 Members of the Short Tail Gang in 1887, under a pier inCorlear's Hook, at the end of Jackson Street theLower East Side, inNew York City. Photographed by noted photographerJacob Riis, this is one of the rarest images of a group of 19th century New York criminal gang members other than individual policemug shots. | |
| Founding location | Lower East Side, New York City |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1880s–1890s |
| Territory | Corlear's Hook, Manhattan, New York City |
| Ethnicity | Irish American |
| Criminal activities | Armed robbery, theft |
| Allies | Eastman Gang |
| Rivals | Daybreak Boys,Patsy Conroy Gang,Swamp Angels,Hook Gang |
The Short Tails, also known as theShort Tail Gang for their distinctiveshort-tailed jacket coats,[1] were an 1880s–1890s Irish gang located in theCorlear's Hook section of theLower East Side, on Rivington Street in the vicinity of Mangin and Goerck Streets ofManhattan, inNew York City. TheEastman Gang was also headquartered around Corlear's Hook and may have had its beginnings as a breakaway gang of the Short Tail Gang.[2][3]
The Short Tails, along with rival gangs theDaybreak Boys, thePatsy Conroy Gang, theSwamp Angels, and theHook Gang, worked the New York City waterfront, plundering ships of their cargo on theEast River.[4][5] The Short Tail Gang was photographed in 1887, under a pier by noted photographerJacob Riis, being one of the few 19th-century New York gangs to allow its members to be photographed. In fear of being identified and arrested by the law, usually individual policemug shots were the only criminal pictures known to exist.
In the 2014 filmWinter's Tale, the Short Tails and theDead Rabbits gangs are featured prominently, as they are in the 1983Mark Helprinnovel of the same name.