It’s the 1950s, and narrator Jay deVenezia is embroiled in the corruption in the Tremont section of the Bronx. He’s the son of an angry Jewish Italian father, a cop who’s involved with mob bosses; and a long-suffering Bukharan Jewish mother. His brother, a junior thug, is constantly humiliating and mistreating him. Jay vividly conveys how the Cross Bronx Expressway was built and destroyed their neighborhood.
The streets of Tremont, the shops and stores, the restaurants, the homes, the culture, and the people are most credibly captured and recreated in Crossing the Bronx. Colorful characters inhabit a thriving area of Italians, Jews, and Irish groups. They each exhibit their prejudices, yet acknowledge each other and are respectful of their boundaries. The many immigrants working hard to achieve the American Dream will soon find themselves in the crosshairs of urban intrigue. Their lives, businesses, and homes intersect with a scheme to move the planned Cross Bronx Expressway from its original city-sanctioned route to a new route running straight through their neighborhood for the benefit of crooked politicians, policy makers, gangsters, and bureaucrats.
Jay and his girlfriend, Francesca Casterella, try to fight the greedy system. They obtain evidence of the fraud, devise channels of information, and eventually rally the community into activity. The previously defenseless residents start fighting back.
Jay’s in-depth sessions with his therapist cleverly divulge his thoughts and feelings. Their pointed dialogues discuss morality, choices, and family loyalty. Jay grapples with guilt and atonement. He is also guided by Rabbi Leviev throughout his years of Hebrew school, young adulthood, and his army stint. He struggles with his own tainted history as he strives to come to terms with the realities of his situation.
Crossing the Bronx is an absorbing and thoughtful read, but also a step-by-step lesson in how the corrupt plan was hatched, implemented, financed, and achieved. Famous New York names enhance the story. Noted builder Robert Moses, Mayor Wagner, Tammany Hall boss Carmine DeSapio, New York baseball team owners, construction figures, and others are involved in payoffs, bribes, and shakedowns. (The author includes a disclaimer that the novel is not a testament to the actual events and people.) The intense action scenes in Crossing the Bronx unfold like a cinematic experience, and the engaging and memorable characters, dialogue, and setting evoke the 1950s while speaking to current-day issues.
A ride on today’s Cross Bronx Expressway will surely conjure up thoughts of Jay’s story and the lost Tremont neighborhood.
Renita Last is a member of the Nassau Region of Hadassah’s Executive Board. She has coordinated the Film Forum Series for the Region and served as Programming and Health Coordinators and as a member of the Advocacy Committee.
She has volunteered as a docent at the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County teaching the all- important lessons of the Holocaust and tolerance. A retired teacher of the Gifted and Talented, she loves participating in book clubs and writing projects.
