It’s a scene more commonly imagined today in a Wild West saloon -- a shootout at Stanwyx Hall, across from the most elegant hotel in New York York. The year was 1855, and the combatants were bitter rivals who had fought many times, including once in the notorious neighborhood of Five Points.

By the end, one man lie bleeding on the floor -- William Poole, a member of the Bowery Boys street gang, better known as Bill the Butcher.

The Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York, loosely based upon the Herbert Asbury book, features a version of this character (named Wiiliam Cutting) played by Daniel Day-Lewis. But the story of the real William Poole is far more fascinating, stretching from the west side's Washington Market to the streets of today's SoHo neighborhood.

In this episode, Greg takes you into the world of Bill Poole and the domain of the mid-19th century street gang, mostly seen as scourges of the public good -- that is, until ruthless politicians began to see them as useful.

What was the Bowery like in the 1840s? And just who were the Bowery Boys?

This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Alexander Hamilton vs Aaron Burr! Delmonico's vs Sherry's! John Adams vs everybody! Some of history's most fascinating stories involve important figures who did not like each other very much.

In this edition of Bowery Boys History Live!, recorded at Manhattan's City Winery on May 26, 2026, Greg Young from the Bowery Boys brings some of these stories to a live audience, featuring author Laurie Gwen Shapiro, tour guide Billy Nemec, and the Gilded Gentleman himself, Carl Raymond.

Featuring tales of Revolutionary War spite, obscene Gilded Age banquets, and Jazz Age flights of spite. PLUS: New York City's longest-running rival.

NOTE: We performed at City Winery less than 24 hours after the Knicks clinched their place in the NBA Finals.

This episode for produced and cleaned up by Kieran Gannon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Bowling Green is best known today as the calming, flower-filled oasis in lower Manhattan, next to the decidedly less calming, lumbering sculpture Charging Bull, which is popular with tourists. But this peaceful park was once home to New York City’s most infamous statue -- and the stage for America's first No Kings protest.

In 1770, the old park became the home of a monumental statue of King George III on horseback, an ostentatious artifact meant to remind the rebellious colonists of just who was in charge.

On July 9, 1776, following a reading of the freshly minted Declaration of Independence, angry New Yorkers violently pulled down that statue of King George and, as legend has it, rendered his body into bullets used in the battles of the Revolutionary War.

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States, we also mark the 250th anniversary of this event — not a moment of jubilation and freedom, but of anger and uncertainty. The Declaration beautifully set down the words of independence. The tearing down of King George made the same statement — in a far messier, more violent manner.

In this episode, take a trip back to the city right before the war, when New York was split into those sympathetic to the Tories and those to the Sons of Liberty, an early organization dedicated to the liberty of the American colonies.

PLUS: Find out where you can locate artifacts from this story throughout the city today.

FEATURING: A young Alexander Hamilton, William Pitt the Elder, that rascal Cadwallader Colden and the enterprising ladies of the Wolcott household.

This special episode is not a rerun! It's a riff on a 2020 Bowery Boys episode. It has been rewritten and rerecorded (including for video on YouTube) in honor of America 250, and newly produced and edited by Kieran Gannon.

Visit the website for images and other podcasts associated with this show.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.