Old Apartments

I did, finally, get a couple hours to check on the old addresses of the Leitners and O'Neils while in NYC this week. I went for a run around Central Park from our Midtown East hotel and stopped along the way at the addresses I had found at the library. I went around counter-clockwise, so I stopped at 2 West 104th Street (the O'Neils residence) first.

It was right on the corner of 104th and Central Park West - a really incredible location! - but I quickly discovered that the area had been through some difficult times. Many of the lots on the block had been demolished! Building #2, where the O'Neils lived, was no longer there. There were a few (quite nice) community gardens along the way, in place of the old vacant lots.

Community garden just beyond 4 West 104th Street.

I knew immediately what this meant. We had just been through a gentrification tour in Lower Manhattan with our students and had stopped at a community garden to explain how they'd been established through a long process of decline, dereliction, and regeneration. Slum lords in New York would do little upkeep on their buildings and eventually they'd become uninhabitable. Many were condemned and demolished. A lot of the properties were abandoned by their landlords, and the lots were squatted on. Then things went in one of two ways: a new wave of investment redeveloped (usually high rent) apartment buildings, driving up rents and driving out working class residents (who had been using the lots as gardens); or ownership couldn't be resolved and the city (reluctantly) took control of the gardens and offered arrangements for community management (ironically this often made the surrounding areas quite appealing to the middle-class, which drove up rents, and drove out all but those few who have been able to hold on to rent controlled properties).

The building on the left is where I believe #2 stood. The second
building is currently #4. And the space to the right of that is one
 of the community gardens.

When I arrived at West 104th Street, there was an elderly lady gardening in one of the lots up the street, so I asked what history she knew of the area. She said it was in the 60s or 80s that many of the buildings had been demolished. I actually have vague recollection of Dampa telling me that he had visited there with Nama (in the 90s?) only find her home had been demolished. But maybe that's just a false memory affirming what I now know to be true.

Later on I went back to the library to find out what I might be able to learn about the properties that used to be there. There are some great resources that I will need to dig into, one of which is an archive of photographs of every NYC lot from 1939. It was apparently a Public Works project after the depression, but a great resource for today! It should have an image of their building, since I know they were there in the 40s. The records are kept at the Municipal Archives (31 Chambers Street).

Another resource is the NY Public Library Map Warper, which has historical maps online, so I can see how things changed over time and, perhaps, find out when the building was demolished. The librarian showed me one map that showed building #2 stood on block 1839, lot 36. A contemporary map shows something different, so the change will likely date back to the demolition. He also said the Municipal Archives should have records like Notices to Build and New Building Applications. The main resource is web guide called "Who Lived in a House Like This?" that gives an overview of all this.

I continued my run round Central Park and just a short way away, I came to West 95th Street. This is where Dampa lived, with his mother, when he came to New York to take up a research post at the Courant Institute. I think he was only there for a brief period. Once he married Nama, they all moved to Queens (188 71st Crescent, Fresh Meadows). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get out there to have a look.

Number 20 was the shabbiest on the street. In his story Dampa described it as
"an awful first apartment"; "so ridiculously modest that you could wash the
dishes while sitting on the toilet".

The street is really nice. I'd love to live there!

Before going out on my run, I had paid a quick visit back to the library to check the post-1951 directories for Lona's address on 72nd Street, where she stayed after Nama and Dampa moved to Michigan. I found that she was at 175 West 72nd and made this my final visit for the day. The neighborhood had a much busier feel to it, as it's on the corner with Broadway. Also a short distance from Central Park. A fantastic spot!!

I can't be certain the building is original - not sure how to read the architecture - but it looks like it could be at least 65 years old, so I think it's the one she lived in. Today it's called "The Verdi".