I was born and raised in Brooklyn. I’ve since relocated to Florida, and people often ask me how can you stand the summer heat of Florida? My answer is, that it is nothing compared to the hot, muggy, stale, smelly heat of New York. I recall growing up in a very old 35 family walk up building. These old buildings are the norm in NYC and they all have one thing in common. No central air conditioning! Our family had one window air conditioner. We would move it to the living room during the day and shut out the rest of the house using bed sheets hanging from the ceiling to contain the cool air. Then at night dad would move it to his bedroom where we kids would trade the comfort of our beds for the floor in the cool air of their room. I often escaped to a leisurely cool shower and recall beginning to sweat the moment I turned off the water. Parents and neighbors would sit outside in front of the building and watch us kids cool off by running through the Johnny Pump (a New York term for fire hydrants). The refreshing breeze that you yearn for is blocked by tall buildings and heat from the underground subway adds to the misery. Two places that I recall somewhat finding refuge from the sweltering weather was sitting on the fire escape of the fourth floor of our building while completing our summer reading. Or family outings to the boardwalk of Coney Island where the kids would enjoy a Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog and fresh squeezed lemonade. After these familiar delicacies we would all grab a delicious banana soft serve at a shop called Denny’s on Surf Avenue and then take a walk on the Coney Island Pier where you can find a bit of a breeze coming off the water. Those are my memories of growing up in the heat of New York.
