Disciplines

Jewish Studies

Abstract

Summarizer: Sophia Maier

Martin Brooks, b. 1947, lived in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx until he was five years old. He then lived with his family in Germany for three years, before returning to the Bronx until the age of 11. His father had served in WWII, and they had moved to Germany as part of his service. Brooks’ mother worked as a secretary but became at stay-at-home mother when Brooks was born, despite wanting to stay in the workforce.

Brooks recalls going to pickle stores, delis, bakeries, and butches along Lydig Avenue and the Allegro Inn, an Italian restaurant, on White Plains Road. He attended PS 96, sharing his struggles in school and making friends as a result of his stutter. Brooks’ family moved from the Bronx to Eastchester in Westchester County when he was 11, as his father got into the construction business after the army and had built them a house there. In Eastchester, he made friends and got into sports. Brooks himself returned to the Bronx to attend NYU Uptown for college and as an educator and guidance counselor at PS 75 off the Bruckner Expressway. Later, as a doctoral student at Columbia, he lived in Riverdale.

Brooks enjoyed listening to music by artists such as Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand and watching TV shows like The Honeymooners with his family. He bought tickets to Woodstock but decided not to attend after getting stuck in traffic. While Lydig Avenue was primarily Jewish, Brooks made Catholic friends in Eastchester and witnessed the differences compared to his own family, where he is an only child. His experiences at PS 75 inspired him to become a school administrator, which led him to work and live on Long Island. Brooks feels pride and happiness thinking about his time in the Bronx, but also sadness for the way people see the borough represented in media now.

Keywords: Pelham Parkway, army, WWII, Germany, antisemitism, Yiddish, gender, Lydig Avenue, food, Eastchester, education, PS 96, PS 75, crime, NYU, sports, Italian, religion, Michael Kay, Teachers Strikes 1967-1968, Columbia, Long Island, Vietnam War, Woodstock, blackout, media

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