Antonio Martinez

Interview Description

Oral History Interview with Antonio Martinez

Antonio Martinez is from the Guatemalan coastal city of Livingston. He has lived in the borough since the late 1960s; first in the Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York neighborhoods of Brooklyn. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn was his permanent home. He worked as a movie projectionist in his home city, but found it difficult to obtain a license and continue this work in New York because of his difficulties with English. He became a hospital worker and has worked in the borough's hospitals for many years. Martinez is an active member of St. Michael's Church in Sunset Park, and participates in a Bible study group. He became active in Sunset Park community affairs as well, working with the Community Board Services and with local block associations. He brought the ''Green Thumb" program to Sunset Park, which turns vacant lots into vegetable gardens.

In the interview, Antonio Martinez relates much of his personal history. He describes the changes in Sunset Park since his arrival, and notes that it went from an essentially Puerto Rican neighborhood to the multicultural area that it is today. He also discusses the role of block associations in the maintenance and improvement of the housing stock. Interview in Spanish conducted by Marcelo Herman.

Brooklyn Historical Society initiated the Hispanic Communities Documentation Project in 1988. Over fifty interviews were conducted to document the experiences of Brooklyn residents who arrived from Puerto Rico, Panama, Ecuador, and several other Central and South American nations in the latter half of the twentieth century. This collection includes recordings and transcripts of interviews conducted between 1988 and 1989. The oral histories often contain descriptions of immigration, living arrangements, neighborhood demographics, discrimination, employment, community development, and political leadership. Also included are photographs and printed ephemera.

Citation

Martinez, Antonio, Oral history interview conducted by Marcelo Herman, April 23, 1989, Hispanic Communities Documentation Project records and oral histories, 1989.004.29; Brooklyn Historical Society.