A Chance to Look Inside the Records of New York
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This episode of All of It on WNYC explores the New York City Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) and its new exhibit, 'NYC Story, The City on Record,' which showcases the city's rich archival history. Host Alison Stewart speaks with DORIS Commissioner Pauline Toole and City Archivist Rosie Mendez about the department's mission to preserve and share government records dating back to 1636. The exhibit, available both in person at 31 Chamber Street and online at remembrancenyc.nyc, is organized around three guiding questions: who is a New Yorker? How is New York built? And what makes New York, New York? The conversation highlights the human stories behind the records—ranging from early Dutch citizenship documents and LaGuardia-era civil rights reports to personal family letters and immigration histories. Listeners are invited to share their own cherished personal archives, with several callers recounting poignant family documents, diplomas, and photos. The episode underscores how archives are not just bureaucratic records but living narratives that reflect the city’s diverse and evolving identity.
The DORIS archives contain over 300 terabytes of digital records and 275,000 physical boxes, spanning from 1636 to the present.
The 'NYC Story, The City on Record' exhibit uses interactive, non-linear pathways to explore the city’s history through personal and civic records.
Archival materials like the 1935 Harlem conditions report and Almshouse records reveal critical social and civil rights history often overlooked.
The public can access vital records such as marriage certificates and historical vital records through the online portal historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov.
DORIS is actively preserving records from the COVID-19 pandemic, including oral histories and government documentation, for future generations.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
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Introducing DORIS and the NYC Story Exhibit
“They tell you the story of the city. They tell you the story of the people of the city and they're fascinating.”
The Three Questions Behind the Exhibit
“We wanted to encapsulate the experience of New Yorkers... in a way that told the story from a nonlinear perspective.”
Personal Archives and Listener Stories
“I have my 1988 fingerprint sheets from my first arrest with ACT UP. I have it framed.”
The Power of the Archives: From LaGuardia to Almshouse Records
“That report wasn't issued, right? It was too critical. And that just sat in our archive.”
“That report wasn't issued, right? It was too critical. And that just sat in our archive.”
“I was raised very sort of apolitical and aculturally... But as a result, the other black students who were there, we benefited too.”
“They tell you the story of the city. They tell you the story of the people of the city and they're fascinating.”
Host
Guests
DORIS
organization
Rosie Mendez
person
Pauline Toole
person
Alison Stewart
person
NYC Story, The City on Record
other
remembrancenyc.nyc
product
historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov
product
LaGuardia collection
other
1935 Harlem conditions report
other
COVID-19 pandemic
other
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