The Terrible Turks: The Volunteer Fire Company of Shipbuilding Area Near Corlear's Hook

terribleturk2
from a great book As You Pass By, by Kenneth Holcomb Dunshee

In early times, parts of the shoreland along the east river from Rivington to 10th Streets were broken up and segregated from the mainland by marshes and inlets, It was largely a shipyard settlement and one of the hilliest segments was named Manhattan Island. The Terrible Turks was the name given to the volunteer fire company organized by the master shipbuilders who worked there.