b"already experienced. I was walking in experienced which a lot of people weren't. That gave me an edge. They gave me adifferent assignment. One of the older guys took me along and became my father. When I made a mistake, he wouldsmack me in the head and say, You stupid. It was like the way you would treat your kid sometimes. I showed you sixtimes, how many times I gotta show you how to do something. That's how I became very good at what I was doing andlearned really well. I especially remember Sal Kazel [sp?]. He was the shop foreman at Jacob Riis Houses. But, they are allgone now.You worked at Riis Houses?Yes, but as a trainee, you couldn't work in the same project you were as a caretaker. They shipped me out to Alfred E.Smith Houses by the Brooklyn Bridge. I had arguments with bosses, so they shipped me out to another bad project, Lillian Wald. I didn't get along there either. Matter of fact, I almost got locked up there because of the way I was, my attitude. They gave me no alternative. We're selling you uptown. I live in Brooklyn and going uptown was a voyage. I was sent to a place I didnt know anything about which was East River Houses. I was a trainee for less than a year thereand I became a maintenance man. I filled my own spot. I went from a trainee to a maintenance man; I became my own replacement. East River Houses opened their arms on me. I was a trainee and I was experienced already. They took advan-tage of me actually, when you think about it. I had very good bosses there.No problems getting along.None at all, never written up, none of that stuff, no. I only had accommodations, for time and attendance, for goodwork. I saved a kid in a fire. I had to run up 11 flights of stairs, out of breath, went into a house full of smoke, felt a crib,took the baby out of the crib and brought her in the hallway.Did you work other places after that?I was at the East River Houses for nine or ten years. I said: I'm tired of travelling, I'm going to try to get down on theLower East Side, closer to home. They sent me to Rutgers Houses. Rutgers is a three-man operation. I worked there until I became an Assistant Superintendent. I was down maybe in Rutgers about a year. I was on the list already for AssistantSuper. They call me and they sent me uptown to Polo Grounds Houses. Me being the way I am, I got in trouble in PoloGrounds. I got a transfer, thanks to Barry Feinstein from the union, and they sent me to Grant Houses. I thought I wasdoing alright there until I had problems again with supervision. I ran into problems there also and I was looking to transfer out, but being supervisor, you have to wait two years in title to be transferred. Your probationary period counts,everything is timed to count. There was an opening in Emergency Services as a supervisor which is night work. I wentdown, saw everybody I had to see about getting the job. They liked my record; they knew of me and they accepted meinto Emergency Services. Emergency Service takes care of people stuck in elevators, gas leaks, fires, floods, burglar apartments, to secure the doors, things of that nature. I was assistant super at that time, so I was only dispatching thatwork. There were five of us on a panel and each had just about a borough. I had lower Manhattan and upper Manhattanand I worked only in Manhattan. I was familiar with every location there was. And I knew the job. It started on 28th streetand 2nd avenue and then they went to computerization and they found a bigger place for us to work at 123rd Street and1st Avenue. I retired out of that place. I was with EMS for about six years.40 "