he was quick to judge and condemn those who failed to assimilate, and he did not refrain from expressing his contempt." Gurock (1981) says Riis was insensitive to the needs and fears of East European Jewish immigrants who flooded into New York at this time. Libertarian economist Thomas Sowell (2001) argues that immigrants during Riis's time were typically willing to live in cramped, unpleasant circumstances as a deliberate short-term strategy that allowed them to save more than half their earnings to help family members come to America, with every intention of relocating to more comfortable lodgings eventually. Many tenement renters physically resisted the well-intentioned relocation efforts of reformers like Riis, states Sowell, because other lodgings were too costly to allow for the high rate of savings possible in the tenements. Moreover, according to Sowell, Riis's own personal experiences were the rule rather than the exception during his era: like most immigrants and low-income persons, he lived in the tenements only temporarily before gradually earning more income and relocating to different lodgings. Riis's depictions of various ethnic groups can be harsh. In Riis's books, according to some historians, "The Jews are nervous and inquisitive, the Orientals are sinister, the Italians are unsanitary." Riis was also criticized for his depiction of African Americans. He was said to portray them as falsely happy with their lives in the "slums" of New York City. This criticism didn't come until much later after Riis had died. His writing was overlooked because his photography was so revolutionary in his early books. Memorials Jacob Riis Park, located on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens; part of the Gateway National Recreation Area of New York City and New Jersey. Jacob Riis Triangle, in Richmond Hill, Queens Jacob Riis Playground, at Babbage and 116 Streets, 85 Ave, Queens P.S. 126 The Jacob Riis Community School, on Catherine Street in New York City, is a public PK-5 school From 1915 until 2002, Jacob Riis Public School on South Throop Street in Chicago was a high school operated by the Chicago School Board. Jacob Riis Settlement House, a multi-service community-based organization, is in the Queensbridge Houses, in Long Island City, Queens, NY. Jacob Riis Houses of NYCHA at Avenue D (Manhattan) Jacob Riis Park Historic District is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. Riis Park on Chicago's Northwest Side in the Galewood-Montclare neighborhood.