737: The Daily
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A quick warning; there are curse words that are unbeeped in today's episode of the show. If you prefer a beeped version, you can find that at our website, thisamericanlife.org. The people on 118th Street in New York City are doing this thing that almost nobody in New York or around the country is doing, and to figure out why, like, what's it about their block? I asked a long time resident, a vet Rodriguez, to tell me about the place. She told me that when she and her mom moved to the block back in 1965, this is the very neatly kept 400 walk of East 118th Street with brick houses and low iron fences where the property line hits the sidewalk. Back when she moved here, the south side of the street was mostly Latino. Her side of the street, the north side, was mostly Italian. I got in. We got this apartment because I told my mother, "Don't say a word. Let me talk," because if they would have found out that we were Puerto Rican, they would not have rented to us, so I just kept really quiet. I mean, she kept quiet. Her mom now owns the building. These days, as it says, most of the old Italians are gone and the block is a mix of Latino, white, and black. There were lots of retirees, people who arrived decades ago, like a vet, and younger people are moving in. So we're talking, and I glanced at the clock at her apartment and realized the time. Of Congress, don't worry, my husband has an alarm. No, this is 10 minutes fast, just in case. Oh, it is. Yeah. Okay. I was worried about the time because I was there to record something that starts at seven o'clock. Remember, early in the pandemic, how people would ween out their windows or go out at 7 p.m. and cheer for the healthcare workers and other essential workers? Okay, most blocks around New York City, most blocks everywhere, stop doing that long ago. No, okay. For some reason, no, I don't know. Not this block. They've stayed at it for over 400 days. Every day. Yep. We got to get ready, Ira. Okay. What do we do to get ready? I got to put on my jacket because I stay out there a long time. Soon enough at seven o'clock, we head outside with some very prompt neighbors who've already gathered with pans and noise makers they use every night. When I guess at how many people it takes to make this much noise, okay, get a number in mind. Eight. From windows in the apartment across the street, some kids weigh flashlights, standing just inside her fence is one of the neighbors who comes out to watch this every night. Francis Bostrota, 83 years old.
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