In this special edition of Wrecking Ball, creator and host Adrian Untermyer, Esq. welcomes New York City Councilman Christopher Marte for the program's first-ever interview with an elected official. Marte, who represents Lower Manhattan's District 1, joins the podcast to analyze how advocates must navigate the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government to protect their landmarks —…
The Historical Society of the New York Courts is pleased to introduce its new Rule of Law podcast series. This season, the series seeks to highlight a variety of important, influential, and inspiring individuals in New York legal history, including lawyers, jurists, advocates, and leaders in the legal profession. This inaugural episode of the series is entitled “Abolitionism & Advocacy in New…
At his death, the 96 year-old Albert Sprague Bard had occupied the landmarked Broad Exchange Building for six decades after becoming the structure's very first tenant. Within those hallowed walls, Bard hatched statewide legislation known as the "Bard Act" which gave New York's communities the legal right to regulate aesthetics — and crucially, protect historic buildings and neighborhoods through…
In 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes, the Republican candidate, won the presidential election against Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. The outcome, however, was one of the most controversial in U.S. history because Tilden won the popular vote and the result of declaring Hayes as the winner was only finalized after months of dispute, earning the accolade of “the Fraud of the Century” by Tilden’s supporters and…
Host Eric van der Vort, Ph.D., speaks with retired judge Richard A. Dollinger about his Judicial Notice Issue 18 article, which explores two strikingly different figures from the early 20th century: a powerful GOP machine boss from Buffalo who became a federal judge and a Russian immigrant from Rochester known as the “high priestess of anarchy.” Though John R. Hazel and Emma Goldman never met,…
Wrecking Ball Series Episode 5 In this fast-paced episode of our podcast series Wrecking Ball, host and creator Adrian Untermyer, Esq. discusses the present and future of historic preservation advocacy in New York with Andrew Berman, whose name is now shorthand for New York’s history-saving movement after leading the venerable Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (now “Village…
Judicial Notice Editor in Chief Hon. Helen E. Freedman sits down with podcast host Dr. Eric van der Vort for a conversation on the subject of her Issue 18 article: Samuel Jones Tilden. The two discuss Tilden’s early years, his contributions to New York’s legal community (including breaking up Boss Tweed’s ring), and, of course, Tilden’s presidential bid in the 1876 election. The 1876 election was…
Wrecking Ball Series Episode 4 The Empire State Plaza's white-and-gray silhouette dominates the skyline of New York's capital city. While the futuristic, stone-and-steel complex looks like it's been there forever, the Plaza has a twisted history covering politics, intrigue, and the Rockefeller Family's one-time dominance over civic and cultural life in New York State. In this episode, former Chief…
Inaugural Latino Judges Association Mendez v. Westminster Moot Court Project Discussion: The Gap In Bilingual Education, the Impact of Aspira v. BOE, and How the Landmark Mendez Case Inspired It All. In a special co-production of the Historical Society of the New York Courts podcast and Amici, the podcast program of the NYS Unified Court System, an insightful panel discusses with Host John Caher…
In this episode of Chatting with the Authors of Judicial Notice, Professor Mary Noé tells host Eric van der Vort, Ph.D. all about a murder committed in full view of a theatre full of witnesses in the early 20th century. The case is full of twists and turns, including escapes, extraditions, and major challenges for the courts to iron out. You won't want to miss this dive into New York's true crime…