>>> TONIGHT, HARRIET TUBMAN'S STORY NEVER TOLD BEFORE, HER DEATH DEFYING MISSIONS TO RESCUE OTHERS FROM SLAVERY.

>>> THEN, INSIDE BROOKLYN'S STOP ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD AND THE BATTLE TO PRESERVE HISTORY.

"METROFOCUS" STARTS RIGHT NOW.

♪♪ >>> THIS IS "METROFOCUS," WITH RAFAEL PI ROMAN, JACK FORD AND JENNA FLANAGAN.

>>> "METROFOCUS" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- SUE AND EDGAR WACHENHEIM III, THE PETER G. PETERSON AND JOAN GANZ COONEY FUND, BERNARD AND DENISE SCHWARTZ, BARBARA HOPE ZUCKERBERG, THE AMBROSE MONELL FOUNDATION.

AND BY -- >>> GOOD EVENING, AND WELCOME TO "METROFOCUS."

I'M JACK FORD.

2022 MARKS 200 YEARS SINCE THE BIRTH OF HARRIET TUBMAN.

BORN INTO SLIFRY, THEY EVENTUALLY ESCAPED, FLEEING NORTH TO FREEDOM.

SHE DIDN'T STAY THERE FOR LONG, PLEAING TO THE SOUTH MANY TIMES, AND RETURNING TO RISK HER LIFE TO FREE OTHERS.

A NEW DOCUMENTARY TITLED "HARRIET TUBMAN, VISIONS OF FREEDOM" HER EFFORTS TO LEAD ALMOST 800 PEOPLE TO FREEDOM.

HERE'S A QUICK PREVIEW.

>> I HAVE SEEN THEIR TEARS, AND I WOULD GIVE EVERY DROP OF BLOOD IN MY VEINS TO FREE THEM.

>> HARRIET TUBMAN WAS ONE OF THE GREAT FREEDOM FIGHTERS IN THIS COUNTRY.

>> SHE FELT SHE WAS GUIDED BY A HIGHER POWER TO GO BACK OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO PERSONALLY FREE ENSLAVED PEOPLE.

>> SHE WAS A CONDUCTOR ON THE UNDERSTOOD GROUND RAILROAD.

SHE WAS A CIVIL WAR SCOUT, A NURSE, A SPY.

SHE LED A MILITARY RAID BECAUSE SHE COULD FADE INTO THE BACKGROUND, BECAUSE PEOPLE DIDN'T EXPECT MUCH OF HERE ON APPEARANCELE I LIKENED HER TO A ONE-WOMAN S.E.A.L.

TEAM SIX.

>> SHE'S SOMEONE WHO SAW HERSELF AS HAVING A PURPOSE, THE PURPOSE OF FREEDOM.

>> SHE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT WHAT SHE DID.

SHE TOOK DIRECT ACTION.

>> SHE HAD INCREDIBLE INTELLIGENCE.

IT'S REALLY ABOUT USING YOUR STRENGTHS TO BENEFIT OTHERS.

>> HARRIET BELIEVED FREEDOM SHOULD BE UNIVERSAL.

>> AND JOINING US NOW TO TALK ABOUT THE INCREDIBLE LIFE AND LEGACY OF HARRIET TUBMAN IS NICOLE LONDON, THE COPRODUCER, AND ONE OF THE WRITERS.

WELCOME TO YOU.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.

I'M EXCITED.

>> I WATCHED THE FILM LAST NIGHT, AND IT'S MARVELOUS.

THEN THERE'S SO MUCH I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT, SO LET ME JUMP IN RIGHT AWAY, WITH THE FIRST QUESTION ABOUT CREATING A FILM SUCH AS THIS, ABOUT A PERSON WHO MAY BE VIEWED AS PRETTY WELL KNOWN.

WERE THERE DAUNTING CHALLENGES TO THAT IDEA TO SAYING, WHAT MORE CAN WE TELL ABOUT HARRIET TUBMAN?

>> WE HAVE FIGURED OUT VERY EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS THAT THERE HASN'T BEEN.

THAT FILMS ON HER.

OF COURSE AT THE TIME WE WERE WORKING ON THIS FILM, THERE WAS A MAJOR STUDIO RELEASE ABOUT HARRIET TUBMAN, BUT WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT DOCUMENTARY FILMS, I DON'T THINK THERE HAD BEEN A MAJOR ONE BY ANYONE.

OF COURSE SHE HAD BEEN PART OF THE OTHER DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT SLAVERY, BUT NEVER ONE JUST ABOUT HER, SO IT'S BEEN A GOOD 50 YEARS SINCE ANYONE'S REALLY FOCUSED ON HARRIET TUBMAN, SO WE WERE DAUNTED BY THE TASK OF THE RESPONSIBILITY, BEING THE DEFINITIVE DOCUMENTARY ON HERSELF.

>> I THINK YOU SUCCEEDED BECAUSE AS I MENTIONED TO YOU BEFORE AIR, I THOUGHT I KNEW A GOOD BIT ABOUT HER AND, I WATCHED THE DOCUMENTARY AND SAID, I DIDN'T KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT HER.

YOU DID WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO HERE, TO BE INFORMATIVE AND ENTERTAINING, I SHOULD SAY, IN THE WAY IT'S DONE.

LET ME ASK YOU A LITTLE BY ABOUT HER.

GIVE US A SENSE OF -- BORN INTO SLAVERY, AS WE SAID, IN MARYLAND.

MARYLAND UNUSUAL AT THE TIME.

TALK ABOUT HOW MARYLAND SAT WITH REGARD TO FREE STATES AND SLAVE STATES AT THE TIME OF HER BIRTH.

>> THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS I HADN'T KNOWN ABOUT MARYLAND BEING A SLAVE STATE.

SLAVERY IN MARYLAND WAS SO DIFFERENT THAN SAY IN A GEORGIA OR MISSISSIPPI, AND HALF OF THE POPULATION WAS -- HALF OF THE BLACK POPULATION WAS ENSLAVED, SO ABOUT 50,000 THAT WERE ENSLAVED AND MAYBE 50,000 THAT WERE DON'T QUOTE ME ON THOSE NUMBERS, THOUGH.

50 THAT WERE FREE.

BLACKS WHO WERE ENSLAVED COULD SEE WHAT FREEDOM LOOKS LIKE, COULD INTERACT AND SEE WHAT -- REALLY FRAMED DIFFERENTLY HOW ONE THOUGHT ABOUT THE ENSLAVEMENT AND HOW ONE THOUGHT THEY COULD BECOME FREE.

TITLES TO ME ARE ALWAYS IMPORTANT.

I KNOW IT'S ALWAYS DIFFICULT FOR FILM CREATORS TO SAY, WHAT'S THE RIGHT TITLE FOR THIS?

>> WE HAVE HARRIET TUBMAN VISIONS OF FREEDOM.

IT COULD MEAN A LOT OF THINGS, BUT IN HER LIFE IT LITERALLY MEANS TO NOTIONS OF VISIONS.

EXPLAIN THAT TO US.

>> WHEN HARRIET WAS 13 YEARS OLD, SHE SUFFERED A HEAD INJURY THAT CASSED HER TO HAVE SOME HALLUCINATORY EPISODES.

SHE'D SEE HERSELF FLYING OVER A FIELD AS A FREE WOMAN.

SHE'D SEE HER FAMILY FREE AS WELL.

SHE INTERPRETED THOSE AS RELIGIOUS FROM GOD AND THOUGHT THEY WERE DIRECTING HER TO TAKE UP THE WORK OF HER LIFE.

WHEN WE HAVE THE IDEA OF VISIONS WE WERE LITERALLY TALKING ABOUT THE VISIONS THAT SHE WAS EXPERIENCING IN HER LIFE, BUT ALSO THE VISIONS THAT SHE HAD FOR HER FUTURE AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA.

>> AND DID THOSE EPISODES CONTINUE THROUGHOUT HER LIFE?

>> YES, THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE -- THROUGHOUT HER ENTIRE LIFE.

IN A LOT OF WAYS WE WOULD CONSIDER HER DISABLED, BECAUSE SHE WOULD HAVE SEIZURES, WHAT WE WOULD CALL SEIZURES AND FALL INTO FITS AND BE UNCONSCIOUS OR, WAKING FUMES AND, THEN HAVE CRIPPLING HEADACHES FROM TIME TO TIME.

SO THESE WERE ALL DISABILITIES BUT THEY NEVER STOPPED HER FROM DOING WHAT SHE NEEDED TO DO.

>> TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HER BREAK -- HER FIRST BREAK TO FREEDOM.

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

>> SO, AT ABOUT 1850, HER MASTER HAD PASSED AWAY, AND OFTEN AS -- THE ESTATE NEEDED TO BE SETTLED AND OFTENTIMES PROPERTY IS SOLD TO SETTLE THE DEBTS OF THE ESTATE.

ENSLAVED PEOPLE BEING PROPERTY THAT ALWAYS BECAME A DANGER AND ONE OF THE GREATEST FEARS IN SLAVERY, EVEN IN MARYLAND, WAS THAT YOU WOULD BE SOLD AWAY FROM YOUR FAMILY.

SOLD TO THE SOUTH.

SOLD SOMEWHERE SO FAR AWAY YOU COULDN'T KEEP CONTACT.

THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS MORE POSSIBLE IN MARYLAND.

EVEN IF YOU WERE SOLD AWAY YOU MIGHT HAVE CONTACT WITH YOUR FAMILY, BUT IF YOU WERE SOLD FARTHER AWAY THAN MARYLAND THAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE.

SHE AND HER TWO BROTHERS WERE FEARFUL THEY WOULD BE SOLD AWAY FURTHER SOUTH, SO THEY RAN AWAY.

BROTHERS LOST COURAGE AND DRAGGED HER BACK, BUT SHE DIDN'T STAY LONG.

PERHAPS WITHIN A FEW DAYS, WEEKS, SHE SET OFF HERSELF ALONE AND REACHED FREEDOM TO PHILADELPHIA.

>> GIVE US AN IDEA -- AND AGAIN, THERE'S SO MUCH IN HER LIFE HERE, BUT SHE GETS TO PHILADELPHIA.

EXPLAIN HOW THEN SHE BECOMES, AS I SAID IN THE INTRODUCTION, SHE DIDN'T STAY IN THE REALM OF SAFETY SHE REACHED BUT CONTINUED TO RETURN.

HOW AND WHY DID THAT HAPPEN?

>> ONCE SHE HAD REACHED FREEDOM, SHE LINKED UP THE OTHER ON ABOLITIONISTS, SHE SPOKE, SHE DID DOMESTIC WORK.

SHE WAS DOING A LOT IN THAT TIME SHE HAD BECOME FREE, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS SHE COULD NOT LIVE WITH AND WAS CONSTANTLY DREAMING ABOUT, HER FAMILY MEMBERS SILL IN BONDAGE IN MARYLAND.

SHE DECIDED IT WAS ENOUGH TO TALK ABOUT ABOLITIONISM.

IT WASN'T ENOUGH FOR HER TO TALK ABOUT PERHAPS ENDING SLAVERY ONE DAY.

SHE FELT SHE COULD MAKE THAT TRIP BACK AND FREE HER FAMILY HERSELF.

AND WHAT WAS INTERESTING ABOUT THAT TIME IS BECAUSE AROUND THAT TIME THE FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT OF 1850 REALLY WAS KIND OF PASSED AND DEPUTIZED ALL AMERICANS INTO AIDING AND ABETTING IN CAPTURING -- RECAPTURING ESCAPED SLAVES.

SO THIS WAS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TIME FOR HER, SOMEONE WHO HAD FOUND HER FREEDOM, WHO COULD HAVE STAY THERE HAD, COULD HAVE KEPT WORKING, COULD HAVE EARNED MONEY, AND LIVED A FAIRLY COMFORTABLE LIFE.

BUT SHE DECIDED THAT COULDN'T BE HER.

SHE HAD TO GO BACK AND TRY TO FREE HER FAMILY AND WHOEVER SHE COULD TAKE UP OUT OF BONDAGE.

>> I SUSPECT MOST PEOPLE WOULD KNOW ABOUT HER WORK IN FREEING OTHERS ALONG THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT HER WORK DURING THE CIVIL WAR.

TELL US ABOUT THAT.

>> SO, AFTER SLAVERY WAS ABOLISHED, YOU KNOW, SHE WAS NOT IDLE.

SHE JOINED UP WITH THE UNION FORCES.

SHE BECAME A NURSE.

BUT, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY AS A NURSE, YOU KNOW, HELPING THE TROOPS AS THEY CAME UP, WOUNDED SOLDIERS, SHE WAS GATHERING INTELLIGENCE.

YOU KNOW, PERHAPS WILLINGLY OR UNWILLINGLY, BUT SHE WAS FINDING STUFF OUT.

SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT SHE WAS GETTING FROM SLAVES THAT WERE COMING FROM THE SOUTH IS HOW MANY PLANTATIONS HAD SOLDIERS NEAR THEM, HOW MANY AMMUNITIONS THEY HAD, HOW MANY MEN WERE IN THESE TROUPES, HOW MANY MIGHT BE WOUNDED.

THESE TYPE OF INFORMATION, ALL INTELLIGENCE.

SO SHE WENT TO SOME OF THE UNION GENERALS AND WAS RELAYING SOME OF THIS INFORMATION.

THE PLANS HAD KIND OF -- BECAUSE SHE WAS GATHERING SO MUCH INTELLIGENCE SHE WAS REALLY GOOD AT CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE, AND THAT WAS HER -- OF COURSE SHE WAS REALLY GREAT AT UNDERSTANDING LANDSCAPES.

AND THESE WERE SKILLS THAT SHE FOUND THAT WERE USEFUL TO KIND OF TRANSLATE INTO HER BECOMING SOMEWHAT OF A SPY FOR THE UNION ARMY.

I LIKE TO CALL HER A ONE-WOMAN S.E.A.L.

TEAM 6 BECAUSE SHE WAS SOMEONE THAT COULD KIND OF USE HER SKILLS TO KIND OF INFILTRATE ENEMY TERRITORY AND BRING OUT FUGITIVES.

BRING OUT HOSTAGES IF YOU WILL.

>> AND I'M SURE PEOPLE WHO WATCH THE FILM ARE GOING TO SEE, ESPECIALLY ONE EPISODE -- WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO GET INTO IT.

BUT I WANT PEOPLE TO WATCH IT, WHERE AS YOU SAID, IT'S AN S.E.A.L.

TEAM OPERATION THAT SHE IS RUNNING HERE.

I SHOULD NOTE THAT SHE HAD IN HER LATER LIFE A PRESENCE IN NEW YORK STATE.

TELL US ABOUT THAT.

>> OH, YES.

SHE'S HAD SORT OF A PRESENCE IN SEVERAL CITIES IN NEW YORK.

NEW YORK BEING ONE OF THE PLACES THAT DURING HER WORK ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, SHE WOULD FORGE A PATH THROUGH NEW YORK STATE UP INTO CANADA TO FIND, YOU KNOW, ENSLAVED PEOPLE, BECAUSE OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT, BECAUSE AMERICA WAS SUCH A HOT BED FOR ANYONE WHO WAS ESCAPING SLAVERY.

CANADA PROVED RESPITE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.

SO SHE WOULD CARVE A PATH THROUGHOUT THE STATES UP INTO CANADA.

BUT ONE OF THE PLACES SHE FOUND THAT SHE LIKED WAS AUBURN, NEW YORK, AND THAT IS WHERE THE HARRIET TUBMAN HOME IS TODAY.

SHE FOUNDED A RETIREMENT HOME OF SORTS.

SHE HAD A STRONG BASE THERE, AND THERE ARE SOME MEMBER OF HER FAMILY THAT ARE STILL LOCATED THERE TODAY.

>> I THINK PART OF THE GREATNESS OF THIS FILM IS THE ARRAY OF EXPERTS THAT YOU HAVE HERE AND ALSO THE PHOTOS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER, INCLUDING PHOTOS OF HER.

I'VE GOT JUST ABOUT A MINUTE LEFT.

WE THINK OF HER, AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU WATCH THE FILM AS THIS MAJESTIC HEROIC FIGURE, BUT TALK ABOUT HER ACTUAL PHYSICAL PRESENCE.

AGAIN, LESS THAN A MINUTE HERE.

GIVE US A SENSE OF WHAT SHE LOOKED LIKE.

>> SHE WAS ONLY 5 FEET TALL.

SHE WAS VERY SHORT.

BUT BECAUSE OF ESPECIALLY HER WORK IN MARYLAND AS AN ENSLAVED WOMAN, SHE WAS VERY STRONG AND VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT LANDSCAPES.

SO SHE COULD WALK ALL THE MILES FROM MARYLAND TO CANADA, WHICH SHE OFTEN HAD TO DO, OR FROM MARYLAND TO PHILADELPHIA, MARYLAND TO NEW JERSEY, MARYLAND TO NEW YORK.

AT ONE POINT SHE HAD WORN THE SHOES OFF HER FEET CARRYING PASSENGERS ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

THIS IS A SMALLISH PERSON IN STATURE, BUT LARGELY WRITTEN IN LIFE HISTORY AND ESPECIALLY THE HISTORY OF THAT COUNTRY.

>> I TALKED ABOUT HER, MAJESTIC AND HEROIC, AND THE FILM CAPTURES THAT.

WONDERFUL WORK BY ALL OF YOU.

IT'S CALLED "ARRRIET TUBMAN, VISIONS OF FREEDOM."

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE GREAT YOU'VE DONE.

YOU TAKE CARE.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

♪♪ >>> GOOD EVENING, AND WELCOME TO "METROFOCUS."

I'M JACK FORD.

AFTER DECADES OF LOCAL ACTIVISM, THE NEW YORK CITY -- RESERVATION COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO DESIGNATE A SMALL BRICK BUILDING IN BROOKLYN AS A HISTORIC LANDMARK.

227 DUFFFIELD STREET WAS OWNED BY AN ABOLITIONIST COUPLE.

THERE'S REASON TO BELIEVE BY THE ADVOCATES THAT THEIR HOME MAY HAVE SERVED AS A TEMPORARY STOP FOR THOSE ESCAPING SLAVERY IN THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

THOUGH THE CITY CODE NAMED A SECTION ABOLITIONIST PLACE, THEY HAVE RESISTED GIVING THE HOMELAND MARK STATUS UNTIL NOW.

JOINING ME NOW TO DISCUSS THE HISTORY OF THE LOCATION AND ALSO THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ITS LANDMARK DESIGNATION IS MICHAEL HENRY ADAMS.

WELCOME TO YOU.

THANKS FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

GREAT FUN TO TALK WITH YOU THIS AFTERNOON.

>> I'M DELIGHTED TO CHAT WITH YOU.

LET'S START WITH THIS NOTION OF A DESIGNATION, LANDMARK STATUS.

JUST WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

>> NEW YORK CITY HAS THE BEST PRESERVATION LAW IN THE NATION AND ONE OF THE OLDEST.

IT MEANS THAT WITHOUT THERE BEING PROOF BY THE OWNER THAT THEY WILL EXPERIENCE SOME HARDSHIP IF THEY MAKE CHANGES OR ALTERATIONS OR DEMOLITION OF A BUILDING, THAT THEY CANNOT DEMOLISH IT OR CHANGE IT WITHOUT GETTING THE APPROVAL OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT.

AND SO THAT JUST GOES SUCH A LONG WAY TOWARD HELPING US TO PRESERVE BUILDINGS THAT EXEMPLIFY OUR GREAT HISTORY OF THE CITY.

>> WHAT DOES THE PROCESS INVOLVE?

HOW DOES IT COME TO BE THAT A LOCATION SUCH AS THIS IS ABLE TO ACHIEVE THAT DESIGNATION?

>> WELL, ORDINARILY IT'S PEOPLE IN A GIVEN NEIGHBORHOOD WHO FEEL THAT THERE'S SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT OR HISTORICAL OR OF AESTHETIC IMPORTANCE IN THEIR COMMUNITY, IT SHOULD BE PROTECTED, AND THEY PETITION THE LANDMARK PRESERVATION COMMISSION, ASK FOR EVALUATION, AND OFTENTIMES THEY GET A FORM LETTER BACK THAT SAYS THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THE COMMISSION.

UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S THE SMALLEST AGENCY IN THE CITY WITH THE SMALLEST BUDGET AND THE COMMISSIONERS DON'T RECEIVE ANY PAY.

THEY'RE VOLUNTEERS, UNLIKE THE MEMBERS OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION, SO THAT REALLY PRESCRIBES WHICH PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY AFFORD TO BE ON THE COMMISSION.

SO IT'S NOT AS OPEN A PROCESS AS ONE WOULD LIKE TO HOPE, AND IT WOULD BE GREAT IF AS IN SOME OTHER JURISDICTIONS, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD NOMINATE PROPERTIES.

A HEARING IS HELD AFTER THE BUILDING HAS BEEN CALENDARED, AND AFTER THAT HEARING, USUALLY THE HEARING'S FAIRLY PROFORMA.

THE BUILDING BECOMES DESIGNATED AND IF APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNTY IT BECOMES AN OFFICIAL NEW YORK CITY LANDMARK.

>> TELL US ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THIS BUILDING THAT LED TO ITS DESIGNATION.

>> WELL, THIS BUILDING IS VERY SPECIAL, AND IT FACED TREMENDOUS PROBLEMS, IN PART BECAUSE THIS BUILDING WAS OWNED BY THE TRUESDALE FAMILY.

AND MR. AND MRS. TRUESDALE WERE PROMINENT ACTIVISTS IN THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD AND ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT.

BUT THEN SO IT'S BELIEVED WERE THEIR NEIGHBORS IN A ROW THAT EXISTED TO THE WEST OF THEIR HOUSE.

AND HOUSES THAT LOOK VERY MUCH LIKE THIS HOUSE, A GROUP OF ROW HOUSES.

AND WHEN PEOPLE FIRST PETITIONED THE CITY TO GET THE TRUESDALE HOUSE DESIGNATED AS A LANDMARK, THEY ALSO ASK THAT THESE OTHER HOUSES BE PROTECTED, AND THE CITY HAD A PLAN TO TAKE THEM ALL BY IMMINENT DOMAIN AND DEMOLISH THEM TO CREATE A PARK.

AND IN PERSISTING TO TRAY TO AT LEAST SAVE THIS ONE HOUSE, WE FINALLY HAVE GOT THAT, THIS ONE PARTICULAR HOUSE THAT'S BEEN PROTECTED.

BUT ALL OTHER HOUSES HAVE BEEN DEMOLISHED IN THE TIME PERIOD.

THE COMMISSION INITIALLY SAID THAT, AS YOU SUGGESTED, THAT "A," IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO PROVE THAT THIS HOUSE HAD BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

WELL, THAT'S NOT ANYTHING STRANGE GIVEN THAT THE UNDERSTOOD GROUND RAILROAD WAS A HIGHLY SECRETIVE OPERATION, MUCH LIKE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO RISKED THEIR LIVES TO HIDE JEWS DURING THE HOLOCAUST.

THE FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT HAD JUST BEEN PASSED IN 1850, AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN FINES COULD BE ISSUED TO YOU FOR HIDING FUGITIVE SLAVES.

>> AT A TIME, BY THE WAY, WHEN THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WERE SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS.

>> YEAH, A CITY COMMISSIONER MIGHT MAKE $3,000 A YEAR.

A BANKER MIGHT MAKE $5,000 A YEAR.

SO THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WAS A LOT OF MONEY.

AND SO PEOPLE WERE TAKING A TREMENDOUS RISK.

AND THIS HOUSE, THERE WERE NO FIRM DIARY ENTRIES OR LETTERS THAT SAID SOME SPECIFIC ACTIVITY OCCURRED HERE.

AND OF COURSE IN THE TIME, PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE SIGNS THAT SAID, THIS IS 227 DUFFIELD STREET, THE BROOKLYN STOP ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

BROOKLYN WAS THIS MASSIVE PORT.

WE FORGET IT WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST CITIES IN THE COUNTRY, AND ITS PORT WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH ACTIVITY DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO SLAVERY.

AND EXPORTING AND IMPORTING THE GOODS OF THE SOUTH AND BRINGING COTTON TO THE NORTH TO BE SPUN INTO FABRIC IN NORTHERN MILLS.

AND THIS ACTIVITY WAS SO PROMINENT IN THE NEW YORK AREA THAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR, OR EVEN BEFORE THE WAR IN 1860, MAYOR FERNANDO WOOD OF NEW YORK SUGGESTED THAT NEW YORK SECEDE FROM THE UNION SO THAT IT MIGHT TRADE LIKE A CITY STATE LIKE VENICE HAD BEEN IN THE 16th CENTURY, WITH BOTH THE NORTH AND SOUTH AND NOT CURTAIL A BIG PART OF IT BUSINESS.

>> I WAS SURPRISED TO LEARN, AT ONE POINT IN SOME RESEARCH I WAS DOING, THAT ALBANY WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR SLAVE TRADING CENTERS IN THE COLONIES AND INDEED THE STATES UNTIL IT WAS BANNED.

AGAIN, SORT OF UNDERSCORING YOUR POINT HERE.

LET ME JUMP IN FOR ONE SECOND IF I CAN.

ONCE AGAIN, I'M TALKING WITH MICHAEL HENRY ADAMS, PRESERVATIONIST AND HISTORIAN.

AS YOU MENTIONED, BACK IN -- AS RECENTLY AS 2007, THE COMMISSION SAID NO TO PROVIDING THIS HISTORIC DESIGNATION FOR THE PROPERTY.

WHAT CHANGES BETWEEN THEN AND NOW, DO YOU THINK?

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, THEY SAY ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL, AND WHAT IS CONVERSELY TRUE IS THAT EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL.

AND SO BY HAVING A NEW ADMINISTRATION FROM THE BLOOMBERG ADMINISTRATION, BY HAVING THE FIRST LADY OF NEW YORK, SHARLENE McCRAE, AND ALSO BY HAVING AS OUR PUBLIC ADVOCATE AND NOW OUR WONDERFUL SECRETARY OF STATE LETITIA JAMES -- SORRY, ATTORNEY GENERAL, NOT SECRETARY OF STATE.

LETICIA JAMES, SHE AND MISMcCRAE WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN CHANGING WHAT HAPPENED AT DUFFIELD STREET.

WE'RE GRATEFULFUL THEY MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

>> THE ATTORNEY FOR THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY, THE PROPERTY INTENDED TO DEVELOP IT INTO A TEN-STORY APARTMENT BUILDING, SAID WE'RE GOING TO INCLUDE A MUSEUM FOR BLACK HISTORY IN THAT DEVELOPMENT AND SAID ESSENTIALLY HIS CLIENT IS DEVASTATED BY THIS DECISION.

WHAT DO YOU SAY -- OTHER CRITICS SAID, DO YOU THINK IT'S FAIR THAT LIMIT A PROPERTY WHEN IT IS PROBABLE THAT PROPERTY WAS USED OR POSSIBLE IT WAS USED?

WHAT'S THE SHORT ANSWER TO THE CRITICISM.

>> THE SHORT ANSWER IS THERE IS A HARDSHIP PROVISION IN THE NEW YORK STATE LAW.

IF YOU'RE A BUSINESS YOU CAN OPEN YOUR BOOKS AND PROVE THAT WITHOUT THE DEVELOPMENT YOU INTEND TO DO THAT YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO SURVIVE.

AND IF YOU CAN DO THAT, YOU'RE BUILDING CAN BE DEMOLISHED.

BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT SINCE I'VE LIVED IN NEW YORK IN 1985, THERE HAVE BEEN FEWER THAN A DOZEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE AVAILED THEMSELVES OF THAT HARDSHIP PROVISION.

SO IT'S JUST NOT A LEGITIMATE THING.

PEOPLE BUY PROPERTIES OFTEN TIMES JUST TO SPECULATE THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO SOMEHOW MAKE MORE MONEY IN THE FUTURE THAN THEY ARE MAKING NOW, AND WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE GREAT HISTORY MBUED IN THIS PLACE, WHEN YOU'RE TALK AT A PLACE THAT WAS OWNED AND LIVED IN BY ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT ABOLITIONISTS OF HIS TIME, YOU DON'T IMAGINE THAT A PERSON LIKE THAT DID NOT PREVAIL EVERY RESOURCE AVAILABLE TO HIM IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE HIS BUSINESS OF TRANSFERRING SLAVES -- FORMER SLAVES TO FREEDOM IN CANADA.

SO, IT GOES WITHOUT QUESTION THAT OF COURSE SOMETHING THAT WAS UTILIZED TO BE USEFUL TO FREEING PEOPLE OCCURRED IN THIS HOUSE.

>> GOT A LITTLE BIT LEFT THAN TWO MINUTES LEFT.

LET ME ASK YOU TWO QUESTIONS.

ARE THERE OTHER PARTICULAR SITES YOU FEEL SHOULD BE GRANTED THIS DESIGNATION?

AND IS THE CITY DOING ENOUGH WITH REGARD TO THAT?

>> TWO THINGS -- THERE'S A HOUSE AT NUMBER 857 RIVERSIDE DRIVE, AND IT IS JUST AS MERITOROUS AS BEING DESIGNATED AS THIS HOUSE AS BEING AT THE CENTER OF THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT.

HE LOOKED DOWN ON THE HOUSE, WHICH WAS VACANT, AND SOLD IT TO A PARTNER, ANOTHER ABOLITIONIST NAMED JUDGE JOHN NEWHOUSE AND NEWHOUSE LIVED IN THE HOUSE FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS.

SO THERE'S NO WAY, AGAIN, THAT HE DID NOT UTILIZE THIS HOUSE SOME WAY FOR THE EFFORT HE WAS INVOLVED IN.

THE CITY, UNFORTUNATELY TOUCHDOWN MAYOR SAID RECENTLY EVERY AGENCY, INCLUDING THE POLICE, SUFFERED FROM SYSTEMIC RACISM AND THAT HE WANTED TO BOTH IDENTIFY IT AND ROOT IT OUT, AND THE WAY THAT MUST BE ROOTED OUT IN TERMS OF LANDMARKING IS FOR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR TO BE GIVEN THE SAME NUMBERS OF LANDMARKS THAT EXIST IN PROSPEROUS WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS, WHICH IS SIMPLY NOT THE CASE NOW.

GREENWIC -- >> HOPEFULLY THIS MIGHT MOVE THAT CONVERSATION ALONG.

AGAIN, OUR THANKS, MICHAEL HENRY ADAMS, THANK YOU FOR COMING ON AND HELPING US UNDERSTAND THIS PROCESS.

WE APPRECIATE IT.

YOU BE WELL.

>> SO GRATEFUL TO YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

>> TAKE CARE.

♪♪ >>> "METROFOCUS" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- SUE AND EDGAR WACHENHEIM III, THE PETER G. PETERSON AND JOAN GANZ COONEY FUND, BERNARD AND DENISE SCHWARTZ, BARBARA HOPE ZUCKERBERG, THE AMBROSE MONELL FOUNDATION.