scoobyd said:
my L 56 alumni also told me that the area changed a lot. when they first got there all the work was down the hill toward Washington Ave- 46&27 area. then after a few years the 43 and 75 districts changed overnight into a war zone. One example was Montgomery & Popham Ave- he said they were normal blocks they never went to. Then within two years they were bombed out vacants, as he said- at least a 100 jobs in a very small area in a short time. half the buildings on those two blocks were torn down. hard to believe.
The above quote is very true. It was unbelievable how quickly that area went down the tubes and was burned out. The area West of Webster Ave up to Fordham Rd became the hot spot once the 1980s kicked in. I would study the workers for ladder companies in the Bronx and year after year Ladders 33, 44, 49, 56, and 59 were showing up on the charts in the 80s.
Prior to that it was Ladders 19, 27, 31, 38, 42, 48, 58 until there wasn't much left to burn after the FDNY War Years.
Further south Ladders 17, 29, were holding their own as well.