Luke: “You were always sure you did not want to be Orthodox?”
Nataly: “Yeah. From a really young age, like eight or nine, even though my family was.
“I have a younger sister. She’s also not religious.”
Luke: “What were your parents thinking living with all these people?”
Nataly: “They didn’t have a choice [because of poverty and illegal immigrant status]. I always asked them, why couldn’t we just live in a tiny little apartment by ourselves?”
Luke: “I can’t imagine. It sounds like hell.”
Nataly: “It wasn’t hell. I really didn’t think much of it until I got a lot older. I always accepted it. OK, we have to share the bathroom with ten people, with interesting characters. It wasn’t hell. It was interesting.”
Luke: “Have you stayed in touch with anyone from that house?”
Nataly: “Oh God no.”
Luke: “What keeps you living in Boro Park?”
Nataly: “Cheap rent. I live on the same block I grew up on, only a couple of doors down. I pay $700 for a one-bedroom, utilities included.”
