The 400 block of Clymer Avenue in Mattapan once boasted a line of gorgeous houses with handsome lawns and sizable garages. Forty years ago those who knew the area would have called the block and a few blocks surrounding it the neighborhood of the hoi polloi. There was, however, a smugness about those who lived in that block, it was said. And because they were Jews, it was also said, they should have known better and treated others who didn't have as much more kindly. After all, if the Jews don't help each other, who will?

In time the neighborhood around Clymer Avenue changed. Most of the rich families moved to Jamaica Plain, Brookline, and Newton. Some families moved as far away as Lexington to the north. All but a few of the grand homes were tom down, and simple, efficient apartment buildings erected in their place.