 The store, circa 1980. When the lights went out in New York City on July 13, 1977, looters took over many streets, breaking into stores, carrying merchandise away.
The next morning, Alan Rubin, the owner of an electronics store at West 98th St. and Broadway, posted a sign in his window: “WE ARE STAYING.” Order was restored from the blackout and the general good will of New York returned. Alan Rubin was but one of thousands of small-business operators committed to making a living in the neighborhoods of the city. Now his daughter, Jen Rubin, has written a book about those days, and the feeling for people and the city that many New Yorkers have. Her book is titled: “We Are Staying: Eighty Years in the Life of a Family, a Store, and a Neighborhood.” Rubin, who lives in Madison, Wis., is a regular on the Moth story-telling series. She comes from an accomplished family -- her mother, Sandi, worked for the Jerusalem Foundation, and her brother, Josh, is an attorney for the city. Regulars on my site will be familiar with frequent posts by Alan Rubin. His daughter uses his quotes in 1977 to explain why he stayed: “I’m responsible for twenty-five families—the families of people that work for me,” Alan Rubin said. “What’s going to happen to them if I pull out? As bad as I got hit, there are other guys that got wiped out. What’s going to happen if they can’t reopen? What can the city and government do to keep people like us from leaving these neighborhoods?” And she writes about his feel for his business, then known as Radio Clinic: “Forty-three years earlier his dad, who had run for his life from Russia, put his stake down on this block and slowly built up the business. When Grandpa became ill with cancer, he passed the business on to his son and son-in-law. This was the family’s business, and my dad wasn’t budging.” Alan Rubin kept his store going and retired in 2006. He and Sandi now live in the Berkshires, where he, a former star goalkeeper for Lehigh University, teaches the position to young people, out of his love for the sport. Jen Rubin’s new book is available through her website: https://www.rubinjen.com/we-are-staying--the-book.html
bruce
8/9/2018 09:50:03 pm
george,
George Vecsey
8/10/2018 08:43:00 am
Bruce, Josh, who often comments here, is the son of Alan and Sandi, the brother of Jen. I just added a sentence about the accomplishments of the Rubins...GV
bruce
8/10/2018 09:10:42 am
george,
Altenir J. Silva
8/10/2018 08:21:29 am
Dear George,
George Vecsey
8/10/2018 08:41:44 am
Dear Altenir: Gelb is writing about the Northeast blackout of Nov. 9, 1965. In the book you read, he talks about being in the city room. Arthur describes total darkness – I was in a barber shop on Long Island and recall the barbers finishing without electricity – but let’s just say Arthur had a great sense of the dramatic. He writes about lighting matches to find his way around the room, and finding Peter Kihss, one of the great reporters of any time, and assigning the main story to him, and sending other reporters out into the city. The paper was printed at a paper in Newark, N.J. I drove home from the barber, my wife had candles….and supper….and our two little girls in good form….and I recall an uneventful evening. Can’t say the same for millions inconvenienced.
Altenir J. Silva
8/10/2018 09:21:04 am
Dear George, 8/10/2018 02:41:15 pm
George—thanks for all your kind words about the Rubin family.
bruce
8/10/2018 02:57:11 pm
what I remember about the 2003 blackout was that it was hot, lasted for more than 12 hours and Clinton blamed the malfunction on Canada. might've been because of a failure in Quebec.
George Vecsey
8/11/2018 03:06:24 pm
Alan, thanks for the update. Not being a risk taker, I could never go into business. What were Dylan's words: "When you aint got nothing, you got nothing to lose."
Joshua Rubin
8/10/2018 03:18:47 pm
I just thought I'd write in to add that I am really proud of my sister and all her work in researching and writing the book! 8/10/2018 04:00:42 pm
As I'm reading the book for the first time in its entirety, I am simply amazed at Jen's ability to research in almost every nook n cranny.
George Vecsey
8/11/2018 03:08:48 pm
Josh, thanks for you presence on these pages. They may not have to worry about the pump at business, but I bet your folks (and surely us, in our big old house) have to monitor and maintain machinery, know how to operate stuff. G
James Goodman
8/10/2018 03:39:18 pm
So much looking forward to reading Jen Rubin’s book. I had the great pleasure of interviewing Alan at length for my book on the ‘77 blackout and his story is one of the throughlines in my own. Later, I met him at RCI and we discovered a “degree of family separation” much less than seven. What Joshua Rubin says here about ‘03 captures the experience of many many people I interviewed and it is the essence of what connects 2003 to 1965 and distinguishes it from 1977. There are many reasons why there was looting in ‘77 and none in ‘65 and ‘03 but one of them is certainly the first thought that came into people’s heads when the lights went out. In ‘65, in the midst of the Cold War, it was the Russians. In ‘03, two years after 9/11, it was terrorism. If you think the world is about to end, you don’t go looking for a television, air conditioner, or bicycle. Congratulations on the book, Jen, and best wishes to your entire family. Look forward to meeting you in October. Jim Goodman 8/10/2018 03:53:45 pm
Jim, Nice to hear from you. We certainly cover many memories during the interview.
James Goodman
8/10/2018 04:14:07 pm
So many memories come rushing back, Alan, of doing the research for my book, of meeting you, and believe it or of Gay. There are days I lose memories all day long, but believe it or not I can still picture her from my childhood. By the way, you told me a funny little story about how my father used to describe his work at Maidenform, his first (short-lived) job out of the army. I of course shared it with all four of my siblings. We loved and are grateful for that glimpse of our father in his mid-twenties. Be well. Looking forward to Jen’s event in the city in October. Jim
George Vecsey
8/11/2018 03:13:27 pm
James E. Goodman, author. What a grand diverse list, including your most recent, about Abraham and Isaac. Nice to see your name on my little therapy web site. GV
James
10/5/2018 08:51:02 pm
So nice to be here, George Vecsey, whom I've been reading with joy and for enlightenment as long as I've been reading. My late mother said I started reading the Times in fifth grade. If that is true, that would be 1967. My not-as-sharp-as-it-used-to-be memory is telling me that you are somehow related to Chris Vecsey, a terrific professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in my years there in the 70s, beloved advisor to some good friends of mine. Did I just imagine that because of the coincidence of names. My thanks and best wishes to you, Jim Goodman
Ed. Martin
8/11/2018 03:11:35 pm
Alan, best to you and your family and thanks GV for following up on Alan’s post. Several thoughts. One, Alan, you are as we Quakers say, a “Mensch” and a “Righteous Man.” Two, GV is a journalist’s journalist as the readers indicate. Three, although I went to Muhlenberg, across the Lehigh Valley and during my tenure lost to Lehigh, (and just about everyone else) I have granted Alan amnesty. 8/13/2018 11:16:14 am
Ed—Thanks for your kind words and especially the gift of amnesty.
Ed Martin
8/13/2018 07:41:11 pm
Alan, thank you for proving my point. When I first contacted George it was after an article that demonstrated his great caring and humanism. I thought ‘ journalists’ journalist was not enough, writers writer, humanists” humanist. The people who write in are a select group, themselves.
bruce
8/13/2018 08:30:30 pm
ed,
George Vecsey
8/13/2018 08:43:01 pm
Aw, youse guys are so nice. Comments are closed.
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