October 22, 2022


In the New York pages, you will see photos taken in the Continental U.S.A. I have named this page New York City since it's where I live. The rest of the pages will be named New York.

I came to New York City in 1969 to attend St. Francis College on Remsen Street in Brooklyn. For a while, I stayed with my sister Lillian and her family on Bartlett Street in Brooklyn. From there, I moved to Canarsie to live with Titi Paca and her family. I lived in Canarsie until I graduated from college in 1973. I am grateful to my aunt and her husband, Don Carmelo, for allowing me to live in their residence.

I can tell you a few interesting stories about Canarsie but I won't. I lived there in the early 70's and sadly enough things that happened to me are still happening to people of color around this country.

During my years at St. Francis, I worked at the Dr. White Community Center on Gold Street, Brooklyn. The center was mostly used as an afternoon school program for children in the area, mostly from the Farragut Houses (New York City Housing Authority, NYCHA). We also taught adults how to read/write or improve their reading skills if they already knew how to read/write. There was also a college bound program for high school students. We assisted the students with admission application and financial aid. From time to time, we took the students on tours of some of the colleges upstate. The Center was run by Catholic Charities (Joralemon Street, Brooklyn) and there were a few nuns working and living at the center. There were three floor to the Center - basement (classes), main floor (offices, meeting room for employees, and more rooms for classes, etc.) and the upper floor where the nuns lived. Not too far was the York Street subway station, F line, and the High Street Station, A line. I mostly walked from Remsen Street to the Center. After graduating in 1973, I continued to work at the Center for a few years. I think the Center has been converted to apartments with more floors added but the outer shell of the original building was retained. The building can be seen from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

In the latter part of 1973, I moved from Canarsie to Upper Manhattan. I lived on Broadway Terrace and 193rd Street. That didn't last long. Both Broadway Terrace and 193rd Street are sloped. One day on my way to work at the Dr. White Community Center, I walked out of the building, looked down and noticed that the street glistened. Had it rained overnight? I stepped onto the sidewalk and slid all the way down the street. Luckily, I was able to hold on to a parked car. That day, I learned what "black ice" was. That day, I quickly learned how to walk in the middle of the street, where the cars had already melted the ice. The other problem in the area was that to get to the subway, I had to climb a hill. It was no fun getting to and from the subway when it snowed.

I then moved to 58th Avenue, off Junction Boulevard, in Elmhurst, Queens. That was great since I was able to walk to work. At the time, I was working at the Social Security Administration office at 96-05 Horace Harding. I lived on 58th Avenue with my brother, and his girlfriend at the time, and younger sister. Eventually, I moved to 60th Avenue and lived there with a friend until 1980. In November 1980, I moved to LeFrak City on Horace Harding Expressway, where I still reside. Though 58th and 60th Avenues are close by, the area where I live is part of Corona. Junction Blvd. separates Elmhurst from Corona. The Long Island Expressway (L.I.E.) separates Corona from Rego Park.

The area I live in, though it has its own set of problems, is relatively speaking nice and convenient. There are many malls and stores close by. I am in walking distance to buses and subway stations. A major highway, the L.I.E., is close by and it connects to other highways, which can take one to Long Island, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhattan and the Bronx. The Midtown Tunnel (used to get to Manhattan) is not far away. The only thing lacking in the neighborhood is a movie theater, though when I first moved in to my apartment there was a theater on 99th Street. That is a long story. For that, one has to go to Forest Hills, Jamaica, or other areas in Queens, or take the subway to Manhattan.

Not too are away, are the stadiums used for the US Open (tennis), Citi Field (previously Shea), Flushing Meadows Corona Park (which was home to the World's Fair in 1939 and 1964), and La Guardia Airport. A few minutes by car is the J.F.K. Airport. From the terrace of my apartment, I can see Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Citi Field stadium and the frame of US Open stadium.