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Angelo Patri, 1940

After the second World War, and in the 1950's, with the advent of the youth gangs, and the first eruptions of serious violence in the streets, and then in the 1960's during the unfortunate summer riots, and later as the problem of drug addiction and crime spread alarmingly throughout the city, La Guardia House remained at the forefront in the struggle to foster understanding, to ease tensions among the races, and to provide the youngsters of East Harlem with sound civic and social ideals as alternatives to violence, crime and drugs. In 1960, for example, the East Harlem Good Neighbor Committee, through La Guardia House, sent a group of Italian boys from Benjamin Franklin High School to Puerto Rico as good will ambassadors, and to experience first-hand the Puerto Rican culture. On their return these youths went before schools and met with many other teen-age groups to discuss their trip, and thus work to improve relations between the old-guard Italian families and emerging Puerto Ricans.

In 1969, when the old building was demolished and La Guardia House suspended operations even then it cannot be said we entirely closed our doors. The all - day nursery for children of working mothers was continued, and the Summer Fresh Air Program has been maintained in its entirety, sending nearly five thousand youths since that time to vacations in the country. Volunteer members of La Guardia House have remained active in the neighborhood, involving themselves in community affairs, aiding in the solution of problems both old and new, and supporting the many urgent programs for children, for the old, and for families in need.

We are proud of this long history of La Guardia Memorial House. We are proud of its achievements. And now as a new era begins, as we inaugurate this wonderful new Community Center, we pledge to carry on in the tradition of the past: to strive to be an influence for the good in East Harlem; to continue to stand as a guide, friend and inspiration to the community; and, above all, to remain what we have always been: the House on 116th Street, a neighbor to the world, our door standing open to all.

[[2 Images]]
[[caption]] Tendered at a dinner in his honor at the House
Peter D. Corsi with Mr. & Mrs. P. Pascale The Pascale Family [[/caption]]

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