Neighborhood, giving grow together

1956

Charity

Riverdale and Kingsbridge grew by thousands of people during the 1950s, equaling their development during the previous half-century. Both Con Edison and Bell Telephone Company reported a large increase in the number of apartments slated for telephone and electric service in the area. In September 1956 alone, Ma Bell installed 1,100 new phones.

As the population increased, Riverdalians began to look outward, coming together to provide for needy refugees an ocean away and to correct the social inequalities that abounded at home.

Thousands of dollars were donated to Hungarian refugees in Austria. Hundreds of pounds of clothing were also sent in response to a letter by a Hungarian countess living in Riverdale that ran in The Press in December. She described the plight of her countrymen who were trying to escape from Soviet-imposed communism. Students from Riverdale Country School collected $180 for the cause by skipping dessert for week.