NYC Department of Records

THIS TUESDAY! Join us online from 1-2pm on June 9 when Dr. Peter D. Blackmer will examine the methods, uses, and impact of state repression using the NYC Municipal Archives’ NYPD Bureau of Special Services & Investigation (BOSSI) Collection. The author of "Unleashing Black Power: Grassroots Organizing in Harlem and the Advent of the Long, Hot Summers", Dr. Blackmer will explore how archival records can help us understand, analyze, and write more complete and compelling histories of the Black Freedom movement in New York and beyond.

"Unleashing Black Power" explores the local dynamics, national connections, and global context of the Black Freedom movement in Harlem from 1954-64, illuminating how activists, organizers, and ordinary people mounted their resistance to systemic racism in the Jim Crow North. Tracing the dual evolution of Black radicalism and white resistance, "Unleashing Black Power" offers a new framework for analyzing the epochal urban uprisings in the 1960s.

Learn more & RSVP here: https://on.nyc.gov/4dMdOdv

Who is a New Yorker? Someone who only eats NYC-style pizza? Belongs to at least one library (if not three)? Knows to walk on the right side of the sidewalk? Celebrates Manhattanhenge? Knows where to grab the best BEC in the city? 🍳

Decide for yourself at the NYC Department of Records' online, interactive exhibit "NYC's Story: The City On Record" at www.RememberNYC.nyc. 🍕📚🌇

If you're a New York Knicks fan, you might know that the original - and still official - name of the basketball team is the New York Knickerbockers. You might even know that “Father Knickerbocker” dribbling a basketball was the team logo from 1946 to 1964. But who was the real Father Knickerbocker? And how is he connected to New York basketball? 🏀

Find out for yourself in this week's blog post: https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2026/6/5/the-real-father-knickerbocker

Join us online from 1-2pm on July 7, when fashion historian Nancy MacDonell will delve into the work of columnist and editor, Diana Vreeland, and photographer, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, for the New York fashion magazine, "Harper’s Bazaar".

Stemming from MacDonell’s recent book, "Empresses of Seventh Ave: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion", this presentation will highlight how the work of these two women during the 1940s - specifically, their collaboration on the 1942 photoshoot, “Flight to the Valley of the Sun” - showcased the evolution of American style.

Learn more & RSVP here: https://on.nyc.gov/4wXocH3

Discover the story behind the names on the streets in your neighborhood! With the NYC Department of Records' interactive map, you can explore the history of co-named streets & the stories of nearly 2,500 famous and unsung heroes throughout New York City - names, biographical information, and more.🗽

View the map here: https://on.nyc.gov/4iIjQvY

Happy World Bicycle Day! Today, we celebrate the joy of cycling, our connection to NYC streets & parks, and the spirit of adventure. 🚲🗽✨

Learn more about this “Six Day Bicycle Race” sculpture and other pieces in our collection of WPA photographs here: https://on.nyc.gov/3UpUEiW

NEXT TUESDAY! Join us online from 1-2pm on June 9 when Dr. Peter D. Blackmer will examine the methods, uses, and impact of state repression using the NYC Municipal Archives’ NYPD Bureau of Special Services & Investigation (BOSSI) Collection. The author of "Unleashing Black Power: Grassroots Organizing in Harlem and the Advent of the Long, Hot Summers", Dr. Blackmer will explore how archival records can help us understand, analyze, and write more complete and compelling histories of the Black Freedom movement in New York and beyond.

"Unleashing Black Power" explores the local dynamics, national connections, and global context of the Black Freedom movement in Harlem from 1954-64, illuminating how activists, organizers, and ordinary people mounted their resistance to systemic racism in the Jim Crow North. Tracing the dual evolution of Black radicalism and white resistance, "Unleashing Black Power" offers a new framework for analyzing the epochal urban uprisings in the 1960s.

Learn more & RSVP here: https://on.nyc.gov/4dMdOdv

Happy Pride Month from the NYC Department of Records! This month is more than a celebration - it's a powerful reminder of all that the LGBTQIA+ community of New York City has endured in an historic fight towards acceptance, equality, and visibility for all. 🌈🗽❤️

In New York City & looking for free things to do inside? ✨🗽❤️

Come check out the NYC Department of Records' three exhibits: "NYC's Story: The City on Record", "Revisiting the World of Tomorrow: The 1964-65 World's Fair", and "Windows on the Archives" - all on display and open to the public at 31 Chambers Street from 9am-4:30pm (M-F).

Learn more here: https://on.nyc.gov/3WFQKFj