The Methodists took an even more active role in social justice when one of its first African-American members, a slave named Peter Williams, expressed fear of going on the auction block after his Loyalist master high-tailed it back to Europe. Wesley Chapel bought Williams, and granted him his freedom in 1784. A decade later, Williams had his own prosperous tobacco business and a home on Liberty Street nearby. And in 1796, he and one of John Street&amp;rsquo;s black deacons formed the country&amp;rsquo;s first all-black Methodist congregation, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, out of Wesley Chapel. That church now operates out of Harlem.  

 It wasn&amp;rsquo;t immune, to the pranks perpetrated by occupying British soldiers, who would slash women&amp;rsquo;s skirts or dig pits in front of the chapel so churchgoers would trip on their way out of services. The British government had to give the Methodists a guard to protect them during worship, which was far more than they gave John Street&amp;rsquo;s treasonous neighbors.  

Wesley Chapel still had strong ties to the Church of England and became a refuge for loyalists during the War of Independence.&amp;nbsp;  

'The oldest Methodist Society in America organized in 1766 by Philip Embury and Barbara Heck, constructed here in 1768 Wesley Chapel, the first Methodist meeting house in America. The present church, the third on this site was completed in 1841' 

Even before the war, the John Street community was surprisingly diverse &amp;mdash; black men and women, including slaves, could become members &amp;mdash; and it even welcomed black preachers and deacons, although black and white members had to sit apart from one another.  

The steps remain empty during the lockdown spurred by the coronavirus  

 T. Downing's old established saloon is not overlooked in the arrangements which the good people of this place make for the refreshments of their friends during these holidays. The fame of Downing's oysters, jellies and cold meats, in such that they need no public eulogium. See his advertisement.  

 Who has boned turkeys and pickled the oysters for at least two generations of New Yorkers. Ladies will save money as well as time and trouble by sending their orders to Downing, No. 3 Broad Street who will furnish them with something to make their guests, if they have any taste, go into ecstacies.&amp;nbsp;  

with heated flooring, a deep soaking tub and a large shower.

In the O’Dwyer administration, this room was tan. Recently, the conservancy has been calling the room “peach-colored,” so it’s possible it could have been repainted since the most recent pictures were taken. image © Anthony Behar/Sipa USA

Gracie Mansion

A conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The Post also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.It was established in 1801 by Federalist and Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, and became a respected broadsheet in the 19th century under the name New York Evening Post. Its most famous 19th-century editor was William Cullen Bryant. In the mid-20th century, the paper was owned by Dorothy Schiff, a devoted liberal, who developed its tabloid format. In 1976, Rupert Murdoch bought the Post for US$30.5 million. Since 1993, the Post has been owned by Murdoch's News Corp. Its distribution ranked 4th in the US in 2019.

New York Post

 No other US daily newspaper still in operation is older. 