Disciplines

Jewish Studies

Abstract

William Singer was born in 1949 in a neighborhood known as Far Rockaway, Queens. When Mr. Singer was five years old, his parents moved to the Bronx, and he began living at 214 East 163rd Street. An area that Mr. Singer remembers is about 95% Jewish. An important element of his parents' decision to move into the Bronx was being closer to his grandparents, who lived at 1155 Grand Concourse. While his family's story is quite interesting, during his early childhood, he attended Public School 35, located across the street from what used to be St. Anne'sAnne's Elementary School. He would attend this school from the 1st grade until the 6th grade. During his time at P.S. 35, Mr. Singer recalls the large Jewish majority within the school, stating that the school was around 70% Jewish and 30% other. It was also during this time that while his family was not particularly religious, he would begin to attend Cheder in order to conduct his studies for his Bar Mitzvahed. This after-school program will take place at Young Israel. While religion was not an enormous part of his childhood, describing his family as a "Three Day Jew," he recalls how, during the Jewish Holiday, it would have been impossible to walk from 161st Street to Fordham Road due to the significant presence of Jewish people throughout the streets. While Mr. Singer can remember many different friends from his time growing up in the Bronx, interestingly, he was friends with Mickey Mantle Jr. when he lived in New York City from May until September. While he would enjoy many different activities with his friends, one of his favorite things was going to Yankee Stadium and trying to sneak into the game or get last-minute tickets. In fact, during the New York Giants vs. Baltimore Colts NFL championship game in 1958, Mr. Singer and his friend got two tickets. They had decided to get into the dugout and, while within the dugout, received a blanket and their first taste of Scotch from Willie Mays.

After attending elementary school, Mr. Singer attended J.H.S. 22, where he attended junior high school. For high school, he attended DeWitt Clinton, where Mr. Singer is remembered as very diverse, especially in his graduating class in 1964. During his time at Dewitt Clinton, he remembers the school's fantastic education and sports teams. Furthermore, within his graduating class at DeWitt Clinton, he recalls a number of his classmates who had played basketball at school going on into different halls of fame. For example, Gary Austin and Willie Worsley both went on to play for the University of Texas El Paso. He was part of the team that made NCAA history when they became the first all-black basketball team to beat an all-white team in the NCAA National Championship. Once completing high school, Mr. Singer attended Long Island University and would later work in business. When asked what he thought changed the Bronx, Mr. Singer refers to the Cross Bronx Expressway construction and Co-OP city. He views the construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway as having devastating effects due to the splitting up of communities within the borough. Furthermore, while Co-Op City was an affordable option for many Jewish families to move to, he also views this event as one of the downturns for the South Bronx.

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