Brownsville was a very tough area of Brooklyn in the 1950s and 1960s.\u00a0 It had a myriad of housing projects and gangs that ruled the neighborhood.\u00a0 Around the various housing projects were seedy tenements that served as homes for long-time residents as well as newcomers.\u00a0 In 1960, the World Telegram and Sun newspaper did a report on gangs in Brooklyn and found that there were 62 active fighting gangs in Brooklyn, 11 of them which resided in Brownsville.\u00a0 Brownsville gangs had a certain fashion that could be spotted by anybody who was paying even the slightest bit of attention.\u00a0 Their clothing was hustler style Bell bottom pants, Kangs (pointed toe shoes) and stingy brim hats.\u00a0 Of the 11 fighting gangs in Brownsville, I am aware of at least four of them: the Frenchmen, Jolly Midgets Jibaros and the Roman Lords.<\/p>\n
The Roman Lords were a Puerto Rican gang that counted the Frenchmen as bitter enemies as well as the Liberty Boys and the Bishops.\u00a0 In 1962, 18 members of the Frenchmen shot and killed a Roman Lord and seriously injured another.<\/p>\n
Many Roman Lords lived on Livonia Ave which was under an elevated train line on a dark street, a perfect spot to hang out without being seen.\u00a0 Powell Street was another hangout of the Roman Lords, where many rundown tenement buildings could be found.\u00a0 One Roman Lord shared his experience of what it was like to move into one of these run-down apartments, which had taken his father 6 months to secure:<\/p>\n
The turf lines of the Roman Lords were Powell Street (East), Stone Ave (West), Sutter Ave (North) and Livonia Ave (South).\u00a0 Besides the way Brownsville gangs dressed described above, the Roman Lords would have been easy to spot as they had their own gang sweaters and jackets.\u00a0 Their sweaters were made of wool with a Roman head on the front and Roman Lords name in script on the back.\u00a0 Their colors were green and gold.\u00a0 Their jackets were black and had their name with white lettering.\u00a0 Many RL had colorful nicknames such as Big Ray, Little Joe, Shorty and Beepop and their activities were\u00a0 attending parties (or “gigs”), robbing stores (one in particular was located between Stone and Christopher Ave.) and hanging out on street corners, shooting dice, and trying to avoid getting pinched by the cops.<\/p>\n
One Roman Lord described what Brownsville was like in the summer when the heat was insufferable:<\/p>\n
This was the kind of neighborhood the Roman Lords lived in and besides the activities described above, they were also an aggressive fighting gang; vicious fights with enemy gangs were common.\u00a0 I was contacted by the daughter of a former Roman Lord by the name of Efraim Ruiz who joined the gang in 1963.\u00a0 Although he has passed on, he took the time to write his life memoirs, including his time in the gang.\u00a0 Titled “Joven Rebelde” (Rebellious Youth), Efraim’s daughter sent a translated excerpt of one of the fights the Roman Lords had with the Bishops:<\/p>\n
Below is a picture of Efraim, he is the one wearing glasses.\u00a0 Efraim went on to attend Teen Challenge, a Christian organization that assists in helping those suffering from drug and alcohol addictions.\u00a0 This picture is most likely of Efraim hanging out with some of the others in the Teen Challenge Program.<\/p>\n
![\"Roman](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newyorkcitygangs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Roman-Lords.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>Roman Lord in Glasses<\/p><\/div>\n
If you are interested, click on this page to see a brief profile of “Beebop,” <\/a>President and leader of the Roman Lords.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Brownsville was a very tough area of Brooklyn in the 1950s and 1960s.\u00a0 It had a myriad of housing projects and gangs that ruled the neighborhood.\u00a0 Around the various housing projects were seedy tenements that served as homes for long-time … Continue reading <\/h5>\n