Local educator publishes book

By JACKIE NASH

As a senior at the State University of New York at New Paltz, Jeff Laffel had no idea what his future held. He was a little rebellious — for 1961, that is — so when the fraternity that he was head of was at risk of closing due to discussions of a campus fraternity ban, he decided to protest. Protesting meant wearing black armbands — unifying the fraternity against the potential ban — but after another frat decided to hang an effigy of the university president over the Manhattan Bridge in protest, Laffel was blamed.

To punish Laffel for the effigy act, which he didn’t commit, the then-dean of New Paltz sent him to a place far away from his friends in upstate New York, for a six-month teaching post. However, the sentence turned out not to be much of a punishment at all.

Laffel, who was 22 at the time, was sent to Covert Avenue Elementary School in Elmont, and “fell in love,” he said. He remained an educator in the community for 35 years.

After a short stint at the Covert Avenue Elementary School, Laffel began teaching 6th grade at Dutch Broadway in December of 1961, where he worked for six years. Despite his age difference, he was able to relate to and bond with many of his 6th-grade students in a way that many educators aren’t. Today, Laffel meets monthly for dinner with members of his 1967 6th-grade class — his last class at Dutch Broadway — and he travels to San Francisco yearly for a West Coast dinner with that class, who are in their mid-50s.

“(They are) amazing and wonderful people,” Laffel said. “I’ve built myself a family. It’s a warm, loving relationship that I’ve known since they were kids.”

Laffel left Dutch Broadway in 1967 when he was offered a position at Elmont Memorial, where he taught English, drama and film study for 28 years. In addition to his 1967 6th-graders, he said that today, he keeps in touch with several of his students. One of Laffel’s students invites him each year to his Thanksgiving family dinner.

Laffel said that he loved teach; there was nothing more rewarding, in his mind. He enjoyed being an educator so much that he woke up at 4:30 a.m. to prepare for the school day, which began at 8 a.m. “Teaching is one of those things that when you die, you are on your deathbed, and you say, ‘I could not have wished for a better life,’” he said. “The pleasure I got from teaching — you can’t put a value on it.”

Although Laffel loved teaching fully, there was something he always wanted to do, but never really had the time to when he was an educator — write. One he retired, in 1995, he decided to pursue writing, and worked on a mystery novel for several years, but wasn’t pleased with the final version of the book. Seven years ago, he began writing a story about six friends who met at a summer camp in 1975. The book took on many versions and went through several edits. Laffel’s good friends Michael Klepper and Robert Karmon, an English professor at Nassau Community College, helped him with character- and idea-formulation, and editing.

The book, “Gone the Sun,” was self-published last November.

“Gone the Sun” is a coming-of-age story that follows six friends from the summer of 1975 to present-day, following a tragedy that occurred at camp. The book is currently sold on Amazon.com, and has received wide acclaim, Laffel said. “I think that the dialogue between the 16-year-olds in 1975 will ring very true to the people who were that age at that time,” he said, adding that a Hollywood producer who recently expressed interest in the book, and possibly adapting it for film, is currently reading it.

Laffel said that he is working on a book of short stories that take place in one location for a number of years, portraying a piece of national history. That book will likely be published within a year, he said.

Laffel, who is single and does not have children, has lived on 54th Street in Manhattan for 43 years.

Comments about this story? JNash@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 214.

Comments about this story? JNash@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 214.