10.Dec.2017 Andrew Lane
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Andrew Lane is a street off Stratton Road, just north of the Hutch by Iona Prep. It’s in a development named, “White Birches.” (I spent a while cruising Google Street view looking for white birches — didn’t see any). This street is a bit of a mystery. I have not been able to find any connection between the developers and an Andrew. I do have a theory — a weak one — based on some very circumstantial evidence.
The land that Andrew Lane occupies was once owned by Frank A. Stratton, the president of the Westchester Lighting Company, a gas utility that supplied fuel for lights throughout the county.
The above map refers to “F.Q. Stratton.” This appears to be an error. I have found several sources referring to F. A. Stratton’s landholdings around Quaker Ridge.
In any event, a large chunk of Stratton’s land was sold to Martin Reddington, who was in advertising. In 1920, the Reddington’s lived at 161 Elk Avenue in the Beechmont section of the city (remember this, it plays into my naming hypothesis later).
The land was apparently sold to the White Birches, Inc from Reddington in the mid-1950s. One New York Times article refers to White Birches in passing, as being developed by Meyer Zuckerman and George Newman. I have some reason to doubt that article — it also says that the Quaker Hill development was built by Zuckerman and Newman. This is false. Regardless — I could find no connection between Zuckerman’s family and any Andrews (I couldn’t even find any details about Newman).
Without much other basis, I searched ancestry.com for pairings of Andrew with the other first names in the development (e.g. Gaby, Marion). I did get one hit. In a 1955 New Rochelle City Directory, there was an Andy Lofaro married to a Gaby. They lived at 33 Forest Avenue — also in Beechmont, a few blocks away. So — that’s my best guess. Anyone with pertinent info, feel free to reach out!
