A Personal History/Part 2

In my early years, the neighborhood where I grew up in was predominately Catholic and Jewish, and white... 

This was in the 1950s. By the early 1960s, however, it had become mostly black and Hispanic. The neighborhood also consisted primarily of old apartment buildings along with newer high-rise housing projects, as well as two-family homes.

For the most part, the Sound view section of the Bronx housed the poor and middle classes. It was always known as a rough area, too, and growing up here could be a challenge at times. There was lots of crime, drugs, and gangs. In fact, when I was about thirteen years old, three older boys managed to knock me off my bicycle. With me lying on the ground, one of them hopped onto my bike and rode away with it, while the other two guys ran off on foot toward the Bronxdale projects. When I got home, my mom called the cops. But all they did was to make out a report over the telephone.

About, a year 1ater, after my mom passed away, our apartment was burglarized. The place was completely ran-sacked, and it took my dad and me an entire day to put everything back in its place. Nothing of any real value was taken. But we couldn't wait to move.

In addition to this, the roof of my apartment building was known as a shooting gallery for heroin users. Living on the top floor at 1105 Stratford Avenue, I'd sometimes hear footsteps walking across the roof at night. In the mornings, it was not unusual to find used hypodermic needles in the public hallway. Such was life in Soundview.

But, finally, in early 1968 my dad and I moved to a new housing development in the northeast Bronx known as Co-op City. It was a big change from all the drugs, crime, and grime.

D.B.