Packing up the belongings she has collected over more than two decades is a bittersweet moment for Donna Weekes.
Soundview, thirty-odd acres of Bronx land bordered by the Bronx River Parkway, Westchester Avenue, White Plains Road and Lacombe Avenue is dominated by eight of New York City’s project housing, one of which Donna resides in: Bronxdale Houses. The historically crime-ridden neighborhood holds many memories for her, from watching her only child Shane grow up to welcoming her sister Julie’s two daughters Luana and Sascha and son Elvis to live with her.
Yet, she is more than ready to put the neighborhood in her rearview mirror. “It’s what I’ve been working so hard for all these years,” she says, with a smile.
Up at the crack of dawn most mornings and returning well after the sun sets, only to go straight to bed and repeat the process has become the life of Donna Weekes for the past five years. No stranger to hard work, the middle-aged resident claims her work ethic was learned at an early age being both a West Indian immigrant and single mother. She migrated from the islands of St.Kitts and St.Croix at age 20 with her son and had been working tirelessly ever since. Initially, she worked as a beautician but after years of noticing it wasn’t her calling, she ultimately switched to adult care and turned it into a career. Currently, she works in Mount Vernon as a program coordinator for an adult daycare center for individuals with Alzheimer’s, and has two senior clients she assists in the evenings once her regular job is over.
Though her only child has long moved out of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) apartment she has occupied on Beach Avenue since 1989 and she has no immediate obligation to support her sister’s children financially, she still feels the need to work three times as hard as she ever did. “I’m a lady of leisure: I like taking vacations and going on cruises,” Donna says.
“Plus, do you think I wanna live here forever?” she adds matter-of-factly.
Well, why wouldn’t anyone want to live in Soundview one may ask. For the curious, Donna has all the answers.
An area known for its dangers like drugs and gang violence, Donna has seen, heard and experienced it all. Instinctively, NYCHA projects paint a morbid picture, especially the reputation of Bronxdale Houses where she resides; coincidentally it the same place where Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the United States Supreme Court grew up and where other notable individuals, particularly of the entertainment industry like Wesley Snipes and KRS-One, lived. Though some have risen above the neighborhood’s circumstances, others have not been so fortunate to escape.
“Drugs are dealt in the building, there’s been murders here, you hear gunshots every now and again… In fact, this March a bullet came through my nieces’ bedroom window,” she says, the intensity in her face growing to match her obvious anger. “I’m just glad they weren’t hurt,” she finishes with a shake of her head which she keeps in a low, textured cut to accommodate her on-the-go lifestyle.
While this may not seem like a strange occurrence for someone living on the first floor of a project building, Donna lives on the sixth floor. “It used to be such a nice place to live; lots of elderly people. But they died and the punks moved in.” If it weren’t for other things, this would have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Largely untouched by gentrification, Soundview has many thriving local businesses. In Donna’s area, there are at least five Mom-and-Pop’s stores within walking distance, three Laundromats, a pizzeria, a number of diners and beauty salons, a mini-mart, pharmacy and even a shoe repair shop. Most of these businesses have always been there as she recalls. For her daily needs, she does not even have to go outside of her neighborhood to satisfy them, except for work of course.
In addition to the local businesses, residents also feel a sense of community since most live in housing run by NYCHA; Bronxdale Houses alone accomodate 3,479 residents. On a daily basis, you run into the same people and create amicable, courteous relationships. You know, some of the people are nice like the teacher across the hall and the guy with pancreatic cancer a few floors down. But for me, it’s work and home; I don’t mingle.”
A resident of Donna’s building who prefers to go nameless can confirm her statement. “I usually see her coming or leaving; never out in the back on the benches like the rest of us.”
In all of the twenty-one years Donna has lived in Bronxdale Houses, she’s never been a part of any of the community boards. “I don’t have the time.” Even if Donna was able to add a few extra hours to her day, she doubts she’d ever participate. As nice as the area appears to be, sidewalks lined with trees, gutters kept clean, birds chirping and an overall calm, she’s dissatisfied with the people and service NYCHA provides.
“There’s always a group of young men loitering on the main floor and in the stairways. The floors are dirty and elevators always smell of urine,” she explains with disgust. “God forbid you have to bring guests over.” A clear source of embarrassment for someone like Donna who keeps her two bedroom apartment spotless; entering you would think you had left the projects momentarily.
“When it takes the building’s plumber five days to make it to your place to solve a drainage issue, you know it’s time to move,” she speaks with distaste of a recent plumbing problem. “If it weren’t for the low rent, I would’ve left a long time ago.”
And it’s because of the low rent opportunities in the area that many of the hoodlums have been attracted to the area. For her though, that is no longer enough to keep her around. Buying her own home had always been a goal and finally she is on the road to making it a reality. All she has to do is complete her packing and move out, a step she is more than ready to complete.
As Donna carries on the tedious task of packing up her life for a new one—one hopefully with less ringing gunshots and bodily fluids, she hopes her sister’s children recognize the path she unknowingly paved for them in an otherwise pleasant neighborhood.
“It’s a starting place you know? I’ve had many moments of joy here and I hope they experience the same.”
When asked if she would miss the neighborhood, she said, “Of course.” But quickly adds, “The people and Housing, not one bit.”
