“…a beach should be used as a beach…college ought to be in the heart of a community.” William Ballard, Chairman of the New York City Planning Commission

After its establishment in 1963, Kingsborough Community Colleges was housed for first two school years (1964-1966) in two temporary locations: the Brooklyn Masonic Temple in Fort Green and a vacant elementary school in Sheepshead Bay. (1) When it was announced that the New York Planning Commission planned to move Kingsborough to an abandoned Air Force base on Manhattan Beach, both community organizations and the Chairman of the New York City Planning Commission were enraged. These groups attended a series of contentious hearings in 1964 to push for continued access to higher education for Central Brooklyn.  The result of these hearings combined with the formation powerful neighborhood coalitions in Central Brooklyn laid the groundwork for dramatic changes in the landscape of higher education in New York City. 

Irving Underhill. Masonic Temple, Clermont and Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, ca. 1896-1950 (2)

New York Times, June 14th, 1962  A year before the creation of Kingsborough Community College, the decision over the future of the abandoned Merchant Marine training facility  at Manhattan Beach was split: A College or A Beach? (3)

New York Times, January 21, 1964 Chairman of the New York Planning Commission, William Ballard, strongly opposes the Manhattan Beach Site for Kingsborough Community College calling in “completely unsuitable”. Ballard instead suggests the more central urban renewal areas such as Ebbits Field, Atlantic Terminal, Fulton Park and Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island. (4)

 

 

New York Times, January 30th, 1964  Brooklyn Borough President writes to Ballard that, “I think we should build on land presently available and appropriate for campus use, with a minimum of relocation and demolition problems. The Manhattan Beach site meets these requirements perfectly.”  (The site was also given the city for $1 by the federal government) (5)

New York Times, February 28th 1964 Community organizations from Central Brooklyn crowd the site selection hearing to oppose the moving of Kingsborough to Manhattan Beach. Dr. Abraham Goodhartz, Dean of Students at Brooklyn College, set off an uproar by commenting “why send students to areas of segregation and blight?” (6)

Community Resistance: The Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council (CBCC)

The establishment of Kingsborough Community College and the dispute surrounding its location cannot be separated from the civil rights movement and ongoing activism happening across New York City. The same year that these debates took place, Bayard Rustin organized “Freedom Day”: a system-wide to address public school segregation. (7) The drivers of this activism were coalitions of community leaders, organizations, and local businesses such as the Central Brooklyn Coordinating Committee (CBCC) which was at the forefront of the fight to keep Kingsborough in Central Brooklyn.

The CBCC was comprised of a wide range of powerful organizations including the Bedford-Stuyvesant Neighborhood Council, The Brooklyn Chapter of the NAACP and Carver Federal Savings Bank.(8) Its dynamic leadership included Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to congress, who served as vice president during this period. Although not  specifically named in any of the New York Times articles above,their testimony along with that of several other neighborhood organizations in Bedford-Stuyvesant, challenged the city council to question and initially delay the relocation of Kingsborough to Manhattan Beach.  The CBCC intended to keep the college in Central Brooklyn and advocated for alternative urban renewal sites such as Atlantic Terminal and  Ebbits Field. (9) Although unsuccessful, these organizing efforts caught the attention of CUNY Chancellor Albert Bowker and laid the groundwork for the establishment for Medgar Evers College in 1970. 

Convenience Over Vision

1950’s Arial View of Air Force Maritime Training Facility. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library,

Although aligned with community activists, Chairman Ballard disagreed with the Brooklyn political establishment about the Manhattan Beach site simply because he thought it would be better used as a recreational facility as it was in the past. For Brooklyn Borough President Abe Stark and many on the city council, the Manhattan Beach site would be cheaper and less disruptive than any of the alternative sites. The federal government gifted the former Air Force Maritime training facility to New York City for $1 and its barracks provided infrastructure to temporarily house Kingsborough (10). Abe stark also stated that the site “would create no transportation problems.” (11)  It was the easy choice which disregarded calls for access in favor of convenience.

1.“History.” Kingsborough Community College, Link

2. Irving Underhill (American, 1872-1960). Masonic Temple, Clermont and Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, ca. 1896-1950. Gelatin silver glass dry plate negative Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum/Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection, 1996.164.8-B16622. © artist or artist’s estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1996.164.8-B16622_glass_IMLS_SL2.jpg) Link

3. Phillips,  McCandlish. “Idle Manhattan Beach Base Caught in Tug of War.” New York Times (1923-Current file): 35. Jun 14 1962. Link

4. West, Charles G. “Planner Opposes Site for College: City Official Calls Manhattan Beach ‘Totally Unsuitable’ for Brooklyn School; Stand Comes as Shock; Former Air Force Land Had Gained Wide Favor — Many at Hearing Defend Plans.” New York Times (1923-Current file): 31. Jan 21 1964.Link 

5.”Ballard Rebutted on Site of College.” New York Times (1923-Current file): 23. Jan 30 1964. Link

6. Bennett, Charles G. “Tempers Flare on College Site.” New York Times (1923-Current file): 15. Feb 28 1964. 

7. Kahn , Yazmeen. “Demand for School Integration Leads to Massive 1964 Boycott – In New York City: WNYC: New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News.” WNYC. Accessed May 11, 2021.Link 

8. Tager, Florence, and Zala Highsmith-Taylor. (2008) Medgar Evers College: in Pursuit of a  Community’s Dream. New York: Caribbean Diaspora p. 12
 
9. Ibid  p.13
 
10. “Ballard Rebutted on Site of College.” New York Times (1923-Current file): 23. Jan 30 1964. Link
 
11. Ourrivan, Gene. “Base in Brooklyn Given for Campus.” New York Times (1923-Current file): 22. Oct 07 1964. Link