“We were in class one day and we were looking about a book that was about the Southeast Bronx, called “The Block.” And a couple of my more affluent classmates were looking at the pictures and saying, ‘This can’t possibly exist. I’ve never seen anything like this. There’s garbage all over the roofs.” Professor Gaudino looked at me and said, “Mr. Tortorello, does this place really exist? “ and I said, “Yes.” He obviously knew I was from New York and had lived in Queens or the Bronx and he said, “Describe it, give us a little more flavor of what the Bronx is like, especially this particular part around 146th street.” And I did and after class he came up to me and said, “You know you might think about taking a couple of your classmates to the Southeast Bronx and showing them around.” I knew he wanted them to get the experience. But I also think he felt I would learn from that experience, by seeing their reactions and hearing their questions. I didn’t do it and I’ve regretted it ever since.

–Nick Tortorello '71