Scope and Contents: Richard Abbatiello recalls how urban renewal affected his life as a child growing up in New Haven. He was born on Chestnut Street in the East Street neighborhood, living above his father's machine shop, which his father started after leaving the A.C. Gilbert factory. Urban renewal forced the business to move to North Haven, and the family to move to Fair Haven Heights. Abbatiello discusses how the move affected him and the differences between the two neighborhoods, and reflects on his friend...

Scope and Contents: Shafiq Abdussabur grew up in the Dixwell neighborhood in New Haven in the 1970s. Abdussabur recalls that Dixwell was not unified neighborhood. Although the street was almost entirely African-American, lines of geography and class were readily apparent to most residents. He suggests that there were effectively five distinct neighborhoods on Dixwell, and that class and geographical snobbery ran rampant among Dixwell residents, particularly the children with whom Abdussabur grew up. There was a...

Scope and Contents: Fred Acquavita started teaching in the New Haven Public Schools in 1968, part of a crop of young, radical teachers to enter the New Haven schools at that time. He discusses his radicalization as a teacher and member of the teachers' union, the New Haven Federation of Teachers, in which he served in leadership positions. He describes his conflicts with the Board of Education and "conservative" teachers, describes his attempts at progressive teaching in various schools across the city, and...

Scope and Contents: Theresa Argento recalls life before and during urban renewal in Wooster Square. One of seven children born to Italian immigrant Nadio Carrano, Argento offers memories of the neighborhood and family life pre-redevelopment -- comparisons to life in Amalfi, the role of the Sargent Hardware Company in the neighborhood, trips to Lighthouse Point, Lucibello's Pastry Shop, and to New York City to see Frank Sinatra sing. Her family owned Carrano's produce market on Chapel Street, which was...

Scope and Contents: Norma Barbieri, the daughter of Italian immigrants, grew up in the Wooster Square neighborhood. She describes her father's decision to immigrate and his enduring love for the Italian language. Barbieri spoke Italian at home, but recalls being forced to speak English in school. She tells how as a child she played with being bilingual, laughing at her mother as she read the comics aloud in broken English, or how Barbieri gave nicknames to all the neighborhood characters.Theresa Argento,...

Scope and Contents: Marvin Bargar grew up in New Haven's Legion Avenue neighborhood, graduated from Hillhouse High School in 1943, then returned to New Haven in 1950 after serving in the Army and graduating from the University of Connecticut. He discusses growing up in New Haven's Jewish community, the changes to the Legion Avenue neighborhood in the 1950s and 1960s, and his current efforts to preserve the city's Jewish history. Bargar first recalls his childhood in the Legion Avenue area. Most of the families...

Scope and Contents: Eugene Vitelli, born and raised in New Haven, describes his forty-year career as a teacher and administrator in several New Haven high schools: Hillhouse High School, Fair Haven, and Wilbur Cross. He describes the 1967 and 1970 black student-led, Black-Panther influenced race riots at Hillhouse, and explains what he thinks led to the riots. He mentions that some black students felt that Hillhouse staff favored and spent more time with white students, using more resources to help them prepare...

Scope and Contents: Norman Alderman is the third-generation owner of Alderman-Dow Iron and Metal Company, the oldest scrap metal business in New Haven, founded in 1895. Alderman discusses the nature of the scrap metal business, and Jewish and family businesses in general. He offers his views on business development in New Haven in the second half of the twentieth century. Alderman-Dow had to move from its original location on Dow Street in the Oak Street neighborhood because of urban renewal. ...

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Interviewer: Green, Nicole

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Interviewer: Errico, John

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Interviewer: Horowitz, Adam

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Interviewer: Errico, John