Above, a memorial at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Check out the excellent sandals. But who is Alfred Tredway White? Just someone who was "credited with cutting Brooklyn's infant mortality rate by half."
From the Unitarian Universalist Association website:
...White became aware of the terrible living conditions of the urban poor. Shocked to find that the death rate in tenement districts exceeded the general rate of population growth, he worked to stop these needless deaths with better housing. "Well it is to build hospitals for the cure of disease," he said, "but better to build homes which will prevent it."
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Anyone who wants to know more about Alfred White may be interested to learn that Proteotypes, the publishing arm of Proteus Gowanus Gallery and Reading Room (www.proteusgowanus.com), will bring out a book of essays on his work in early 2009. White devoted his life and fortune to building quality housing for the immigrant poor (Warren Place, Riverside Apartments on Columbia Place). Following the business model of "philanthropy and five percent," he built cottages and apartments that were fireproof, sunlighted, well-ventilated, and equipped with indoor plumbing and communal amenities such as libraries, laundry facilities, and gardens.
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