How did Harlem gangs change between 1950s and 1960s?

In the 1950s, East Harlem, the area east of Lexington Avenue from 96th Street to 116th Street in Manhattan, was largely populated by Italians. This neighborhood began to experience demographic change after World War I, as many Puerto Rican people and African-Americans moving north in the Great Migration started to settle in what was known as "Spanish Harlem." The older residents were not always welcoming to the newer immigrants, and gangs developed among Puerto Ricans, such as the Viceroys, and the Italians (such as the Red Wings), to protect their respective turf. In the 1950s, rumbles between these gangs could be deadly, such as the 1958 Memorial Day fatal beating of Julio Ramos in Jefferson Park.

In the 1950s and into the 1960s, many public housing projects such as the Jefferson Houses were built in the area, displacing Italian families who moved to the outer boroughs of New York City and to New Jersey and Long Island. Fights between Italians and Puerto Rican people became rarer, as all-Latin gangs took over, such as the Young Lords, who worked with the Black Panthers in the 1960s and 1970s for Latino empowerment. The neighborhood became riddled with crime and entrenched in poverty. The public housing units were often damaged by arson and other crimes.