You are currently browsing the stories about the “Crown Heights” neighborhood.
image by Laurie Rosenwald When they say you have to love yourself first, before anyone else can love you, it’s just not true. I’ve had lots of boyfriends! And each of them has taught me something. From Joe I learned about architecture. From Steve I learned about music. From Anders I learned about art. From Gerard I learned about sadism [...]
President Truman with Charles Luckman, right, head of the Citizen's Food Committee. _____ On October 5, 1947, two years after the end of the War, President Truman was to address the nation on the world food crisis. It was to be the first televised address by a President in history. People were going to see the President of the United States [...]
There was no sex in Brooklyn in the late 1940s. If desire affected my crowd (the 15 some odd members of the Gems Social and Athletic Club, with whom I hung), it had to do with the Dodgers and urging Jackie Robinson to steal another base, or imploring Rex Barney to throw some strikes, or wishing Pete Reiser a return to his pre-War [...]
Sunset Park swimming pool It was the start of another 90-something degrees day. The sixth floor bedroom I shared with my seven-year old brother and five-year old sister on Empire Boulevard in Crown Heights was sweltering. Our apartment was on the top floor directly under the building’s roof, which drew in the sun's heat with a vengeance, through its protective [...]
Arthur Leipzig Stickball, 1951. “We’ll have tables for each of your epochs,” Judy brimmed. “One for your elementary school friends, one for your high school friends, one for your college friends, one for your law school friends, and one for your now friends.” She was planning a 70th birthday party for me and was on a roll. "It’ll be such fun! [...]
Ebbets Field Dr. Schpahl looked like a Nazi out of central casting. A thin mensur crawled down his right cheek, across his pock-marked face, to below his mouth. He spoke in clipped, accented barks, most of which were expressions of severe disappointment. That he was a Hebrew teacher and not a camp commandant may have been a surprise to the [...]
I’ve spent time in over 20 countries and at least 40 US states. In my travels, many people have told me that though New York City might be a nice place to visit, it’s certainly not a place for a person to live. But thank God there is a New York. One of the best life decisions I made was [...]
Over the course of two years living in Brooklyn, I moved six times, including a failed attempt at cohabitation with my then boyfriend in what turned out to be an illegal sublet. The first thing I did when I moved into my second place, located in the West Indian section of Crown Heights was buy a queen sized bed frame [...]
