Letters to Mayor Lindsay: Children Respond to the 1966 New York City Transit Strike

Children from all over New York City, and around the country wrote to Mayor Lindsay during his first year in office.  The new mayor was, after all, a highly visible man, a strikingly tall and energetic figure.  Many simply asked for a picture or autograph.  But more than any other subject, children wrote to the mayor about the 12 day transit strike, the worst in the city’s history.  Many witnessed it in their daily lives.  Others saw it on television.  Some talked about it in classrooms as far away as Massachusetts.  Here is a selection of their letters.

Excerpt of Child's Letter to Mayor Lindsay - Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives

On January 1, 1966, as John V. Lindsay took the oath of office as New York City’s 103^rd mayor, transit workers all over the city, led by Mike Quill, walked off the job.  Our video about the 1966 transit strike uses contemporary newsreel footage to explore the strike through the experience of adults: the mayor and commuters walking to work; long lines; and crowded highways.  Children’s letters to the mayor offer a different perspective.

LaGuardia and Wagner Archives on the NY Times Learning Network

Steven A. Levine

Coordinator for Educational Programs

Last spring the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives and the LaGuardia Honors Program's Friends of Koch collaborated to create a video on Mayor Ed Koch's Ten Year Housing Plan and how it revitalized entire neighborhoods throughout New York City.  That video is the basis for a lesson on the New York Times Learning Network developed by Tara Hickman and me called "Reader Idea | Researching Political History to Understand How a Community Problem Was Solved"

Please take a look at it and if you use it in your class, please let us know your experiences.