Negron-Figueroa Family, Oral history interview transcription.

Interviews
Puerto Ricans--New Jersey
Oral history

A transcription of the oral history interview conducted with Nilda “Chicky” Figueroa and Carmen “Nelly” Figueroa.

Christopher López.

Interview conducted on January, 4, 2024, January 20, 2024, and May 4, 2024.

Courtesy of Christopher López. Copyright held by Christopher López. Restrictions are only in regards to publication; any researcher may view or copy any document in the collection.

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See "Negron-Figueroa Family, Photos.," https://puertoricanexperienceinhoboken.omeka.net/items/show/18

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English

Oral history (transcription)

1950s through 1980s

Chicky: I can tell you that my mom told me story’s about before, years before, they decided they were going to do what they did. Because they already had it in their plans in Hoboken it was called model city. And this one insider that was, you know, acquaintance with my mom told my mom, I think he's a realtor. You know, you should purchase property because this and this is gonna happen. It's in the plans. But you know, for some reason, my mom didn't do that. But you know, the man was right. But what we didn't know. All those arsons are like, if you're in there and you die you die. You know, and that's how it went down. And the thing is that no one did anything about it. Everyone looked the other way. Capiello, everybody, the cops, you name it. You know, it was a free for all this is gonna happen and nobody's gonna prosecute anybody.

Chicky: Did you see the play (Yuppies Invade My Home at Dinnertime)? From the professor, where my sister Yvette works? I went to that play. It was the last day of the last show. I held all my tears back. I don't know if you saw the play. I don't know how you felt? But I was holding it for dear life. My sister cried, she couldn't help it. I had to turn my face away just not to look at her. And it's sad because we still love Hoboken. My mom's still in Hoboken.


Chicky: My mom, (Delia Negron) she's a warrior. She's 81 years old, and she still thinks she can hit you with her baston (cane) if she has to. Yeah, she's like that. We lived on 116 14th Street. A couple of years before things started to happen, there was a realtor that went by and tried to bamboozle my mom out of there, like kind of forcing her out. And I got into conversation, I said, excuse me, what you're saying right now is illegal. You can't force my mom out of here. This was years before this happened(the fires). And she's not leaving. And if you want we could take it to court, and he looks at me, he goes, Oh, you're feisty, and you know, a lot. And I go, Yeah, because back then, I don't know, Bibi (Yvette) mentioned to my sister that her dad, her biological dad (Juan Garcia) had an organization called CUNA. So he was for the people, for the Hispanics in general, not necessarily Puerto Ricans. But there were a lot of Puerto Ricans back in the day in Hoboken. Because, you know, there was a lot of injustice to the people. So he read up a lot of laws, not that he was a lawyer, but he always made sure that the people were taken care of and that others could not be bamboozled into doing something they didn't want or illegally evicting them or trying to do anything that was against the law. So he taught me a lot when I was young and he used to have me go with certain adults at the time that did not speak English, so I would help them. I would translate for them. I was young, but you know, I didn't care. I wanted to do this. Going to court, helping them out and doing what I had to do. Long story short, this realtor, I told him, No, you can't do this. My mom's not leaving. So he actually offered me a job at the realty place because the receptionist that was there had given labor, and, you know, they needed somebody to take over. So I said, Okay, so I took her summer job there. It was just for the summer. And the guy couldn't do anything with my mom, because I told him you can't. We'll take you to court. You can't do this. And that was years before everything started to happen. He was a skinny dude and worked for Severino Realty.


Chicky: I took the job for the summer, then the girl came back and I left. And then things escalated. When all this started, I want to say it was 70 something. Things started happening. It escalated up to a little bit after 1980, but not as much but during the 70’s and 80s. That's when all hell broke loose. It was bad. It was really bad. I remember, I didn't see that fire. For some reason but I can recall hearing from my mom about the one on 11th and Willow was pretty bad. Right on the corner. The one that stuck in my memory (Pinter Hotel). And I know my sister too, because we were right across the street. My mom had that candy store across the street.


Chicky: Yeah, that was my grandma and my grandfather had a Cuchrito(typical Puerto Rican foods) on 161 14th Street. When you get in towards that corner, there's like a bar there or something. I don't know. It was always dark. The building right before that. The second one was 161. My grandmother lived there for years with my brother who passed away. When they came from Puerto Rico they lived, I think on Willow. They moved to that building on 161. They were on the second floor and they were there until she died. My grandfather died. And my brother 49 had an asthma attack. His heart couldn't take it and he passed away there too.



Chicky: I was there(Pinter Hotel arson fire in 1982). Yeah, my mom witnessed the fire. We all did. It was so traumatic, that my mom was outside screaming and screaming hysterically because the people were throwing themselves out the window or burning to death. Yeah, it was really that bad. And then there was a family on the first floor. I don't know what country they were from. It could have been Haiti. They were Moreno pero no eran Moreno Americano. And she had little kids. Her husband was working the night shift. And people were screaming to throw your kids down, throw your kids out. She was scared to do it. She finally did it. Then she threw herself out the window. They caught her because it was the first floor and they brought her to my mom's candy store. Her and her kids. And when her husband came, he came running into the store. He was going crazy. I told him, Please believe it okay, she's in the store. And he ran into the store and saw his family.

Chicky: My mom during that time, opened the store because she knew the firemen. It was cold, it was a cold day. And people were just going in and out. And then people needed refuge. My mom opened the store and yo no se a que hora de la madrugada (I dont know whatever time in early morning) that, that happened, I just know it was way before five in the morning. And I remember one girl that I know I didn't really know her but I think Bebe (Yvette) maybe knew her better. Because she was younger. She was more like my sister's age. Even though I knew this girl. She was sort of tomboyish and she jumped out from the top floor. She broke her legs but she survived. I never saw her after that. But she survived. Her sister did not. Her, the baby, they died out the window. And that was tragic. I mean, you could see her half her whole body sticking out. That was bad. Yeah, it was hard.


Chicky: But when you hear rumors, right, you're supposed to investigate and look into that person. Nobody did that. You know what I mean? Nobody did it. People got away with murder.


Chicky: I remember going on my 10 speed bike with my, I want to say with my brother, not the oldest that passed away, the other one, going into downtown to First Street to where headquarters was and watching the riot. Because my father, her dad (Yvette), which is my stepdad, got together with Black Panthers in Hoboken and started a riot. He got arrested and my mother got arrested, and the cops were hitting them. I remember this thing, Jibaro Si, Yanqui No, Pa'rriba, Pa’bajo, Los Yanquis Pal’Carajo (Country Men Yes, Yankees No, Up and Down, The Yankees Go To Hell) I remember saying that young. I remember going to First Street and seeing the commotion, because I knew something was happening. (Juan Garcia the leader of CUNA, Chicky’s stepfather) he was, you know, a strong Puerto Rican. He didn't take shit from nobody. He helped a lot of people. And when I became older, after the riots, that's when I learned how to go to the court and how to help the people. Whatever he told me to do, I would do. They had counselors if they needed counselors. (CUNA) that was on Ninth and Willow. On 9th and Willow there's like a little statue there a man or something in that area. There's like a bar or something in there right next to it. It was like a little office space. And back there. That's what where used to be at. We used to hang out there after school. So there was really nothing much to do in Hoboken other than there was a recreational place on I want to say 13th and Willow. But I went there when I was like really young, there was this old American lady that would teach us how to sew and do crocheting. And then as I got a little older it was there CUNA. Then we formed like a softball league for the girls. And my friends because you know, they were not scared of the ball, they would play softball and we would play against others. I would not play I would just sit and cheer for them because I was scared of the ball. Yeah, I was like, oh, no, that balls not gonna hit me. The team was called Las Tainas. I think I have pictures of our colors, purple and then it had Las Tainas written on them. And then I think it had our horoscope sign somewhere on there. So I still get it still stay in touch with two of the girls. One is in. Not so far from here. And the other one is in Puerto Rico. But yeah, they would play. And it wasn't just a bunch of Puerto Rican girls, there was maybe one or two white girls that would also play with us. You know the thing is, we were not prejudiced. That's why I tell my friends,I say when I was growing up, I really didn't feel prejudice. Maybe because I didn't look for it. I was young. And I wasn't into that, I was just into hanging out and having fun. I didn't feel any type of prejudice towards me. But as an adult thinking back on high school, I do know there was prejudice, especially with a counselor from high school, it was a man. He did it to me, he did it to my brother, I remember how struggling I was already in 11th grade, already half a year into the 11th grade. I wasn't feeling part of being there. I don't know. I can't describe it. I just felt older. And I felt like they were a bunch of kids and just don't want to be here. So I went up to him. So he could counsel me and he said, Yeah, you know, I think the best thing you should do is to quit, you know, just leave and go, go to vocational school. I think that's what he told me because that's exactly what I did. After half a year being in the 11th grade. And the same thing happened to my brother (Wilfredo). My brother went to him my brother's older that’s the one that passed away. My brother had the same issue. And that's the advice he gave him. He never really gave the Hispanics or the minorities good advice. But we didn't know any better. You know, this was a white man. Yeah, exactly. But then as I got older, you learn, and you start to think about it. But you know, this man could have, counseled me to say, look, you only have half a year just, you know, do this or whatever. No, he did the same thing to my brother. When he left school, he joined the army. And he finished high school there, he finished and he graduated. And he did the four years in the army, and then he came back home. And then he got the job over by the post office. And he worked and then he passed away.


Chicky: There was this lady that lived on 159 14 Street. That building the people that were there, took the money (took buyouts), whatever they offered them so they could leave their place. This one lady didn't want to. It was, una senora, Puerto Rican, una senora bajita(small) staured she had two twin boys. They were already a little older. I want to say they're now my age. I would assume because I remember them being little like me. Because she was the last one and she did not want to leave. They waited for this lady to go food shopping, went in and burned her apartment down. And did they ever do anything about it? No.

Chicky: My mom when she had the baby, her last child (Marilyn), she got a heart attack because in the building where we lived on 116 The Super that lived in that building, she did not give us heat while my mom was in the hospital. So our windows were frozen. When my mom came out of the hospital, the baby was only five pounds something ounces. My mom went up to the fifth floor, recien parida(recently pregnant), and knocked on the door and told her off. She said you have my kids freezing and that you better put the heat on because my daughter is a newborn. If anything happens to this newborn, I'm going to come up and kill you. You better put that heat on. So that same night my mom got a heart attack. We rushed her to the hospital she was foaming at the mouth and everything. She survived thank you Jesus. Yeah, it was God. Even then what these fucking landlords used to do and the Super’s was crazy.


Chicky: I'm sure the people that you spoke to that were in the fires and survived they have to be traumatized. That's not something you can get over. I wasn't in the fire but I witnessed it. I can't sleep without clothes, I have to make sure that I have una batica (top) with pants because if I have to run I have to run. I cannot sleep, because that's in my mind. I'm like, oh no that's not going to happen to me. And where I'm at right now, I'm always looking out the window and if I throw myself will I get hurt? It’s bad and I wasn't even in the fire. So I can't even imagine those people that you interviewed how they feel. You think you could be next. You know what I'm saying? What if? And every time I hear like the fire department, I constantly hear them now where I'm living. I hear them all the time and I hate it. I don't like hearing it, it kind of freaks me out. I cannot sleep not prepared. I have to be prepared.


Chicky: The people that live there now because this was all done for the yuppies. That's why the professor titled that play Yuppies Invade My Home at Dinnertime. So there's a lot of resentment from Hispanics towards the yuppies because of the way they act and the privilege that they had. All the things that were built for them. I don't really care because I grew up happy in Hoboken. I love Hoboken. I grew up in the old Hoboken. It was so neighborly, everybody said hi to everybody. We knew everybody it was a large Hispanic community. A lot of them were moved to places like PA. And I actually sometimes, well most of the time, I’ll go to church on Willow, because they give the Spanish mass and the older ladies that are there and I know them well. My mom knows them well too. And I feel that small community because that's all there is.


Chicky: In Hoboken they have pageants. I don't know if you know about that? So let me tell you something, the organizer was this lady named Minín. She was Puerto Rican short statured. Minín was a nickname I'm assuming but that's how we all knew her by. She organized a pageant and I participated and I dressed as Una India Taina. Yeah, because I had to represent Puerto Rico even though I was born and raised here. Thank God my mom raised us with Puerto Rican roots, even though we're not from Puerto Rico. My mom’s from Baymon and she came here at the age of sixteen. But, you know, our family's Puerto Rican, and you learn the Puerto Rican way. We have the Puerto Rican attitude. We do everything just like Puerto Ricans. I've always been proud, especially when I participated in that pageant to represent La Taina.








Nilda Figueroa and Carmen Figueroa. This interview was conducted on January, 20, 2024


Chicky: (Juan Garcia) He taught me how to fight for my rights, and to be smart about the law and to not get bullied. Everybody has rights. So he taught me to be like that.


Chicky: If none of this would have happened, obviously Hoboken would have changed slowly. But the people that grew up in a town were people that you cared about, and you are friends with, and you go to school with.. And then for this to happen, and boom, 80% of them are no longer there because either they died or they were shipped off to PA because that's the only affordable place to go to.

Chicky: (In regards to her brother Antonio) Because of him I learned how to box. I had to fight to defend myself and then so he wanted my siblings, my sisters and I to know how to defend ourselves. My sister (Nelly) knows how to box but I've always been the fighter.

Chicky: (In regards to the Pinter Hotel arson fire) Nelly says she remembers a guy running out with a red canister.

Nelly: I didn't know that it was him at the time, I actually didn't know him. But I saw a guy running out with a red canister and I told the cops that. They asked us questions, and we answered what we saw. The fire was so big. We were across the street. Esquina a esquina (corner to corner) it was so big the flames. You could feel the heat like if you were right in front of the building. (Carmen and her husband Jorge) they went down and opened the store to bring coffee and butter rolls for everybody.

Chicky: To bring for the families. The ones who could get out.

Nelly: (speaking about her mom Carmen) She gave things for them to eat. She took down blankets. We did everything. Shoes, clothes, things of ours we took it to the store.

Chicky: I remember when the lady's husband came he was crazy screaming looking for his wife. We had to calm him down. She's in the store with the kids. She's okay. She's okay.

Nelly: Yo creo también que él también quería, he wanted to kill himself to be with his family. That's how sad it was.







This interview was conducted on May, 4, 2024

Chicky: (In regards to the culpability of Hoboken city officials in relation to the arson fires) They all know the truth. It's up to them to either come out and say, Yeah, we never did anything.

Nelly: Yeah, she's right.

Chicky: You know? Or now come and say, Yeah, we always knew.

Chicky: (In regards to her childhood friend, name undisclosed, who also lived through the fires and the gentrification of the city) She is battling her own health issues, right but she also mentioned twice to me, and I don't want to get into details with her and also I don't want to change the way she feels. But I even thought about it yesterday, because that bothers me. She doesn't want to bring up the fires because it was very painful for her. And in my mind, I'm thinking the best healing medicine is to open up and talk. Don't hold anything. Because sometimes I think that when you hold things, you get sick. And I always said, I know, obviously, we're all gonna die but it's not going to be because I stood still, it's not going to be because I didn't say what I felt. I am, this is me. And I'm going to tell you how I'm feeling. Tell you what I remember. If I don't like it, I'm gonna tell you too. I'm never gonna hold anything back. I don't think anybody should. I think people should just talk good or bad. If it's gonna make you cry, it's gonna make you cry. If it's gonna make you laugh it's gonna make you laugh. But never hold things back. And that's probably a lot of people. Then at a certain age, they don't want to let go of things from the past, or they don't want to relive the past. And you should because it's part of you. Letting go is part of healing as well. Let's say somebody did something to me when I was younger, because you know, a lot of people go through shit. The way I am, my personality is, I'm not going to allow that person if they're dead or alive, to have control over me, even though it's long gone. How do you do that? Forgiving, right? Letting go and letting God take care of business. That's how I think and that's why I say a lot of people that don't say the truth about history or something that deeply touched them or is deeply hurting them can't express how they feel now because you're bringing that up. You need to because otherwise you're going to make yourself sick if you don't. I believe that a hundred percent. Let it go. And don't be afraid. People are like, hush, hush, but who are you protecting?

Christopher López

Nilda “Chicky” Figueroa and Carmen “Nelly” Figueroa. Chicky and Nelly are the daughters of Carmen Negron. Felix Negron was the first person to migrate to Hoboken from Bayamon, Puerto Rico in 1959. He moved to 1219 Willow Ave and was later joined by his wife, Isabel, and their daughter Carmen Negron. Their migration came as a result of Carmen’s pregnancy of her first born son, Wilfredo Figueroa and the lack of job opportunities on the island. Before becoming pregnant, Carmen was an au pair to a Puerto Rican family on the island that paid little money and treated her poorly. Her father, Felix, was responsible for the family’s move to the United States in search of better opportunities. In Hoboken he established a business as a cuchifrito restaurant and candy store. After his passing his daughter Carmen would take over the business. The Candy Store, as it was called, was located at 161 14th Street and ran successfully from 1966 to 1997. Felix as well lived in the building and Carmen and her children lived across the street at 116 14th Street where she raised five of her six children, Antonio, Carmen, Nilda, Yvette, and Mariyln. Wilfredo, the eldest, was raised by his grandparents above the candy store. This came as a result of having to leave him in their care as she was only 17 when she had him. Four children, Wildredo, Antonio, Carmen, and Nilda share a father, Domingo Figueroa, who left the family early on as he could not financially support them. Carmen’s fourth child, Yvette, is the daughter of the prominent Puerto Rican civil rights activist Juan Garcia who established the organization CUNA, Citizens United for New Action in Hoboken. Yvette, and Carmen’s other children, were introduced to activism at a young age due to their relationship with Juan. They participated in tenants rights demonstrations, and helped people in the community with translations for court appearances. Marylin, Carmen’s youngest child, was fathered by Jorge Monroy, an Ecuadorian migrant who spent forty years married to Carmen and who most of the children consider their father. The Negron/Figueroa family were a part of a burgeoning Puerto Rican community in Hoboken between the 1950’s and 1980’s which was ultimately devastated by violent displacement and an arson epidemic due to gentrification. Carmen Negron was the last of her family that remained living in Hoboken. She passed this year, 2024 in July.