African American Historical Society of Rockland County

Skyview Acres

Skyview Acres

Skyview Acres was established in 1946 in the Village of Pomona and was a hub of social activism. The neighborhood became a social experiment in racially integrated living. Some of it’s most notable residents were:

Irving Wolfe – County resident for more than 60 years and was one of the founding homeowners of the interracial Skyview Acres community in Pomona, NY.

Conrad Lynn – Civil Rights Attorney. A longtime civil rights lawyer whose clients included freedom riders in the South, Vietnam War draft resisters, and Puerto Rican nationalists.

George Houser – Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Co-Founder.  He led the American Committee on Africa for many years, spending decades on the continent promoting freedom from colonial rule.

Dr. Margaret Morgan Lawrence – Physician and Child Psychiatrist. She was the first child psychiatrist to practice in Rockland County, where she helped found the Community Mental Health Center.

Dr. Edmund W. Gordon – Psychologist and Educator- He is the  John M. Musser Professor of Psychology, Emeritus at Yale University, Richard March Hoe Professor, Emeritus of Psychology and Education, at Teachers College, Columbia University and Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME) at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is also the Senior Scholar in Residence at the College Board. Dr. Gordon is the Founding member of Spring Valley NAACP and the  Co-founder of The CEJJES Institute.

Dr. Susan G. Gordon –  Physician, Educator Former President of the East Ramapo School. She practiced pediatrics in Rockland County, with an office in Haverstraw from 1954-58 and was an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. Along with her husband Dr. Edmund Gordon, she was a Founding member of Spring Valley NAACP and Co-founder of The CEJJES Institute.

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Project Details

  • Skyview Acres

  • Pomona, NY

  • community, Gordon, Conrad Lynn, Irving Wolfe, George Houser, Margaret Morgan Lawrence, civil rights

Comments ( 7 )

  • Collette V. Fournier

    I’m trying to identify a woman who lives at Skyview who is active with the CEJJES community. She also teaches or is an administrator at Ramapo college. She is also active with NAACP, Spring Valley. I believe her first name is Sue.

    Thank you. Collette Fournier

    • Historian

      Hi, Collette. The person you are referring about is Dr. Carol Bowman.

  • Collette Fournier

    Dear African American Historical Society of RC: Please send me information about events in the Rockland Community like Mine Hole. I would like to document these events. Thank you!

  • Susan Malool

    I’m Susan Malool. I was named Susan Gurowsky. I’m living in Livingston Manor which is a bit of a ride from Rockland County.. I go to visit my son and his wife and three boys. For me it’s wonderful being a part of both Livingston Manor and actually ISpring Valley where my son lives and owns a flower shop, which is anice place! I have wonderful memories of friends and family in Sky view Acres!

    • Sean

      Who built. 28 dogwood lane south

  • Alan Johnson

    My grandparents.Leonard and Gertrude Johnson were some the very first to build there. I also believe he did surveying. There is a family picture of me, as a baby, getting a bath in a cement encrusted wheel barrow. I was born July3, 1948. I remember playing in the woods and brook next to their home as a kid. They are both gone now. Grandma made it to her mid 90s and Pop Pop made it to 105. He passed in 2007. He was Chief Engineer for NYC. Good memories. May God bless all that are there. Al.

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