Abstract:
They were called the Back Alley Boys and helped define the North Side of Syracuse, New York, during the ’50s and ’60s. Although not as legendary as the “Dead End Kids” portrayed in the movies of the 1930s, they had their own flare for drama. But North Side Story is not just about growing up on the North Side during the ’50s and ’60s. It is also a story of a changing neighborhood. Names like Stretch, Axle, Scams, and Boogers are now gone. Today, the North Side residents have names like Cuong, Danh, and Ai’. Just as the immigrant grandparents of the Back Alley Boys had once struggled to come to this country so did the Vietnamese “boatpeople.” North Side Story is their story as well.