quote:

Originally posted by barbraallen1941@yahoo.com:
Dear Inthekno, can you tell me the names of the streets here? This is the saddest thing I have ever seen, in the 50's this place was one big beautiful farmland with all relatives living in the houses that were maintained with dignity and love, this looks like a bombed out 3rd world country.Thanks for them tho. Name the names? thanks

Well you have to understand the area's demographics have changed. Harding Park has become a dominantly low income/lower middle class Puerto Rican neighborhood. The streets captured are Bronx River Avenue by Cornell Ave. That general area Harding Park.

Here is a video of some street racing at the tip of Soundview Ave.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIFApeXyDmM

Current the area is going through a lot of overdevelopment. A lot of vacant land is becoming more affordable housing. They have really built a TON at the tip of White Plains Road. Overdevelopment. Too much affordable housing, no schools, no rebuilt streets and sewage systems, no new stores, no clinics, no new public transportation. Then again this is NYC we are talking about. Then throw in the fact this is the Bronx. You have these new affordable units for lower middle class and low income families and then across the street you have an abandoned house covered in gang tags with a door swinging wide open. One house I saw on White Plains Road looked as though it had gotton crushed from above. Another was covered in "Crip" gang tags top to bottom all windows smashed. This area has always suffered from overpopulation though, the small bungalow houses were basically plotted down on all avaiable land as close together as possible.

Thank you very much for all the trouble you took, it's nice to know someone cares about things. It's a very sad thing to me,as my mind still sees Clason Point as it was. Maybe that's not so bad, huh?

I just found this forum and was blown away by the clasonpoint memories. I lived on Stephens Ave. off Gildersleeve. I'm Elaine Wachausen and I have a brother Frankie and Richie. I married Jerry Trombetta, from Beach Ave. Never went to Shorehaven too expensive, but i knew Vinnie Fasano. My Uncle, Sonny Swenson, lived in one of the boat houses at the end of Soundview. We had the greatest summers there. My cousin, Barbara, married Nicky Balsano and Diane married Nicky Lombardo. My cousins, the Schultz"s lived in Harding Park. I was just driving around Clasonpoint the other day and couldn't get over the changes. I realize these posts are a year old but just had to write and think about the great times we all had.

quote:

married Nicky Balsano

Nicky Balsano lived right next door to us on Underhill avenue, he has a sister names Rosemary, right?

Sorry no, Nicky has a brother Mikey. His mother's name was Mary and father Sal.

Cookie, I lived on Newman Avenue, right off Gildersleeve near the entrance to Shorehaven. A block away from you. I think the Calzone's lived near to you. The Fasano's lived on my block and my uncle also lived in one of the boathouses at the end of Soundview. Yes Clason Point was a magical place for a kid growing up in the summer.

One of the cooler things about the Bronx was the many different neighborhoods. I lived near Soundview and Westchester (Elder Ave #6 stop actually, on Evergreen Avenue). I do recall clearly that I took the 27 bus to Shorehaven each summer that I was a member, and the owner Dr. Goodstein (Golsdtein?). I remember that Shorehaven had a huge sal****er pool, as well as mant handball courts, tennis courts, a large cafeteria, and a bandshell for shows. I didnt know much about Clason Point, except my recollection of it as really far away towards the water from Westchester Ave. I thought of Clason Point as a large, flat area, which no apartment buildings (family homes seemed to abound). I just got off the 27, went to Shorehaven, then took the 27 back to Westchester, where I caught the 42 to Evergreen Ave, where I lived. Its funny how our lives cross, although we never necessarily ever meet. I knoe so little about Clason Point, can you tell ame a little about it?

Steve Heller

Clason Point was a community mostly made up of one family homes back in the 50's and 60's. We always thought of ourselves as our own little enclave cut off from the rest of the city. Everyone went to the same grocery store, the same butcher and the same barber. We all went to the same school PS69, except the kids who went to Catholic school-Holy Cross. There were large areas of empty lots and even a "forest-like" area, and we were close to the water. It's residents were mostly of Irish, German and Italian descent. It had the feel of a small-town community.
Cookie: I must have been thinking of food because the family I knew on Stephens were the Canzone's not the Calzone's.

Hey Joe, I recall the name Canzone Was there a guy named Sal Canzone? Did you go to P.S. 69 or are you one of the holy cross kids. I graduated '62. Then went on to JHS 123 and then good old James Monroe. Do you remember the Pikoris'? Loved those boathouses. Learned how to swim there, fished there and went crabbing and my brother had his boat there. the one he built in my mother's livingroom.

Yes Cookie it was Sal Canzone. I think he married a girl from Castle Hill. Think her last name was Moran. I went out with her sister. I think Sal had a brother. I do remember the Pikoris name although I can't place a face now.Do you remember the Lanese's, Disanza's,the Reilly's, the Costello's. I went to PS 69 and then JHS 125. Graduated from 125 in 1962. Never understood why some of us went to JHS 123 and others JHS 125. My brother went to JHS 123. Yes the boathouses were fun. Remember catching killies and then using them as bait in crabbing off my uncle's dock .Remember all the horsheshoe crabs?
My uncle's house was the third from the end of Soundview. Such great memories.

I worked at Shorehaven in the restaurant/cafeteria the 2nd or 3rd year it was open. I was the salad chef (ha). I was 16 and it was my first real job.The year was probably 1952 and we lived in Parkchester at that time.

Hey Joe, yes I do remeber the Lanese's, Mousey and Doc DiSanza. I knew Jackie Costello, but haven't seen him in years. Joan Costello married my cousin Gene Schultz. My borther Richie went to JHs 125 and I think he graduated in '61 or '62. The Pikoris" were right on the corner of Soundview and Gildersleeve near the bus stop. Do you remember the Holihan's, I loved the Point and miss it. I wish my kids could have known a neighborhood like that.

Nothing compares to Clason Point in the 50's.....nothing....

Cookie. Mousey is a retired cop living in Florida. Sad to say but Doc passed away a few years ago. Evelyn Costello, the youngest sister, married my close friend Joe Lanese. I still see them at least once a year. JOe's brotyher Larry was and is a close friend. The middle Costello sister (Janet) married another friend Frank Disimone. I knew your cousin Gene also. Coincidentlally, over Easter, I was watching some old home movies and there was Gene in front of my Christmas tree with my cousin, who he was going out with at the time. I hear he passed away recently also. I'm sure there's a lot more people we have in common. Good chatting with you.

Who knows the Sounview Muffler Shop (on either Patterson or Gildersleeve) with Larry Barazotto and Yogi? I'm not sure if they're still there but may be. Yogi opened a shop about a block away so I know he's not there anymore.

Then there's the guy with all the old cars, Jim McNamara or could've been someone, oh Art Seifert I think his name was. Jim McNamara is Larry Barazotta's uncle.

Surely some of you know who I'm talking about.

Then there was a pretty good Italian Restaurant on the north side of Soundview Avenue run by the father and daughter and possibly mother, I don't remember the name of it right now, was it Silvio's? Yes I think that's what the name of it was.

My dad grew up on Leland Ave - 1458 - In one of those two family homes, that might not even be there any longer. He lived there from 1925-1955. My grandparents remained their until 1973. Their name was Ciani. My dad went to James Monroe as well, and a pretty good ballplayer in his day. I went there often as a kid to visit my grandparents.

I also married into a family that grew up in the Castle Hill projects - The Burkes (there were 9 in all including the parents).

Finally, my uncle had something to do with maintenance of Castle Hill as a Super or something, as a NYC Employee. His name was Mike or Meg Ciani.

Joe Ciani

I just came across this site while surfing. I usually go to www.clasonpoint.org. I saw some familiar names while browsing. I lived in the Veterans' Housing put up for vets after WWII on Story Avenue.I met my late husband, Albert Sessa, at Monroe.His family lived at 510 Soundview Avenue, next to P.S.69. He was in the Holy Cross Cadets. When we married in Holy Cross in l953, Michael and Nicky Balsamo were the altar boys at the ceremony performed by Rev. Declan Daily. I read about 20 years ago that Father Daily died of AIDS in Staten Island.The Balsamo brothers father, Sally, worked part-time in my husband's family's butcher shop on Leland Avenue. I believe Nicky became a doctor. Last month I attended the wake of Elsie Eugene,Marco's wife. Elsie was my brother-in-law's sister. I saw Roseanne and Tommy Civitano and Johnny DePelligrini there.Roseanne is my brother-in-law's (and Elsie's)first cousin. I see the Clason Point Beverage company mentioned. Was that the one owned by the Sicilian family? When we first married,we lived with my in-laws.Our neighbors were the Bausbachers, Robinsons and Perrilleons.We then lived in a basement apartment at 601 St. Lawrence Avenue next door to the Novellis. We later moved to the Academy Gardens where all the young married couples waited patiently to get apartments. Some of neighbors were Beatrice(Cuomo) and Bob Radcliffe and Edie(DeNardi) and Artie Valentino.Roseanne told me at the wake that Artie has recently died.I am probably a lot older that many of you posting but I remember most vividly the idyllic life in Clason Point where it seems everyone knew everyone else. It was like a small town in middle America but with the advantages of New York City nearby. We moved to Long Island in 1962.The older I get the more clearly I remember life in the Point.

I see the Clason Point Beverage company mentioned. Was that the one owned by the Sicilian family?

HI, I'M RESPONDING FOR BARBRAALLEN WHO CANNOT SEEM TO GET ON TO THE BOARD AND POST, BUT SHE ASKED ME TO TELL YOU THAT HER FAMILY OWNED THE BEVERAGE COMPANY..AND THE VALENTINO'S WERE HER COUSINS..

to passesgo, my cousin Barbara is married to Nicky Balsano. I remember the butcher shop and Sal Balsano working there. I grew up on Stephens Ave. And I married Jerry Trombetta. his sisters are Kay and Joan Trombetta. Loved Clason Point miss it a lot.

I lived at 1815 Story Avenue from 1960 to 1979. I remember the candy store in Clason Point. We went to church at Holy Cross. Did anyone here go to P.S. 100 or I.S. 131? There are a bunch of people from Clason Point, Soundview, Rosedale and Monroe Houses on the website www.soundviewstandup.com. You will probably see a lot of your old friends there. Come on over.