men Out . A fictionalized version of Monk Eastman

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468-670: Is considered to be one of the last of the 19th-century New York City gangsters who preceded the rise of Arnold Rothstein and the Jewish mob . Later, more sophisticated, organized criminal enterprises also included the Italian American Cosa Nostra . Monk was born Edward Eastman in 1875 in the Corlear's Hook section of the Lower East Side of Manhattan of New York City, New York to Samuel Eastman,

507-474: Is frequently depicted as being Jewish (including by some newspapers of his period). However, researchers have documented that he appears to have been a Protestant of British European descent. In his book The Jews of Sing Sing , writer Ron Arons notes that none of Monk's sisters (nor his parents) were married in Jewish ceremonies. His maternal grandfather George Parks died in a Baptist rest home. When Eastman

546-713: Is one of a number of streets within the North Wall area named after positions and groupings related to Dublin Corporation and the City Assembly (an archaic name for Dublin Corporation and Dublin City Council) which first laid out the area in the 18th century on reclaimed ground including: Mayor Street, Guild Street, Commons Street (referring to the Common Council, the "commons" or lower house of

585-590: The New York Daily Tribune , the gang that would become Eastman's first coalesced in the early 1890s. They started out in the notorious Corlear's Hook section of the Lower East Side on Rivington Street, in the vicinity of Mangin and Goerck streets. Another gang of the era, the Short Tails , had its headquarters in this same area, and the Eastman gang may have developed from that group. Originally composed of largely Irish and Italian Catholics from

624-545: The Yakey Yakes and the Five Points Gang , warring over both territory and work as political sluggers for Tammany Hall. The Eastmans dominated the gang war in the 20th century during the first year: his gang members rallied in pitched battles in the streets of New York reminiscent of the gangs of the previous century. Eastman was a charismatic leader, who often led his men into battle. He attracted many members of

663-480: The 42-year-old Eastman decided to join the army. During his military physical, the doctor observed all the knife and bullet scars on Eastman's body and asked him which wars he had been in. Eastman replied, "Oh! A lot of little wars around New York." He served in France with "O'Ryan's Roughnecks," the 106th Infantry Regiment of the 27th Infantry Division . After his discharge from the army, Eastman quickly returned to

702-554: The City Assembly of Dublin) and Alderman Way. Sheriff itself refers to the Sheriff of Dublin City , a position that existed from 1548 when it replaced the term "bailiff". The Sheriff Street area might be defined as Upper and Lower Sheriff Street, Mayor Street, Guild Street, Commons Street, Oriel Street, Seville Place, Crinan Strand and Mariner's Port. One of the most visible buildings is St. Laurence O'Toole's Roman Catholic church, which

741-465: The Eastman Gang had split into several factions; one of his top men, Max Zwerbach , was dead. Since none of the surviving gang factions wanted Eastman as their leader, he was effectively out of power. For several years, Eastman reverted to petty thievery. During this period, he became addicted to opium and served several short jail terms. After the United States entered World War I in 1917,

780-471: The Five Pointers to defect to the Eastmans, including Richie Fitzpatrick and Max "Kid Twist" Zwerbach . However, as the gang war began to escalate, Tammany politicians forced the leaders to agree to a truce before losing control of the situation. After Monk Eastman was arrested in 1904 for a street mugging, the gang threatened to disintegrate among warring factions, each trying to assert control. By

819-485: The New Irving Hall and Silver Dollar Smith's Saloon, Eastman became acquainted with Tammany Hall politicians, who were powerful in New York and deeply involved with the ethnic immigrant communities. They eventually put him and his cohort to work as "repeat voters" in elections and strong-arm men to intimidate the opposition. Eastman's greatest rival was Paul Kelly (born Paolo Antonio Vaccarelli), an immigrant leader of

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858-643: The elimination of the remaining members of the Fitzpatrick faction by Zwerbach lieutenant Vach "Cyclone Louie" Lewis several weeks later, "Kid Twist" Zwerbach took leadership of the Eastmans. He continued his war against the Five Points Gang on and off during his four-year reign. Paul Kelly arranged the murders of Zwerbach and Lewis, using an altercation with underling Louis "Louie the Lump" Pioggi to set them up for an ambush on May 14, 1908. In 1907,

897-429: The end of the year, the gang was split between former Eastman lieutenants Max Zwerbach and Richie Fitzpatrick . Threatened by civil war during their war with the Five Pointers, Zwerbach and Fitzpatrick agree to meet for a truce in late 1904. However, possibly while attending a peace conference, Fitzpatrick was found shot to death at a local neighborhood saloon near Sheriff - Chrystie Street on November 1, 1904. With

936-475: The gang became known as the Allen Street Cadets ("cadet" being Bowery slang for a pimp); they adopted a flamboyant lifestyle. According to one local charity worker, "You never saw an Eastman without a woman." Aside from pimping they also kept their hand in other crimes, running gambling houses, peddling opium , and hiring themselves out as paid goons. One of the gang's "clubhouses" during this time

975-459: The gang members were also bicycle enthusiasts, likely owing to Eastman's own interest in the new riding machines. Lewis claims that Monk rented bicycles out of his Broome Street bird shop, and that an associate opened a club in Monk's honor called "The Squab Wheelman" (after the boss's twin passions—pigeons and bicycles). Eventually, the gang became involved in rivalries with other local gangs such as

1014-406: The heroin epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s. In the late 1990s, the flats were demolished and the area underwent gentrification . Many residents of the flats were housed nearby whilst others left the area. Many of the now gentrified buildings, constructed on the former site of the flats, are accessible on Mayor Street. Lower Sheriff Street remains a working-class area consisting of houses. Noctors's Pub

1053-430: The local slums, the gang quickly became almost exclusively Jewish, as a wave of Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe settled into lower Manhattan and nearby Brooklyn . When Monk Eastman entered the gang is unknown. His father abandoned his family when Eastman was five years old, and he lived with his mother and sisters in her father's household. Several newspaper articles refer to Eastman as from Corlear's Hook, so he

1092-430: The majority-Italian Five Points Gang . In 1900, at the turn of the 20th century, Eastman lived at 221 E. 5th Street, about two blocks from Kelly's New Brighton Social Club at 57 Great Jones Street . The warfare between these two gangs reached a fever pitch on September 17, 1903, with a protracted gun battle on Rivington Street among dozens of gangsters. One gang member was killed and a second reported fatally wounded, by

1131-459: The man's family to keep him out of trouble in the city, the agents intervened. Eastman shot at them while escaping, but was caught by policemen responding to the shooting. Tired of bad publicity from Eastman, Tammany Hall refused to help him. Later that year, Eastman was convicted of attempted assault and sentenced to 10 years in prison at Sing Sing penitentiary. In 1909, Eastman was released after serving five years in prison. During his absence,

1170-638: The mid-19th century. Eastman worked as a paper hanger. By the 1900 census, Mary Eastman lived in Queens on Curtis Avenue, with her daughters Elizabeth and Francine and their families. Edward Eastman is listed in the same census as a "bird salesman" residing on East First Street in Lower Manhattan, living with and married since 1896 to Margaret Eastman. Going by the nickname "Monk", Eastman was not recorded as having been arrested until after his grandfather died. At some point, Parks helped his grandson set up

1209-485: The professional strikebreaker Pearl Bergoff brought in the Eastman gang to ride herd over "scabs" brought in to break a longshoremen strike. Following the murders of Zwerbach and Lewis, "Big" Jack Zelig took over what remained of the Eastmans. He divided the gang into three separate factions, with the other two operating as satellite gangs under saloonkeepers Jack Sirocco and Chick Tricker . These two eventually turned on Zelig, leaving him behind for police arrest after

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1248-657: Was Silver Dollar Smith's saloon on Essex Street. Monk Eastman worked as a "sheriff" or bouncer there. He quickly became a favorite mercenary for the many Tammany Hall politicians and Wall Street big wigs who frequented the place. As Monk's fame grew, his gang came to be known simply as the Monk Eastmans or the Eastman gang. Like many gangs of the time, the Eastmans dressed as dandies; they were well-groomed men who liked to flaunt their wealth. According to Alfred Henry Lewis 's 1912 book, The Apaches of New York , many of

1287-524: Was built in the 1840s and officially opened in 1853, and is accessible via Seville Place. Traditionally, work on Dublin's docks provided employment for local men, but the arrival of containerization led to mass unemployment in the late 1980s. Sheriff Street has a reputation as a run-down area with a high crime rate. the area was for many years notable for the Sheriff Street flats which consisted of St Laurence's Mansions, St Bridget's Gardens and Phil Shanahan House. Issues with poverty and crime peaked during

1326-728: Was buried with full military honors in Cypress Hills Cemetery in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York . Bohan was later convicted of his murder and served three years in prison. Eastman's life and exploits were fictionalized in the Jorge Luis Borges short story "El proveedor de iniquidades Monk Eastman" ("Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities"), included in the Borges collection Historia universal de la infamia (" A Universal History of Infamy "). He

1365-492: Was buried, his funeral service was performed by a Methodist pastor. In 1898, Monk Eastman was arrested and convicted of larceny under the alias William Murray (one of the many Irish aliases which he used). He was jailed for three months on Blackwell's Island . During this time, he belonged to a gang of pimps and thieves known as the Allen Street Cadets. The writer Herbert Asbury described Eastman as having

1404-462: Was headed by his maternal grandfather George Parks, age 68, who worked in a dry goods store. Parks was born in New York, as were both his parents. In the 1870 U.S. census, Mary Eastman had been living on Cannon Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan with her husband Samuel Eastman, age 40, born in New York and working as a paper hanger. Living with them were their children Lizzie and Willie, age 3, born in New York. Willie likely died young, as he

1443-429: Was likely involved from this early era. His background was Yankee (Eastman immigrants came from England in the colonial period), but he originally had many ethnic Irish associates. By the start of the 20th century, the gang had expanded beyond Corlear's Hook and changed its criminal focus from petty theft to pimping, using the many "disorderly houses" (brothels) along Allen Street to amass a small fortune. During this time

1482-481: Was not listed with the family in 1880. In the 1860 census, Samuel Eastman was living as a single man in Manhattan in the household of Thomas McSpedon, from a prominent old NYC family. His mentor's firm, McSpedon & Baker, on Pine Street in New York, was the official printer for the city government. In addition to running his business, McSpedon served as an elected Alderman in NYC and as appointed City Fire Marshall during

1521-493: Was portrayed by actor Brendan Gleeson in the 2002 Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York . Sheriff Street Sheriff Street ( Irish : Sráid an tSirriam ) is a street in the north inner city of Dublin , Ireland , lying between East Wall and North Wall and often considered to be part of the North Wall area. It is divided into Sheriff Street Lower (west end) and Sheriff Street Upper (east end). The street

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