Flatiron Raid

This is my first posting for my new Flatiron blog, which will encompass everything about this building and its neighborhood--the object of so many peoples' fascination.

A few days ago the police raided a sweatshop on 20th St. near the Flatiron Building. In a scene worthy of a Damon Runyon story, they found policemen's dress uniforms hanging on racks, ready for delivery. Read more about it at the Times Cityroom blog.

Once upon a time, the twenties blocks west of the Flatiron Building were filled with garment factories. All the loft buildings that now function as offices used to be filled with workrooms, where Italian and Jewish immigrants manufactured buttons, zippers, and clothing.

This neighborhood has so many layers! In the coming months, I will peel them away in this blog, my first one! For the last two years I've been gumshoeing around the Flatiron district and digging through archives, researching my forthcoming book on the Flatiron Building, to be published in the spring of 2010 by Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Press.