Monk Eastman

Monk Eastman was a New York City gangster who led the Eastman Gang around the turn of the 20th century. His career linked street violence, political patronage, and organized crime.

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Paul Kelly: Paul Kelly was an Italian-American gangster who founded New York’s Five Points Gang. Kelly led the rival gang whose competition with Eastman’s organization helped define downtown gang warfare.
Lower East Side: The Lower East Side is a Manhattan neighborhood shaped by successive waves of immigration and dense urban life. Its streets and social networks formed the neighborhood base of Eastman’s gang.
New York City Police Department: The New York City Police Department is the municipal law-enforcement agency responsible for policing New York City. Police pressure and arrests weakened Eastman’s organization and helped end his control.
Eastman–Kelly Gang War: The Eastman–Kelly Gang War was a period of violent conflict between rival New York gangs in the early 20th century. The conflict exposed the scale of Eastman’s rivalry with Paul Kelly’s Five Points Gang.
Big Tim Sullivan: Big Tim Sullivan was a New York politician and Tammany Hall power broker. Sullivan’s political patronage connected Eastman’s gang to electoral work and protection.
Tammany Hall: Tammany Hall was the Democratic political organization that dominated New York City politics for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its ward politics offered gangs opportunities to provide muscle, votes, and services in exchange for protection.
Tammany Hall political machine: A political machine is an organization that secures votes and delivers services through patronage and local networks. Eastman’s use as political muscle illustrates the bargains linking street gangs and machine politics.
Sing Sing Correctional Facility: Sing Sing is a New York state prison in Ossining, opened in 1826. Eastman served a prison sentence there after a robbery conviction, interrupting his gang leadership.
William McAdoo: William McAdoo was a lawyer and public official who served as New York City police commissioner. As police commissioner, McAdoo helped dismantle Eastman’s gang through enforcement against its leaders.
Eastman Gang: The Eastman Gang was a New York criminal organization led by Monk Eastman around the turn of the 20th century. This organization was the vehicle through which Eastman built his power and reputation.