JERRY ADELBERG
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP?
I was born in 1937 on 63rd Street in
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. I was the youngest in
a family of five children, two sisters and three
brothers. We all attended P.S. 226 and Lafayette
H. S. I went on to City College, graduating in
1963.
At age 16 and 17, I worked as a busboy and
later a waiter at the Hillside Mountain House
in Kerhonkson, N.Y. It was hard work with
long hours, but I met very nice guests which
made it rewarding. After that, I served in the
Army for two years and upon discharge started
working as an assistant buyer in piece goods at
Allied Stores in N.Y.C.
WHERE DID YOU MEET SHEILA?
During the summer of 1958 a friend from high
school and I went on vacation at Banner Lodge
in Moodus, Connecticut, where I was very lucky
to meet my future wife, Sheila. We were married
on August 29, 1959, at the Hillcrest Jewish
Center in Jamaica Estates where Sheila lived
with her younger sister and parents.
Sheila graduated Jamaica H.S. and Cornell
University with advanced degrees from Hunter
and Adelphi. She started teaching in South
Ozone Park. After 3 years she went on to the
Port Washington schools for 30 years where
we lived.
WHAT WAS YOUR CONNECTION WITH FRED
WILPON?
The previous and illustrious owner of the
NY Mets, Fred Wilpon, was my close friend all
through elementary and high school. We played
softball and basketball together. Later in life,
we met at a fund raiser for the Parker Jewish
Geriatric Center which was held in his New
York City apartment. He asked Sheila and me
to stay after all the other guests left. He wanted
to schmooze about the old times we shared.
He also showed us a life size painting he
had of Sandy Koufax in full pitching stride,
left arm throwing and leg extended. This was
painted on his terrace wall. Sandy was also an
excellent basketball player for the high school
team and won a scholarship to the University
of Cincinnati. Fred was the starting pitcher
and won a scholarship to Michigan University.
Sheila and Jerry Adelberg
IS YOUR GROWN FAMILY NEARBY?
We have two children. Our daughter Sheryl
is an attorney married to Jim, also an attorney.
They have two sons and a daughter and live
in San Francisco. Our son Daniel is a medical
doctor and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with
his wife Sara Jane and their three sons. We are
truly blessed with a wonderful family.
WHEN DID YOU FIRST COME TO NST?
In 1987 we moved to North Shore Towers,
selling our home in Port Washington. It was a
lovely apartment on the 32nd floor of Building
2. We loved living here and were active in
the tennis teams. We made new friends with
Ethel and Fred Wittenstein, Anita and Morris
Kaufman, Jerry Rubin, Donald Greenberg and
Neil Schayne, a good friend of Gene Price.
Living here was enjoyable and convenient for
Sheila who was teaching in Port Washington
and I had my office in Jericho. We also belonged
to the Knickerbocker Yacht Club where I
enjoyed racing and cruising on our yacht,
Utopia.
In 1996 we decided to purchase a condominium
at Treescape in East Hampton and
moved there full time in 2000. We enjoyed an
active social life and Sheila began substitute
teaching in the East Hampton School District
as a Special Education teacher. I took up golf
and we both became active in the local Reform
temple. I wanted to give back to my community
and so joined the East Hampton volunteer fire
department, a very active and exciting job. I
was on call 24/7.
I was an industrial and commercial real estate
broker and worked exclusively in Nassau and
Suffolk counties for over 40 years. It was a very
interesting and creative life. We were members
of Community Synagogue in Port Washington
for over 25 years and I held many executive
positions.
WHAT HAPPENED IN 2019?
In March of 2019, after total knee replacement,
we decided to sell the condominium and
move back to NST. We purchased a beautiful
apartment in Building 1 and moved into it
in August 2019. Living here has been great,
especially during the pandemic. We are all so
fortunate to have the NST amenities and my
being close to my doctors. We have wonderful
neighbors, like Pat Tulchin and her family, Jane
Cohen, Joan and Irwin Robinson, Anna and
Scott Winter, Linda and Morton Schwartz, Dr.
Stanley and Maxine Landau, and Dr. Stanley
Goldsmith.
The gym and golf friends round out our social
life.... the second time around.
North Shore Towers is doubly blessed
because Sheila and Jerry Adelberg moved here
twice. First, in 1987 to Building Two and after
a hiatus in the Hamptons they moved back,
this time to Building One, in 2019. They are
a charming couple who quickly made new
friends here and promptly connected with
friends they made before. Jerry is a very gregarious
fellow, he’s an active member of the
Men’s Club, a frequent golfer, a gym enthusiast
and attends many NST events.
Jerry in his Army days
4 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ June 2021