Dirck the Norman
It was only a few years after the purchase from the
Indians that a number of so-called Norman families, who
were really Scandinavians, settled here. One of these
families, headed by Dirck Volckertsen (pictured left), better known as
"Dirck the Norman," came into possession of the whole
of Green Point. He was one of a small group of adven-
turous Scandinavians who early came to New Amsterdam
and engaged successfully in the business enterprises of
that period. Those were the days of smuggling, of rum
drinking, of hardy sailors free in the use of their dirks, of
gambling, of risk and adventure. The court records in
the case of Jan de Pree vs. Dirck the Norman, bring to
Hght an amusing and instructive page of the hfe of that
day. Dirck must have thrived on htigation, for his name
often appears as complainant or defendant on the court
minutes.
The patent granting the ownership of Green Point to
Dirck the Norman was dated April 3, 1645. He built
the first house presumably the following year. It rested
upon a knoll, about where Calyer street is laid out, and
from one to two hundred feet west of the present line of
Franklin street, only a few feet from the exact location
where more than two hundred years later the Green Point
Savings Bank began its successful career. The site of
the home was evidently chosen with care. The lawn sloped
gently in front to Norman's kill on the south, and grad-
ually to the East River on the west. The house was of
stone, one and a half stories in height, with dormer win-
dows, built in quamt Dutch style with old Dutch doors,
studded with glass eyes, and brass knockers. Eventually,
the farm, orchard, and meadows became among the best
of those of early days. It was Dirck the Norman who
gave the name to Norman's kill, a name that disappeared
as applied to a body of water but reappeared in the name
of Norman avenue.
-Historic Green Point, 1918
The Notorious Five Families Of Greenpoint
It may be hard to imagine today but at the time of the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) Greenpoint was controlled by five ruthless and evil families, all of them lineal
descendants of the power hungry crime boss Pieter "Baby Face" Praa (pictured left). These five families at the time of the Revolutionary
War controlled the entire population of Green Point with an iron fist.,
must have lived quiet lives, cultivating the fertile fields
which had descended to them from their ancestors.
Each farmer had his own large boat which he used in carry-
ing his surplus farm products to the New York market.
This does not mean that the East River was crossed in a
straight line. It was necessary to drop down the river
at least as far as the present Brooklyn bridge, for New
York in those days did not extend north of the City Hall.
-Hysteric Green Point, 1918
Photographs of the heads of the five families do not exist but we think they may have looked a lot like the five guys pictured above.
The interactive map below has brief bio's and approximate locations of their hide outs. Click on a crime boss' name learn more.
