Disciplines

Jewish Studies

Abstract

Alfred Brandon was born on Bathgate Avenue in the Bronx in 1941 to second-generation Polish immigrants. Both sets of Brandon’s grandparents had immigrated to New York in the late 1800s/early 1900s, and his mother’s family owned a store before leaving New York for Los Angeles in 1942. Alfred’s paternal grandfather was trained as an upholsterer and likewise had his own store. When Alfred was nine months old, his family moved from their Bathgate Avenue apartment to White Plains Road, where he lived until he was nine.

Brandon grew up attending Congregation Brothers of Israel and attended Hebrew school in addition to his public school education. Brandon describes his Jewish upbringing as quasi-orthodox. However, his brother was far more religious, with Alfred considering himself a rebel against his family’s religiosity. Additionally, Brandon remembers the racial and ethnic divisions that existed both at school and in his neighborhood and recalls being treated differently as a Jewish student at predominantly Protestant PS16.

Brandon lived in the Bronx with his family until fourth grade, when they moved to Yonkers and then eventually to Mount Vernon. However, despite only living in the Bronx for the first decade of his life, he describes his memories as being extraordinarily positive. More so than the places he grew up, his parents made his childhood as amazing as it was, spending time with him, encouraging his interests, and being what Alfred describes as incredibly patient and careful.

Key Words: Bathgate Avenue, White Plains Road, Arthur Rothstein, Castle Garden, PS16, World War One, World War Two, Vietnam War, Morris High School, Bronx Science

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