Theresa Veldez

Theresa Veldez grew up in the bungalows of Coney Island and experienced the best and the worst of neighborhood during a turbulent decade. During the 1960s, the once popular summer bungalows of Coney were transformed into year-round residences by unscrupulous landlords who rented to tenants being relocated by city agenices, or by greedy developers moving families displaced by urban renewal projects. Many of these bungalows were lost to fires caused by arson or the failure of substandard wiring and heating. Theresa  Veldez lost three siblings in a tragic fire in the 1960s.