Norman Street was home to apartment building mainly owned by absentee landlords and where low-income families would reside. One of the attempts to influence their neighborhood was the formation of the Norman Street Block Association, which met once a month. There were nine consistent adult members at the first meeting Susser attended. One was the president, Rosie Sheehan, a 34-year old Polish woman with a husband, Rick, and four kids. She was the only one to complete high school. Vice President, Puerto Rican Anthony Sanchez, was nineteen in 1975 and was born in New York City. He was unemployed at the time. Treasurer of the block association, Joe Gallo, was an Italian born in America who owned an eight-apartment building. Jenny Ferguson, the only member that spoke to Susser, is Anthony’s oldest sister, and claimed a white American ethnicity. All of her family lived in Greenpoint. She would pass an examination equivalent to completing high school. Davida Delgado, a 28-year old of Jewish decent from the Lower East Side, was considered “rich,” as she had more money than most of Norman Street. Anthony’s aunts, Cecilia Berette and Arlene Brock, of Swedish-German heritage, also were members. The other three core members were Roy Farrano, Julie Berry, and Sharon Bianco, who did not become active until moving back onto Norman Street.
In an effort to counteract reduction of essential neighborhood services due to the fiscal crisis, volunteer groups emerged. The community relations officer of the local precinct was responsible for the development of block associations, and the Greenpoint chapter met on the corner of Norman Street. This, along with Rosie Sheehan’s employment in an active community agency, helped get the association up and running. After contacting the community relations officer and Anthony Sanchez from Norman Street, the first meeting of the Norman Block Association was held in June 1975. At first, two coworkers from the NNC (Northside Neighborhood Committee) came to the meeting, but Norman Street residents were not in favor, and by September, only residents attended meetings. Members were required to pay $1 per month, but many did not.
A regular meeting would not start until Rosie showed up. Although she was an effective public speaker, she had little sense of group dynamics and there was an inhospitable environment of the meetings. In addition, the same three issues would be raised each meeting: a vacant, burned down house in the center of block that was consistently vandalized and wanted sealed, a vacant lot they wanted to turn into a park, and preparing a summer dance to raise money. However, each failed miserably. The HDA policy did not allow sealing of buildings due to the fiscal crisis and they could not find a private agency to do so either. The lot was to be auctioned off by the government, and they were told the association could but it for $1, but they were never told of the date when this would happen and a private investor bought it and turned it into a parking lot. This was one of many instances that led the people of Norman Street to be discouraged with the government. If they weren’t already demoralized by the loss of a prospective children’s park, Rosie cancelled their big summer dance, as they could not collectively make decisions in order to proceed with making the dance a success. Thus, the meetings did more to contribute to residents’ hopelessness rather than make community progress.
In January of 1976, Mike Jensen moved to Norman Street. He suggested holding a street fair to raise money. However, the people were able to spend money at the one he attended in his middle class street in Brooklyn Heights. People had mixed opinions of Jensen, but the regular members of the block association and other residents generally disliked him. In fact, after being accused of hitting a child, he was beaten up and moved a three months later. He showed some mental instability and was considered “weird.” Yet, people saw a certain status in him, believing that he knew something they did not, and his idea was discussed. Residents and members believed he was intelligent simply because he read the New York Time. His opinions carried weight on Norman Street, as its poor, uneducated residents became vulnerable to his words and ideas. The street fair was held on August 14 and 15, 1976. It was the only planned event that took place under the association. Unfortunately, they barely broke even, and the association disintegrated from there.
The second part of the chapter discussed the underlying problems of the Norman Street Block Association. Class factors and charisma were some, as those educated, middle-class people such as Jensen were able to control the minds of those in Greenpoint-Williamsburg. They were led to accept ideas that they normally would not have, leading to negative effects that included lack of organization skills and ability to cope with everyday problems. Participation and residence was also an underlying issue, as it seemed that only those living on Norman Street attended the meetings – people stopped attending when they moved 3 blocks away and other started attending when they moved onto Norman Street from 3 blocks away. Also, by involving Anthony, Rosie was able to bring in a set of contacts that remained the basis of the association. She could not rely on her relatives, as they did not live on the street.
Social interaction on the block and racial conflict may have been the two biggest problems. On Norman Street, there was a strong informal gossip network, in which most information was spread. Rosie and Joe Gallo did not take part in this, but the other seven core members did. During this time on Norman Street, people rarely knocked on doors or made phone calls, as running into each other on the street or waiting outside someone’s house was the main form if communication, other than the monthly association meetings. This was especially true for woman, as they only occasionally visited each other’s homes or spent a night bowling or playing bingo. Men, however, were likely to meet at a bar or work, as there were not enough male members to form friendships at meetings. Thus, the association became a concern of largely women and children, with husbands and boyfriends occasionally “helping the women.” Young boys, however, were often in gangs, specifically the active teenage street-corner gang, which was in fact feared by many. Thus, women of the association never tried to recruit the boys to help, but were rather occasionally breaking up fights.
Racial conflict was a huge issue, as much of the violence and hostility of Norman Street was directed towards black and Hispanic men, as the youths and men saw them as a threat. Most women, however, had conflicting views. While they believed everyone should be treated equally, they were conflicted with their loyalty to their husbands and families. Thus, many members of the association and other residents remained in contact with people of other ethnicities, but but functioned within the shadow of violence from their friends and relatives. In fact, there were many different ethnic groups on Norman Street, but actually no blacks. The building where the one black family resided was burned down. Although it is not clear if this was an act of racism, there were many clear racist-motivated actions. One example was finding a band for the fair. It was nearly impossible due to the gang’s reputation. Eventually an ethnically mixed group agreed to perform, not knowing about the gang. Once there, the street-corner gang took out their knives in sight of the band. Fortunately, Rosie was there to help diffuse the situation, along with the rain to allow the band to pack up and leave. Scenarios like these illustrated the problems that the block association had to overcome in relation to planning an event, as well as the racial divisions among the residents themselves.
Overall, the Norman Street Block Association was anything but a success. Although it did lead to some cooperation among certain racial barriers, the organization was thwarted by major organization issues, divisions among residents (due to class, race, sex, etc.), vulnerability of low-income, uneducated people, and a lack of group dynamics, leading to its ultimate disintegration.
