My Old Neigborhood

Los Angeles, CA - Arnie Magraner - Saturday, July 9th, 2005 : goo

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I was raised at 210 West 105th st.
This was in the 50's and 60's. I am a Cuban American who now resides in Los Angeles, Ca.

I returned recently, and although most of the structures are still there, it's not the same neigborhood.

When I lived there, it was a neighborhood in transition from Irish immigrants and their descendants to Hispano's, mainly Puerto Ricans, Dominican's and some Cubans.

It was on the corner of 105th st and Amsterdam that I learned to sing DO-WOP with Eddie, Lenny and Tito and Joe.

In those days, going from Riverside Drive to Manhattan Avenue on 105th st. was like traveling through three different worlds.

On Riverside, you had the luxurious townhouses (Duke Ellington owned one between 105th and 106th sts.
They later named 106th st. Duke Ellington Blvd.)
I remember his two Albino grandson's who also resided there. It was the first time I had ever seen a billiards table in a private house.

On West End Ave, we had high rent apartment Buildings with doormen. Mostly Jewish resident's many of them Professors from nearby Columbia and CCNY, and business people.

Broadway was the "cut off" line in terms of socio-economics.
Between Broadway and Amsterdam, where mainly working class folk, where the old townhouses had been sub-divided into apartments, and halfway up the block where apartment buildings.
On the corner of 105th and Amsterdam was an old Russian or Greek Orthodox Church.

Heading east towards Columbus Avenue, the resident's where poorer and the building's showed it.

When one hit Columbus Avenue, you knew you where in a ghetto.
Heroin was rampant and there where Junkies waiting to cop dope up and down the street. Much "business" was done out of the old "Bamboo Bar" between 105th and 106th on Columbus.

I remember on 104th st, buildings being torn down to put up low income projects.
In that part of the neighborhood, one rarely saw a White person, unless they where there to get drugs.
It was all Hispano's and some Blacks.

Heading further east, was Manhattan Avenue, a little worse than Columbus. Manhattan Avenue ended on or around 100th st.

When I returned recently, I walked up and down those streets looking for a familiar face. Nothing.

I saw someone I thought I had known from the old days on Columbus ave, his name had been Chico, I asked the man if his name was Chico, he smiled and nodded his head no.
He was an old timer from the neighborhood, and he told me what had happened to some of the people I used to know.
"Chino Feo is dead" he said "died of an overdose in the 70's. Rosa, also dead of an O.D."
He said most of the addicts had eventually gone on Methadone when they became to old to hustle and just drifted away when the rents began going up. I wondered where they had drifted to.
He had managed to keep his parent's apartment because of rent control.
There are now many white residents on Columbus and Manhattan Avenue's.
Things had certainly changed on old West 105th st east of Broadway.

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