On This Day in History, March 1: Brooklyn’s Answer to Boss Tweed
People familiar with New York history have heard the tales of “Boss” Tweed and Tammany Hall — the corrupt Democratic “machine” that ran — and robbed — the city in the mid-19th century. But fewer know about the “autocrat of Gravesend” – John Y. McKane, who wielded unprecedented control over the seaside town in the decades before it was annexed by Brooklyn in 1894 – the same year that law and order finally caught up with McKane. His trial came to a close on March 1, 1894, and the “boss” was sent off to Sing Sing.
Born in County Antrim, Ireland on August 10, 1841, McKane moved with his family to Gravesend before he was two years old. The southern Long Island town would become famous for the resorts and amusements of Coney Island, Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay.
His career seemed to start out honest enough — he learned carpentry and became a master builder. But he must have gotten a taste for power when he became constable in 1868. The following year he was elected town commissioner. He was town supervisor by 1879, and eventually headed the town board of health, the water board and served as the excise commissioner, meaning he was responsible for collecting taxes. He was even superintendent of the Sheepshead Bay Methodist Episcopal Sunday school. But he really consolidated his power when he became the chief of police in 1881.