Rosann Sinti and Rosamund Looney

00:01 Okay, okay.

00:03 Hi, my name is Rosamund Looney. We are here today, which is July 15th 2009 at the Lower East Side family Union, Lower East Side in Manhattan in New York City and I am here with someone who I've been working with. I'll let her introduce herself.

00:25 Yes, my name is frozen since he I'm 64 years old today's date is July 15th 09 and it's very very hard to imagine that this will be listened to in the year 3000. Do I need to say again? Today is July 15th 2009. I'm at the Lower East Side family Union with rosemund. My preventive service case planner who has really become a friends and has made me do this today. Thank you for being here. Thank you. So I thought maybe I would ask you a question first about growing up. So could you tell me when and where you were born? I was born shortly after World War II.

01:25 June 10th 1945 my family lived on the street called Broome Street in what is now Soho?

01:36 I don't know. It's in the year 3000 Soho will be there and I don't know if the building that I was born in will be there for hats. It will be perhaps it won't Thompson Street is between Houston and Prince. I still remember remnants of push carts, but that memory has slowly faded away. Tell me what are push carts push carts of people rented out store friends and their Wares were kept inside but they sold on the street and there are a lot of fruit vendors on Thompson Street. And in that area of which is Greenwich Village like we could Street I do have good memories of that. I have memories of Thompson Street and the paper box Factory that my grandmother worked in.

02:36 Newly-arrived Spanish or Puerto Rican immigrants at the time and I would stand downstairs and ways to her and call nonno Nonna and she look out the window with her friend is indeed ways to me and then I'd meet her ass to work and she comes home with her paper shopping bag that smells like espresso coffee and I particularly remember the fall when I used to meet her because there was a feeling in the air of when of a fall you could smell it. It's something I haven't been able to feel in about 15 years the season 2 starting to mesh back then I remember summer I Remember full and winter why do you think it is for you now that the seasons are are mixing together like that maybe because I'm older and my senses are fading, but but I've been feeling good for about 15 years just to change and less movement to life. Is he?

03:36 How much faster than it was back then the Traditions are fading away. I remember once we had lots of Bakers in the area and I sprained my ankle and my nana brought me to the Baker and he went on my ankle is so he were needing dope and I was better he put hot olive oil on it and I was okay there after so that was physical therapy at least physical therapy in those days until so tell me where your where your ancestors are from your grandparents and great-grandparents are Thompson Street was the neighborhood of newly arrived immigrants and both my father's parents and my grandpa father's my father's parents Came From, Italy.

04:25 I might both from the south of Italy. So I guess my father and my mother were first-generation Italian, which makes me second generation. Am I nice think of my children and my two beautiful grandkids and my great-grandchildren, I wonder what their lineage will be in who that their mates will be and I wonder if there will be neighborhoods like Thompson Street, you know, and I wonder if there will be borders, you know, or if we're all going to mesh how has the the neighborhood that you were born and grew up and changed over the course of your lifetime.

05:10 Let's see as he said was the neighborhood before it became Soho the buildings along Broadway. We're basically factories for a lot of immigrant workers women worked making clothes making clothes and I saw the change there when new artist for coming into the area of the buildings for converted into co-ops in, so I saw that happen and it's a neighborhood girl. I really didn't know where I fit in but you know, I I I went along with the transition but I'm seeing now is is the change that I don't like so much. It's just like rapid building everywhere. I look there's a new glass tower going up and I'm really afraid that the neighborhood downtown will become Midtown.

06:10 When when in the year 3000 I really don't think the old apartments or tenements will be there anymore.

06:24 So it sounds like the neighborhood itself has had a lot of changes. Have you are there people who you've grown up with who are still in the neighborhood with you?

06:33 After High School, most of my friends married and moved out of the neighborhood. There is still some folks older than myself were friends with my mother and father who are still around but they're fading out and just recently I lost two acquaintances two women that I knew in the area who were my own age. So things are really changing in terms of people not being here anymore.

07:07 And maybe you could tell me a little bit about your parents like what they were like and what they used to talk about. Maybe how they used to talk. Can you tell me who my mother loves to take used to love to tell the story of my birth? I was born at Manhattan General Hospital on 17th Street and 2nd Avenue and I understand that it was the first lying in Hospital in New York City even going way back to the early 20th century.

07:45 And my mom said that in those days women were kept in the hospital for a month after they gave birth and got very very very pampered care. They were bathed and they with Todd how to breastfeed and how to care for the baby to my mother really love sex story and I feel it's pretty significant when you compare Health Care today in 2009. What are the other differences you've seen between how your mom was treated and then like how you or your daughter or your grandpa? Granddaughter have been in hospitals? Will my first child was 10 lb 3 oz and at the time I was a Clinic patient at st. Vincent's hospital and I was treated by a young resident doctor.

08:38 So giving birth to a 10 lb baby was very very difficult and and the message and the procedures used back there or almost caused me to have you do I have merged I was given some blood transfusions and then later told that if I got sick for any reason that I should like my doctors know that I was given these Trends transfusions and I didn't understand what that was about but that was in 1974 and AIDS was here. It was it was so nice.

09:17 Inside me. I just piece that together only recently me about 10 years ago, you know scary realization to have nothing had happened to me and nothing had happened to to to my son. You know, when I look at the way women who are going to give birth to large children today methods have really changed. Although my own daughter had a very unfortunate delivery. Also her child was 10 lb, and it was a normal delivery, but the baby was hurt in the process and is suffering from erb's palsy, but there are methods that one. This can use to prevent that no, but when they see that the child is going to be large one time. You told me the story of why why you had such a big baby. It's her first baby everybody, but he told me to eat.

10:17 They said Mangia eat eat eat eat until I take my 8 and I thought I was doing a good thing. I really enjoyed my food and then you ended up with a very big boy a very very big boy.

10:34 But that tells you to take advice from people.

10:38 So tell me how how did it feel when you first found out you were a parrot when you first found out you were going to have a baby will I didn't get to see my son for a couple of days because I was so sick, but when I did see him it was wonderful. It was natural and it's just a fantastic young man who will be getting married in September of 2009. Congratulations. So what what are your thoughts about his marriage is like a new stage of life for you guys though, though, he and his fiance have asked me to write something for them and I just haven't had the time because I'm caring for my two grandchildren ages 3 and 7. I'm my hair is the most you know, I don't know what I'm going to wear. I want to get some something, you know, so I can really very nervous about it. September is upon us and I just wanted to be there for them and

11:38 Just celebrate their day. I want to feel good. So what are your hopes for a card or a few were here and saying and able to listen like what what what it what advice would you give him about his marriage that you've learned from your experiences with my advice is that all young people communication is very very important. You'll have your differences. But if you can express what you're feeling

12:11 I wish them I'd love to see them have some land somewhere and and to be able to grow their own vegetables someday because I'm really worried about this. I really really am worried about the planet and I feel living in the city is going to get more and more and more difficult and I fear for them and and and for all young people and in terms of what the city maybe like by that you mean how the people of New York City will change or you mean like with global warming and like environmental things like that or both?

12:56 Both global warming and and and what's happening? I mean I see buildings going up all around that are huge and I don't know how the small island is going to hold that I think it's going to be so crowded and so congested that those beautiful neighborhoods and the feeling of neighborhood won't be here anymore. And and that's what I fear fear for the children, you know, and this is why I I hope that they will have the new New Circle or they can derive their strength from an N grow from that.

13:38 What do you think your parents would say if they could see how Broome Street looks today? When I my father is almost 90 years old and he is in excellent Health despite the fact that there were 12 children and his family and his dad loved his Vino. You know, my father has incredible jeans his father live to be 90. And when I asked him how he feels about the Donald Trump Tower Glass Tower 40 story right behind our building on Broome Street where I live he says, I don't care. I'm not going to be there.

14:26 What do you think your mom would say? Do you think your mom would have that kind of figured I think my mother would would.

14:37 I have more understanding, you know that this is really going to change the neighborhood and would probably run the news on how low scale things used to be. You know, I I don't think she would have my dad's attitude about his not being around, you know.

15:01 Would you have any favorite stories about your kids growing up that you would want them to be able to hear about themselves or for Miriam and used to be able to hear about Ricardo and Serena later?

15:15 Let's see.

15:17 Let's see how well I remember one. My son graduated from grammar school and had applied for a specialized high school and came in one day and said Mom I didn't make it and I remember I was heartbroken because I was so sure that he did make it and I called my Borough president and I said, please help he's got to go to Stuyvesant and and they were wonderful. I mean they were really ready to do their best. His grades were excellent. And he really didn't get the perks that a lot of kids were. I mean, I didn't know there was preparation to specialized high school. So a lot of his Pals had preparation and he had this big smile on his face and said mom only I was just kidding. I was just kidding, you know Series have the kids go to Stuyvesant High School.

16:17 As did my brother Raymond who died of AIDS at age 35 at st. Vincent's Hospital.

16:27 If you were here today, what would you want to say to him to rain?

16:31 What would I want to say to ring? And he was a very strong very intelligent and of could give you a sense of of a strength, you know, because he thought things out and was excellent in science.

16:55 And I think he would have been a great role model. He was a great role model to my own children.

17:03 In terms of encouraging them to go to school and that's I think what kids need around them is to have people who encourage then, you know to go on.

17:16 I don't think Raymond would be very very happy about mr. Trump still building on the Block.

17:25 You know, I I think he would be able to talk to Lydia clean environmentally about it, you know, but this is change.

17:39 Well, I thinking maybe we could shift gears little bit because it sounds to me like you've had a lot of stories about working in your experiences as working as a woman at a time when not as many women were working and it was sort of different for females in the workplace. So maybe if you could tell us a little bit about where you used to work and what you did and the positive and negative experiences, but you had working when I was 20. I was working for New York University Washington Square campus. I don't know if Washington Square will be here in the year 3000. I hope it will they just recently moved the fountain maybe everything will be moved around and look more beautiful, but be left natural to how it was. Maybe I hope so, you know at least some remnants.

18:37 Through some people. I knew at New York University. I landed a job with olivetti in Northern Italy. And at the time they were making typewriters. I have no idea what they're making today. Probably some something very specialized technologically speaking of ass, and it was just a very simple olivetti Portable typewriter.

19:01 And that was a great experience. What I remember most about that experience was that I had a month vacation during which time my mother send my little nine-year-old brother Raymond and I picked him up at the airport in Milano when he got off the bus with his baseball cap in baseball bat and had to live with me for a whole month. He wanted frankfurters in Hamburg because there was no way he was going to get it and he learned in that short time to eat some some really good food and travel down to the aeolian islands and the tyrannian Sea off the coast of Sicily and we spent several weeks are together. And what I remember most about that experience was like I was 20 and had a nine-year-old child with me that I was caring for and he got very very sick one night the very high fever the next

20:01 Maybe see a movie called the death or do we call the doctor today? And this week man came gave him a good physical gave him medicine and I said Doctor, what do I owe you and he said signorina nothing and that was my first exposure to socialize midget.

20:23 You know, I'm Raymond was well, you know the next day after he had had his medicine. What did your parents think of you up and going to Italy? They were nervous, but you know.

20:37 Didn't stop me from going I had been working for NYU and saved a little over $1,000 know someone listening to this in the year 3000 will say wow. How did she booked passage on the Michelangelo? Although it was cabin class and how did she buy traveler's checks all for $1,000, but I did and went and visited with relatives and then landed this job with all of that in the north. So that was really a wonderful work experience. And then what happened that made you come back to New York. I was to have gone back to work for their company in Milan and but they gave me a two-week leave of absence that you leave to go home and see my folks. I got on the plane at what was then it was in Kennedy Airport. I I forget what it was called back then.

21:37 Got on the plane was out for about a half-hour and the captain got on the loudspeaker and said we are turning back because of technical difficulties and we came back to the airport and I just sat there thinking at the time. My family was not very happy. There are a lot of problems. I had a brother who is on drugs and things were just not happy and that could have stayed in my heart and I said why am I going off and leaving my family? So I just decided never not to go back and have a pretty responsible decision for a 20 year old.

22:20 Yeah, and so tell me a little bit about what it was like when you were working in the school system in New York and then like you would remove before some stories about like Pleasant and unpleasant experiences with bosses there. Okay? I had many jobs prior to working for the Department of Education. But wish I had started working earlier when my children were younger, but most recent experience as a woman what I was dealing with a very impossible boss who at one point had me in tears and I just needed to walk out of the office and I happen to work and live right next door. My my apartment building was right next to it is right next door to Chelsea High School and I ran home in tears and I sat in my rocking chair and talking to myself and say what

23:20 Am I going to do but I mean, how do I deal with this impossible person and I realized I had to work and that I had to go back and do something. So I went back to the office and he said hello, and that was that was it. I mean, he said nothing about my having less than I was away for a couple of hours, you know, but since then a lot of people have come forward and they have had similar problems.

23:58 So I'd like to ask you a big question. Now. Do you have any regrets?

24:07 I regret I have no regrets because life is really been challenging.

24:16 But sometimes a challenge gets very difficult. And if you have the background the training the education for the support, I think it makes makes things a little easier that you can still be there ready to accept the challenge but that you have support you have knowledge. I've had to learn things the hard way when I was in real estate and got my real estate license, you know, I I knew there was a lot about the financial world that I didn't know about and although my my supervisor at a Weichert said it wasn't important as a salesperson to know about financial matters. I felt it would have helped me in my career as a salesperson, you know, so I struggled I read through financial things and and really try to educate myself, but that was so very sorry for two kids. It was like being the doctor on call I'd have folks calling me at all hours.

25:15 The midnight, you know, so I'm having some kind of a background is very important rather than going into something with was really no no support. No background. And what do you feel proud of stuff about your life?

25:35 Now you're at the point where I feel like you've seen a couple of Cycles, right? Cuz you had kids and now you have grandchildren and maybe soon will a code Ricardo will have grandchildren like you're going through like cycle do what do you feel proud of stove when you look at all of you all of that part of your life so far? I don't know if I feel proud about anything, you know, I I know again and I'll repeat, you know, I I stood up to the challenge accepted what came my way, you know, and maybe that's close to be proud, you know one specific thing, you know, I guess it's all these little things that come together that are important.

26:19 You know and for that more than proud I'm grateful and

26:25 Hope that my grandchildren and great great grandchildren who will be listening to who may or may not I don't know be listening to this will have that that stamina, you know, I don't know what the world is going to be like, you know, what will they have to be stronger? Probably? Yes. What do you imagine? The world will be of your great-grandchildren will be like

26:52 I'm so afraid of there will be no green that really troubles me, you know when I read books about the polar bears and with with the great-grandchildren, you know, I think that maybe the polar bears won't be here.

27:09 You know, NN we've had so much.

27:14 So much Beauty around. I hope it will still be here for them.

27:20 That's really a big concern of mine.

27:27 And tell me if you were if you remember you can think of one or a couple that's fine. What were some of the happiest moments of your life.

27:38 Some of the happiest moments of my life.

27:45 Sound silly. I can't really remember that far back. I'm sure there were a lot.

27:52 I remember just recently being in the park Thompson Street Park that sends a guy in about three changes in my lifetime. I still wanted a wonderful place to be in and I was

28:17 Pushing my grandchild on the swing

28:23 And looking at the trees.

28:26 I'm just feeling that I was too happy.

28:31 That's a really beautiful memory.

28:35 I don't think you could ask for much. Yeah.

28:47 Thank you for sharing that. I think it's sometimes these very simple very small moments where Everything feels like it's finally going right for a second.

29:01 It's very beautifully put the things to find me going right for a second and it doesn't have to be long live, you know a second is good enough.

29:22 And so I have a question because of your children and grandchildren which is how would you like them to remember you or how would you like to be remembered right now? They look at me and say city city is grandmother in Arabic. It's a city you're very old and you're very ugly and your teeth the very bad. So I imagine he's not very pretty. You know, I hope they will remember me as someone who has tried to give him lessons.

30:02 Using simple

30:05 Situations to teach and that rules are important and that a little is a lot and it just the Simplicity of of teaching. I hope they will remember some of the lessons and remember me for that.

30:28 Would you like to share a story that you have about Yusef for about Miriam?

30:34 But recently Yusuf was playing with his PlayStation P. It's a handheld video device for those of you and 3,000 who may not know what it is and uses had a disc and I believe it was called Medal of Honor Heroes and I could hear the shooting and and he said to me City do you like Germans?

31:06 And that was very very difficult for me to answer. You know, I really I mean I I had to say to him will you said you know, we're all different I said you have to understand your part Italian part Yugoslavian Park Creek Park part Palestinian. I said, I cannot say that I don't like Germans I said, what was happening in World War II was not a good thing. It was a very hard thing to explain to a kid very very hot slice really don't understand is he knows what to do what your name means? I don't know if he knows what World War II was he does say our Wars bad and I said yes Wars of that and I don't know what 3000 is going to be like I keep telling him if we cannot work out our differences.

32:06 At home, if you can't work out your differences with your little sister. So then that's how Wars in made around his PlayStation and you have a story about any stories about Miriam. You could think of stories about Mary and she's only three right now, so it's it's very hard to say. I don't think I have stories. I just have lots of beautiful observation and and how she is really trying to to become her own person and keep up with her brother, you know, and and to compete with him, you know, she is looking forward to school does homework loves the book The Notebook that you gave her yesterday and was reading this.

33:06 Morning, that's why I really hope to hear that. So, of course they were arguing the squabbling about one of the books Yusuf wanted it and she wanted it so World War 3 weeks in the making.

33:22 Miriam told me recently that. She I said, how are you doing? And she said I'm fine. I am a princess super monster. I'm and I thought that that was a good example of Mary. I'm trying to be a girl but then also trying to compete with Yusuf who's interested in superheroes while Miriam also had this really big imagination is really interested in Monsters. And I feel like every picture Miriam has drawn me is always of a monster. He is super hero monsters. Ya Ali right outfit thinks he's thinking about a lot

34:03 And what about your hopes for your daughter?

34:07 For Serena hopes for my daughter. Is that she be well?

34:13 And find the right doctors.

34:18 To help her in her illness right now and said that she would be able to enjoy her children and the rest of her life.

34:32 In the year 3000 none of us will be here that I will be going sooner than others and I would like to see her settled by the time I leave. Yeah, it seems like your whole family has learned. A lot of different has been exposed to a lot of things and learned a lot of different things and helping Serana with her illness. So I wonder if you wanted to share any of that lessons that you've learned from from from working with her.

35:02 You need to have a lot of patience and you need to understand when you have a family member who is not well that you can be experiencing a lot of different kinds of emotions. You can feel frustrated angry, but you have to hold on to that love.

35:23 Never never lose focus of the love.

35:27 Unconditional love

35:30 Very important. That's one of the lessons. I I tried to teach the children when you sit says City, you don't like me and I say Yusuf. I love you. But sometimes you're not doing this for your behavior that I don't like so it's unconditional. I would never withhold my love, you know.

35:52 For I think we're coming close to the end of our interview. And so I wanted to see if there was anything else that you wanted to say or that you wanted to break up.

36:02 I hope in the year 3000 that there will be feelings that there will be emotions.

36:12 That there will be people struggling to make a better world. I hope there will be some beauty.

36:19 I hope it won't be a greedy Society.

36:28 I hope some of the values we hold onto today will still be there, but maybe better. I hope there will be values and that's what I hope for the year 3000. That's what I wish for the year 3000. Okay. Well, thank you very much for sharing and thank you for calling today. You're welcome.