About this listing
Hall for hire run by the Surface Line Operators Fraternal Organization
Place Details
Borough : Brooklyn
Neighborhood : Bedford- Stuyvesant
Place Matters Profile
Note: As of our inquiry in 2008, the Transit Club is no longer at this location, and may have closed permanently.
Started in 1956 by a group of transit workers, the Surface Line Operators Fraternal Organization (SLOFO) has from the start focused on providing both tangible member benefits such as insurance policies, and a social gathering place in the form of the Transit Hall. Housed in two different sites in Bedford-Stuyvesant over the years, the Transit Hall has not only served SLOFO members, but has also been a community resource as a rental hall and gathering place.
SLOFO was originally housed in a little storefront on Fulton Street, two blocks west of Sumner Avenue. It was essentially a clubhouse, a place where members could meet, hang out, and play pool. This space soon became too small to hold the growing membership, so in 1961 the organization moved to its present location in a spacious three-story corner commercial building. Members primarily use the
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Note: As of our inquiry in 2008, the Transit Club is no longer at this location, and may have closed permanently.
Started in 1956 by a group of transit workers, the Surface Line Operators Fraternal Organization (SLOFO) has from the start focused on providing both tangible member benefits such as insurance policies, and a social gathering place in the form of the Transit Hall. Housed in two different sites in Bedford-Stuyvesant over the years, the Transit Hall has not only served SLOFO members, but has also been a community resource as a rental hall and gathering place.
SLOFO was originally housed in a little storefront on Fulton Street, two blocks west of Sumner Avenue. It was essentially a clubhouse, a place where members could meet, hang out, and play pool. This space soon became too small to hold the growing membership, so in 1961 the organization moved to its present location in a spacious three-story corner commercial building. Members primarily use the basement recreation area and the first floor bar and clubhouse. A second-floor dance hall is rented out to community groups, and the third floor contains rental offices. Henry Bramwell, a lawyer and the first African American appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, aided the group's move to the Willoughby building and helped its membership grew to over 1000 (full members are all transit workers, but municipal and postal workers can be associate members).
One aim of the SLOFO from the beginning was to provide benefits for its members. By collecting dues, the club provided insurance policies, a blood bank, and floral wreaths for funerals. Another of its initial aims was social, the club provided a place for members to relax and socialize. The club also holds picnics and holiday parties for members’ children, and keeps in touch with the local community by providing rental space for group functions. Local nurse organizations have held fundraisers there, and families often hold baptisms and baby showers. Other fraternal organizations like the Masons and Shriners also meet there.
Unfortunately an equipment fire in 2001 forced the club to close the building for renovations. An extension is planned for the Nostrand Avenue side and an elevator will be installed. SLOFO leadership expects the Hall to reopen in 2004, and hopes that the declining membership rolls will mount once again.
Sources
Costa, Pete. Interviewed by Elena Martinez for Place Matters. September 5, 2002.
Johnson, Elwood. Interviewed by Elena Martinez for Place Matters. September 5, 2002.
