Albert Fay Hill

Biography

In 1961 Hill was offered the senior pastor position at the North Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Rochelle, NY. He continued his work for racial equality and in 1963 he traveled to Washington, D.C. to join the freedom march and witnessed Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Believing that the church should be actively involved in culture as well, he organized the Festival of Religion and the Arts. Painters throughout the United States were exhibited at the church. Duke Ellington and Ravi Shankar performed and the great Jackie Robinson preached. His most ambitious and successful project, though, was a fight against the organized crime that had taken over the suburb of New Rochelle. After local gangsters brutally murdered a young man for failing to pay his gambling debts, Hill began his own inquiries into the influence of organized crime. As he came to understand the extent of their power, Hill formulated a plan for reclaiming the community. When his efforts spread he was contacted by US Treasury Agents. Hill agreed to form a citizen's task force, but encountered reluctance from his male parishioners to volunteer. When he approached women in the congregation, they enthusiastically agreed. They tailed numbers runners and placed bets at local parlors. Using this information, Treasury agents organized raids on a number of gambling houses. Word of the team's success spread and one of the larger raids reached the front page of The New York Times. Look Magazine followed up with an article on Hill and his group. Soon after, Cowles Publishing approached him about writing a book. In 1968 The North Avenue Irregulars was published. Disney studios purchased the movie rights and in 1976 the movie version was released. The movie was a box office success and is frequently seen on cable television.