An AH Villepigue Outdoor Ad for Lindsay On Bedford and Flatbush intersection - © Frank H. Jump
Some of my earliest memories of political graffiti was a “Dump Lindsay” scrawled on an overpass going south on the Van Wyck near the Atlantic Avenue exit in Queens. My recollections of his terms were dotted with strikes and riots. I was bussed a couple of miles from my house to another school in Springfield Gardens in an attempt to integrate the schools. I was not welcomed with open arms by either the parents or students. These were turbulent years but formative ones. My best memories were of the music.
This find was gotten from a tip by Sheepshead Bites‘ Robert Fernandez. Can’t believe I’ve passed this everyday and never noticed it. I’m trying to discern if this was from Lindsay’s re-election campaign or his first election.
UPDATE DEC 29, 2011 @ 3:40PM
Upon closer inspection today during a photo shoot with the Brooklyn Paper – Courier-Life, I can see there was a billboard covering this that was recently removed. I tried to gain roof access to get a better shot and was invited into the apartment of a gentleman by the name of Ja’Mella God Allah, who remembered the former mayor Lindsay fondly. Ja’Mella, Chief of Public Relations for the Universal Black Family Awareness, Inc., and a student of the teachings of his mentor named Allah– a Black community activist during the Lindsay administration – told me about Lindsay’s efforts on keeping the Black community “together” after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Then just fourteen, Ja’Mella heard the teachings of Allah and the “Five Percenters” (also known as The Nation of Gods & Earths – NGE) who worked closely with Lindsay in keeping the community focused on moving ahead in a positive direction of peace and prosperity. This alliance was documented in the legendary New York Magazine article Special Report: The City on the Eve of Destruction by Gloria Steinem and Lloyd Weaver which featured Allah and his Five Percenters movement. The New York Mag cover showed a split Empire State Building with Lindsay on one side and Allah on the other. I couldn’t find an image of this cover but did find a slideshow of notable New York Magazine covers.
Another person in the Lindsay administration that Ja’mella remembers fondly is Barry Gottehrer, an award-winning journalist whose “newspaper series City in Crisis helped elect John V. Lindsay mayor of New York in 1965 and who then joined the administration to help defuse the subsequent crises the city faced.¹“
Allah with former mayor Lindsay aide Barry Gottehrer - courtesy of Ja'Mella God Allah
Ja'Mella God Allah in front of his building proudly wearing his Five Percenters pin © Frank H. Jump
Ja'Mella claims these were produced by the Lindsay administration for this organization.
Ja’Mella said that the billboard that covered this Lindsay campaign painted billboard came down several weeks ago. You can see it was protecting the sign and there was some washout near the name of Kreindler.
UPDATE FRIDAY, DEC 30, 2011 12:03AM
According to reporter Eli Rosenberg of Courier-Life / The Brooklyn Paper, this was from Lindsay’s first-time-run for Mayor of the City of New York “when both Luigi Marano ran for Borough Prez and Timothy Costello for Council Prez, which they both lost.”
Here is an image from Google images Rosenberg took as a screenshot verifying that the billboard was covering this ad this summer:
© Google Images
AGAIN! I thank Robert Fernandez of Sheepshead Bites for the tip on this sign!
- John V. Lindsay Recollections – Museum for the City of New York
- Mayoral Follies – NYC 100
- John V. Lindsay – Wikipedia
- Sanford Garelick – former City Council President under Lindsay in 1970 dies at 93 – NY Times Obit 11/20/11
© Frank H. Jump
[…] IN STATEN ISLAND The John Lindsay campaign ad (likely dating to 1965) uncovered on Flatbush Avenue reminded me of the time back in 1998 when I […]